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libya <tsp> ( cnn ) -- in focus : energy concerns as protests continue in libya , europe 's biggest oil supplier , concerns over supply are rattling the energy markets . libya is the third biggest oil producer in africa and has the continent 's largest proven oil reserves . this week mme takes a look at how social unrest could impact the country 's oil economy . facetime : talal al zain , ceo , mumtalakat bahrain has had to cancel formula one 's first scheduled race of the season due to ongoing protests in the country . the decision is a major blow to both bahrain 's status and its economy . this week mme talks to the ceo of the country 's sovereign wealth fund , talal al zain and asked him about how current events are impacting business and investment . watch the show this week at the times ( gmt ) below : friday : 0915 , 1745 saturday : 0445 sunday : 0615,1745 mondays : 0145 follow the show on facebook and twitter .
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libya is the third biggest oil producer in africa
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israeli <tsp> damascus , syria ( cnn ) -- concern about the possibility of broader war in the middle east grew monday after reported airstrikes on syrian military installations . the reported strikes killed 42 syrian soldiers , the opposition syrian observatory for human rights said monday , citing medical sources . it said 100 people remained missing . the syrian government warned sunday 's apparent strikes -- which followed one last week that syria also blames on israel -- opens the door wide for all the possibilities . ' syrian ally iran warned of a crushing response ' while russia called reports of israeli involvement very worrying . ' but an israeli general who commands forces on the syrian border said there are no winds of war , ' according to the israel defense forces website . the heightened tensions come amid questions over possible chemical weapon use in syria and international debate over how to respond to the country 's bloody civil war , in which more than 70,000 people have died in more than two years of fighting . on monday , a u.n. official spoke of strong suspicions that rebels , not syrian government forces , have used chemical weapons . details of reported strikes syria claimed israeli missiles struck at its military facilities on sunday . according to the state-run sana news agency , israeli missiles struck a research center in jamraya , a facility in maysaloun and what the news agency described as a paragliding airport ' near damascus . the israeli terrorist aggressions on the syrian territories have left no room for hesitation , weakness , self-dissociation or silence as syria would not forgive us all if we hesitated in defending it , ' sana reported syrian prime minister wael al-halqi as saying . the blasts prompted terrified residents nearby to run for cover . everything kept exploding over and over again , ' said anna deeb , whose family lives just over a mile away . we could hear gunshots , we could hear people screaming . ... we did n't know what to do , and there was a problem with us breathing because the smoke was too much . ' syria says the attack followed another israeli airstrike late last week . israel has not confirmed or denied that its forces were involved in any attacks inside syria , but a u.s. official told cnn 's barbara starr on monday that israeli forces conducted sunday 's strike , as well as one last week . sunday 's strike targeted a research facility in a mountainous area near damascus and weapons that were to be transferred to hezbollah , according to the source . the earlier strike , which u.s. officials had previously said happened thursday or friday , targeted fateh 110 missiles stored at the damascus airport , the source said . sana reported that the allegation of weapons transfers was false . and syrian deputy foreign minister faisal al-mekdad told cnn the attacks amount to a declaration of war by israel . the details are not clear on what happened , ' al-mekdad told cnn . did they fire missiles ? ... it is not clear for me , because i do n't know how it happened , and of course it is worrying , but israel will suffer the same . ''watching everything' while israel has not acknowledged responsibility for the attacks , the country has long said it would target any transfer of weapons to hezbollah or other terrorist groups . we are watching everything when it comes to the movement of these types of weapons . we have the means to do that , ' a senior israeli defense official told cnn 's sara sidner on sunday . the official is not authorized to speak to the media . shaul mofaz , a lawmaker in israel 's knesset , told israeli army radio on sunday that israel is n't meddling with syria 's civil war . but israel must protect itself from lebanese militants , he said . for israel , it is very important that the front group for iran , which is in lebanon , needs to be stopped , ' mofaz said . international response hezbollah did not immediately comment after sunday 's claims . iran said it will stand by syria , and if there is need for training , we will provide them with necessary training , ' brig . gen. ahmad-reza pourdastan , commander of the iranian army 's ground forces , told reporters sunday . iranian foreign ministry spokesman ramin mehmanparast said he had no doubt syria and its allies will give a crushing response to the aggressions of the zionists , ' the state-run irna news agency reported . russia also weighed in monday , with a foreign ministry spokesman calling the reports of israeli strikes very worrying . ' any intensification of military confrontation greatly increases the risks of creating hotbeds of tension aside from syria , in lebanon , and also destabilizing the israeli-lebanese border , which has so far remained relatively calm , ' ministry spokesman alexander lukashevich said monday . but israeli maj. gen. yair golan indicated war is not imminent , according to the idf 's website . there are no winds of war , ' said golan , who is in charge of the northern command . two rockets fired from inside syria fell into the golan heights , the idf said in a tweet . the military said the rockets were fired erroneously as a byproduct of internal conflict in syria . ' nato secretary general anders fogh rasmussen told reporters monday that the alliance had no information on the reported airstrikes , but said the alliance remains concerned about the possibility that the conflict could spread beyond syria 's borders . it 's not a new concern that for quite some time we have expressed concerned of the risk of spillover of this conflict , ' he said . chemical weapons reports the tensions have been worsened by conflicting reports on the possible use of chemical weapons in syria . on monday , a u.n. official said evidence points to the use of the deadly nerve agent sarin by syrian rebel forces . carla del ponte told an italian-swiss tv station that the findings come after interviews with doctors and syrian victims now in neighboring countries . del ponte , the commissioner of the u.n . independent international commission of inquiry for syria , said the notion is n't surprising , given the infiltration of foreign fighters into the syrian opposition . later , the commission issued a press release saying it has not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in syria by any parties to the conflict . ' therefore , the commission is not in a position to further comment on the allegations at this time , ' the statement said . the syrian coalition released a statement in response to del ponte 's comments , condemning the use of chemical weapons and stressing that it will continue to conduct its own investigations . the syrian coalition will take all necessary legal measures in case the investigation reveals parties other than assad 's regime have used chemical weapons , ' it said . a u.s. state department official told cnn that the united states does not have information suggesting that rebels have either the capability or the intent to deploy or use such weapons . ' but , the source said , the facts are not complete ' and efforts to obtain more information are ongoing . rebel free syrian army spokesman louay almokdad said rebels do n't have unconventional weapons , nor do they want any . in any case , we do n't have the mechanism to launch these kinds of weapons , which would need missiles that can carry chemical warheads , and we in the fsa do not possess these kind of capabilities , ' almokdad said . more importantly , we do not aspire to have ( chemical weapons ) because we view our battle with the regime as a battle for the establishment of a free democratic state . ... we want to build a free democratic state that recognizes and abides by all international accords and agreements -- and chemical and biological warfare is something forbidden legally and internationally . ' intelligence claims the claim of rebels using sarin gas comes after months of suspicions that the syrian regime has used the same nerve agent against rebels . last week , the united states said its intelligence analysts had concluded with varying degrees of confidence ' that chemical weapons had been used in syria and that the regime of president bashar al-assad was the likely culprit . in april , the head of israeli military 's intelligence research said the syrian government is using chemical weapons against rebel forces . in all likelihood they used sarin gas , ' brig . gen. itai brun said . the free syrian army 's chief of staff has also said the syrian regime has used sarin in cities such as homs , aleppo and otaiba , outside damascus . we took some samples of the soil and of blood . the injured people were observed by doctors , and the samples were tested , and it was very clear that the regime used chemical weapons , ' gen. salim idriss told cnn 's christiane amanpour last month . sarin gas can be hard to detect because it is colorless , odorless and tasteless . but it can cause severe injuries to those exposed to it , including blurred vision , convulsions , paralysis and death . why syria matters the syrian civil war has pitted rebel fighters against the regime run by al-assad , whose family has ruled the country for four decades . syria matters to iran because it is believed to be the main conduit to the shiite militia hezbollah in lebanon , the proxy through which iran can threaten israel with an arsenal of short-range missiles . in 2009 , the top u.s. diplomat in damascus disclosed that syria had begun delivery of ballistic missiles to hezbollah , according to official cables leaked to and published by wikileaks . the last thing iran wants is a sunni-dominated syria -- especially as the syrian rebels'main supporters are iran 's persian gulf rivals : qatar and saudi arabia . hezbollah 's feared scenario is israel on one side and a hostile sunni-led syria on the other . cnn 's frederik pleitgen reported from damascus ; sara sidner reported from jerusalem ; and hada messia reported from rome . cnn 's schams elwazer , tim lister , holly yan , samira said , jill dougherty , hamdi alkhshali and tracy doueiry contributed to this report .
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reports of israeli strikes are very worrying , ' the russian foreign ministry says
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israeli <tsp> damascus , syria ( cnn ) -- concern about the possibility of broader war in the middle east grew monday after reported airstrikes on syrian military installations . the reported strikes killed 42 syrian soldiers , the opposition syrian observatory for human rights said monday , citing medical sources . it said 100 people remained missing . the syrian government warned sunday 's apparent strikes -- which followed one last week that syria also blames on israel -- opens the door wide for all the possibilities . ' syrian ally iran warned of a crushing response ' while russia called reports of israeli involvement very worrying . ' but an israeli general who commands forces on the syrian border said there are no winds of war , ' according to the israel defense forces website . the heightened tensions come amid questions over possible chemical weapon use in syria and international debate over how to respond to the country 's bloody civil war , in which more than 70,000 people have died in more than two years of fighting . on monday , a u.n. official spoke of strong suspicions that rebels , not syrian government forces , have used chemical weapons . details of reported strikes syria claimed israeli missiles struck at its military facilities on sunday . according to the state-run sana news agency , israeli missiles struck a research center in jamraya , a facility in maysaloun and what the news agency described as a paragliding airport ' near damascus . the israeli terrorist aggressions on the syrian territories have left no room for hesitation , weakness , self-dissociation or silence as syria would not forgive us all if we hesitated in defending it , ' sana reported syrian prime minister wael al-halqi as saying . the blasts prompted terrified residents nearby to run for cover . everything kept exploding over and over again , ' said anna deeb , whose family lives just over a mile away . we could hear gunshots , we could hear people screaming . ... we did n't know what to do , and there was a problem with us breathing because the smoke was too much . ' syria says the attack followed another israeli airstrike late last week . israel has not confirmed or denied that its forces were involved in any attacks inside syria , but a u.s. official told cnn 's barbara starr on monday that israeli forces conducted sunday 's strike , as well as one last week . sunday 's strike targeted a research facility in a mountainous area near damascus and weapons that were to be transferred to hezbollah , according to the source . the earlier strike , which u.s. officials had previously said happened thursday or friday , targeted fateh 110 missiles stored at the damascus airport , the source said . sana reported that the allegation of weapons transfers was false . and syrian deputy foreign minister faisal al-mekdad told cnn the attacks amount to a declaration of war by israel . the details are not clear on what happened , ' al-mekdad told cnn . did they fire missiles ? ... it is not clear for me , because i do n't know how it happened , and of course it is worrying , but israel will suffer the same . ''watching everything' while israel has not acknowledged responsibility for the attacks , the country has long said it would target any transfer of weapons to hezbollah or other terrorist groups . we are watching everything when it comes to the movement of these types of weapons . we have the means to do that , ' a senior israeli defense official told cnn 's sara sidner on sunday . the official is not authorized to speak to the media . shaul mofaz , a lawmaker in israel 's knesset , told israeli army radio on sunday that israel is n't meddling with syria 's civil war . but israel must protect itself from lebanese militants , he said . for israel , it is very important that the front group for iran , which is in lebanon , needs to be stopped , ' mofaz said . international response hezbollah did not immediately comment after sunday 's claims . iran said it will stand by syria , and if there is need for training , we will provide them with necessary training , ' brig . gen. ahmad-reza pourdastan , commander of the iranian army 's ground forces , told reporters sunday . iranian foreign ministry spokesman ramin mehmanparast said he had no doubt syria and its allies will give a crushing response to the aggressions of the zionists , ' the state-run irna news agency reported . russia also weighed in monday , with a foreign ministry spokesman calling the reports of israeli strikes very worrying . ' any intensification of military confrontation greatly increases the risks of creating hotbeds of tension aside from syria , in lebanon , and also destabilizing the israeli-lebanese border , which has so far remained relatively calm , ' ministry spokesman alexander lukashevich said monday . but israeli maj. gen. yair golan indicated war is not imminent , according to the idf 's website . there are no winds of war , ' said golan , who is in charge of the northern command . two rockets fired from inside syria fell into the golan heights , the idf said in a tweet . the military said the rockets were fired erroneously as a byproduct of internal conflict in syria . ' nato secretary general anders fogh rasmussen told reporters monday that the alliance had no information on the reported airstrikes , but said the alliance remains concerned about the possibility that the conflict could spread beyond syria 's borders . it 's not a new concern that for quite some time we have expressed concerned of the risk of spillover of this conflict , ' he said . chemical weapons reports the tensions have been worsened by conflicting reports on the possible use of chemical weapons in syria . on monday , a u.n. official said evidence points to the use of the deadly nerve agent sarin by syrian rebel forces . carla del ponte told an italian-swiss tv station that the findings come after interviews with doctors and syrian victims now in neighboring countries . del ponte , the commissioner of the u.n . independent international commission of inquiry for syria , said the notion is n't surprising , given the infiltration of foreign fighters into the syrian opposition . later , the commission issued a press release saying it has not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in syria by any parties to the conflict . ' therefore , the commission is not in a position to further comment on the allegations at this time , ' the statement said . the syrian coalition released a statement in response to del ponte 's comments , condemning the use of chemical weapons and stressing that it will continue to conduct its own investigations . the syrian coalition will take all necessary legal measures in case the investigation reveals parties other than assad 's regime have used chemical weapons , ' it said . a u.s. state department official told cnn that the united states does not have information suggesting that rebels have either the capability or the intent to deploy or use such weapons . ' but , the source said , the facts are not complete ' and efforts to obtain more information are ongoing . rebel free syrian army spokesman louay almokdad said rebels do n't have unconventional weapons , nor do they want any . in any case , we do n't have the mechanism to launch these kinds of weapons , which would need missiles that can carry chemical warheads , and we in the fsa do not possess these kind of capabilities , ' almokdad said . more importantly , we do not aspire to have ( chemical weapons ) because we view our battle with the regime as a battle for the establishment of a free democratic state . ... we want to build a free democratic state that recognizes and abides by all international accords and agreements -- and chemical and biological warfare is something forbidden legally and internationally . ' intelligence claims the claim of rebels using sarin gas comes after months of suspicions that the syrian regime has used the same nerve agent against rebels . last week , the united states said its intelligence analysts had concluded with varying degrees of confidence ' that chemical weapons had been used in syria and that the regime of president bashar al-assad was the likely culprit . in april , the head of israeli military 's intelligence research said the syrian government is using chemical weapons against rebel forces . in all likelihood they used sarin gas , ' brig . gen. itai brun said . the free syrian army 's chief of staff has also said the syrian regime has used sarin in cities such as homs , aleppo and otaiba , outside damascus . we took some samples of the soil and of blood . the injured people were observed by doctors , and the samples were tested , and it was very clear that the regime used chemical weapons , ' gen. salim idriss told cnn 's christiane amanpour last month . sarin gas can be hard to detect because it is colorless , odorless and tasteless . but it can cause severe injuries to those exposed to it , including blurred vision , convulsions , paralysis and death . why syria matters the syrian civil war has pitted rebel fighters against the regime run by al-assad , whose family has ruled the country for four decades . syria matters to iran because it is believed to be the main conduit to the shiite militia hezbollah in lebanon , the proxy through which iran can threaten israel with an arsenal of short-range missiles . in 2009 , the top u.s. diplomat in damascus disclosed that syria had begun delivery of ballistic missiles to hezbollah , according to official cables leaked to and published by wikileaks . the last thing iran wants is a sunni-dominated syria -- especially as the syrian rebels'main supporters are iran 's persian gulf rivals : qatar and saudi arabia . hezbollah 's feared scenario is israel on one side and a hostile sunni-led syria on the other . cnn 's frederik pleitgen reported from damascus ; sara sidner reported from jerusalem ; and hada messia reported from rome . cnn 's schams elwazer , tim lister , holly yan , samira said , jill dougherty , hamdi alkhshali and tracy doueiry contributed to this report .
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new : syrian prime minister : israeli aggressions ... have left no room for hesitation '
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new york <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- the boyfriend of a 33-year-old swimsuit designer , whose bruised body was found in a bathtub at an exclusive new york hotel on thursday , has been charged in her death , officials said . nick brooks , 24 , whose father -- joseph brooks -- is the oscar-winning composer and director who produced the song you light up my life , ' was charged with attempted murder and strangulation in the death of sylvie cachay , police said friday . according to cnn affiliate wabc , authorities are treating the death as a homicide . however , brooks can not be charged with murder until the medical examiner determines the death was the result of a homicide . police discovered cachay , whose designs had been considered a celebrity favorite , at the soho house club and hotel , according to a new york police spokesman who declined to be named , citing agency policy . blog : cachay remembered as'light personified' brooks was cachay 's boyfriend , according to cnn affiliate wabc . cachay 's body sustained bruising on the neck and bite marks , and was found clothed in the hotel room bathtub , the spokesman said . the city medical examiner said friday the initial autopsy was inconclusive . the office will provide more details surrounding cachay 's death pending toxicology and tissue testing , which would take a few weeks , ' said spokeswoman grace burgess . sylvie cachay was one of those rare individuals who truly sparkled when she spoke , ' said publicist kate godici . she will be deeply and painfully missed , yet celebrated , honored and never forgotten . ' the elder brooks was indicted on multiple counts of sexual assault earlier this year , according to new york supreme court documents . the younger brooks is currently in police custody , the spokesman said .
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a swimsuit designer was found dead in a bathtub at an exclusive new york hotel on thursday
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mandela <tsp> ( cnn ) -- nelson mandela 's willingness to forgive and forget helped peacefully end an era of white domination in his native south africa . but as news of his death spread , mourners there and around the world professed that he , himself , would never be forgotten . mandela 's biggest legacy ... was his remarkable lack of bitterness and the way he did not only talk about reconciliation , but he made reconciliation happen in south africa , ' said f.w . de klerk , south africa 's last white president before giving way to mandela , the country 's first black leader . south africa 's current leader announced late thursday that , after years suffering from health ailments , the man known widely by his clan name of madiba died at 8:50 p.m. ( 1:50 p.m . et ) surrounded by family . he was 95 . he is now resting . he is now at peace , ' president jacob zuma said late thursday . our nation has lost its greatest son . our people have lost a father . ' special report : nelson mandela the official sapa news agency reported early friday that mandela 's body had been moved to a military hospital in pretoria . it 's expected to be embalmed in the next three to four days , after which there will be a public memorial service at a johannesburg soccer stadium , according to government sources . then , his casket will lie in state for several days in pretoria , and next week -- probably friday or saturday -- it will be flown to his ancestral hometown of qunu for a state funeral and burial , the sources said . until that funeral , zuma has ordered flags around south africa to be flown at half-mast , ' something that other countries including the united states and united kingdom are also doing . the african national congress -- the political party long associated with mandela -- said our nation has lost a colossus , an epitome of humility , equality , justice , peace and the hope of millions . ' the large african baobab , who loved africa as much as he loved south africa , has fallen , ' the party said in a statement , comparing mandela to a sturdy tree found in africa . its trunk and seeds will nourish the earth for decades to come . ' as news spreads , mourners recall'remarkable man' throngs -- some of them in pajamas , due to the late hour -- gathered outside mandela 's house in a johannesburg suburb after word of his death was announced , with people of all races singing , dancing and otherwise paying tribute to the late leader . some said the news had n't sunk in yet , while others expressed relief that he died peacefully , according to the official sapa news agency . we must pay tribute to mandela , the best state leader of all time , ' said 23-year-old zaid paruk . similar scenes broke out elsewhere in the country including soweto , southwest of johannesburg , where some celebrated mandela 's life draped in anc and south african flags . leon curling-hope said she was at a work christmas party when revelers began singing the national anthem upon hearing the news . everyone is emotional but the messages that are going out are of love and happiness , ' said curling-hope , a cnn ireporter . everyone is holding each other singing and talking about the great memories we all have . ' describing him as a remarkable man , ' de klerk told cnn 's christiane amanpour , south africa , notwithstanding political differences , stands united today , in mourning . ' carrying on the work of mandela while the pain resonated most in his homeland , news of mandela 's death echoed worldwide . moments after zuma spoke , the u.n. security council had a moment of silence in his honor , with secretary-general ban ki-moon later calling mandela a giant for justice and a down-to-earth inspiration . ' irish leader enda kenny said mandela 's name became synonymous with the pursuit of dignity and freedom across the globe . ' a great light has gone out in the world , ' tweeted british prime minister david cameron . nelson mandela was a hero of our time . ' reaction from u.s. politicians was similarly swift , with ex-presidents george h. w. bush calling mandela a man of tremendous moral courage ' and bill clinton remembering him as a man of uncommon grace and compassion , for whom abandoning bitterness and embracing adversaries was not just a political strategy but a way of life . ' obama :'he belongs to the ages' ' we 've lost one of the most influential , courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth , ' said current u.s. president barack obama , the first black leader of his own country who said his first public activism was an anti-apartheid protest . he no longer belongs to us . he belongs to the ages . ' kenyan activist : mandela saved my life the immensely popular leader largely stayed out of the public spotlight in recent years due to his medical issues , including a hospitalization for a lung infection in june . on september 1 , mandela was discharged from a pretoria hospital where he had been receiving treatment since june , according to zuma 's office . he was moved to a home in the johannesburg suburb of houghton , where a bedroom was transformed into something akin to an intensive care unit , according to his ex-wife , winnie madikizela-mandela . last month , madikizela-mandela told south africa 's sunday independent newspaper that tubes used to clear his lungs meant to prevent infections also made it so that he could not speak . she said then that he remains quite ill , ' with doctors tending to him regularly . he communicates with the face , you see , ' madikizela-mandela told the newspaper then . his history of lung problems dates to his days in robben island , where he was imprisoned for 27 years as part of his fight to overturn the country 's system of racial segregation . tokyo sexwale , who was incarcerated a few meters from mandela , recalled him as a very formidable and larger-than-life figure ' who was nonetheless very humble ' and loving . he was embraced even by white wardens , his own jailers , because he demonstrated that through the power of dialogue ... people on different sides , former enemies can come together , ' sexwale told cnn . toiled to dismantle entrenched apartheid mandela emerged from prison more prominent than ever and in 1994 -- four years after his release and one year after earning the nobel peace prize with de klerk , who was then south africa 's president -- he became south africa 's first black president . statesman , president , ambassador to the world mandela left the presidency in 1999 , but remained one of south africa 's most respected and revered international ambassadors , a model for world and particularly african leaders . and a new generation has been introduced to him through movies such as invictus ' and mandela : long walk to freedom . ' the latter film was in the middle of its london premiere when news broke of mandela 's death , though attendees -- prince william and catherine , duchess of cambridge , among them -- did n't learn about it until producer anant singh came onstage as the closing credits ran . he explained that mandela 's daughters had said the premiere should go on ; there then was a moment of silence in oden cinema . it was as if he was born to teach the age a lesson in humility , in humor and above all else in patience , ' said bono , the u2 singer and africa activist . in the end , nelson mandela showed us how to love rather than hate , not because he had never surrendered to rage or violence , but because he learned that love would do a better job . ' hollywood reacts to loss of a legend his last high-profile public appearance came in 2010 , when south africa hosted soccer 's world cup . his family members and south african officials have updated the public on his life since , including numerous hospitalizations and his eventual return to his mandela has been hailed as a pioneer , a statesman , a hero , someone who maintained his easy smile and demeanor after decades of turmoil . to many south africans , he was known simply , affectionately as tata -- the word for father in xhosa tribe . what made nelson mandela great was precisely what made him human , ' said zuma . we saw in him what we seek in ourselves . ' a man of many handshakes cnn 's catherine e. shoichet , faith karimi , robyn curnow , susannah palk and max foster contributed to this report .
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new : state news : mandela 's body is moved to a military hospital in pretoria
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mandela <tsp> ( cnn ) -- nelson mandela 's willingness to forgive and forget helped peacefully end an era of white domination in his native south africa . but as news of his death spread , mourners there and around the world professed that he , himself , would never be forgotten . mandela 's biggest legacy ... was his remarkable lack of bitterness and the way he did not only talk about reconciliation , but he made reconciliation happen in south africa , ' said f.w . de klerk , south africa 's last white president before giving way to mandela , the country 's first black leader . south africa 's current leader announced late thursday that , after years suffering from health ailments , the man known widely by his clan name of madiba died at 8:50 p.m. ( 1:50 p.m . et ) surrounded by family . he was 95 . he is now resting . he is now at peace , ' president jacob zuma said late thursday . our nation has lost its greatest son . our people have lost a father . ' special report : nelson mandela the official sapa news agency reported early friday that mandela 's body had been moved to a military hospital in pretoria . it 's expected to be embalmed in the next three to four days , after which there will be a public memorial service at a johannesburg soccer stadium , according to government sources . then , his casket will lie in state for several days in pretoria , and next week -- probably friday or saturday -- it will be flown to his ancestral hometown of qunu for a state funeral and burial , the sources said . until that funeral , zuma has ordered flags around south africa to be flown at half-mast , ' something that other countries including the united states and united kingdom are also doing . the african national congress -- the political party long associated with mandela -- said our nation has lost a colossus , an epitome of humility , equality , justice , peace and the hope of millions . ' the large african baobab , who loved africa as much as he loved south africa , has fallen , ' the party said in a statement , comparing mandela to a sturdy tree found in africa . its trunk and seeds will nourish the earth for decades to come . ' as news spreads , mourners recall'remarkable man' throngs -- some of them in pajamas , due to the late hour -- gathered outside mandela 's house in a johannesburg suburb after word of his death was announced , with people of all races singing , dancing and otherwise paying tribute to the late leader . some said the news had n't sunk in yet , while others expressed relief that he died peacefully , according to the official sapa news agency . we must pay tribute to mandela , the best state leader of all time , ' said 23-year-old zaid paruk . similar scenes broke out elsewhere in the country including soweto , southwest of johannesburg , where some celebrated mandela 's life draped in anc and south african flags . leon curling-hope said she was at a work christmas party when revelers began singing the national anthem upon hearing the news . everyone is emotional but the messages that are going out are of love and happiness , ' said curling-hope , a cnn ireporter . everyone is holding each other singing and talking about the great memories we all have . ' describing him as a remarkable man , ' de klerk told cnn 's christiane amanpour , south africa , notwithstanding political differences , stands united today , in mourning . ' carrying on the work of mandela while the pain resonated most in his homeland , news of mandela 's death echoed worldwide . moments after zuma spoke , the u.n. security council had a moment of silence in his honor , with secretary-general ban ki-moon later calling mandela a giant for justice and a down-to-earth inspiration . ' irish leader enda kenny said mandela 's name became synonymous with the pursuit of dignity and freedom across the globe . ' a great light has gone out in the world , ' tweeted british prime minister david cameron . nelson mandela was a hero of our time . ' reaction from u.s. politicians was similarly swift , with ex-presidents george h. w. bush calling mandela a man of tremendous moral courage ' and bill clinton remembering him as a man of uncommon grace and compassion , for whom abandoning bitterness and embracing adversaries was not just a political strategy but a way of life . ' obama :'he belongs to the ages' ' we 've lost one of the most influential , courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth , ' said current u.s. president barack obama , the first black leader of his own country who said his first public activism was an anti-apartheid protest . he no longer belongs to us . he belongs to the ages . ' kenyan activist : mandela saved my life the immensely popular leader largely stayed out of the public spotlight in recent years due to his medical issues , including a hospitalization for a lung infection in june . on september 1 , mandela was discharged from a pretoria hospital where he had been receiving treatment since june , according to zuma 's office . he was moved to a home in the johannesburg suburb of houghton , where a bedroom was transformed into something akin to an intensive care unit , according to his ex-wife , winnie madikizela-mandela . last month , madikizela-mandela told south africa 's sunday independent newspaper that tubes used to clear his lungs meant to prevent infections also made it so that he could not speak . she said then that he remains quite ill , ' with doctors tending to him regularly . he communicates with the face , you see , ' madikizela-mandela told the newspaper then . his history of lung problems dates to his days in robben island , where he was imprisoned for 27 years as part of his fight to overturn the country 's system of racial segregation . tokyo sexwale , who was incarcerated a few meters from mandela , recalled him as a very formidable and larger-than-life figure ' who was nonetheless very humble ' and loving . he was embraced even by white wardens , his own jailers , because he demonstrated that through the power of dialogue ... people on different sides , former enemies can come together , ' sexwale told cnn . toiled to dismantle entrenched apartheid mandela emerged from prison more prominent than ever and in 1994 -- four years after his release and one year after earning the nobel peace prize with de klerk , who was then south africa 's president -- he became south africa 's first black president . statesman , president , ambassador to the world mandela left the presidency in 1999 , but remained one of south africa 's most respected and revered international ambassadors , a model for world and particularly african leaders . and a new generation has been introduced to him through movies such as invictus ' and mandela : long walk to freedom . ' the latter film was in the middle of its london premiere when news broke of mandela 's death , though attendees -- prince william and catherine , duchess of cambridge , among them -- did n't learn about it until producer anant singh came onstage as the closing credits ran . he explained that mandela 's daughters had said the premiere should go on ; there then was a moment of silence in oden cinema . it was as if he was born to teach the age a lesson in humility , in humor and above all else in patience , ' said bono , the u2 singer and africa activist . in the end , nelson mandela showed us how to love rather than hate , not because he had never surrendered to rage or violence , but because he learned that love would do a better job . ' hollywood reacts to loss of a legend his last high-profile public appearance came in 2010 , when south africa hosted soccer 's world cup . his family members and south african officials have updated the public on his life since , including numerous hospitalizations and his eventual return to his mandela has been hailed as a pioneer , a statesman , a hero , someone who maintained his easy smile and demeanor after decades of turmoil . to many south africans , he was known simply , affectionately as tata -- the word for father in xhosa tribe . what made nelson mandela great was precisely what made him human , ' said zuma . we saw in him what we seek in ourselves . ' a man of many handshakes cnn 's catherine e. shoichet , faith karimi , robyn curnow , susannah palk and max foster contributed to this report .
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new : producer : mandela 's kin give their ok for london film premiere to continue
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mandela <tsp> ( cnn ) -- nelson mandela 's willingness to forgive and forget helped peacefully end an era of white domination in his native south africa . but as news of his death spread , mourners there and around the world professed that he , himself , would never be forgotten . mandela 's biggest legacy ... was his remarkable lack of bitterness and the way he did not only talk about reconciliation , but he made reconciliation happen in south africa , ' said f.w . de klerk , south africa 's last white president before giving way to mandela , the country 's first black leader . south africa 's current leader announced late thursday that , after years suffering from health ailments , the man known widely by his clan name of madiba died at 8:50 p.m. ( 1:50 p.m . et ) surrounded by family . he was 95 . he is now resting . he is now at peace , ' president jacob zuma said late thursday . our nation has lost its greatest son . our people have lost a father . ' special report : nelson mandela the official sapa news agency reported early friday that mandela 's body had been moved to a military hospital in pretoria . it 's expected to be embalmed in the next three to four days , after which there will be a public memorial service at a johannesburg soccer stadium , according to government sources . then , his casket will lie in state for several days in pretoria , and next week -- probably friday or saturday -- it will be flown to his ancestral hometown of qunu for a state funeral and burial , the sources said . until that funeral , zuma has ordered flags around south africa to be flown at half-mast , ' something that other countries including the united states and united kingdom are also doing . the african national congress -- the political party long associated with mandela -- said our nation has lost a colossus , an epitome of humility , equality , justice , peace and the hope of millions . ' the large african baobab , who loved africa as much as he loved south africa , has fallen , ' the party said in a statement , comparing mandela to a sturdy tree found in africa . its trunk and seeds will nourish the earth for decades to come . ' as news spreads , mourners recall'remarkable man' throngs -- some of them in pajamas , due to the late hour -- gathered outside mandela 's house in a johannesburg suburb after word of his death was announced , with people of all races singing , dancing and otherwise paying tribute to the late leader . some said the news had n't sunk in yet , while others expressed relief that he died peacefully , according to the official sapa news agency . we must pay tribute to mandela , the best state leader of all time , ' said 23-year-old zaid paruk . similar scenes broke out elsewhere in the country including soweto , southwest of johannesburg , where some celebrated mandela 's life draped in anc and south african flags . leon curling-hope said she was at a work christmas party when revelers began singing the national anthem upon hearing the news . everyone is emotional but the messages that are going out are of love and happiness , ' said curling-hope , a cnn ireporter . everyone is holding each other singing and talking about the great memories we all have . ' describing him as a remarkable man , ' de klerk told cnn 's christiane amanpour , south africa , notwithstanding political differences , stands united today , in mourning . ' carrying on the work of mandela while the pain resonated most in his homeland , news of mandela 's death echoed worldwide . moments after zuma spoke , the u.n. security council had a moment of silence in his honor , with secretary-general ban ki-moon later calling mandela a giant for justice and a down-to-earth inspiration . ' irish leader enda kenny said mandela 's name became synonymous with the pursuit of dignity and freedom across the globe . ' a great light has gone out in the world , ' tweeted british prime minister david cameron . nelson mandela was a hero of our time . ' reaction from u.s. politicians was similarly swift , with ex-presidents george h. w. bush calling mandela a man of tremendous moral courage ' and bill clinton remembering him as a man of uncommon grace and compassion , for whom abandoning bitterness and embracing adversaries was not just a political strategy but a way of life . ' obama :'he belongs to the ages' ' we 've lost one of the most influential , courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth , ' said current u.s. president barack obama , the first black leader of his own country who said his first public activism was an anti-apartheid protest . he no longer belongs to us . he belongs to the ages . ' kenyan activist : mandela saved my life the immensely popular leader largely stayed out of the public spotlight in recent years due to his medical issues , including a hospitalization for a lung infection in june . on september 1 , mandela was discharged from a pretoria hospital where he had been receiving treatment since june , according to zuma 's office . he was moved to a home in the johannesburg suburb of houghton , where a bedroom was transformed into something akin to an intensive care unit , according to his ex-wife , winnie madikizela-mandela . last month , madikizela-mandela told south africa 's sunday independent newspaper that tubes used to clear his lungs meant to prevent infections also made it so that he could not speak . she said then that he remains quite ill , ' with doctors tending to him regularly . he communicates with the face , you see , ' madikizela-mandela told the newspaper then . his history of lung problems dates to his days in robben island , where he was imprisoned for 27 years as part of his fight to overturn the country 's system of racial segregation . tokyo sexwale , who was incarcerated a few meters from mandela , recalled him as a very formidable and larger-than-life figure ' who was nonetheless very humble ' and loving . he was embraced even by white wardens , his own jailers , because he demonstrated that through the power of dialogue ... people on different sides , former enemies can come together , ' sexwale told cnn . toiled to dismantle entrenched apartheid mandela emerged from prison more prominent than ever and in 1994 -- four years after his release and one year after earning the nobel peace prize with de klerk , who was then south africa 's president -- he became south africa 's first black president . statesman , president , ambassador to the world mandela left the presidency in 1999 , but remained one of south africa 's most respected and revered international ambassadors , a model for world and particularly african leaders . and a new generation has been introduced to him through movies such as invictus ' and mandela : long walk to freedom . ' the latter film was in the middle of its london premiere when news broke of mandela 's death , though attendees -- prince william and catherine , duchess of cambridge , among them -- did n't learn about it until producer anant singh came onstage as the closing credits ran . he explained that mandela 's daughters had said the premiere should go on ; there then was a moment of silence in oden cinema . it was as if he was born to teach the age a lesson in humility , in humor and above all else in patience , ' said bono , the u2 singer and africa activist . in the end , nelson mandela showed us how to love rather than hate , not because he had never surrendered to rage or violence , but because he learned that love would do a better job . ' hollywood reacts to loss of a legend his last high-profile public appearance came in 2010 , when south africa hosted soccer 's world cup . his family members and south african officials have updated the public on his life since , including numerous hospitalizations and his eventual return to his mandela has been hailed as a pioneer , a statesman , a hero , someone who maintained his easy smile and demeanor after decades of turmoil . to many south africans , he was known simply , affectionately as tata -- the word for father in xhosa tribe . what made nelson mandela great was precisely what made him human , ' said zuma . we saw in him what we seek in ourselves . ' a man of many handshakes cnn 's catherine e. shoichet , faith karimi , robyn curnow , susannah palk and max foster contributed to this report .
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4 years after his release from prison , mandela became south africa 's first black president
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osaka <tsp> osaka , japan -- tyson gay sprinted into the history books on thursday as he completed the rare world 100-200 meters double in emphatic fashion in osaka , japan . gay crosses the line ahead of jamaican usain bolt to complete a rare men 's sprint double in osaka . the american charged to 200m victory in a championship record 19.76 seconds , pulling away from jamaica 's usain bolt with team-mate wallace spearmon taking bronze . bolt was away quickest but gay took him on the bend before accelerating down the straight to win with room to spare . bolt timed 19.91 and spearmon 20.05 . gay , who won the 100m on sunday , becomes only the third athlete to hold both sprint titles after maurice greene in 1999 and justin gatlin two years ago . it was a remarkable achievement by the season 's outstanding athlete , who went into the 200m competition just 36 hours after winning his 100m showdown with asafa powell . gay has competed on five of the championships'first six days and had complained of fatigue and a left hamstring twinge . the kentucky-born 25-year-old finished an agonising fourth behind three us team-mates in 2005 . but he has been sensational this season , blasting to the fastest sprint combination in history after timing 9.84 and 19.62 within two days of each other in june . the 200m time was the second quickest ever seen , 0.3 shy of michael johnson 's 1996 record . gay was embraced at the finish line by bolt , who was celebrating his first world championships medal . gay said| : oh , it feels so great . but i am still tired . maurice greene is one of my idols and i am proud to do the double like him . usain bolt came out so fast and i had to work hard to catch him . i should be thankful to him to make this such a fast race . i stayed relaxed -- also about the hamstring -- and kept pumping , ' he said . i felt the twinge in the warm-up , but during the race it was fine . the 200m was just about believing in god that he would give me the strength . i have two golds and i want the third in relay . i beat the meet record of michael johnson and that is great feeling because he is also one of my idols . ' bolt , the jamaican record-holder , has a history of injury problems , going out in the athens olympics heats and missing the commonwealth games with a muscle problem . he suffered cramp in the 2005 final and finished dead last . i tried hard , but for the moment he is unbeatable . i 'm proud of myself to get the silver for jamaica . hey , i 'm one of the best in the world , that is not small , ' said bolt . bronze medallist spearmon , 22 , was runner-up behind gatlin in 2005 and last year ran 19.65 , the fourth fastest 200m ever seen . gay and spearmon 's coach , lance brauman , was released from prison on tuesday after serving a year for embezzlement and mail fraud . long jumper irving saladino claimed panama 's first ever world championships gold with a dramatic final leap . saladino , the hot favourite , led all the way until italy 's andrew howe appeared to snatch gold with 8.47 metres in the final round . but the panamanian responded with a mighty 8.57 to remain unbeaten this season . america 's two-time defending champion and olympic title-holder dwight phillips took bronze with his best effort of 8.30 . phillips , competing under the watchful eye of us great carl lewis , had not been beaten in a major championships since the 2001 worlds in edmonton . south american record holder saladino has now won 23 of 25 competitions since finishing sixth at the helsinki world championships in 2005 . the long jump provided one of the world championships'best known moments when mike powell 's 8.95 broke bob beamon 's 23-year-old record in tokyo in 1991 . e-mail to a friend
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tyson gay completes a sprint double at the world championships in osaka
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breathed <tsp> santa barbara , california ( cnn ) -- berkeley breathed answers the door to his santa barbara home , a tall , slender figure in suede cowboy boots . berkeley breathed has left comic strips behind to focus on his writing -- particularly children 's books . but before he can extend a hand in greeting , he 's nudged aside by a canine companion eager to introduce herself . pickles ' offers a hearty welcome , vigorously shaking a tail that seems powerful enough to whack a lamp from an end table . the pit bull is one of a number of dogs that breathed and his wife , jody , have rescued over the years . his affection and concern for dogs form the heart of flawed dogs : the shocking raid on westminster ' ( philomel books ) , breathed 's new illustrated novel , whose hero is a resilient dachshund with a soup ladle for a leg . gallery : the art of berkeley breathed » it 's the latest children 's work from breathed , the pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist behind bloom county ' and opus , ' who 's had great success with the genre . the earlier mars needs moms ! ' is set to be made into a movie produced by robert zemeckis . breathed invited cnn to his mountainside home for a rare interview , which touched on topics ranging from his book to michael vick , charles schulz and his famous pen pal , harper lee . watch breathed read from flawed dogs ' » the following is an edited version of the conversation : cnn : the hero of your book is quite an unusual dog . berkeley breathed : sam the lion he 's called , by heidi [ the girl ] who finds him . ... the central part of the story is the fall of sam from heidi 's life and into the depths of horrors that dogs can sometimes experience in our world -- everything from being shot at , to research labs , to the worst dog shelters amongst the world of otherwise nice dog shelters , and he comes for revenge upon cassius [ a rival ] . and cassius is going to appear at the westminster dog show coming up , so sam has got to find a team of commandos to help him infiltrate and destroy the westminster dog show . cnn : what was the inspiration for the story ? breathed : the book happened because i came across both a picture and a quote at about the same time -- a picture of one of michael vick 's fight dogs . it was set to be put down , but a shelter in utah decided to take the dog and a few others at the same time and try to rehabilitate them . ... this was the first time the dog had ever received any affection in its life . ... it 's the most moving picture of a dog i 've ever seen , having gone through an impossible transition and fallen back to where dogs naturally go , which is just loving people . cnn : flawed dogs ' is put out by the young readers ' division of the publisher . breathed : i notice it 's getting a little bit of controversy in that people are coming to it assuming that it 's for the same audience that my picture books are for . and flawed dogs ' the novel is definitely not . it 's perfect for an 8-year-old , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , but i would n't read this in the evening to my 5-year-old . and there is a difference . ... it 's revealed an issue that i 'm surprised about , which is the new preciousness that 's been brought to literature for children now . there is an abject fear of instilling any sort of dramatic trauma , of sadness , on the children who are receiving a story . ... and of course that was never a great concern in the past . the great children 's stories that we all grew up with , there are always moments of great tragedy and moving moments of loss in the book that we were n't afraid of -- as long as you bring them [ young readers ] back by the end and bring them to where a reader should be , a child should be . cnn : you do n't do a daily or a weekly comic strip anymore . how has that transition been ? breathed : if this was still 1985 and everything that means ... it would still be deeply appealing to be a cartoonist . but not now . i 'm happy to leave that behind . the level of political rancor -- powered and driven by web comment and cable news to a degree -- affects me like everybody else , and i get angry and i get annoyed and i get frustrated and that always translates into mediocre cartoons historically . ... i was getting too angry the last couple of years of cartooning , and it does n't do the art any good . i 'm very happy to let that go . cnn : when did you first discover , wow , i can actually draw ' ? breathed : i could never really draw something . it was , wow , i can actually draw or write something that amuses somebody . ' and that was a dawning that did n't happen until college . ... the greatest cartoonists ever have really been very mediocre artists . charles schulz was always quick to admit that his skills in artistry were limited at best . and in his case it served the strip perfectly . if peanuts ' had been drawn with the artistry of pogo ' and a disney animator , it would n't have worked . cnn : animals were an integral part of your comic strips . breathed : i knew that i wanted a strip with people but the focus on an animal , and an incongruous animal . ... so i looked around largely at an animal that had n't been done before in comic strips , an animal that is generally attractive to people and people feel immediately warm to and that just would be funny . you end up with a penguin pretty fast . plus , he 's already standing , and he 's kind of got clothes on . cnn : who are your heroes ? breathed : to kill a mockingbird ' was a huge influence on my work . harper lee and i have over the years exchanged letters , which has been a massive delight . i can tell you that when i announced the end of my comic-stripping career and that opus [ the penguin ] was not only going to fade away but fade away permanently , i got a letter from harper urging me to reconsider letting opus go away forever . i should have written back and said , the moment you bring scout back , i 'll bring opus back . is that a deal , harper ? ' of all the people who should not be chastising me about stopping my career early , it would be harper lee . opus really is a bit like scout in that he 's circulating around in his world , and he 's surrounded by a lot of insanity , a lot of hatred , a lot of intolerance and ... he 's the ultimate innocent at the center of it . and that 's how scout worked in that story . i suppose i needed an atticus finch for opus , but i never had time to develop one . ... i 'm not an artist who is trying to be a novelist . i 've always been a writer and the art was the way to sell the writing and it 's been convenient in that way . ... i 'd be happy to leave that all and just be a writer if i could get away with it . i do n't think i can at this point . they [ readers ] expect the pictures . i 'm happy to oblige .
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after seeing picture , breathed says he wanted to do story about dog horrors , rescue
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breathed <tsp> santa barbara , california ( cnn ) -- berkeley breathed answers the door to his santa barbara home , a tall , slender figure in suede cowboy boots . berkeley breathed has left comic strips behind to focus on his writing -- particularly children 's books . but before he can extend a hand in greeting , he 's nudged aside by a canine companion eager to introduce herself . pickles ' offers a hearty welcome , vigorously shaking a tail that seems powerful enough to whack a lamp from an end table . the pit bull is one of a number of dogs that breathed and his wife , jody , have rescued over the years . his affection and concern for dogs form the heart of flawed dogs : the shocking raid on westminster ' ( philomel books ) , breathed 's new illustrated novel , whose hero is a resilient dachshund with a soup ladle for a leg . gallery : the art of berkeley breathed » it 's the latest children 's work from breathed , the pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist behind bloom county ' and opus , ' who 's had great success with the genre . the earlier mars needs moms ! ' is set to be made into a movie produced by robert zemeckis . breathed invited cnn to his mountainside home for a rare interview , which touched on topics ranging from his book to michael vick , charles schulz and his famous pen pal , harper lee . watch breathed read from flawed dogs ' » the following is an edited version of the conversation : cnn : the hero of your book is quite an unusual dog . berkeley breathed : sam the lion he 's called , by heidi [ the girl ] who finds him . ... the central part of the story is the fall of sam from heidi 's life and into the depths of horrors that dogs can sometimes experience in our world -- everything from being shot at , to research labs , to the worst dog shelters amongst the world of otherwise nice dog shelters , and he comes for revenge upon cassius [ a rival ] . and cassius is going to appear at the westminster dog show coming up , so sam has got to find a team of commandos to help him infiltrate and destroy the westminster dog show . cnn : what was the inspiration for the story ? breathed : the book happened because i came across both a picture and a quote at about the same time -- a picture of one of michael vick 's fight dogs . it was set to be put down , but a shelter in utah decided to take the dog and a few others at the same time and try to rehabilitate them . ... this was the first time the dog had ever received any affection in its life . ... it 's the most moving picture of a dog i 've ever seen , having gone through an impossible transition and fallen back to where dogs naturally go , which is just loving people . cnn : flawed dogs ' is put out by the young readers ' division of the publisher . breathed : i notice it 's getting a little bit of controversy in that people are coming to it assuming that it 's for the same audience that my picture books are for . and flawed dogs ' the novel is definitely not . it 's perfect for an 8-year-old , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , but i would n't read this in the evening to my 5-year-old . and there is a difference . ... it 's revealed an issue that i 'm surprised about , which is the new preciousness that 's been brought to literature for children now . there is an abject fear of instilling any sort of dramatic trauma , of sadness , on the children who are receiving a story . ... and of course that was never a great concern in the past . the great children 's stories that we all grew up with , there are always moments of great tragedy and moving moments of loss in the book that we were n't afraid of -- as long as you bring them [ young readers ] back by the end and bring them to where a reader should be , a child should be . cnn : you do n't do a daily or a weekly comic strip anymore . how has that transition been ? breathed : if this was still 1985 and everything that means ... it would still be deeply appealing to be a cartoonist . but not now . i 'm happy to leave that behind . the level of political rancor -- powered and driven by web comment and cable news to a degree -- affects me like everybody else , and i get angry and i get annoyed and i get frustrated and that always translates into mediocre cartoons historically . ... i was getting too angry the last couple of years of cartooning , and it does n't do the art any good . i 'm very happy to let that go . cnn : when did you first discover , wow , i can actually draw ' ? breathed : i could never really draw something . it was , wow , i can actually draw or write something that amuses somebody . ' and that was a dawning that did n't happen until college . ... the greatest cartoonists ever have really been very mediocre artists . charles schulz was always quick to admit that his skills in artistry were limited at best . and in his case it served the strip perfectly . if peanuts ' had been drawn with the artistry of pogo ' and a disney animator , it would n't have worked . cnn : animals were an integral part of your comic strips . breathed : i knew that i wanted a strip with people but the focus on an animal , and an incongruous animal . ... so i looked around largely at an animal that had n't been done before in comic strips , an animal that is generally attractive to people and people feel immediately warm to and that just would be funny . you end up with a penguin pretty fast . plus , he 's already standing , and he 's kind of got clothes on . cnn : who are your heroes ? breathed : to kill a mockingbird ' was a huge influence on my work . harper lee and i have over the years exchanged letters , which has been a massive delight . i can tell you that when i announced the end of my comic-stripping career and that opus [ the penguin ] was not only going to fade away but fade away permanently , i got a letter from harper urging me to reconsider letting opus go away forever . i should have written back and said , the moment you bring scout back , i 'll bring opus back . is that a deal , harper ? ' of all the people who should not be chastising me about stopping my career early , it would be harper lee . opus really is a bit like scout in that he 's circulating around in his world , and he 's surrounded by a lot of insanity , a lot of hatred , a lot of intolerance and ... he 's the ultimate innocent at the center of it . and that 's how scout worked in that story . i suppose i needed an atticus finch for opus , but i never had time to develop one . ... i 'm not an artist who is trying to be a novelist . i 've always been a writer and the art was the way to sell the writing and it 's been convenient in that way . ... i 'd be happy to leave that all and just be a writer if i could get away with it . i do n't think i can at this point . they [ readers ] expect the pictures . i 'm happy to oblige .
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berkeley breathed 's new book , flawed dogs , ' inspired by photo of abused dog
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breathed <tsp> santa barbara , california ( cnn ) -- berkeley breathed answers the door to his santa barbara home , a tall , slender figure in suede cowboy boots . berkeley breathed has left comic strips behind to focus on his writing -- particularly children 's books . but before he can extend a hand in greeting , he 's nudged aside by a canine companion eager to introduce herself . pickles ' offers a hearty welcome , vigorously shaking a tail that seems powerful enough to whack a lamp from an end table . the pit bull is one of a number of dogs that breathed and his wife , jody , have rescued over the years . his affection and concern for dogs form the heart of flawed dogs : the shocking raid on westminster ' ( philomel books ) , breathed 's new illustrated novel , whose hero is a resilient dachshund with a soup ladle for a leg . gallery : the art of berkeley breathed » it 's the latest children 's work from breathed , the pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist behind bloom county ' and opus , ' who 's had great success with the genre . the earlier mars needs moms ! ' is set to be made into a movie produced by robert zemeckis . breathed invited cnn to his mountainside home for a rare interview , which touched on topics ranging from his book to michael vick , charles schulz and his famous pen pal , harper lee . watch breathed read from flawed dogs ' » the following is an edited version of the conversation : cnn : the hero of your book is quite an unusual dog . berkeley breathed : sam the lion he 's called , by heidi [ the girl ] who finds him . ... the central part of the story is the fall of sam from heidi 's life and into the depths of horrors that dogs can sometimes experience in our world -- everything from being shot at , to research labs , to the worst dog shelters amongst the world of otherwise nice dog shelters , and he comes for revenge upon cassius [ a rival ] . and cassius is going to appear at the westminster dog show coming up , so sam has got to find a team of commandos to help him infiltrate and destroy the westminster dog show . cnn : what was the inspiration for the story ? breathed : the book happened because i came across both a picture and a quote at about the same time -- a picture of one of michael vick 's fight dogs . it was set to be put down , but a shelter in utah decided to take the dog and a few others at the same time and try to rehabilitate them . ... this was the first time the dog had ever received any affection in its life . ... it 's the most moving picture of a dog i 've ever seen , having gone through an impossible transition and fallen back to where dogs naturally go , which is just loving people . cnn : flawed dogs ' is put out by the young readers ' division of the publisher . breathed : i notice it 's getting a little bit of controversy in that people are coming to it assuming that it 's for the same audience that my picture books are for . and flawed dogs ' the novel is definitely not . it 's perfect for an 8-year-old , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , but i would n't read this in the evening to my 5-year-old . and there is a difference . ... it 's revealed an issue that i 'm surprised about , which is the new preciousness that 's been brought to literature for children now . there is an abject fear of instilling any sort of dramatic trauma , of sadness , on the children who are receiving a story . ... and of course that was never a great concern in the past . the great children 's stories that we all grew up with , there are always moments of great tragedy and moving moments of loss in the book that we were n't afraid of -- as long as you bring them [ young readers ] back by the end and bring them to where a reader should be , a child should be . cnn : you do n't do a daily or a weekly comic strip anymore . how has that transition been ? breathed : if this was still 1985 and everything that means ... it would still be deeply appealing to be a cartoonist . but not now . i 'm happy to leave that behind . the level of political rancor -- powered and driven by web comment and cable news to a degree -- affects me like everybody else , and i get angry and i get annoyed and i get frustrated and that always translates into mediocre cartoons historically . ... i was getting too angry the last couple of years of cartooning , and it does n't do the art any good . i 'm very happy to let that go . cnn : when did you first discover , wow , i can actually draw ' ? breathed : i could never really draw something . it was , wow , i can actually draw or write something that amuses somebody . ' and that was a dawning that did n't happen until college . ... the greatest cartoonists ever have really been very mediocre artists . charles schulz was always quick to admit that his skills in artistry were limited at best . and in his case it served the strip perfectly . if peanuts ' had been drawn with the artistry of pogo ' and a disney animator , it would n't have worked . cnn : animals were an integral part of your comic strips . breathed : i knew that i wanted a strip with people but the focus on an animal , and an incongruous animal . ... so i looked around largely at an animal that had n't been done before in comic strips , an animal that is generally attractive to people and people feel immediately warm to and that just would be funny . you end up with a penguin pretty fast . plus , he 's already standing , and he 's kind of got clothes on . cnn : who are your heroes ? breathed : to kill a mockingbird ' was a huge influence on my work . harper lee and i have over the years exchanged letters , which has been a massive delight . i can tell you that when i announced the end of my comic-stripping career and that opus [ the penguin ] was not only going to fade away but fade away permanently , i got a letter from harper urging me to reconsider letting opus go away forever . i should have written back and said , the moment you bring scout back , i 'll bring opus back . is that a deal , harper ? ' of all the people who should not be chastising me about stopping my career early , it would be harper lee . opus really is a bit like scout in that he 's circulating around in his world , and he 's surrounded by a lot of insanity , a lot of hatred , a lot of intolerance and ... he 's the ultimate innocent at the center of it . and that 's how scout worked in that story . i suppose i needed an atticus finch for opus , but i never had time to develop one . ... i 'm not an artist who is trying to be a novelist . i 've always been a writer and the art was the way to sell the writing and it 's been convenient in that way . ... i 'd be happy to leave that all and just be a writer if i could get away with it . i do n't think i can at this point . they [ readers ] expect the pictures . i 'm happy to oblige .
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breathed best known for comic strips bloom county ' and opus '
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aeg live <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- the wrongful death trial of concert promoter aeg live filed by michael jackson 's mother and three children will not be televised , a judge decided friday . cnn had requested its camera be allowed in the courtroom during the trial , but los angeles county superior court judge yvette palazuelos issued a ruling friday denying the request . california law leaves the decision to the trial judge 's discretion based on 19 factors to be considered . palazuelos did not say in her ruling what factors swayed her decision . aeg live to put michael jackson on trial in his own death aeg live 's lawyer argued televising the trial could create a frenzy among jackson fans at the courthouse that could pose a threat to witnesses . jackson lawyers argued in favor of having a camera in court , saying it would be the best way for the world to see justice done . without cameras , only a handful of journalists will have seats in the small courtroom in downtown los angeles . the jacksons'lawsuit accuses aeg live of liability in jackson 's death through the negligent hiring of dr. conrad murray , the physician who is serving a prison sentence after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter . conrad murray from jail :'i was in the wrong place at the wrong time' aeg live contends murray was never its employee , but was chosen and hired by jackson . if aeg live is found liable by a jury , it could mean a multibillion dollar judgment for the jacksons , based on the potential earnings of michael jackson had he lived past his 50th birthday . opening statements and the first witness could be heard in about two weeks in the trial that is expected to last for two to three months . the pool of potential jurors reached 60 friday afternoon after four days of eliminating jurors for hardship reasons . the process will continue monday and tuesday or until about 100 potential jurors are identified . on wednesday , the lawyers will start the voir dire process of eliminating jurors based on cause or their jury strikes allowed under court rules . until then , the lawyers are studying their answers to a long questionnaire the potential jurors completed . the process is expected to continue for another week , perhaps ending around april 16 or 17 . it is unclear how soon after a jury is seated that the judge will have lawyers deliver opening statements and call the first witness . some judges allow the jury a day or so to take care of personal business after being selected .
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jackson 's mom and kids say aeg live is liable for his death
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aeg live <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- the wrongful death trial of concert promoter aeg live filed by michael jackson 's mother and three children will not be televised , a judge decided friday . cnn had requested its camera be allowed in the courtroom during the trial , but los angeles county superior court judge yvette palazuelos issued a ruling friday denying the request . california law leaves the decision to the trial judge 's discretion based on 19 factors to be considered . palazuelos did not say in her ruling what factors swayed her decision . aeg live to put michael jackson on trial in his own death aeg live 's lawyer argued televising the trial could create a frenzy among jackson fans at the courthouse that could pose a threat to witnesses . jackson lawyers argued in favor of having a camera in court , saying it would be the best way for the world to see justice done . without cameras , only a handful of journalists will have seats in the small courtroom in downtown los angeles . the jacksons'lawsuit accuses aeg live of liability in jackson 's death through the negligent hiring of dr. conrad murray , the physician who is serving a prison sentence after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter . conrad murray from jail :'i was in the wrong place at the wrong time' aeg live contends murray was never its employee , but was chosen and hired by jackson . if aeg live is found liable by a jury , it could mean a multibillion dollar judgment for the jacksons , based on the potential earnings of michael jackson had he lived past his 50th birthday . opening statements and the first witness could be heard in about two weeks in the trial that is expected to last for two to three months . the pool of potential jurors reached 60 friday afternoon after four days of eliminating jurors for hardship reasons . the process will continue monday and tuesday or until about 100 potential jurors are identified . on wednesday , the lawyers will start the voir dire process of eliminating jurors based on cause or their jury strikes allowed under court rules . until then , the lawyers are studying their answers to a long questionnaire the potential jurors completed . the process is expected to continue for another week , perhaps ending around april 16 or 17 . it is unclear how soon after a jury is seated that the judge will have lawyers deliver opening statements and call the first witness . some judges allow the jury a day or so to take care of personal business after being selected .
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aeg live argues televising trial could create a jackson fan frenzy
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iraq <tsp> baghdad , iraq ( cnn ) -- members of an iranian group say iraqi forces have beaten and abused them as iraqis move to expel the iranians from a camp on iraqi land . about 3,500 people live at camp ashraf , where members of the people 's mujahedin have lived for 24 years . the iranian group -- designated a terrorist organization by the united states and iran -- has asked the united states to intervene on their behalf . about 3,500 people live at camp ashraf , most of them members of the people 's mujahedin organization of iran who have lived at the camp for 24 years after fleeing iran . iran , iraq , canada and the united states consider the people 's mujahedin , which opposes the government in tehran , a terrorist organization , although the european union removed the group from its terrorist list in january . the united kingdom did so last year . the people 's mujahedin accused the iraqi military of entering the camp north of baghdad on friday and forcibly evacuating a building that served mostly as a women 's dormitory . ashraf residents rallied monday against the military , chanting for imam hussein -- the prophet mohammed 's grandson and a holy figure for shiite muslims -- to save them from the abuse of the iraqi soldiers . statements from the national council of resistance to iran , an umbrella group of iranian opposition organizations -- the largest of which is the people 's mujahedin -- accuse iraq 's shiite-dominated government of doing the bidding of iran 's supreme leader , ayatollah ali khamenei , also a shiite . the iranian resistance calls for urgent intervention of the u.s. government and competent international bodies to neutralize plots by the clerical regime and prevent a human catastrophe in camp ashraf , ' said a statement dated sunday . iraq 's government denied that it was acting on khamenei 's behalf . the iraqi government 's position is clear and there is no retreat from its decision to close camp ashraf , ' said a statement from the office of national security adviser mowaffak al-rubaie . the national security adviser is only implementing the decision and the policy of the iraqi government . ' the national council also accused the iraqis of barring delivery of all supplies to the camp except for food , banning iraqi workers from entering the camp and blocking families from visiting relatives inside the camp . the iraqi government statement denied keeping supplies from camp ashraf . the iraqi government continues to facilitate all humanitarian materials entering camp ashraf , ' the iraqi statement said. ... we welcome any visit by any international organization . ' a people 's mujahedin spokesman in camp ashraf called the statement false and asked international groups to visit ashraf and observe the facts and realities of the present situation by themselves . ' camp ashraf , which has housed iranians since the mid-1980s , was under u.s. protection until january 1 , when it was handed over to the iraqis . maryam rajavi , president-elect of the national council and the long-time leader of people 's mujahedin , sent a letter to president obama asking for help against a conspiracy hatched by the religious dictatorship ruling iran against the lives of 3,500 residents of camp ashraf . ' rajavi cited comments by khamenei during a meeting with iraqi president jalal talibani last month calling for the expulsion of the people 's mujahedin from iraq and later comments by former president akbar hashemi rafsanjani during a trip to baghdad calling for camp ashraf 's closure . after those remarks , the national council said , al-rubaie declared that the iranians at camp ashraf had no right to refugee status or to political asylum and would be expelled either back to iran or to a third country . rajavi , in her letter to obama , asked the president to issue an order so that the arrangements for the protection of ashraf are reinstated to that which was in place before january 2009 , i.e. , the u.s. forces be tasked with the protection of ashraf . ' the u.s. military in iraq had no comment on the matter , referring queries to the state department , which did not have an immediate comment . also known as mujahedin-e-khalq , people 's mujahedin was initially formed to oppose the shah of iran , but fell out of favor with the islamic revolution of ayatollah ruhollah khomeini after 1979 . people 's mujahedin , which promotes a secular , marxist government for iran , waged a violent campaign against the fundamentalist islamic tehran government -- including bombings that killed politicians , judges and cabinet members -- for years . the group allied with saddam hussein in iraq in the mid-1980s and fought with the iraqis against iran in the latter years of the iran-iraq war . people 's mujahedin renounced violence in 2001 , but a group of 12 former members told human rights watch in 2005 that they were subject to physical and psychological abuse when they made it known they wanted to leave the organization . the group is also said to have provided western governments with information about iran 's nuclear program . the national council accused al-rubaie in particular of clearly implementing the dictates of khamenei ' and said he should be prosecuted by international forces . '
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group says iraq is doing bidding of ayatollah ali khamenei , who group opposes
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jpmorgan <tsp> the justice department and jpmorgan chase are wrestling with whether some of the $ 13 billion tentative settlement covering jpmorgan 's mortgage practices should come out of the government 's pocket , a source familiar with the talks told cnn . lawyers for the two sides are continuing talks on some final sticking points in the settlement covering the bank 's mortgage securities practices . the outline of the deal was struck last friday . the biggest point of contention remaining is whether some of the settlement money covering mortgage securities sold by washington mutual , which was acquired by jpmorgan , could end up coming from the federal deposit insurance corporation ( fdic ) , the government-backed insurer of banking deposits , the source says . when jpmorgan bought failing washington mutual from the government in 2008 , the fdic was stuck with some of its liabilities . the justice department insists on language in the settlement that would prohibit jpmorgan from making claims against the fdic for some of the money it is going to have to pay . on friday , jpmorgan and the agency that oversees fannie mae and freddie mac concluded their portion of the broader settlement . the bank agreed to pay $ 5.1 billion to the federal housing finance agency ( fhfa ) to cover alleged deceptive practices in sales of mortgage securities , including by washington mutual , to the government-backed housing finance giants . the fhfa agreement does n't include a prohibition on jpmorgan recovering money from the fdic . justice department lawyers want it included in their final deal . jpmorgan declined comment .
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justice department and jpmorgan reached tentative , $ 13 billion settlement last week
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jpmorgan <tsp> the justice department and jpmorgan chase are wrestling with whether some of the $ 13 billion tentative settlement covering jpmorgan 's mortgage practices should come out of the government 's pocket , a source familiar with the talks told cnn . lawyers for the two sides are continuing talks on some final sticking points in the settlement covering the bank 's mortgage securities practices . the outline of the deal was struck last friday . the biggest point of contention remaining is whether some of the settlement money covering mortgage securities sold by washington mutual , which was acquired by jpmorgan , could end up coming from the federal deposit insurance corporation ( fdic ) , the government-backed insurer of banking deposits , the source says . when jpmorgan bought failing washington mutual from the government in 2008 , the fdic was stuck with some of its liabilities . the justice department insists on language in the settlement that would prohibit jpmorgan from making claims against the fdic for some of the money it is going to have to pay . on friday , jpmorgan and the agency that oversees fannie mae and freddie mac concluded their portion of the broader settlement . the bank agreed to pay $ 5.1 billion to the federal housing finance agency ( fhfa ) to cover alleged deceptive practices in sales of mortgage securities , including by washington mutual , to the government-backed housing finance giants . the fhfa agreement does n't include a prohibition on jpmorgan recovering money from the fdic . justice department lawyers want it included in their final deal . jpmorgan declined comment .
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jpmorgan finalizes portion of settlement with housing agency
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jpmorgan <tsp> the justice department and jpmorgan chase are wrestling with whether some of the $ 13 billion tentative settlement covering jpmorgan 's mortgage practices should come out of the government 's pocket , a source familiar with the talks told cnn . lawyers for the two sides are continuing talks on some final sticking points in the settlement covering the bank 's mortgage securities practices . the outline of the deal was struck last friday . the biggest point of contention remaining is whether some of the settlement money covering mortgage securities sold by washington mutual , which was acquired by jpmorgan , could end up coming from the federal deposit insurance corporation ( fdic ) , the government-backed insurer of banking deposits , the source says . when jpmorgan bought failing washington mutual from the government in 2008 , the fdic was stuck with some of its liabilities . the justice department insists on language in the settlement that would prohibit jpmorgan from making claims against the fdic for some of the money it is going to have to pay . on friday , jpmorgan and the agency that oversees fannie mae and freddie mac concluded their portion of the broader settlement . the bank agreed to pay $ 5.1 billion to the federal housing finance agency ( fhfa ) to cover alleged deceptive practices in sales of mortgage securities , including by washington mutual , to the government-backed housing finance giants . the fhfa agreement does n't include a prohibition on jpmorgan recovering money from the fdic . justice department lawyers want it included in their final deal . jpmorgan declined comment .
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sticking point involves liabilities associated with jpmorgan 's purchase of failing washington mutual
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maoist <tsp> kathmandu , nepal ( cnn ) -- nepal 's prime minister said monday he will resign to save what he called the country 's infant democracy . ' pushpa kamal dahal cited a serious political crisis caused by the president 's unconstitutional ' order . it is the latest fallout over the status of nepal 's army chief , gen. rookmangud katawal . the maoist government sacked katawal on sunday . hours later , president ram baran yadav reinstated him . prime minister pushpa kamal dahal , commonly known as prachanda , resigned on monday , citing a serious political crisis caused by the president 's unconstitutional ' order . the dual powers that have been unconstitutionally established in the country must end under any circumstance , ' prachanda said in a televised address announcing he would resign from the country 's cabinet . prachanda is the leader of the communist party of nepal ( maoist ) , which had been the largest party in nepal 's coalition government until it recently withdrew . the former guerilla leader headed a decade-long bloody maoist insurgency to abolish the country 's monarchy before being sworn in as prime minister in august . in his address on monday , prachanda blamed certain political parties and power centers ' for striking at our democracy , constitution and the peace process by putting the president in the forefront of the controversy over the chief of army staff . ' this has raised concerns over our infant democracy and the peace process , ' he said . i appeal to the people , civil society and political powers to be committed to the struggle for establishing a democratic nepal . ' nepal 's interim constitution gives the president powers as supreme commander of the army and guardian of the constitution . yadav 's spokesman said the president had the support of 18 parties in parliament when he reinstated the army chief . the decision to fire katawal touched off protests . supporters of both sides in the dispute took to the streets on sunday . despite sporadic clashes between the two factions , there were no serious injuries reported . the cabinet voted to dismiss katawal after the military refused the government 's order to stop recruiting about 3,000 new soldiers to fill vacant positions when it has yet to take in former maoist rebels , as a 2006 peace deal required . the maoists laid down their arms and won power in 2008 elections after an agreement that ended a decade-long insurgency . under the deal , more than 19,000 former insurgents were to be integrated into the country 's security forces . journalist manesh shrestha contributed to this report .
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maoist government ordered army chief of staff to be fired after recruitment issue
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apple <tsp> ( cnn ) -- apple fans -- including co-founder steve wozniak -- lined up on friday morning for a chance to buy the iphone 4s , the latest in the company 's line of jesus phones , ' which includes many under-the-hood improvements . the lines , which drew thousands , were part exercises in tech commercialism and part homages to steve jobs , apple 's other co-founder , who died last week following a battle with pancreatic cancer . in new york , apple fans created a makeshift memorial to jobs that included flowers , photos , ipad boxes and apples ( as in the fruit ) . and in atlanta , some people said they were lining up for the phone in part because of jobs . i wanted it anyway , but ( jobs'death ) made me sort of want it more because this is the last one i know he worked on , ' dwight hill , from an atlanta suburb , said of his decision to buy the phone . i just hope the company keeps going in the same direction . ' about 200 people had lined up in the wee hours of the morning in new york to buy the new phone , which has a faster processor and a digital assistant ' that responds to voice commands and talks back to phone owners , answering their questions . long lines also formed in asia and europe as people waited for the phone . in silicon valley , california , wozniak , the apple co-founder who , along with jobs , helped create the world 's first truly personal computer , sat in an armchair at the front of a line that began forming thursday afternoon . he tapped on his ipad , sipped diet dr. pepper and took photos with fans while he awaited the phone 's release . i want to get mine along with the millions of other fans , ' wozniak said . i just want to be able to talk to my phone . ' the iphone 4s initially was panned by critics , who said it was more of a facelift to the iphone 4 than a new product . the phone 's exterior looks the same as its predecessor , but the guts are new . inside there 's a faster a5 dual-core processor , an improved 8 megapixel camera and a voice assistant named siri , who will respond to voice commands and answer questions . when brian x. chen , a tech writer at wired , tested the phone , he found siri to be quite the helpful -- and hilarious -- assistant . he published a series of his conversations with siri . me :'i 'm drunk ,' he wrote . siri :'i found a number of cabs fairly close to you .'( perfect ; it did n't dial my ex-girlfriend . ) ' aside from jobs , siri seemed to be one of the main draws for people waiting in line for the iphone 4s . i just want the personal assistant , ' said teresa sparks , 41 , an atlanta nurse who had been waiting in line for the phone since 4:45 a.m. scott england , who also waited in an atlanta line for the phone , teased a friend of his who said he was buying the iphone 4s because of the camera . clearly , he said , siri is a big deal , ' not the camera . he 's got a secretary -- i do n't , ' he joked . becky waddell , a 33-year-old real-estate agent , also praised apple 's new digital assistant , which is only available on the iphone 4s , and which has been compared to hal 9000 , skynet and other fictional computer overlords . i love siri , ' she said . we played with it in the store . i know for sure it will make me a safer driver . i do n't have to scramble through my phone while i 'm driving . if i can talk to it and get answers , it 's going to cut out so much time for me . ' plenty of excitement seemed to surround the phone 's release . in true apple-head fashion , two apple fans in new york said they arrived at the flagship apple store 18 days before friday , and blogged about the experience on a site called iphonewhatever , cnnmoney reports . another person arrived at that store on crutches . i got hit by a car and had surgery a few weeks ago . there 's tons of metal plates in my foot -- it shattered , ' david betz , a 26-year-old bartender , told cnnmoney . is it worth it ? we 'll find out . ' apple ceo tim cook helped unveil the 4s last week a day before jobs'death . pre-orders of the phone started on october 7 and beat expectations . apple sold 1 million of the phones in the first 24 hours via its website and carriers at & t , verizon and -- for the first time -- sprint . by comparison , apple reported 600,000 iphone 4 pre-orders last year in 24 hours , but that included orders placed with overseas carriers . the iphone 4s went on sale friday at all 245 apple stores in the u.s. , in addition to the following countries : australia , canada , france , germany , japan and the united kingdom . the new iphone will be available in 22 additional countries by the end of october , apple says . apple stores and other retailers opened at 8 a.m. friday . online orders can be made at apple 's online store as well as on at & t , verizon and sprint 's websites . if you were hoping to pre-order now and pick up the phone friday , you 're out of luck . pre-orders at at & t , sprint and verizon are sold out , and phones ordered through apple 's website may not be delivered for several weeks . all of those brick-and-mortar retail stores also will carry the phone , along with select apple-approved retailers : radio shack , best buy , target and sam 's club . ( word of warning : check availability before lining up at one of those third-party sellers . inventory is limited , and some will be filling pre-orders before selling whatever stock may remain . ) customers who buy the phone at an apple retail store will be offered free in-store setup service , personalized instruction on how to set up e-mail and download apps . the phone sells for $ 199 for 16gb of storage , $ 299 for 32gb and $ 399 for 64gb , marking the first time an iphone has had that much memory . it also seems impossible to separate interest in the iphone 4s with news of jobs'death last week . among the legions of apple 's diehard fans , some have taken saying the 4s ' in the phone 's name represents the words for steve . ' although it 's virtually impossible that the company would have done that on purpose ( the phone 's development happened largely when jobs was still ceo ) it speaks both to the long reach of jobs'legacy and the cult-like devotion that some apple loyalists feel toward the company and its products . cnn 's mark milian and umika pidaparthy and cnnmoney contributed to this report .
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friday is first iphone release since death of apple co-founder steve jobs
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apple <tsp> ( cnn ) -- apple fans -- including co-founder steve wozniak -- lined up on friday morning for a chance to buy the iphone 4s , the latest in the company 's line of jesus phones , ' which includes many under-the-hood improvements . the lines , which drew thousands , were part exercises in tech commercialism and part homages to steve jobs , apple 's other co-founder , who died last week following a battle with pancreatic cancer . in new york , apple fans created a makeshift memorial to jobs that included flowers , photos , ipad boxes and apples ( as in the fruit ) . and in atlanta , some people said they were lining up for the phone in part because of jobs . i wanted it anyway , but ( jobs'death ) made me sort of want it more because this is the last one i know he worked on , ' dwight hill , from an atlanta suburb , said of his decision to buy the phone . i just hope the company keeps going in the same direction . ' about 200 people had lined up in the wee hours of the morning in new york to buy the new phone , which has a faster processor and a digital assistant ' that responds to voice commands and talks back to phone owners , answering their questions . long lines also formed in asia and europe as people waited for the phone . in silicon valley , california , wozniak , the apple co-founder who , along with jobs , helped create the world 's first truly personal computer , sat in an armchair at the front of a line that began forming thursday afternoon . he tapped on his ipad , sipped diet dr. pepper and took photos with fans while he awaited the phone 's release . i want to get mine along with the millions of other fans , ' wozniak said . i just want to be able to talk to my phone . ' the iphone 4s initially was panned by critics , who said it was more of a facelift to the iphone 4 than a new product . the phone 's exterior looks the same as its predecessor , but the guts are new . inside there 's a faster a5 dual-core processor , an improved 8 megapixel camera and a voice assistant named siri , who will respond to voice commands and answer questions . when brian x. chen , a tech writer at wired , tested the phone , he found siri to be quite the helpful -- and hilarious -- assistant . he published a series of his conversations with siri . me :'i 'm drunk ,' he wrote . siri :'i found a number of cabs fairly close to you .'( perfect ; it did n't dial my ex-girlfriend . ) ' aside from jobs , siri seemed to be one of the main draws for people waiting in line for the iphone 4s . i just want the personal assistant , ' said teresa sparks , 41 , an atlanta nurse who had been waiting in line for the phone since 4:45 a.m. scott england , who also waited in an atlanta line for the phone , teased a friend of his who said he was buying the iphone 4s because of the camera . clearly , he said , siri is a big deal , ' not the camera . he 's got a secretary -- i do n't , ' he joked . becky waddell , a 33-year-old real-estate agent , also praised apple 's new digital assistant , which is only available on the iphone 4s , and which has been compared to hal 9000 , skynet and other fictional computer overlords . i love siri , ' she said . we played with it in the store . i know for sure it will make me a safer driver . i do n't have to scramble through my phone while i 'm driving . if i can talk to it and get answers , it 's going to cut out so much time for me . ' plenty of excitement seemed to surround the phone 's release . in true apple-head fashion , two apple fans in new york said they arrived at the flagship apple store 18 days before friday , and blogged about the experience on a site called iphonewhatever , cnnmoney reports . another person arrived at that store on crutches . i got hit by a car and had surgery a few weeks ago . there 's tons of metal plates in my foot -- it shattered , ' david betz , a 26-year-old bartender , told cnnmoney . is it worth it ? we 'll find out . ' apple ceo tim cook helped unveil the 4s last week a day before jobs'death . pre-orders of the phone started on october 7 and beat expectations . apple sold 1 million of the phones in the first 24 hours via its website and carriers at & t , verizon and -- for the first time -- sprint . by comparison , apple reported 600,000 iphone 4 pre-orders last year in 24 hours , but that included orders placed with overseas carriers . the iphone 4s went on sale friday at all 245 apple stores in the u.s. , in addition to the following countries : australia , canada , france , germany , japan and the united kingdom . the new iphone will be available in 22 additional countries by the end of october , apple says . apple stores and other retailers opened at 8 a.m. friday . online orders can be made at apple 's online store as well as on at & t , verizon and sprint 's websites . if you were hoping to pre-order now and pick up the phone friday , you 're out of luck . pre-orders at at & t , sprint and verizon are sold out , and phones ordered through apple 's website may not be delivered for several weeks . all of those brick-and-mortar retail stores also will carry the phone , along with select apple-approved retailers : radio shack , best buy , target and sam 's club . ( word of warning : check availability before lining up at one of those third-party sellers . inventory is limited , and some will be filling pre-orders before selling whatever stock may remain . ) customers who buy the phone at an apple retail store will be offered free in-store setup service , personalized instruction on how to set up e-mail and download apps . the phone sells for $ 199 for 16gb of storage , $ 299 for 32gb and $ 399 for 64gb , marking the first time an iphone has had that much memory . it also seems impossible to separate interest in the iphone 4s with news of jobs'death last week . among the legions of apple 's diehard fans , some have taken saying the 4s ' in the phone 's name represents the words for steve . ' although it 's virtually impossible that the company would have done that on purpose ( the phone 's development happened largely when jobs was still ceo ) it speaks both to the long reach of jobs'legacy and the cult-like devotion that some apple loyalists feel toward the company and its products . cnn 's mark milian and umika pidaparthy and cnnmoney contributed to this report .
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pre-orders have broken an apple record , with 1 million in first 24 hours
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apple <tsp> ( cnn ) -- apple fans -- including co-founder steve wozniak -- lined up on friday morning for a chance to buy the iphone 4s , the latest in the company 's line of jesus phones , ' which includes many under-the-hood improvements . the lines , which drew thousands , were part exercises in tech commercialism and part homages to steve jobs , apple 's other co-founder , who died last week following a battle with pancreatic cancer . in new york , apple fans created a makeshift memorial to jobs that included flowers , photos , ipad boxes and apples ( as in the fruit ) . and in atlanta , some people said they were lining up for the phone in part because of jobs . i wanted it anyway , but ( jobs'death ) made me sort of want it more because this is the last one i know he worked on , ' dwight hill , from an atlanta suburb , said of his decision to buy the phone . i just hope the company keeps going in the same direction . ' about 200 people had lined up in the wee hours of the morning in new york to buy the new phone , which has a faster processor and a digital assistant ' that responds to voice commands and talks back to phone owners , answering their questions . long lines also formed in asia and europe as people waited for the phone . in silicon valley , california , wozniak , the apple co-founder who , along with jobs , helped create the world 's first truly personal computer , sat in an armchair at the front of a line that began forming thursday afternoon . he tapped on his ipad , sipped diet dr. pepper and took photos with fans while he awaited the phone 's release . i want to get mine along with the millions of other fans , ' wozniak said . i just want to be able to talk to my phone . ' the iphone 4s initially was panned by critics , who said it was more of a facelift to the iphone 4 than a new product . the phone 's exterior looks the same as its predecessor , but the guts are new . inside there 's a faster a5 dual-core processor , an improved 8 megapixel camera and a voice assistant named siri , who will respond to voice commands and answer questions . when brian x. chen , a tech writer at wired , tested the phone , he found siri to be quite the helpful -- and hilarious -- assistant . he published a series of his conversations with siri . me :'i 'm drunk ,' he wrote . siri :'i found a number of cabs fairly close to you .'( perfect ; it did n't dial my ex-girlfriend . ) ' aside from jobs , siri seemed to be one of the main draws for people waiting in line for the iphone 4s . i just want the personal assistant , ' said teresa sparks , 41 , an atlanta nurse who had been waiting in line for the phone since 4:45 a.m. scott england , who also waited in an atlanta line for the phone , teased a friend of his who said he was buying the iphone 4s because of the camera . clearly , he said , siri is a big deal , ' not the camera . he 's got a secretary -- i do n't , ' he joked . becky waddell , a 33-year-old real-estate agent , also praised apple 's new digital assistant , which is only available on the iphone 4s , and which has been compared to hal 9000 , skynet and other fictional computer overlords . i love siri , ' she said . we played with it in the store . i know for sure it will make me a safer driver . i do n't have to scramble through my phone while i 'm driving . if i can talk to it and get answers , it 's going to cut out so much time for me . ' plenty of excitement seemed to surround the phone 's release . in true apple-head fashion , two apple fans in new york said they arrived at the flagship apple store 18 days before friday , and blogged about the experience on a site called iphonewhatever , cnnmoney reports . another person arrived at that store on crutches . i got hit by a car and had surgery a few weeks ago . there 's tons of metal plates in my foot -- it shattered , ' david betz , a 26-year-old bartender , told cnnmoney . is it worth it ? we 'll find out . ' apple ceo tim cook helped unveil the 4s last week a day before jobs'death . pre-orders of the phone started on october 7 and beat expectations . apple sold 1 million of the phones in the first 24 hours via its website and carriers at & t , verizon and -- for the first time -- sprint . by comparison , apple reported 600,000 iphone 4 pre-orders last year in 24 hours , but that included orders placed with overseas carriers . the iphone 4s went on sale friday at all 245 apple stores in the u.s. , in addition to the following countries : australia , canada , france , germany , japan and the united kingdom . the new iphone will be available in 22 additional countries by the end of october , apple says . apple stores and other retailers opened at 8 a.m. friday . online orders can be made at apple 's online store as well as on at & t , verizon and sprint 's websites . if you were hoping to pre-order now and pick up the phone friday , you 're out of luck . pre-orders at at & t , sprint and verizon are sold out , and phones ordered through apple 's website may not be delivered for several weeks . all of those brick-and-mortar retail stores also will carry the phone , along with select apple-approved retailers : radio shack , best buy , target and sam 's club . ( word of warning : check availability before lining up at one of those third-party sellers . inventory is limited , and some will be filling pre-orders before selling whatever stock may remain . ) customers who buy the phone at an apple retail store will be offered free in-store setup service , personalized instruction on how to set up e-mail and download apps . the phone sells for $ 199 for 16gb of storage , $ 299 for 32gb and $ 399 for 64gb , marking the first time an iphone has had that much memory . it also seems impossible to separate interest in the iphone 4s with news of jobs'death last week . among the legions of apple 's diehard fans , some have taken saying the 4s ' in the phone 's name represents the words for steve . ' although it 's virtually impossible that the company would have done that on purpose ( the phone 's development happened largely when jobs was still ceo ) it speaks both to the long reach of jobs'legacy and the cult-like devotion that some apple loyalists feel toward the company and its products . cnn 's mark milian and umika pidaparthy and cnnmoney contributed to this report .
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apple 's iphone 4s goes on sale at 8 a.m. friday in each time zone
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academy awards <tsp> mumbai , india ( cnn ) -- in the u.s. , the film slumdog millionaire ' barely escaped going straight to video before it caught the eye of moviegoers and critics alike , becoming a sleeper hit and best picture nominee . it 's viewed by many observers as the film to beat at the 81st annual academy awards . danny boyle , left , celebrates with actor anil kapoor , right , at the mumbai premiere of slumdog millionaire . ' in the city where the movie was shot , mumbai , india , the recognition came much quicker and more enthusiastically . the mumbai premiere had all the makings of a scene from a bollywood blockbuster : musicians banged on traditional indian drums as the cast and crew broke into dance on the red carpet in recognition of the 10 academy award nominations the film received thursday . it feels like a million nominations , ' said director danny boyle , who earned one of the nominations . watch scenes from the mumbai premiere » bollywood legend anil kapoor , who stars as the host of the indian version of who wants to be a millionaire ' in the movie , said he was with boyle when the nominations were announced . danny had tears in his eyes , and i could n't control myself , ' kapoor said . watch kapoor rave about the film » but not everyone was celebrating . the film , about a mumbai orphan seeking fame and love through the millionaire ' game show , has stirred strong emotions among some indian critics . they found the word slumdog ' in the title insulting and complained that the movie romanticizes poverty in india . film critic meenakshi shedde said she was disappointed with the movie . what saddened me and annoyed me about the film is that it 's a laundry list of india 's miseries , ' she said . the poverty , the child labor , the beggary , the prostitution , that part of it was just banal , i thought . ' according to the press trust of india , bollywood actor amitabh bachchan -- who once hosted the indian version of who wants to be a millionaire ' -- recently cleared the air with boyle regarding bachchan 's reported criticism of the golden globe-winning film . such negativity was forgotten at the mumbai premiere , which was attended by several bollywood celebrities . they said the event marked a proud day for indian cinema . loveleen tandan , who was the film 's casting director , said the entire cast was exhilarated by news of the academy award nominations . as for her whether she believed slumdog millionaire ' had a chance at the oscars , she expressed confidence . now i can say it openly , i have high hopes , ' she said . i am sure there 's a statue waiting for a.r . rahman [ who composed the film 's music and received three nominations ] to bring home . ' cnn 's mallika kapur contributed to this report .
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film nominated for 10 academy awards , including best picture
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european <tsp> ( cnn ) -- european champions inter milan dominate uefa 's shortlist for the club footballer of the year award , with five players up for the gong . the italian club beat german side bayern munich in the champions league final back in may as well as winning their own domestic league and cup competition under the stewardship of portuguese coach jose mourinho . mourinho is now coach at spanish giants real madrid and has been replaced by former liverpool manager rafael benitez but all five nominated players remain at the club . inter are represented in the 12-strong list by goalkeeper julio cesar , defenders lucio and maicon , all from brazil , dutch midfielder wesley sneijder , and argentina striker diego milito . they will face competition from current holder barcelona striker lionel messi , who has been nominated again , alongside teammates victor valdes , gerard pique and xavi . there are three players for each position and the winners will be announced at the draw for the champions league group stages in monaco on august 26 . the club footballer of the year is then chosen from the group of four winners . the nominations are voted for by the coaches of the 16 teams that reached the knockout stages of last year 's competition . the nominations in full are : • uefa goalkeeper of the year : julio cesar ( inter milan ) , hugo lloris ( lyon ) and víctor valdes ( barcelona ) . • uefa defender of the year : lucio ( inter milan ) , maicon ( inter milan ) and gerard piqué ( barcelona ) . • uefa midfielder of the year : xavi hernández ( barcelona ) , arjen robben ( bayern munich ) and wesley sneijder ( inter milan ) . • uefa forward of the year : lionel messi ( barcelona ) , diego milito ( inter milan ) and wayne rooney ( manchester united ) .
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five players from european champions inter milan are included
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lionel messi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- european champions inter milan dominate uefa 's shortlist for the club footballer of the year award , with five players up for the gong . the italian club beat german side bayern munich in the champions league final back in may as well as winning their own domestic league and cup competition under the stewardship of portuguese coach jose mourinho . mourinho is now coach at spanish giants real madrid and has been replaced by former liverpool manager rafael benitez but all five nominated players remain at the club . inter are represented in the 12-strong list by goalkeeper julio cesar , defenders lucio and maicon , all from brazil , dutch midfielder wesley sneijder , and argentina striker diego milito . they will face competition from current holder barcelona striker lionel messi , who has been nominated again , alongside teammates victor valdes , gerard pique and xavi . there are three players for each position and the winners will be announced at the draw for the champions league group stages in monaco on august 26 . the club footballer of the year is then chosen from the group of four winners . the nominations are voted for by the coaches of the 16 teams that reached the knockout stages of last year 's competition . the nominations in full are : • uefa goalkeeper of the year : julio cesar ( inter milan ) , hugo lloris ( lyon ) and víctor valdes ( barcelona ) . • uefa defender of the year : lucio ( inter milan ) , maicon ( inter milan ) and gerard piqué ( barcelona ) . • uefa midfielder of the year : xavi hernández ( barcelona ) , arjen robben ( bayern munich ) and wesley sneijder ( inter milan ) . • uefa forward of the year : lionel messi ( barcelona ) , diego milito ( inter milan ) and wayne rooney ( manchester united ) .
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barcelona striker lionel messi is the current holder
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time magazine <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for a man whose previous nickname was the bulldozer , ' balance might not be thought of as one of south korean president lee myung-bak 's strong points . promises of pragmatism and a more balanced society from the new president . however , speaking to cnn for talk asia just a few weeks after his inauguration as president , restoring some equilibrium to south korean society is one of the key aims of his presidency . my country has undergone rapid industrialization and development , as well as democratization , ' he told anjali rao . and throughout this process , i believe some sort of balance has been lost . the gap between the haves and the have-nots has widened lately , which i believe must be rectified . ' it 's not an unfamiliar sentiment for a politician to express , but lee 's journey from childhood poverty to the pinnacle of political life perhaps makes him more qualified than many politicians to relate to his electorate . for many of his supporters his life reflects the recent history of south korea itself . lee myung-bak was born in osaka , japan in 1941 during the japanese occupation of the korean peninsular and returned to korea with his parents at the end of the second world war . without any money to pay for his education , he paid his own way through university in seoul , at one point taking a job as a garbage collector , working during the day , while studying at night . as a student he led protests against the authoritarian government , receiving a caution from police in 1962 . after graduating he took a job with hyundai . his hard work and ambition saw that he became its ceo after just 12 years , at the age of 36 . it was as a dynamic young ceo , part of the new generation that was rapidly building south korea 's industry and economy in the 1970 's and 80 's , he gained the nickname the bulldozer ' for his single-minded approach and tenacity to drive through difficult projects . his transition from ceo to politician came when he became mayor of seoul in 2002 and undertook one of the city'most ambitious and popular programs of urban renewal . he was elected on the promise of transforming the city , ripping out a traffic-clogged elevated highway that ran through its center and restoring the cheonggyecheon stream that had been covered over . it 's completion in 2005 led to a blooming example of the growing emphasis on quality of life in a country that had sacrificed economic and industrial growth for all else . it also propelled him into the international spotlight , with time magazine naming him one of its heroes of the environment in 2007 . he has not been without his detractors , however , and even after the election there were questions surrounding his ethics . while south korea has been trying to shed its image of corporate corruption , just four days before his inauguration as president he was cleared of accusations of stock manipulation . during this rapid period , yes indeed , there were a lot of side effects . and one of them was corruption and that transparency was not prevalent in our society , ' he told cnn . now that i am president , such a culture in the political culture , as well as the corporate culture , must change . '
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named one of time magazine 's green heroes in 2007
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kennedy <tsp> ( cnn ) -- former president john f. kennedy saw a proposed ban on above-ground nuclear tests as a way to thaw u.s.-soviet relations after the cuban missile crisis , according to recordings released thursday . president john f. kennedy expresses a desire to thaw u.s.-soviet relatations , on newly released recordings . if it does represent a possibility of avoiding the kind of collision that we had last fall in cuba , which was quite close , and berlin in 1961 , we should seize the chance , ' kennedy said in a july 1963 meeting with top government scientists . he signed a treaty with the soviets and the british the following month that banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere , underwater or in space . kennedy 's presidential library in boston , massachusetts , released the four-minute recording of the meeting , held just four months before his assassination . the scientists taking part included john foster and norris bradbury , the directors of two of the top u.s. nuclear laboratories ; glenn seaborg , then-head of the atomic energy commission ; and a member of the commission , john palfrey . kennedy expressed hope that the treaty could produce the possibility of a detente ' between washington and moscow , which may not come to anything but which quite possibly could come to something . ' the meeting took place just nine months after the discovery of soviet missiles in cuba brought the world 's major nuclear powers to the brink of war . kennedy said the soviets were having domestic , internal economic problems ' and he was worried about the rise of china after a major diplomatic split in 1960 . i do n't think anybody can say with any precision , but there is n't any doubt that the dispute with china is certainly a factor , ' kennedy said , adding , they want to avoid a nuclear struggle or ... they want to lessen the chances of conflict with us . ' but he said the rising nuclear ambitions of china , which would conduct its first tests the following year , could force the united states to resume its own tests . it may be that the chinese test in the next year , 18 months , 2 years , and we would then make the judgment to see if we should go back to testing , ' he said .
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kennedy hoped for possibility of a detente ' between washington and moscow
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kennedy <tsp> ( cnn ) -- former president john f. kennedy saw a proposed ban on above-ground nuclear tests as a way to thaw u.s.-soviet relations after the cuban missile crisis , according to recordings released thursday . president john f. kennedy expresses a desire to thaw u.s.-soviet relatations , on newly released recordings . if it does represent a possibility of avoiding the kind of collision that we had last fall in cuba , which was quite close , and berlin in 1961 , we should seize the chance , ' kennedy said in a july 1963 meeting with top government scientists . he signed a treaty with the soviets and the british the following month that banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere , underwater or in space . kennedy 's presidential library in boston , massachusetts , released the four-minute recording of the meeting , held just four months before his assassination . the scientists taking part included john foster and norris bradbury , the directors of two of the top u.s. nuclear laboratories ; glenn seaborg , then-head of the atomic energy commission ; and a member of the commission , john palfrey . kennedy expressed hope that the treaty could produce the possibility of a detente ' between washington and moscow , which may not come to anything but which quite possibly could come to something . ' the meeting took place just nine months after the discovery of soviet missiles in cuba brought the world 's major nuclear powers to the brink of war . kennedy said the soviets were having domestic , internal economic problems ' and he was worried about the rise of china after a major diplomatic split in 1960 . i do n't think anybody can say with any precision , but there is n't any doubt that the dispute with china is certainly a factor , ' kennedy said , adding , they want to avoid a nuclear struggle or ... they want to lessen the chances of conflict with us . ' but he said the rising nuclear ambitions of china , which would conduct its first tests the following year , could force the united states to resume its own tests . it may be that the chinese test in the next year , 18 months , 2 years , and we would then make the judgment to see if we should go back to testing , ' he said .
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kennedy 's presidential library released four-minute recording of the meeting
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kennedy <tsp> ( cnn ) -- former president john f. kennedy saw a proposed ban on above-ground nuclear tests as a way to thaw u.s.-soviet relations after the cuban missile crisis , according to recordings released thursday . president john f. kennedy expresses a desire to thaw u.s.-soviet relatations , on newly released recordings . if it does represent a possibility of avoiding the kind of collision that we had last fall in cuba , which was quite close , and berlin in 1961 , we should seize the chance , ' kennedy said in a july 1963 meeting with top government scientists . he signed a treaty with the soviets and the british the following month that banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere , underwater or in space . kennedy 's presidential library in boston , massachusetts , released the four-minute recording of the meeting , held just four months before his assassination . the scientists taking part included john foster and norris bradbury , the directors of two of the top u.s. nuclear laboratories ; glenn seaborg , then-head of the atomic energy commission ; and a member of the commission , john palfrey . kennedy expressed hope that the treaty could produce the possibility of a detente ' between washington and moscow , which may not come to anything but which quite possibly could come to something . ' the meeting took place just nine months after the discovery of soviet missiles in cuba brought the world 's major nuclear powers to the brink of war . kennedy said the soviets were having domestic , internal economic problems ' and he was worried about the rise of china after a major diplomatic split in 1960 . i do n't think anybody can say with any precision , but there is n't any doubt that the dispute with china is certainly a factor , ' kennedy said , adding , they want to avoid a nuclear struggle or ... they want to lessen the chances of conflict with us . ' but he said the rising nuclear ambitions of china , which would conduct its first tests the following year , could force the united states to resume its own tests . it may be that the chinese test in the next year , 18 months , 2 years , and we would then make the judgment to see if we should go back to testing , ' he said .
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kennedy on recording : we should seize the chance '
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ioc <tsp> ( cnn ) -- i can vividly recall watching my first olympic games . lying on the floor of the boise , idaho , home i grew up in , i tuned in each evening to the 1992 barcelona games . i remember the moment when the athletes entered the stadium during the opening ceremonies . as i saw team usa walk in , everyone dressed in stunning outfits , proudly waving our flag , i felt a sense of national pride that i had never known before . i was 9 at the time and completely enchanted by the magic of the olympic games . in a world full of politics and war , here was a moment where everyone could set aside their differences and instead battle on the playing field for the love of competition and national pride . in an ideal world this is what the olympic games should always be about . however , we do not live in an ideal world . rather , we live in an imperfect one where something as simple and beautiful as loving someone can get you thrown to the streets or put in jail or even murdered . for this reason , as much as i am excited to see the incredible athletic contests at the 2014 winter olympic games in sochi , russia , i am also paying close attention to the political theater that will play out there . people from around the world will be watching . we should use this opportunity to insist that russia change its discriminatory laws against gay people . in the summer of 2013 , i had the distinct pleasure of representing the u.s. at the world championships for track and field in moscow . while there , i finished second in the 800 meters , and subsequently dedicated my medal to the gay community . this received much international media attention due to the fact that i was one of the first athletes to openly criticize russia 's anti-gay propaganda laws on russian soil . though i was one of the first , i will certainly not be the last . as the winter olympics unfold , i am confident that we will see many olympians from around the world protest these antiquated and discriminatory laws . the russian government will be faced with two choices : ignore those that break the law and face ridicule from its own people , or enforce its laws by punishing the lawbreakers and challenge the international olympic committee to enforce its own charter . principle 6 of the ioc charter states that any form of discrimination , including sexual orientation , is incompatible with the olympics . when the ioc awarded russia the 2014 winter olympics , russia had not yet passed their discriminatory laws . with the laws now firmly in place , the ioc has a responsibility to the international community to make sure that its charter is upheld or risk putting the olympic movement 's credibility at stake . as an athlete , i understand how hard the olympic athletes have trained for the last four years . they deserve the chance to compete against the world 's best at the highest level . however , their right to compete must not come at the expense of basic human rights . i encourage the athletes to remember why they are in sochi and what their primary job is . but i am confident that many of these olympians and their fans will also bring up the issue . we will probably see different forms of protest throughout the olympic games . and should russia decide to enforce its discriminatory laws , the ioc must ultimately be held responsible . i ask that you join me in keeping the ioc accountable and demanding that it upholds its own charter . recently , two nonprofits , athlete ally and all out , joined forces to create the principle 6 campaign , which includes a petition calling for russia to put an end to its discriminatory laws . the website contains information that can be shared via social media to remind people that sport does not and should not discriminate on the ground of race , religion , gender , politics , or sexual orientation . as always , i am eagerly counting down the days to the beginning of the next olympic games . we are sure to witness some of the finest displays of athletic brilliance the world has ever seen . in both the triumphs and defeats , let us allow these games to bring us together as citizens of the world . let us show support and thanks to the host nation , while at the same time holding it to the standards and responsibility that comes with the honor of hosting such a world-class event . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of nick symmonds .
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he says if russia crack down on gays , the ioc must not turn a blind eye
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usada <tsp> ( cnn ) -- lance armstrong is ready to cooperate with an international truth and reconciliation commission ' digging into doping in professional cycling , but not -- for now and perhaps longer -- with the u.s. anti-doping agency , which expedited his downfall , his lawyer said friday . usada , designated by congress as the country 's official anti-doping organization for olympic sports , had reached out to armstrong 's representatives , asking the former champion cyclist to talk to them at length by february 6 about his past . in a letter dated friday , armstrong 's lawyer timothy herman acknowledged the usada request but said that logistically , it is simply not possible ' to do in the next two weeks due to preexisting obligations . ' furthermore , herman wrote that armstrong is more inclined to cooperate with international sports authorities -- specifically the union cycliste internationale , which recently announced its intention to set up a truth and reconciliation commission ' in conjunction with the world anti-doping agency . the lawyer reasoned usada has limited jurisdiction over the sport , since it has focused on the u.s . postal service team once led by armstrong , but not the vast majority of professional cycling teams that have raced in recent decades . 7 lessons from armstrong 's confession ' usada has no authority to investigate , prosecute or otherwise involve itself with the other 95 % of cycling competitors , ' herman said . thus , in order to achieve the goal of'cleaning up cycling ,'it must be wada and the uci who have overall authority to do so . ' u.s. anti-doping agency ceo travis tygart , in a statement to cnn , challenged armstrong 's claim he did not have sufficient time to arrange his schedule so he could talk to his organization . tygart said the two sides met last month , at which time his agency asked armstrong to work with them and be part of the solution . ' mr. armstrong has already been provided well over a month since our meeting in december to consider whether he is going to be part of our ongoing efforts to clean up the sport of cycling , ' tygart said . either way , usada is moving forward with our investigation on behalf of clean athletes . ' last october , the usada detailed its investigation that found armstrong played a central role in what it called the most sophisticated , professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen . ' that in-depth report hastened the once iconic armstrong 's demise , including his being stripped of his 2000 olympic bronze medal and seven tour de france titles . as he had for years , armstrong continued to vehemently deny cheating during his stellar run -- until this month , when he confessed to oprah winfrey that he 'd used performance-enhancing drugs and had illicit blood transfusions . in the interview , armstrong admitted being a bully ' at times , but insisted he did n't feel like he cheated because others in his sport were doing the same . 10 alternative steps to redemption for armstrong ' i viewed it as a level playing field , ' the athlete said . armstrong told winfrey he was open to talking with anti-doping agencies , including usada , to address what he called a pervasive culture ' of breaking the rules to get ahead . that said , there 's a long history of bad blood between the two sides -- including pointed back-and-forth barbs between armstrong and tygart . in his recent interview , armstrong had admitted some of usada 's findings had merit , but rebutted others , such as its claims he cheated when he returned to professional cycling for the 2009 and 2010 tour de france competitions . tygart said in an interview with cbs' 60 minutes ' set to air in full sunday that , even if others also took performance-enhancing drugs , armstrong was on an entirely different playing field ' given how much inside information ' and special access ' he had . the anti-doping chief blasted armstrong 's claim in his winfrey interview that he did n't think he was cheating -- saying even a kindergartener could recognize that it 's breaking the rules of the game . ' no real athlete has to look up the definition of cheating , ' tygart said , according to excerpts of the interview posted online . it 's offensive to clean athletes who are out there , working hard , to play by the rules that apply to their sport . ' herman expressed disappointment ' about this interview , which he expected would contain more criticism of and attacks on lance , despite no shortage of that following his recent revelations . ' lance 's commitment to the truth and reconciliation process is firm , despite the attempt at piling on through more appearances by mr. tygart on'60 minutes ,'' the lawyer wrote . why we cheat cnn 's kevin bohn and joe sutton contributed to this report .
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usada chief blasts armstrong in an upcoming 60 minutes ' interview
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usada <tsp> ( cnn ) -- lance armstrong is ready to cooperate with an international truth and reconciliation commission ' digging into doping in professional cycling , but not -- for now and perhaps longer -- with the u.s. anti-doping agency , which expedited his downfall , his lawyer said friday . usada , designated by congress as the country 's official anti-doping organization for olympic sports , had reached out to armstrong 's representatives , asking the former champion cyclist to talk to them at length by february 6 about his past . in a letter dated friday , armstrong 's lawyer timothy herman acknowledged the usada request but said that logistically , it is simply not possible ' to do in the next two weeks due to preexisting obligations . ' furthermore , herman wrote that armstrong is more inclined to cooperate with international sports authorities -- specifically the union cycliste internationale , which recently announced its intention to set up a truth and reconciliation commission ' in conjunction with the world anti-doping agency . the lawyer reasoned usada has limited jurisdiction over the sport , since it has focused on the u.s . postal service team once led by armstrong , but not the vast majority of professional cycling teams that have raced in recent decades . 7 lessons from armstrong 's confession ' usada has no authority to investigate , prosecute or otherwise involve itself with the other 95 % of cycling competitors , ' herman said . thus , in order to achieve the goal of'cleaning up cycling ,'it must be wada and the uci who have overall authority to do so . ' u.s. anti-doping agency ceo travis tygart , in a statement to cnn , challenged armstrong 's claim he did not have sufficient time to arrange his schedule so he could talk to his organization . tygart said the two sides met last month , at which time his agency asked armstrong to work with them and be part of the solution . ' mr. armstrong has already been provided well over a month since our meeting in december to consider whether he is going to be part of our ongoing efforts to clean up the sport of cycling , ' tygart said . either way , usada is moving forward with our investigation on behalf of clean athletes . ' last october , the usada detailed its investigation that found armstrong played a central role in what it called the most sophisticated , professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen . ' that in-depth report hastened the once iconic armstrong 's demise , including his being stripped of his 2000 olympic bronze medal and seven tour de france titles . as he had for years , armstrong continued to vehemently deny cheating during his stellar run -- until this month , when he confessed to oprah winfrey that he 'd used performance-enhancing drugs and had illicit blood transfusions . in the interview , armstrong admitted being a bully ' at times , but insisted he did n't feel like he cheated because others in his sport were doing the same . 10 alternative steps to redemption for armstrong ' i viewed it as a level playing field , ' the athlete said . armstrong told winfrey he was open to talking with anti-doping agencies , including usada , to address what he called a pervasive culture ' of breaking the rules to get ahead . that said , there 's a long history of bad blood between the two sides -- including pointed back-and-forth barbs between armstrong and tygart . in his recent interview , armstrong had admitted some of usada 's findings had merit , but rebutted others , such as its claims he cheated when he returned to professional cycling for the 2009 and 2010 tour de france competitions . tygart said in an interview with cbs' 60 minutes ' set to air in full sunday that , even if others also took performance-enhancing drugs , armstrong was on an entirely different playing field ' given how much inside information ' and special access ' he had . the anti-doping chief blasted armstrong 's claim in his winfrey interview that he did n't think he was cheating -- saying even a kindergartener could recognize that it 's breaking the rules of the game . ' no real athlete has to look up the definition of cheating , ' tygart said , according to excerpts of the interview posted online . it 's offensive to clean athletes who are out there , working hard , to play by the rules that apply to their sport . ' herman expressed disappointment ' about this interview , which he expected would contain more criticism of and attacks on lance , despite no shortage of that following his recent revelations . ' lance 's commitment to the truth and reconciliation process is firm , despite the attempt at piling on through more appearances by mr. tygart on'60 minutes ,'' the lawyer wrote . why we cheat cnn 's kevin bohn and joe sutton contributed to this report .
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usada says it gave lance armstrong until february 6 to discuss doping
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usada <tsp> ( cnn ) -- lance armstrong is ready to cooperate with an international truth and reconciliation commission ' digging into doping in professional cycling , but not -- for now and perhaps longer -- with the u.s. anti-doping agency , which expedited his downfall , his lawyer said friday . usada , designated by congress as the country 's official anti-doping organization for olympic sports , had reached out to armstrong 's representatives , asking the former champion cyclist to talk to them at length by february 6 about his past . in a letter dated friday , armstrong 's lawyer timothy herman acknowledged the usada request but said that logistically , it is simply not possible ' to do in the next two weeks due to preexisting obligations . ' furthermore , herman wrote that armstrong is more inclined to cooperate with international sports authorities -- specifically the union cycliste internationale , which recently announced its intention to set up a truth and reconciliation commission ' in conjunction with the world anti-doping agency . the lawyer reasoned usada has limited jurisdiction over the sport , since it has focused on the u.s . postal service team once led by armstrong , but not the vast majority of professional cycling teams that have raced in recent decades . 7 lessons from armstrong 's confession ' usada has no authority to investigate , prosecute or otherwise involve itself with the other 95 % of cycling competitors , ' herman said . thus , in order to achieve the goal of'cleaning up cycling ,'it must be wada and the uci who have overall authority to do so . ' u.s. anti-doping agency ceo travis tygart , in a statement to cnn , challenged armstrong 's claim he did not have sufficient time to arrange his schedule so he could talk to his organization . tygart said the two sides met last month , at which time his agency asked armstrong to work with them and be part of the solution . ' mr. armstrong has already been provided well over a month since our meeting in december to consider whether he is going to be part of our ongoing efforts to clean up the sport of cycling , ' tygart said . either way , usada is moving forward with our investigation on behalf of clean athletes . ' last october , the usada detailed its investigation that found armstrong played a central role in what it called the most sophisticated , professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen . ' that in-depth report hastened the once iconic armstrong 's demise , including his being stripped of his 2000 olympic bronze medal and seven tour de france titles . as he had for years , armstrong continued to vehemently deny cheating during his stellar run -- until this month , when he confessed to oprah winfrey that he 'd used performance-enhancing drugs and had illicit blood transfusions . in the interview , armstrong admitted being a bully ' at times , but insisted he did n't feel like he cheated because others in his sport were doing the same . 10 alternative steps to redemption for armstrong ' i viewed it as a level playing field , ' the athlete said . armstrong told winfrey he was open to talking with anti-doping agencies , including usada , to address what he called a pervasive culture ' of breaking the rules to get ahead . that said , there 's a long history of bad blood between the two sides -- including pointed back-and-forth barbs between armstrong and tygart . in his recent interview , armstrong had admitted some of usada 's findings had merit , but rebutted others , such as its claims he cheated when he returned to professional cycling for the 2009 and 2010 tour de france competitions . tygart said in an interview with cbs' 60 minutes ' set to air in full sunday that , even if others also took performance-enhancing drugs , armstrong was on an entirely different playing field ' given how much inside information ' and special access ' he had . the anti-doping chief blasted armstrong 's claim in his winfrey interview that he did n't think he was cheating -- saying even a kindergartener could recognize that it 's breaking the rules of the game . ' no real athlete has to look up the definition of cheating , ' tygart said , according to excerpts of the interview posted online . it 's offensive to clean athletes who are out there , working hard , to play by the rules that apply to their sport . ' herman expressed disappointment ' about this interview , which he expected would contain more criticism of and attacks on lance , despite no shortage of that following his recent revelations . ' lance 's commitment to the truth and reconciliation process is firm , despite the attempt at piling on through more appearances by mr. tygart on'60 minutes ,'' the lawyer wrote . why we cheat cnn 's kevin bohn and joe sutton contributed to this report .
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he says international agencies should lead probes into doping in cycling , not usada
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usada <tsp> ( cnn ) -- lance armstrong is ready to cooperate with an international truth and reconciliation commission ' digging into doping in professional cycling , but not -- for now and perhaps longer -- with the u.s. anti-doping agency , which expedited his downfall , his lawyer said friday . usada , designated by congress as the country 's official anti-doping organization for olympic sports , had reached out to armstrong 's representatives , asking the former champion cyclist to talk to them at length by february 6 about his past . in a letter dated friday , armstrong 's lawyer timothy herman acknowledged the usada request but said that logistically , it is simply not possible ' to do in the next two weeks due to preexisting obligations . ' furthermore , herman wrote that armstrong is more inclined to cooperate with international sports authorities -- specifically the union cycliste internationale , which recently announced its intention to set up a truth and reconciliation commission ' in conjunction with the world anti-doping agency . the lawyer reasoned usada has limited jurisdiction over the sport , since it has focused on the u.s . postal service team once led by armstrong , but not the vast majority of professional cycling teams that have raced in recent decades . 7 lessons from armstrong 's confession ' usada has no authority to investigate , prosecute or otherwise involve itself with the other 95 % of cycling competitors , ' herman said . thus , in order to achieve the goal of'cleaning up cycling ,'it must be wada and the uci who have overall authority to do so . ' u.s. anti-doping agency ceo travis tygart , in a statement to cnn , challenged armstrong 's claim he did not have sufficient time to arrange his schedule so he could talk to his organization . tygart said the two sides met last month , at which time his agency asked armstrong to work with them and be part of the solution . ' mr. armstrong has already been provided well over a month since our meeting in december to consider whether he is going to be part of our ongoing efforts to clean up the sport of cycling , ' tygart said . either way , usada is moving forward with our investigation on behalf of clean athletes . ' last october , the usada detailed its investigation that found armstrong played a central role in what it called the most sophisticated , professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen . ' that in-depth report hastened the once iconic armstrong 's demise , including his being stripped of his 2000 olympic bronze medal and seven tour de france titles . as he had for years , armstrong continued to vehemently deny cheating during his stellar run -- until this month , when he confessed to oprah winfrey that he 'd used performance-enhancing drugs and had illicit blood transfusions . in the interview , armstrong admitted being a bully ' at times , but insisted he did n't feel like he cheated because others in his sport were doing the same . 10 alternative steps to redemption for armstrong ' i viewed it as a level playing field , ' the athlete said . armstrong told winfrey he was open to talking with anti-doping agencies , including usada , to address what he called a pervasive culture ' of breaking the rules to get ahead . that said , there 's a long history of bad blood between the two sides -- including pointed back-and-forth barbs between armstrong and tygart . in his recent interview , armstrong had admitted some of usada 's findings had merit , but rebutted others , such as its claims he cheated when he returned to professional cycling for the 2009 and 2010 tour de france competitions . tygart said in an interview with cbs' 60 minutes ' set to air in full sunday that , even if others also took performance-enhancing drugs , armstrong was on an entirely different playing field ' given how much inside information ' and special access ' he had . the anti-doping chief blasted armstrong 's claim in his winfrey interview that he did n't think he was cheating -- saying even a kindergartener could recognize that it 's breaking the rules of the game . ' no real athlete has to look up the definition of cheating , ' tygart said , according to excerpts of the interview posted online . it 's offensive to clean athletes who are out there , working hard , to play by the rules that apply to their sport . ' herman expressed disappointment ' about this interview , which he expected would contain more criticism of and attacks on lance , despite no shortage of that following his recent revelations . ' lance 's commitment to the truth and reconciliation process is firm , despite the attempt at piling on through more appearances by mr. tygart on'60 minutes ,'' the lawyer wrote . why we cheat cnn 's kevin bohn and joe sutton contributed to this report .
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his lawyer says it is n't possible ' for armstrong to meet usada within 2 weeks
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famu <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the florida a & m university marching band will remain on suspension through the 2012-2013 academic year while the school works to set new rules following the fatal hazing of a band member , university president james ammons said in a conference call monday with trustees . i was heavily influenced by the need to be respectful to robert champion 's family as well as the other victims , ' ammons said . a young man lost his life , and others suffered serious injuries . ' authorities say champion , 26 , was badly beaten during a hazing incident on a band bus after a football game in orlando last november . he died within an hour of the attack . other hazing incidents that resulted in injuries to band members also have been reported . ammons said the band must be restructured , and the limited time frame ' between now and autumn is not enough time to accomplish that . while the band will not perform until 2013 at the earliest , school officials will present their plan for reinstating the band at the june meeting of trustees , he said . champion 's father , robert champion sr. , said , any step forward to end hazing will help . ' trustees who spoke on the conference call supported ammons'decision . we need to ensure that excellence and respect is achieved not through brutality , but through honorable academic , talent-based achievement and leadership , ' trustee belinda reed shannon said . trustee kelvin lawson called the announcement absolutely the right decision at the right time . ' the decision to continue the band 's indefinite suspension comes the week after director julian white , who had been with the prestigious band for 40 years , stepped down under pressure . he was placed on paid administrative leave shortly after the hazing death of champion , a famu marching 100 drum major . as recently as last week , white , 71 , had asked for full reinstatement as director . his attorney , chuck hobbs , said last week that white had tried to root out hazing for the past 22 years . white 's resignation last week came days after ammons told the trustees in a letter that about 100 band members were not enrolled at the school during the fall , cnn affiliate wctv reported . of the ineligible band members , 51 of them and one cheerleader made the fateful trip to orlando . all received a daily allowance for expenses . we are looking into per diems claimed by individuals as part of the band trips , ' gretl plessinger of the florida department of law enforcement told wctv . the ritual that led to champion 's death , called crossing bus c , ' is an initiation process in which pledges attempt to move down the center aisle of a bus while senior members assault them , according to some university band members . an autopsy found extensive contusions of ( champion 's ) chest , arms , shoulder and back , ' and evidence of crushing of areas of subcutaneous fat . ' thirteen people have been charged in connection with champion 's death . eleven are facing felony hazing charges , and two others are charged with misdemeanor hazing . on monday , one of the students charged in champion 's death has agreed to accept a plea deal in connection with the hazing of another student , according to his lawyer . student aaron golson will enter a plea thursday on a misdemeanor battery charge in the hazing of student bria hunter , golson 's atorney , craig j . brown said . the charges are separate from the felony hazing accusations golson faces in champion 's death , brown said . his client will fight those charges , he said . the florida department of law enforcement also is investigating financial irregularities ' involving the band . champion 's death prompted the university board of trustees to approve an anti-hazing plan that includes an independent panel of experts to investigate . the death brought renewed public scrutiny to hazing , which some students have contended has gone on for years despite what the tallahassee university said were efforts to stop it . the band has been under suspension following the incident and the resulting investigations . champion 's mother , pam , has called for it to be disbanded . they need to clean out the filth to move forward . how can they allow the band out there ? ' she said last week . they have n't done anything to safeguard students -- certainly not my son . my son was murdered . ' in the letter last week to trustees , ammons said he wanted to hear the opinions of student leaders , alumni , boosters and other groups about what they thought needed to happen before the marching band could be reinstated . a common theme among all of the groups is that a new set of guidelines should be in place before reinstating the band , ' ammons said . before the announcement of the decision , university system chancellor frank brogan had argued against reinstatement , saying too many questions remain . reinstating the band prior to these issues being resolved would sidestep efforts under way , which could impact the band 's long-term survival , ' brogan said in his response to ammons'letter . reconciling these and other issues under investigation will ensure that the institution 's operational priorities and controls are in place . ' the school is working on a plan to provide entertainment during home football games , as well as at two classics ' events at which the marching 100 has been a fixture , ammons said . despite its name , the band has about 420 members , according to the school . it was not immediately clear what impact the decision would have on band members attending the school on a band scholarship . ammons noted that band scholarships require students to perform publicly in addition to classwork , and all bands featuring marching 100 members have been suspended . but he said other bands and ensembles that do not have marching band members on their rosters will be allowed to continue to perform . throughout the school 's history , the marching 100 , which incorporates dance moves into traditional marching formations , has been a source of pride for the school . it has played in inaugural parades for presidents bill clinton and barack obama and in several super bowls . in 1985 , the band won the louis sudler intercollegiate marching band trophy , awarded annually by the john philip sousa foundation to collegiate marching bands of particular excellence . ' the band 's website bills the marching 100 as the most imitated marching band in america . '
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famu drum major robert champion died after a november hazing incident
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aleppo <tsp> ( cnn ) -- overwhelmed doctors frantically scurried over the weekend to help scores of patients left dying on the floor ' amid a punishing air assault on the northern syrian city of aleppo . there was a big massacre today , ' dr. ammar zakaria told cnn via skype on sunday from the country 's largest city and rebel stronghold . we were treating shrapnel wounds , deep abdominal and brain injuries . i just lost count of the amputations . ' the syrian government continued to relentlessly fire on rebel-held sections of the city after days of continued air raids . the city has been targeted for more than a week by helicopters carrying so-called barrel bombs -- drums packed with explosives and shrapnel . the bombs can level entire buildings with one hit . a lot of victims died before arriving to the hospital . many were inside the hospital , and we did n't have the resources to help all the cases , ' added zakaria , detailing the bloody aftermath . we did n't have enough beds to help them all . people were dying on the floor . ' with medical supplies spread thin , each anxiety-filled second was spent suturing the fine line between life and death . images taken by zakaria show a mangled ambulance stopped in its path and doctors operating in pools of blood , watching children cling to their last breath through a breathing tube . in aleppo , there is a huge influx of wounded in local hospitals ... less and less security and more bombing on civilian areas , ' simon schorno , syria spokesman for the international committee of the red cross , told cnn by phone from damascus . the syrian government said the operations are targeting terrorist groups ' in neighborhoods of aleppo , saying scores of terrorists were killed and others were wounded , ' according to the state-run syrian arab news agency . hundreds have been killed since the bombing began . at least half a million people have been wounded across the country , and millions remain displaced and tens of thousands detained , according to the icrc . on sunday alone , 166 people were killed across the country , 92 in aleppo , according to the opposition local coordination committees in syria . cnn can not independently verify daily death tolls , but the united nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed in syria since 2011 . supplies of food and other basic necessities are running dangerously short , especially in besieged areas , ' said magne barth , head of the icrc delegation in syria . schorno described difficult conditions for delivering aid . we do n't get the necessary authorizations to get in . the government needs to green-light our movements through the checkpoints and we have to go in on foot , and we can not do that under current conditions , ' schorno added . the death toll continues to mount as misery for the millions of displaced is exacerbated by the record cold temperatures across the middle east . the hospital has become home for many syrian doctors like zakaria . we live in the hospitals because we can not expect the timing of the shelling ; we have to be ready all the time . '
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hundreds have been killed in aleppo in recent days , opposition group says
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marine <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- where were you on the night of july 15 ? you may not even remember , but for me it was an extraordinary evening , an evening of unimaginable triumph and unbearable tragedy . andrew kinard testifies before a senate armed services subcommittee on april 29 , 2009 . but i would not actually know everything that happened until the night was long over . a couple of weeks before july 15 , a friend who works with injured troops emailed me to say it was time for andrew 's going away party . andrew kinard is a young marine i first met a few years ago at walter reed army medical center in washington where he was recovering from a devastating ied attack in iraq . he had stepped on the roadside bomb and lost his entire body below the hips . the party being arranged was andrew 's farewell to d.c. andrew is off to the rigors of harvard law school . he 's says he 's itching to get into a courtroom . you need to remember the name andrew kinard . many of his friends believe andrew is such an amazing man that he will become president of the united states . if i had to bet , i 'd say it could happen . i would n't have missed the party for the world . i was touched that this tight-knit community of wounded warriors had included me in this very special , very intimate evening . there was a display of photos of andrew serving in iraq . i suddenly realized i never knew how tall he was before the war . there were a few sniffles and wiping of eyes in the room for a marine whose dream of service to his country ended within a few months of getting to iraq . but sniffles did n't last long and the evening became one of hugs , laughter and good wishes ( and more than a few beers ) for a young marine who had triumphed over what the war had dealt him . but my warm feelings did n't last long . the next day another source in the wounded troop community came to me in the pentagon hallway with another tale . you have to do something about the story of ray rivas , ' he said . in the very hours we were celebrating andrew in washington , tragedy was unfolding in texas . lt. col. raymond rivas , a 53-year old civil affairs officer who had dedicated his career to rebuilding war torn countries , was found dead in his car in the parking lot of brooke army medical center in san antonio texas . colleagues of ray 's said prescription pills and notes he wrote to his family and wife , colleen , were found . a military source told me all indications are ray took his own life . his devastated family understandably declined to talk publicly , and the military wo n't discuss the case citing privacy concerns . but friends and colleagues i spoke to confirmed that ray had suffered multiple blast injuries to his brain from bomb attacks during several deployments over the years . watch ray rivas 's struggle with his brain injuries » in october 2006 , ray survived an attack in iraq that rendered him briefly unconscious . he was transferred to europe but somehow talked the doctors into sending him back to the war zone . a week later , ill and confused , he was sent back to the united states . a close associate tells me that at first , despite being diagnosed with traumatic brain injury in iraq , some doctors thought ray might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder . they did n't realize he had all the symptoms of traumatic brain injury . he had trouble talking , reasoning and remembering . he was sent to brooke army medical center in san antonio so he could be near his family , but for the first few months he just sat in his room . fellow soldiers helped him with his bathing , dressing and eating . finally , ray was assigned a case manager , and things began to move rapidly . he got therapy and was able to go home . but by all accounts from his friends , ray had become seriously debilitated by the injuries to his brain . a private email shown to cnn revealed that ray had been diagnosed with rapidly emerging alzheimer 's disease . the cumulative impact of all those bomb blasts were destroying his brain . colleagues say ray knew he might have to move to an assisted living facility . ray 's doctors are not discussing his treatment because of privacy concerns . a colleague told me ray was tired and in pain on the night of july 15 . he was found in his car in the parking lot at the army hospital where he had spent so long trying to get better . but ray will be remembered for all he did for others . even with all his suffering , he wanted to make sure other injured troops were helped . in april he and his wife colleen went to capitol hill to testify with other wounded warriors about their needs . sitting on that panel with ray was andrew kinard .
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an injured marine was celebrating getting into harvard law school
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omaha beach <tsp> cnn 's susan lisovicz sat down with her uncle lenny lisovicz , a decorated d-day veteran , to talk about his experiences at war . cnn 's susan lisovicz spoke to her uncle lenny about his d-day and war experiences . houston , texas ( cnn ) -- decorated d-day veteran lenny lisovicz says the whispers are true . for 65 years my family had heard whispers that he and 220 men stormed omaha beach and that he and his captain later went awol in paris , france . they heard he returned to combat and fought all the way to germany and his courage was rewarded with the prestigious silver star . then -- after that sacrifice and loss -- he was committed to a hospital . on the 65th anniversary of d-day , uncle lenny finally talked at length about everything he had seen and done . and he said it was all true . nowadays , uncle lenny lives a tranquil life . at 91 , he is proud of his garden , where he grows corn , tomatoes and grapefruit . he takes in stray cats , attends mass and sends money regularly to catholic missionaries . but his thoughts are never far away from a sliver of sand thousands of miles away . he turned down my offer to visit normandy . i do n't want to see it . i try to rub that out of my mind . it wo n't go away , ' he said . but now , he finally agreed to share his memories . watch uncle lenny describe storming the beach » it began with the longest day : june 6 , 1944 . my uncle was a 26-year-old lieutenant with the army 1st infantry division , the famed big red one . ' they had been training in england for something big for months . then , over the loudspeakers in the barracks came the famous declaration from gen. dwight eisenhower : you are about to embark on the great crusade . ' the germans were taken by surprise in one of the greatest amphibious invasions of all time , which would mark a turning point of the war in europe . i just imagined what that enemy observer felt when he looked through that concrete bunker and looked out at that ocean and all he could see was boats , warships , ' lisovicz said . but the nazis had a superior position . they had you pinpointed . it was just like shootin'ducks on a pond . your comrades would get artillery busted . a hand flying here , a leg there , guts laying out on the ground , asking for help and you could n't help them . you had to move . you just had to push them aside , ' he recalled . but the allies could n't push their way onto the cliffs until a massive air assault began . at times there were so many planes in the sky you could n't see the sky ... , ' lisovicz said . you could see them forming from all directions coming into one pattern . and that 's how we got off the beach , darlin'. ' their orders were to meet up with the paratroopers , who landed behind enemy lines . my uncle said they found them by smell , because they were all dead . they backed them in a corner and machine gunned them down and did n't have enough decency to cover them , ' he said . that was when an unwritten order came down : no prisoners . and we did n't take any . ' it was shortly after this that he decided he had enough . he and the captain went awol in paris . to add insult to injury , they stole the major 's jeep . their freedom lasted only about a week . the mp told us he was going to shoot us for going awol . but who cares ? you did n't care anymore , ' lisovicz said . you were just fed up with war , fed up with killing , just absolutely fed up . ' but they were n't shot -- not by americans , anyway . my uncle and the captain went back into combat . the captain was killed by a camouflaged tank . my uncle was now the commanding officer . and the fighting was ferocious as he battled his way into germany . he set trip wires for flares in one pivotal battle . at about 3 a.m. , the flares went off . the germans had overrun the outer defenses of the platoon . it was chaos . the silver star says that he skillfully deployed men and weapons into strategic positions and with accurately directed fire , held the foe at bay until supporting troops arrived and repulsed the attack . ' but there was more . when i looked up i seen a man walking up with two of my comrades . it was a german . so i went after him . and got him and brought my men back , ' he said . the silver star described it as extraordinary gallantry and aggressive leadership . ' only 22 of the 220 men that stormed the beach with him came home alive . that was the last time my uncle saw combat . he had been hit . he learned about his silver star in the hospital . he wanted to return , but he was shell-shocked . it took them a year and a half of my life for them to straighten me out and get back to civilian life , ' he said .
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lenny lisovicz describes day he and his unit stormed omaha beach
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roma <tsp> a bulgarian woman claims she is the mother of the blond , blue-eyed girl taken by police from a roma couple in greece last week . the mystery of maria , ' who is believed to be 5 to 6 years old , prompted an international search for the girl 's biological family and answers to how she ended up in a roma community in central greece . the woman told bulgarian investigators that she left the girl in greece with a family she worked for in 2009 , bulgarian interior ministry general secretary svetlozar lazarov said thursday . we gave her , we gifted her , without money , ' sashka ruseva told bulgaria 's tv7 thursday . i did n't take any money . i did n't have any food to give to the kid . i saw it yesterday and i 've been sick . i have n't eaten since last night . ' maria 's photograph has been broadcast worldwide . her 15-year-old son also spoke to reporters outside of the police station where they were questioned . isak ruseva said his mother became sad and started crying ' when she saw the child in television wednesday . they did n't sell the girl , ' he said . they did n't have money to come back and that 's why they left her . ' cnn visits roma community where'maria'was found dna testing set for friday a dna sample will be taken from ruseva on friday for comparison with the child in greece , lazarov told cnn . greek officials did not respond when cnn asked if they were providing the child 's dna results to bulgarian authorities . greek authorities charged the roma couple who had maria until last week -- eleftheria dimopoulou , 40 , and christos salis , 39 -- roma couple with abducting the child . they appeared in court monday and were both remanded into custody pending trial . authorities initially asked questions about maria because she has fair skin and blond hair , while the couple who said they were her parents have darker complexions typical of roma , a people descended from indian nomads and who face widespread discrimination in europe . medical tests showed she was n't their daughter , authorities have said . the girl 's dna did n't match any profile in interpol 's database , the international law enforcement agency said tuesday . their lawyers say the couple took the child into their home after her biological mother , who they say was from bulgaria , was unable to look after her . residents of the roma community backed that assertion in interviews with cnn . maria used to play here with the other children and go to the store with her mum . maria was not hidden away , ' maria kaleas said . the mother gave her away and eleftheria was enchanted by maria 's beauty . she shared the food for her own children with maria . ' interpol said greek authorities have asked for its help in finding out maria 's identity . until now , a comparison of the girl 's profile against interpol 's global dna database has not produced a match , ' interpol said in a news release . the agency has more than 600 missing people listed on its website , 32 of whom are 5 or 6 years old . a spokesman for a greek children 's charity said that about 10 cases of missing children around the world are being taken very seriously ' in connection with maria 's case . they include children from the united states , canada , poland and france , ' said panagiotis pardalis of the smile of the child charity . the smile of the child said the girl , who was found a week ago , is being cared for in a group home . greece mystery girl : interpol says no dna match in its database blond child returned to roma family in ireland as maria 's story became global news , another mystery emerged in dublin , ireland when authorities took a blond , blue-eyed girl from a roma couple there . police , acting on a tip , removed the 7-year-old girl from a home on monday and placed her in protective care . but the child was returned to the couple after dna test confirmed she is their daughter , a source familiar with the case 's legal proceedings told cnn on wednesday . the parents , who live in the suburb of tallaght , told cnn they have a passport for the girl , but they do not call her by the name on the passport . their attorney said the couple is going to take some time before considering their legal options , the british press association reported . her parents greatly appreciate the help and assistance that they have been given by friends and relatives over the last few days , ' waheed mudah told the pa. they now intend to concentrate on looking after their family and , in particular , in trying to reassure their daughter that she will be in their care . ' prejudice against the roma prejudice and discrimination against the roma are widespread in greece and elsewhere in europe , amnesty international says . maria 's case plays into old prejudices about them stealing children for forced labor . pardalis , with the charity now caring for her , mentioned such a possibility , saying , we do n't have any other information if this girl was forced to work or to beg on streets . ' the greek government news agency also raised the possibility of the existence of a ring bringing pregnant women to greece from bulgaria and then taking their children for sale . ' the agency cited past reports that empty coffins had been found for infants who supposedly were stillborn to foreign mothers in athens . photo blog : the plight of the roma
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greece authorities took maria from roma home last week
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utah olympic park <tsp> ( cnn ) -- when i was 9 , my mom gave us the devastating news : your dad has cancer . ' i remember that day like it was yesterday . my brothers and i were gathered at the kitchen table as she broke the news to us . that was a defining moment ; my life and focus were forever changed . my dad 's diagnosis of a rare , aggressive form of prostate cancer made me quickly realize how little awareness there was for his disease . within 10 months , my dad , michael vinecki , was gone . i could n't imagine just sitting around being sad . i knew i had to do something . so with the help of my mom , i formed a nonprofit called team winter . i set out on a mission to raise global awareness for the cancer that stole my dad . i vowed to help prevent other families from going through what my family went through and continues to go through . i ca n't remember a time when i was n't competitive . at 5 years old , i was already winning triathlons and running races and competing against adults . i spent my winters tearing up the ski slopes and dreaming of being an olympic skier . at age 9 , i completed my first olympic-distance triathlon in less than four hours -- a distance many said i was too young for . it would be the last race where my dad would ever meet me at the finish line . movember : why i 'm growing the'stache his death fueled my passion and determination in a way very few athletes might experience . since losing my dad , i have become not only a two-time ironkids triathlon national champion but also an ambassador to the sport of triathlon . i love inspiring youth across america to live an active , positive and healthy lifestyle and to race not only for themselves but for a cause . while speaking at a 2009 prostate cancer foundation event , i made a promise to more than 100 of the best prostate cancer researchers of the world : i will make certain that , in my lifetime , i will get a blue ribbon out there to match every pink ribbon ! ' i have helped raise close to $ 400,000 to fund prostate cancer research and have athletes around the world racing for my cause . why ca n't doctors agree on psa testing ? now i have a new goal : to race one marathon on every continent . i have already completed the eugene marathon in oregon in 3:45:04 and placed third overall female at the amazing maasai in kenya . many have told me i 'm too young to run these distances , to wait until i 'm older . my dad waited until he was 40 years old to do the things he wanted to do and never got to do them . i 'm more than capable now to do the things i do , so why put them off until tomorrow ? tomorrow is never a given , as i have learned the hard way . i hope to encourage others to do the same and not let age be a barrier . in 2013 , i 'm tackling antarctica , the inca trail marathon ( labeled the toughest marathon in the world ' ) , mongolia and new zealand and will finish on the original course of pheidippides in athens in november . ironman champ : your mind matters more my goal is to be the youngest person in the world to complete a marathon on every continent before i turn 15 , to honor not only my dad but the one in six men affected by prostate cancer . i plan on showing my dad all these amazing places he never got to see . he is with me wherever i go , and you can bet he is by my side every step of the way as i conquer every continent , 26.2 miles at a time . as for skiing , in june , i became the newest and youngest member of fly elite , the olympic development team for aerial skiing . i train in park city at the utah olympic park and am a hopeful for the 2018 winter olympics in south korea . but this training and vision comes at a great cost . i now live year-round with a host family and must live apart from my three brothers and my mom . i spend up to eight hours a day training , on top of my daily school schedule . i will continue to cross train as a triathlete and will be exploring the xterra series in 2013 with sights set on the world championships in maui this fall . six people who 'll inspire you this year i believe cross-training is the key to reducing injuries and burnout and has been one of the keys to my success as an athlete . despite all my athletic endeavors , i have n't forgotten about the most important thing , my education . i 'm currently a freshman at the online high school epgy ( educational program for gifted youth ) , run by stanford university . my journey is not one i chose ; it was a path laid before me . i feel my dad was meant to die so that team winter could be born and i could help change the face of prostate cancer awareness . i hope i 'm able to show others that if a 9-year-old girl from a rural town in northern michigan can have an impact on the world , anyone can do the same . i challenge people to not only dream but to dream big ! my dream : to be a winter and summer olympian . never give in ! follow winter on twitter @ teamwinter or on facebook
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she 's training to be an olympic skier in park city at the utah olympic park
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ban ki-moon <tsp> ( cnn ) -- russia 's foreign minister sergey lavrov on saturday called on south sudan to punish those responsible for shooting down a u.n. helicopter and taking the lives of four russian crew members . his words come a day after the south sudanese armed forces admitted to shooting down the helicopter in eastern south sudan . we call on the government of south sudan to carry out a full investigation of the incident , punish the guilty and take every measure to guarantee that this will never happen again , ' lavrov said , in a statement on his website . the united nations mission in south sudan said friday four russian crew members were killed but that there were no passengers on board the aircraft . the mi-8 helicopter went down near the settlement of likuangole , in the state of jonglei , in the country 's east , the u.n. mission said . it is investigating the incident . the sudan people 's liberation army said it was an accident , according to spokesman philip aguer . he said the spla had contacted the u.n. mission after seeing the helicopter near an spla command post but had been told it had no aircraft in the area . the troops thought the aircraft looked to be the type that had dropped munitions to militias in the area , aguer said . u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon condemned the shooting down of the helicopter , saying in a statement that it was clearly marked as being a u.n. aircraft . ban extended condolences to the crew members and called on the government of south sudan to bring whoever is responsible to justice . cnn 's zarifmo aslamshoyeva contributed to this report .
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u.n. chief ban ki-moon has condemned the shooting down of the aircraft
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gulf <tsp> ( cnn ) the other day , i searched through hundreds of photos hoping to find a starting point to write this article . looking through old photos is usually an enjoyable experience -- coming across a wedding or remembrances of happy times with family and friends . on this occasion , however , i found myself flipping through images from a devastating time we dearly wish had never happened but can not afford to forget . white sand beaches stained with black sludge , oil-choked waterways and wildlife , shuttered businesses , and front-lawn signs pleading for justice and help . five years after the deepwater horizon oil rig disaster that killed 11 people , devastated livelihoods and wreaked havoc on the already fragile natural resources of the gulf of mexico region , it 's time to ask ourselves : what have we learned ? and what are we willing to do make sure it does n't happen again ? i spent much of 2010 in the gulf , traveling through the communities , spending time with the people and witnessing the impact of this environmental catastrophe . five years later , i returned to see what has changed and what has remained the same . first , it 's important to understand that the principle out of sight , out of mind ' does n't apply in the communities of gulf coast states . the bp oil spill 's legacy continues to haunt this region like a recurring cancer . on this most recent trip , i saw the ghostly remains of entire islands virtually swallowed up by the oil , and i learned about oystermen and fishermen whose livelihoods are still crippled by what happened five years ago . imagining daddy : a rig worker 's daughter and her dreams of course , that 's not to say progress has n't been made . community groups and dedicated organizations have worked ceaselessly to restore and repair not only the physical environment , but also the way of life . this work is critical , and it deserves our attention and additional resources to continue to progress . but make no mistake : though a kind of normalcy has returned to the gulf region and important progress has been made , the oil is still there . what we do and do n't know about the oil spill a recent study from florida state university estimates that up to 10 million gallons of that oil is still on the seafloor of the gulf . ( bp disputes the study ) . everything is not back to normal . ' so far , bp has spent more than $ 14 billion on cleanup , and despite its assurances that everything is recovering , we witnessed a crew on a beach in barataria bay ( off louisiana ) digging up oily sand . not what i would call recovered . and while this kind of reflection is rarely pleasant , it is critical in order to avoid another tragedy on the scale of the bp spill , or potentially much worse . it 's important to note that for areas like the gulf , which are already affected by drilling , many of the common-sense safety reforms called for by the national commission on the oil spill in january 2011 have yet to be implemented . and yet , early this year , the obama administration proposed a five-year offshore oil and gas drilling plan that , in addition to new areas in the gulf , would open the southeast atlantic coast from virginia to georgia , as well as the majority of the wild arctic to offshore oil and gas drilling . in the case of the arctic , one of the last pristine ocean habitats , oil companies have to admit that they are n't prepared to safeguard against the disasters that may take place if the plan is allowed to move forward . imagine what would happen if an oil spill occurred in a region where what little technology we have , like oil booms and controlled burns , is useless in the land of floating icebergs and catastrophic storms . in the case of the atlantic seaboard , the increase in severe storms and rise in sea level , as well as what is at stake from an ecological standpoint , do n't paint a more optimistic picture . we have a simple choice : do we continue to make the same mistakes with a business as usual ' approach , or do we change the way we manage and use the resources the earth provides us ? i 'm not saying the path forward is easy . it 's not , but this is a challenge we need to embrace . some solutions are relatively straightforward -- holding industry and our government responsible for human and environmental safety is certainly at the top of this list . taking the time and effort to understand our natural resources before we exploit them is another . despite its importance to navigation , fishing , oil and gas development , and maritime safety , our understanding of how the gulf system works remains extremely limited . independent research free of corporate and government influence in the gulf of mexico is critical . projects like habitat mapping can result in countless ecological and economic benefits , such as improved assessments of fishery health , a baseline for tracking success of billions of dollars in restoration efforts , an essential foundation for modeling and monitoring the gulf ecosystem , and a planning tool for better managing one of the hardest-working bodies of water in the world . and , perhaps our biggest and most important challenge : we must continue to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels by developing sustainable energy solutions , including solar and wind power , and the sustainable jobs and opportunities that follow the kind of pioneering innovation that makes america such a great country . not long after the spill began , i was speaking to a group of elementary school students with my environmental education nonprofit earthecho international . the students were all horrified and upset by what was happening in the gulf . at the end of a question-and-answer session , i asked them , who is going to clean up this mess ? ' all of them raised their hands and said in somewhat subdued unison , we will . ' i 've told this story in the intervening years , and it 's always given me a sense of hope . thinking of those young children now also steels my resolve to make sure they do n't have to deliver on that promise . the following local and national coalitions and organizations offer great starting points to become involved in the movement to restore the gulf and its communities , and to make sure we take steps to prevent history from repeating itself : the gulf future coalition , ocean conservancy , the natural resources defense council and the national wildlife federation .
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he says our understanding of how the gulf works remains limited
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gulf <tsp> ( cnn ) the other day , i searched through hundreds of photos hoping to find a starting point to write this article . looking through old photos is usually an enjoyable experience -- coming across a wedding or remembrances of happy times with family and friends . on this occasion , however , i found myself flipping through images from a devastating time we dearly wish had never happened but can not afford to forget . white sand beaches stained with black sludge , oil-choked waterways and wildlife , shuttered businesses , and front-lawn signs pleading for justice and help . five years after the deepwater horizon oil rig disaster that killed 11 people , devastated livelihoods and wreaked havoc on the already fragile natural resources of the gulf of mexico region , it 's time to ask ourselves : what have we learned ? and what are we willing to do make sure it does n't happen again ? i spent much of 2010 in the gulf , traveling through the communities , spending time with the people and witnessing the impact of this environmental catastrophe . five years later , i returned to see what has changed and what has remained the same . first , it 's important to understand that the principle out of sight , out of mind ' does n't apply in the communities of gulf coast states . the bp oil spill 's legacy continues to haunt this region like a recurring cancer . on this most recent trip , i saw the ghostly remains of entire islands virtually swallowed up by the oil , and i learned about oystermen and fishermen whose livelihoods are still crippled by what happened five years ago . imagining daddy : a rig worker 's daughter and her dreams of course , that 's not to say progress has n't been made . community groups and dedicated organizations have worked ceaselessly to restore and repair not only the physical environment , but also the way of life . this work is critical , and it deserves our attention and additional resources to continue to progress . but make no mistake : though a kind of normalcy has returned to the gulf region and important progress has been made , the oil is still there . what we do and do n't know about the oil spill a recent study from florida state university estimates that up to 10 million gallons of that oil is still on the seafloor of the gulf . ( bp disputes the study ) . everything is not back to normal . ' so far , bp has spent more than $ 14 billion on cleanup , and despite its assurances that everything is recovering , we witnessed a crew on a beach in barataria bay ( off louisiana ) digging up oily sand . not what i would call recovered . and while this kind of reflection is rarely pleasant , it is critical in order to avoid another tragedy on the scale of the bp spill , or potentially much worse . it 's important to note that for areas like the gulf , which are already affected by drilling , many of the common-sense safety reforms called for by the national commission on the oil spill in january 2011 have yet to be implemented . and yet , early this year , the obama administration proposed a five-year offshore oil and gas drilling plan that , in addition to new areas in the gulf , would open the southeast atlantic coast from virginia to georgia , as well as the majority of the wild arctic to offshore oil and gas drilling . in the case of the arctic , one of the last pristine ocean habitats , oil companies have to admit that they are n't prepared to safeguard against the disasters that may take place if the plan is allowed to move forward . imagine what would happen if an oil spill occurred in a region where what little technology we have , like oil booms and controlled burns , is useless in the land of floating icebergs and catastrophic storms . in the case of the atlantic seaboard , the increase in severe storms and rise in sea level , as well as what is at stake from an ecological standpoint , do n't paint a more optimistic picture . we have a simple choice : do we continue to make the same mistakes with a business as usual ' approach , or do we change the way we manage and use the resources the earth provides us ? i 'm not saying the path forward is easy . it 's not , but this is a challenge we need to embrace . some solutions are relatively straightforward -- holding industry and our government responsible for human and environmental safety is certainly at the top of this list . taking the time and effort to understand our natural resources before we exploit them is another . despite its importance to navigation , fishing , oil and gas development , and maritime safety , our understanding of how the gulf system works remains extremely limited . independent research free of corporate and government influence in the gulf of mexico is critical . projects like habitat mapping can result in countless ecological and economic benefits , such as improved assessments of fishery health , a baseline for tracking success of billions of dollars in restoration efforts , an essential foundation for modeling and monitoring the gulf ecosystem , and a planning tool for better managing one of the hardest-working bodies of water in the world . and , perhaps our biggest and most important challenge : we must continue to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels by developing sustainable energy solutions , including solar and wind power , and the sustainable jobs and opportunities that follow the kind of pioneering innovation that makes america such a great country . not long after the spill began , i was speaking to a group of elementary school students with my environmental education nonprofit earthecho international . the students were all horrified and upset by what was happening in the gulf . at the end of a question-and-answer session , i asked them , who is going to clean up this mess ? ' all of them raised their hands and said in somewhat subdued unison , we will . ' i 've told this story in the intervening years , and it 's always given me a sense of hope . thinking of those young children now also steels my resolve to make sure they do n't have to deliver on that promise . the following local and national coalitions and organizations offer great starting points to become involved in the movement to restore the gulf and its communities , and to make sure we take steps to prevent history from repeating itself : the gulf future coalition , ocean conservancy , the natural resources defense council and the national wildlife federation .
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out of sight , out of mind ' does n't apply to communities along the gulf of mexico , philippe cousteau says
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mexican <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- a controversial program by the bureau of alcohol , tobacco , firearms and explosives that tried to track illegal weapons sales shows the need for tougher gun laws , according to a report issued thursday by a house democrat . entitled outgunned , ' the report released by rep. elijah cummings , d-maryland , quoted law enforcement officers on how lax or nonexistent laws and regulations on so-called straw ' purchases of illegal weapons , firearms trafficking and monitoring of the sales of assault rifles and other long guns contributed to the thriving trafficking of illegal weapons to mexico . the report is an attempt by cummings and other democrats on the house oversight and government reform committee to raise the issue of gun control in the investigation of operation fast and furious , ' the atf program that focused on following people who legally bought weapons that were then transferred to criminals and destined for mexico . instead of intercepting the weapons when they switched hands , operation fast and furious called for atf agents to let the guns walk ' and wait for them to surface in mexico , according to the house committee . the idea was that once the weapons in mexico were traced back to the straw purchasers , the entire arms smuggling network could be brought down . instead , the committee argued , letting the weapons slip into the wrong hands was a deadly miscalculation that resulted in preventable deaths , including that of border patrol agent brian terry . the democratic report issued thursday said committee chairman rep. darrell issa of california prevented questions about the need for stronger gun control laws at a june 15 hearing on the atf operation . despite the chairman 's efforts to wall off any discussion of the nation 's gun laws , the record compiled during the committee 's investigation documents clearly that these same law enforcement agents believe that their efforts to combat international drug cartels would be enhanced significantly with common-sense improvements in several key areas , ' the report said . it called for increased criminal penalties for illegal straw purchases , enactment by congress of a dedicated firearms trafficking statute , ' and for atf to get reports from gun dealers on purchases of multiple long guns that are now the weapons of choice for mexican drug cartels . ' cummings , the ranking democrat on the committee , told a forum on illegal firearms trafficking he organized thursday that he knew the recommendations of the new report will face stiff resistance in congress and beyond . ' before today 's forum even began , it was criticized as a conspiracy to confiscate the firearms of law-abiding citizens , which is ridiculous , ' he said . cummings also said he and rep. carolyn maloney , d-new york , would introduce legislation on the reforms called for in the report . in the report , federal agents called existing laws against straw purchasers insufficient and said the country needed a specific statute against weapons trafficking . prosecutors and law enforcement agents should not have to bend over backwards to imprison those who provide military-grade weapons to murderers , ' cummings said . the atf operation has been criticized by president barack obama , who promised appropriate action ' once a justice department investigation is complete . federal law enforcement sources say kenneth melson , acting director of atf , is expected to be forced out as a result . terry was killed last year north of the mexican border in arizona after confronting bandits believed to be preying on illegal immigrants . two weapons found near the scene of the killing were traced to fast and furious . issa has called the operation felony stupid . ' as many as 2,000 semiautomatic rifles reached the hands of cartels as a result , and issa said the top two atf officials were briefed on the program regularly . in mexico , the case has drawn nationwide attention and sharp criticism from top officials , who have long stressed that u.s. weapons are fueling the country 's drug war . cnn 's terry frieden and tom cohen contributed to this report .
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some weapons ended up in the hands of mexican cartels
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gabriele <tsp> rome ( cnn ) -- vatican police who searched the apartments of the pope 's former butler , paolo gabriele , as they investigated a suspected leak told a court wednesday how they found more than 1,000 important documents among a stash of hundreds of thousands . among them were original papers signed by pope benedict xvi , some of them stamped with an order for destruction , according to a briefing from the small pool of journalists allowed to attend the trial in a vatican courthouse . the former butler declared himself innocent tuesday of a charge of aggravated theft in connection with leaked documents -- but said he had abused the pope 's trust . testifying wednesday , officer silvano carli said that among the huge quantity of documents found in gabriele 's possession , more than 1,000 , both original and photocopies , were of interest . ' police also found many newspaper clippings and printouts from internet searches , the court heard . much of the material had a religious or spiritual theme , touching on buddhism , christianity , catholicism and yoga . other articles concerned freemasonry . the four officers said that it had taken them almost eight hours to search through the papers accumulated by gabriele and that they had found important ' documents mixed in with irrelevant material as if it had been hidden . ' as well as the documents , a gold nugget belonging to the pope and a check made out to the pontiff were found in a shoebox . pope 's butler leaked papers to shock'corrupt'church , prosecutor says the officers said they had searched the apartment mainly for documents and did not give much weight ' to the discovery of the gold nugget and signed check because they knew that it was gabriele 's job to handle the gifts the pope received during his trips . ' they also seized a couple of computers , an ipad , a hard drive and usb drives . in total , 82 boxes of evidence were collected from gabriele 's apartments in vatican city and castel gondolfo , a small town near rome . gabriele has previously admitted taking hundreds of secret papers from the pope 's personal apartment and passing them to an italian journalist . the evidence heard wednesday is expected to be the last before the trial wraps up saturday , when the prosecutor and defense lawyer are due to give their closing statements and rebuttals . gabriele also has the right to speak again before the three lay judges retire to consider their verdict , which could come saturday . he asserted his innocence during his own testimony tuesday , but added : i feel guilty of having betrayed the trust that the holy father gave me . ' gabriele insists that he made no personal gain from collecting the documents and that he had no accomplices . he said he wanted to expose the disconcerting atmosphere ' within the vatican . vatican scandals lift lid on secret power struggle corruption claims resulting from the publication of a book based on the leaked materials rocked the hierarchy of the roman catholic church and could even affect who becomes the next pope . if convicted of aggravated theft , gabriele could face up to eight years in an italian prison , although it is possible the pontiff could pardon him . computer technician claudio sciarpelletti , who worked in the vatican 's secretariat of state , is accused of complicity in the crime . the court will try him separately , once the former butler 's trial is finished . sciarpelletti would face a shorter prison term of only a few months if found guilty . prison terms handed down by the court are served in the italian prison system , under an agreement between the vatican city-state and italy . gabriele was arrested in may , following a top-level vatican investigation into how the pope 's private documents appeared in the best-selling book sua santita ' ( his holiness ' ) , by italian journalist gianluigi nuzzi . the vatican called the publication of his book criminal ' when it was released in italian .
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police found more than 1,000 important documents in paolo gabriele 's possession
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gabriele <tsp> rome ( cnn ) -- vatican police who searched the apartments of the pope 's former butler , paolo gabriele , as they investigated a suspected leak told a court wednesday how they found more than 1,000 important documents among a stash of hundreds of thousands . among them were original papers signed by pope benedict xvi , some of them stamped with an order for destruction , according to a briefing from the small pool of journalists allowed to attend the trial in a vatican courthouse . the former butler declared himself innocent tuesday of a charge of aggravated theft in connection with leaked documents -- but said he had abused the pope 's trust . testifying wednesday , officer silvano carli said that among the huge quantity of documents found in gabriele 's possession , more than 1,000 , both original and photocopies , were of interest . ' police also found many newspaper clippings and printouts from internet searches , the court heard . much of the material had a religious or spiritual theme , touching on buddhism , christianity , catholicism and yoga . other articles concerned freemasonry . the four officers said that it had taken them almost eight hours to search through the papers accumulated by gabriele and that they had found important ' documents mixed in with irrelevant material as if it had been hidden . ' as well as the documents , a gold nugget belonging to the pope and a check made out to the pontiff were found in a shoebox . pope 's butler leaked papers to shock'corrupt'church , prosecutor says the officers said they had searched the apartment mainly for documents and did not give much weight ' to the discovery of the gold nugget and signed check because they knew that it was gabriele 's job to handle the gifts the pope received during his trips . ' they also seized a couple of computers , an ipad , a hard drive and usb drives . in total , 82 boxes of evidence were collected from gabriele 's apartments in vatican city and castel gondolfo , a small town near rome . gabriele has previously admitted taking hundreds of secret papers from the pope 's personal apartment and passing them to an italian journalist . the evidence heard wednesday is expected to be the last before the trial wraps up saturday , when the prosecutor and defense lawyer are due to give their closing statements and rebuttals . gabriele also has the right to speak again before the three lay judges retire to consider their verdict , which could come saturday . he asserted his innocence during his own testimony tuesday , but added : i feel guilty of having betrayed the trust that the holy father gave me . ' gabriele insists that he made no personal gain from collecting the documents and that he had no accomplices . he said he wanted to expose the disconcerting atmosphere ' within the vatican . vatican scandals lift lid on secret power struggle corruption claims resulting from the publication of a book based on the leaked materials rocked the hierarchy of the roman catholic church and could even affect who becomes the next pope . if convicted of aggravated theft , gabriele could face up to eight years in an italian prison , although it is possible the pontiff could pardon him . computer technician claudio sciarpelletti , who worked in the vatican 's secretariat of state , is accused of complicity in the crime . the court will try him separately , once the former butler 's trial is finished . sciarpelletti would face a shorter prison term of only a few months if found guilty . prison terms handed down by the court are served in the italian prison system , under an agreement between the vatican city-state and italy . gabriele was arrested in may , following a top-level vatican investigation into how the pope 's private documents appeared in the best-selling book sua santita ' ( his holiness ' ) , by italian journalist gianluigi nuzzi . the vatican called the publication of his book criminal ' when it was released in italian .
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gabriele says he is innocent of aggravated theft charge but abused the pope 's trust
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tottenham <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a dramatic second half fightback from italian side udinese stunned english premier league club liverpool in the europa league and inflicted their third straight defeat at anfield . brendan rodgers'side had started brightly , taking the lead through jonjo shelvey 's first half header , but udinese roared out of the blocks in the second half . veteran striker antonio di natale equalized just after the interval and an own goal from uruguayan defender sebastiã¡n coates handed udinese a 2-1 lead on 69 minutes . giovanni pasquale quickly made it 3-1 and though luis suarez pulled a goal back with a spectacular free kick liverpool could n't find a leveler . it increased the pressure on rodgers , with liverpool languishing in 14th place in the premier league with just one win from six games . i thought the team worked very well but we ca n't have to score three , four or five goals to win games . that is the area we have to work on . we concede goals too easily , ' rodgers told itv . the other game in group a saw cameroon striker samuel eto'o score twice , as anzhi makhachkala beat young boys , of switzerland , 2-0 in russia . fellow premier league side newcastle fared better than liverpool , easing past french outfit bordeaux who came into the game on the back of a 17-match unbeaten run . shola ameobi put them in front with a tap in before an own goal from henrique doubled their lead . senegal striker papiss cisse made it 3-0 in the second half , and newcastle now top group d. newcastle manager alan pardew told espn : what pleased me most was that we played with verve and energy again , we looked more like ourselves from last year , and that is a good side trust me . ' club brugge -- newcastle 's next opponents -- beat portuguese side maritimo 2-0 in belgium . the third english club in the europa league , tottenham , had to make do with a 1-1 draw in greece with panathinaikos in group j as jose toche canceled out michael dawson 's opener . the group 's other game saw italian side lazio edge past slovenians nk maribor thanks to an ederson goal . inter milan cruised to their second successive victory of the competition with a 3-1 win away at neftchi of azerbaijan thanks to goals from phillippe coutinho , chukwuma joel obi and marko livaja . in the other group h game , russian side rubin kazan beat partizan belgrade 2-0 . holders atletico madrid edged past czech team viktoria plzen but had to rely on an injury time goal from cristian rodriguez in their group b clash while in the other game salim cisse 's goal handed acadã©mica de coimbra a win over hapoel tel-aviv . two goals from baroni cristian helped turkish outfit fenerbahce win 4-2 at borussia monchengladbach in group c. a brace from loic remy heped french club marseille to a 5-1 win over cypriots ael . in group e norwegian side molde beat stuttgart , of germany , 2-0 while in romania steaua bucharest defeated fc copenhagen of denmark 1-0 . ukrainians dnipro recorded a 3-2 victory at aik athens in greece . the other group f clash saw psv eindhoven thrash italian side napoli 3-0 in holland . in group g , portuguese giants sporting lisbon were humbled in hungary , losing 3-0 to minnows videoton fc fehervar . fc basel battled back from 2-0 down at home to belgium 's racing genk -- marco streller 's double rescuing a point in switzerland . there were goals galore in group i as french outfit lyon beat hapoel kiryat shmona 4-3 in israel , gueida fofana netting twice , while sparta prague defeated spain 's atheltic bilbao 3-1 in the czech republic . in group k , ukrainians metalist kharkiv beat rapid vienna of austria 2-0 , and bayer leverkusen beat rosenborg 1-0 in norway thanks to a goal from stefan kiessling . in group l hannover beat levante 2-1 despite having a man less than the spanish side for more than 80 minutes . two goals from nikola djurdjic put swedish side helsingborg into the lead against twente , but the dutch outfit hit back to claim a 2-2 draw .
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newcastle beat bordeaux , while tottenham are held at panathinaikos
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giovanni pasquale <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a dramatic second half fightback from italian side udinese stunned english premier league club liverpool in the europa league and inflicted their third straight defeat at anfield . brendan rodgers'side had started brightly , taking the lead through jonjo shelvey 's first half header , but udinese roared out of the blocks in the second half . veteran striker antonio di natale equalized just after the interval and an own goal from uruguayan defender sebastiã¡n coates handed udinese a 2-1 lead on 69 minutes . giovanni pasquale quickly made it 3-1 and though luis suarez pulled a goal back with a spectacular free kick liverpool could n't find a leveler . it increased the pressure on rodgers , with liverpool languishing in 14th place in the premier league with just one win from six games . i thought the team worked very well but we ca n't have to score three , four or five goals to win games . that is the area we have to work on . we concede goals too easily , ' rodgers told itv . the other game in group a saw cameroon striker samuel eto'o score twice , as anzhi makhachkala beat young boys , of switzerland , 2-0 in russia . fellow premier league side newcastle fared better than liverpool , easing past french outfit bordeaux who came into the game on the back of a 17-match unbeaten run . shola ameobi put them in front with a tap in before an own goal from henrique doubled their lead . senegal striker papiss cisse made it 3-0 in the second half , and newcastle now top group d. newcastle manager alan pardew told espn : what pleased me most was that we played with verve and energy again , we looked more like ourselves from last year , and that is a good side trust me . ' club brugge -- newcastle 's next opponents -- beat portuguese side maritimo 2-0 in belgium . the third english club in the europa league , tottenham , had to make do with a 1-1 draw in greece with panathinaikos in group j as jose toche canceled out michael dawson 's opener . the group 's other game saw italian side lazio edge past slovenians nk maribor thanks to an ederson goal . inter milan cruised to their second successive victory of the competition with a 3-1 win away at neftchi of azerbaijan thanks to goals from phillippe coutinho , chukwuma joel obi and marko livaja . in the other group h game , russian side rubin kazan beat partizan belgrade 2-0 . holders atletico madrid edged past czech team viktoria plzen but had to rely on an injury time goal from cristian rodriguez in their group b clash while in the other game salim cisse 's goal handed acadã©mica de coimbra a win over hapoel tel-aviv . two goals from baroni cristian helped turkish outfit fenerbahce win 4-2 at borussia monchengladbach in group c. a brace from loic remy heped french club marseille to a 5-1 win over cypriots ael . in group e norwegian side molde beat stuttgart , of germany , 2-0 while in romania steaua bucharest defeated fc copenhagen of denmark 1-0 . ukrainians dnipro recorded a 3-2 victory at aik athens in greece . the other group f clash saw psv eindhoven thrash italian side napoli 3-0 in holland . in group g , portuguese giants sporting lisbon were humbled in hungary , losing 3-0 to minnows videoton fc fehervar . fc basel battled back from 2-0 down at home to belgium 's racing genk -- marco streller 's double rescuing a point in switzerland . there were goals galore in group i as french outfit lyon beat hapoel kiryat shmona 4-3 in israel , gueida fofana netting twice , while sparta prague defeated spain 's atheltic bilbao 3-1 in the czech republic . in group k , ukrainians metalist kharkiv beat rapid vienna of austria 2-0 , and bayer leverkusen beat rosenborg 1-0 in norway thanks to a goal from stefan kiessling . in group l hannover beat levante 2-1 despite having a man less than the spanish side for more than 80 minutes . two goals from nikola djurdjic put swedish side helsingborg into the lead against twente , but the dutch outfit hit back to claim a 2-2 draw .
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goals from antonio di natale and giovanni pasquale help italians to victory
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obama <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- with just over a week to go before the first presidential debate , both campaigns are weighing what they can do to take advantage of the three head-to-head matchups in october that will help decide the race . republican pollster whit ayres said gop nominee mitt romney must use the debates to score points ' on the economy , the no . 1 concern of voters . the most important thing that mitt romney can do is give people confidence that he knows how to fix this economy , ' ayres told cnn 's candy crowley on state of the union . ' they do n't believe ( president barack ) obama has or can , but they are not yet persuaded that mitt romney can either . that 's the most important thing to come out of your debate . ' while national polls like gallup show obama and romney neck and neck , recent ones in florida , ohio , virginia and wisconsin -- key battleground states that will help determine the winner in november -- show the president pulling ahead , with much closer contests in colorado and nevada . that could make it harder for romney to do what analysts say he must to win the white house -- carry all the states sen. john mccain did in 2008 , plus about half a dozen that obama turned from red to blue . battleground polls seem to give obama upper hand with the conventions over , the debates are the last opportunity for the two candidates to reach the kind of large television audiences that could help them win over the dwindling number of undecided voters and energize their bases . on abc 's this week , ' conservative writer ann coulter said the debates would be important not because romney is such a fabulous orator , but to the contrary -- for the first time , americans will be able to see romney unfiltered . and i think it will make a big difference . ' and south carolina sen. lindsey graham said on state of the union ' that the former massachusetts governor was in good shape ' and the debates would help shift the focus from perceived gaffes and missteps made by romney in recent weeks -- most notably his remarks calling 47 % of the u.s. population victims ' who are dependent on the government -- to obama 's record . graham : it 's about your bank account , not romney 's swiss account former president bill clinton told cnn 's fareed zakaria that romney would have to explain the 47 % ' comments in the debates . the challenge for the president is to convince doubters , some of whom may have been supporters in 2008 , that his policies will succeed in turning the economy around . we 've got an electorate that is disappointed in the president they elected in 2008 , but not at all convinced that the republican challenger offers a good alternative , ' usa today washington bureau chief susan page told crowley . obama campaign senior adviser robert gibbs continued to try to lower expectations for the president on fox news sunday . ' i think it 's always a big moment when two candidates get to sit side by side and answer the same question , ' he said . mitt romney i think has an advantage , because he 's been through 20 of these debates in the primaries over the last year . he even bragged that he was declared the winner in 16 of those debates . so i think , in that sense , having been through this much more recently than president obama , i think he starts with an advantage . ' in other quarters , the discussion turned to whether the romney campaign needed to make changes . wisconsin gov . scott walker survived a recall election with the help of a strong republican ground game that the obama campaign believes is benefiting romney in that traditionally blue state . walker said he wanted to see more passion from the gop contender and suggested he needed to spend more time campaigning . i think you got ta get off the hills and you got ta get out and charge forward , ' walker said on fox news sunday . ' certainly , in part , this is a referendum on this president , there 's no doubt about it . but i think for most americans -- particularly in my state , where there 's an awful lot of swing , independent voters -- they want to know more than what 's wrong with this president . they want to know what 's right and what 's going to move this country forward . i think mitt romney 's got this plan . i want to see fire in the belly . ' republican national committee chairman reince priebus dismissed the handwringing among some republicans about the state of the campaign and insisted romney had a good week , despite an intense focus in the media on the 47 % ' comments , which were secretly recorded at a fund-raiser in florida months ago . priebus on romney :'not the best week' ' we had a good week last week , i think in retrospect , in that we were able to frame up the debate last week in the sense of , what future do we want , and do you want , out there for your kids and grandkids . and clearly , things are not going well in this country , ' priebus said on this week . ' priebus'comments echoed ones romney made in a 60 minutes ' interview set to air sunday night , in which he said his campaign did not need a turnaround . actually , we 're tied in the polls . we 're all within the margin of error , ' romney told cbs 's scott pelley , in excerpts released ahead of showtime . we bounce around , week to week , day to day . there are some days we 're up . there are some days we 're down . ' obama campaign officials say it is not the national polls but the swing state polls that matter . we 're either tied or in the lead in every battleground state 45 days out , ' campaign manager jim messina told reporters in milwaukee on saturday . i think you will see a tightening in the national polls going forward . what i care way more about is ohio , colorado , virginia , wisconsin , etc . in those states , i feel our pathways to victory are there . there are two different campaigns , one in the battlegrounds and one everywhere else . that 's why the national polls are n't relevant to this campaign . ' romney plans to spend part of the last full week before the october 3 debate on a bus tour in ohio , while the president is scheduled to speak at the u.n. general assembly on tuesday , before making campaign stops in ohio and virginia . romney rebuts conservative criticism of his campaign trajectory
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obama campaign trying to lower expectations ahead of october 3 debate
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obama <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- with just over a week to go before the first presidential debate , both campaigns are weighing what they can do to take advantage of the three head-to-head matchups in october that will help decide the race . republican pollster whit ayres said gop nominee mitt romney must use the debates to score points ' on the economy , the no . 1 concern of voters . the most important thing that mitt romney can do is give people confidence that he knows how to fix this economy , ' ayres told cnn 's candy crowley on state of the union . ' they do n't believe ( president barack ) obama has or can , but they are not yet persuaded that mitt romney can either . that 's the most important thing to come out of your debate . ' while national polls like gallup show obama and romney neck and neck , recent ones in florida , ohio , virginia and wisconsin -- key battleground states that will help determine the winner in november -- show the president pulling ahead , with much closer contests in colorado and nevada . that could make it harder for romney to do what analysts say he must to win the white house -- carry all the states sen. john mccain did in 2008 , plus about half a dozen that obama turned from red to blue . battleground polls seem to give obama upper hand with the conventions over , the debates are the last opportunity for the two candidates to reach the kind of large television audiences that could help them win over the dwindling number of undecided voters and energize their bases . on abc 's this week , ' conservative writer ann coulter said the debates would be important not because romney is such a fabulous orator , but to the contrary -- for the first time , americans will be able to see romney unfiltered . and i think it will make a big difference . ' and south carolina sen. lindsey graham said on state of the union ' that the former massachusetts governor was in good shape ' and the debates would help shift the focus from perceived gaffes and missteps made by romney in recent weeks -- most notably his remarks calling 47 % of the u.s. population victims ' who are dependent on the government -- to obama 's record . graham : it 's about your bank account , not romney 's swiss account former president bill clinton told cnn 's fareed zakaria that romney would have to explain the 47 % ' comments in the debates . the challenge for the president is to convince doubters , some of whom may have been supporters in 2008 , that his policies will succeed in turning the economy around . we 've got an electorate that is disappointed in the president they elected in 2008 , but not at all convinced that the republican challenger offers a good alternative , ' usa today washington bureau chief susan page told crowley . obama campaign senior adviser robert gibbs continued to try to lower expectations for the president on fox news sunday . ' i think it 's always a big moment when two candidates get to sit side by side and answer the same question , ' he said . mitt romney i think has an advantage , because he 's been through 20 of these debates in the primaries over the last year . he even bragged that he was declared the winner in 16 of those debates . so i think , in that sense , having been through this much more recently than president obama , i think he starts with an advantage . ' in other quarters , the discussion turned to whether the romney campaign needed to make changes . wisconsin gov . scott walker survived a recall election with the help of a strong republican ground game that the obama campaign believes is benefiting romney in that traditionally blue state . walker said he wanted to see more passion from the gop contender and suggested he needed to spend more time campaigning . i think you got ta get off the hills and you got ta get out and charge forward , ' walker said on fox news sunday . ' certainly , in part , this is a referendum on this president , there 's no doubt about it . but i think for most americans -- particularly in my state , where there 's an awful lot of swing , independent voters -- they want to know more than what 's wrong with this president . they want to know what 's right and what 's going to move this country forward . i think mitt romney 's got this plan . i want to see fire in the belly . ' republican national committee chairman reince priebus dismissed the handwringing among some republicans about the state of the campaign and insisted romney had a good week , despite an intense focus in the media on the 47 % ' comments , which were secretly recorded at a fund-raiser in florida months ago . priebus on romney :'not the best week' ' we had a good week last week , i think in retrospect , in that we were able to frame up the debate last week in the sense of , what future do we want , and do you want , out there for your kids and grandkids . and clearly , things are not going well in this country , ' priebus said on this week . ' priebus'comments echoed ones romney made in a 60 minutes ' interview set to air sunday night , in which he said his campaign did not need a turnaround . actually , we 're tied in the polls . we 're all within the margin of error , ' romney told cbs 's scott pelley , in excerpts released ahead of showtime . we bounce around , week to week , day to day . there are some days we 're up . there are some days we 're down . ' obama campaign officials say it is not the national polls but the swing state polls that matter . we 're either tied or in the lead in every battleground state 45 days out , ' campaign manager jim messina told reporters in milwaukee on saturday . i think you will see a tightening in the national polls going forward . what i care way more about is ohio , colorado , virginia , wisconsin , etc . in those states , i feel our pathways to victory are there . there are two different campaigns , one in the battlegrounds and one everywhere else . that 's why the national polls are n't relevant to this campaign . ' romney plans to spend part of the last full week before the october 3 debate on a bus tour in ohio , while the president is scheduled to speak at the u.n. general assembly on tuesday , before making campaign stops in ohio and virginia . romney rebuts conservative criticism of his campaign trajectory
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obama , romney to face off in three debates next month
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obama <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- with just over a week to go before the first presidential debate , both campaigns are weighing what they can do to take advantage of the three head-to-head matchups in october that will help decide the race . republican pollster whit ayres said gop nominee mitt romney must use the debates to score points ' on the economy , the no . 1 concern of voters . the most important thing that mitt romney can do is give people confidence that he knows how to fix this economy , ' ayres told cnn 's candy crowley on state of the union . ' they do n't believe ( president barack ) obama has or can , but they are not yet persuaded that mitt romney can either . that 's the most important thing to come out of your debate . ' while national polls like gallup show obama and romney neck and neck , recent ones in florida , ohio , virginia and wisconsin -- key battleground states that will help determine the winner in november -- show the president pulling ahead , with much closer contests in colorado and nevada . that could make it harder for romney to do what analysts say he must to win the white house -- carry all the states sen. john mccain did in 2008 , plus about half a dozen that obama turned from red to blue . battleground polls seem to give obama upper hand with the conventions over , the debates are the last opportunity for the two candidates to reach the kind of large television audiences that could help them win over the dwindling number of undecided voters and energize their bases . on abc 's this week , ' conservative writer ann coulter said the debates would be important not because romney is such a fabulous orator , but to the contrary -- for the first time , americans will be able to see romney unfiltered . and i think it will make a big difference . ' and south carolina sen. lindsey graham said on state of the union ' that the former massachusetts governor was in good shape ' and the debates would help shift the focus from perceived gaffes and missteps made by romney in recent weeks -- most notably his remarks calling 47 % of the u.s. population victims ' who are dependent on the government -- to obama 's record . graham : it 's about your bank account , not romney 's swiss account former president bill clinton told cnn 's fareed zakaria that romney would have to explain the 47 % ' comments in the debates . the challenge for the president is to convince doubters , some of whom may have been supporters in 2008 , that his policies will succeed in turning the economy around . we 've got an electorate that is disappointed in the president they elected in 2008 , but not at all convinced that the republican challenger offers a good alternative , ' usa today washington bureau chief susan page told crowley . obama campaign senior adviser robert gibbs continued to try to lower expectations for the president on fox news sunday . ' i think it 's always a big moment when two candidates get to sit side by side and answer the same question , ' he said . mitt romney i think has an advantage , because he 's been through 20 of these debates in the primaries over the last year . he even bragged that he was declared the winner in 16 of those debates . so i think , in that sense , having been through this much more recently than president obama , i think he starts with an advantage . ' in other quarters , the discussion turned to whether the romney campaign needed to make changes . wisconsin gov . scott walker survived a recall election with the help of a strong republican ground game that the obama campaign believes is benefiting romney in that traditionally blue state . walker said he wanted to see more passion from the gop contender and suggested he needed to spend more time campaigning . i think you got ta get off the hills and you got ta get out and charge forward , ' walker said on fox news sunday . ' certainly , in part , this is a referendum on this president , there 's no doubt about it . but i think for most americans -- particularly in my state , where there 's an awful lot of swing , independent voters -- they want to know more than what 's wrong with this president . they want to know what 's right and what 's going to move this country forward . i think mitt romney 's got this plan . i want to see fire in the belly . ' republican national committee chairman reince priebus dismissed the handwringing among some republicans about the state of the campaign and insisted romney had a good week , despite an intense focus in the media on the 47 % ' comments , which were secretly recorded at a fund-raiser in florida months ago . priebus on romney :'not the best week' ' we had a good week last week , i think in retrospect , in that we were able to frame up the debate last week in the sense of , what future do we want , and do you want , out there for your kids and grandkids . and clearly , things are not going well in this country , ' priebus said on this week . ' priebus'comments echoed ones romney made in a 60 minutes ' interview set to air sunday night , in which he said his campaign did not need a turnaround . actually , we 're tied in the polls . we 're all within the margin of error , ' romney told cbs 's scott pelley , in excerpts released ahead of showtime . we bounce around , week to week , day to day . there are some days we 're up . there are some days we 're down . ' obama campaign officials say it is not the national polls but the swing state polls that matter . we 're either tied or in the lead in every battleground state 45 days out , ' campaign manager jim messina told reporters in milwaukee on saturday . i think you will see a tightening in the national polls going forward . what i care way more about is ohio , colorado , virginia , wisconsin , etc . in those states , i feel our pathways to victory are there . there are two different campaigns , one in the battlegrounds and one everywhere else . that 's why the national polls are n't relevant to this campaign . ' romney plans to spend part of the last full week before the october 3 debate on a bus tour in ohio , while the president is scheduled to speak at the u.n. general assembly on tuesday , before making campaign stops in ohio and virginia . romney rebuts conservative criticism of his campaign trajectory
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national polls show close race , obama with a slight edge in some battleground states
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miami <tsp> ( cnn ) -- police in north miami , florida , are investigating the weekend slaying of a local poet and cafe owner who was gunned down in front of his business , a police spokesman said sunday . will da real one ' bell was shot and killed while closing his literary café and poetry lounge , north miami police maj. neal cuevas said . two men in dark clothing were spotted leaving the scene in a car , cuevas said . bell , 47 , appeared twice on hbo 's russell simmons presents def poetry ' in 2003 and 2004 and won several performance competitions . miami 's alternative weekly new times named him the city 's best poet in 2005 , writing that bell spits words like high-caliber machine-gun fire , and his booming voice sets ears ablaze . ' cuevas said nothing was taken in the robbery , but would not discuss any possible motive . cnn 's maggie schneider contributed to this report .
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he was shot and killed while closing his cafe , north miami police said
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miami <tsp> ( cnn ) -- police in north miami , florida , are investigating the weekend slaying of a local poet and cafe owner who was gunned down in front of his business , a police spokesman said sunday . will da real one ' bell was shot and killed while closing his literary café and poetry lounge , north miami police maj. neal cuevas said . two men in dark clothing were spotted leaving the scene in a car , cuevas said . bell , 47 , appeared twice on hbo 's russell simmons presents def poetry ' in 2003 and 2004 and won several performance competitions . miami 's alternative weekly new times named him the city 's best poet in 2005 , writing that bell spits words like high-caliber machine-gun fire , and his booming voice sets ears ablaze . ' cuevas said nothing was taken in the robbery , but would not discuss any possible motive . cnn 's maggie schneider contributed to this report .
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will da real one ' bell was a fixture on the miami spoken-word scene
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russia <tsp> vilified by the international community for his government 's attitude on gay rights , russian president vladimir putin has found himself an ally in formula one supremo bernie ecclestone . putin 's government , whose recently-introduced anti-gay legislation -- which prohibits spreading so-called gay ' propaganda to minors -- has been a focal point of critics . opponents argue that the law enacted last year is in contravention to the spirit of the olympic games , with the winter version being hosted this month by the russian black sea resort of sochi . but in an exclusive interview with cnn , ecclestone says he completely agrees ' with putin 's policy towards homosexuals . he has n't said he does n't agree ( with homosexuality ) just that he does n't want these things publicized to an audience under the age of 18 , ' said ecclestone , arguing critics had misrepresented putin . i completely agree with those sentiments and if you took a world census you 'd find 90 % of the world agree with it as well , ' added the 83-year-old , who oversees one of the world 's most lucrative sports . the f1 ringmaster last met with putin in february 2013 , when he flew to sochi to assess construction progress ahead of russia 's debut grand prix . the black sea resort town will stage round 16 of this year 's world championship on a circuit that will run around the olympic park 's facilities . ecclestone believes russia has done a first-class job ' in the new circuit 's preparation and a super job ' hosting the olympics and that more credit should be given to putin . i 've great admiration for him and his courage to say what he says , ' said the octogenarian . it may upset a few people but that 's how the world is . it 's how he sees ( the world ) and i think he 's completely right , ' ecclestone added . the controversial billionaire is due to face trial in germany , which is scheduled to start in april , accused of making corrupt payments to a banker who worked on the sale of f1 in 2006 . ecclestone denies the charges , along with those brought against him in a civil case in london , where he was accused of undervaluing the sport of f1 in the same deal . ecclestone was cleared in the latter case thursday , despite being labeled as not reliable or truthful ' by the judge -- who ruled that german company constantin medien 's claim for compensation was without merit . justice newey said ecclestone had entered into a corrupt agreement ' with banker gerhard gribkowsky in 2005 , but the magistrate said no loss to constantin had been proved , the uk press association reported . succession planning with ecclestone 's legal problems casting doubt over his future in f1 , the media has been speculating about his possible successors -- with red bull team principal christian horner and justin king , chief executive of british supermarket sainsbury 's top of the list . ecclestone said it was hard to assess whether they had the right skills needed for the job . i 've no idea what attributes you 'd need , ' he told cnn . it 's like saying we 'd need someone to replace frank sinatra , you know ? you never know what they 'd need to have until they start the role . for someone to hold a high position in china or japan you have to be older than i am -- at least the good thing about that is you 're not going to have them for that long ! ' f1 revamp this season f1 will see wide-scale changes . as well as russia making its debut on the race calendar , the cars will be powered by smaller , v6 hybrid engines that promise greater fuel efficiency . however , the move away from the loud v8s is a development that concerns ecclestone , who is worried the sport may lose some of its drama through the subsequent noise reduction . i 'm not at all happy with the sound of the new engines , to be honest , ' he said . it does n't sound like f1 , but that 's my opinion , let 's wait and see what the public think . ' the system for awarding points to drivers has also been revamped . the victor in the season-ending abu dhabi grand prix will now win 50 points compared to the 25 points on offer for each of the other 18 races , and ecclestone is keen to extend that change to the last three events . the reason is simple -- with the calendar as it is the championship could be over by september and if there 's another three races to go and a car that looks like it could win easy now -- ( the rival cars ) if they win two or three races at the end , could win the championship ( instead ) , ' said ecclestone . why should it devalue six races before the end ? people will be following like hell to see who 's there at the end of the races . win the last three and you can win the championship , it 's a whole different scenario . '
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90 % of the world agree with him as well , ' says ecclestone ahead of russia 's f1 debut
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sebastian vettel <tsp> ( cnn ) -- felipe massa will stay at ferrari until the end of the 2013 season after extending his contract with the stable by one year . the brazilian , who followed up his first podium finish in two years at suzuka by finishing fourth in sunday 's korean grand prix , agreed the deal after meeting with ferrari president luca di montezemolo at maranello on tuesday morning . i am very happy to have reached this agreement , ' massa , who has been with ferrari since 2006 , told the team 's official website . ferrari is my racing family and throughout my entire time in formula 1 , i have always driven cars powered by engines built in maranello : i ca n't see myself driving cars propelled by anything else ! ' the announcement comes a day after di montezemolo attempted to quash media reports linking germany 's double world champion sebastian vettel with a move to ferrari in 2014 by saying he did n't want two roosters in the same hen house ' . read : ferrari chief dampens vettel switch talk with two-time champion fernando alonso currently ferrari 's number one driver , the long-standing chief of the italian firm explained his comments by saying that he wanted two drivers who would be racing for ferrari and not for themselves . ' in their statement , ferrari said that one of the reasons that pushed montezemolo and massa to decide on announcing the renewal today ( was ) to put an end to all the speculation . ' the constructor added that it hopes that the decision to finalize the 2013 line-up in plenty of time will help alonso focus on winning ferrari 's first drivers'championship since kimi rã¤ikkã¶nen won the title in 2007 . the spaniard currently lies second in the championship standing -- his tally of 209 points just six fewer than vettel 's with four races of the season left -- while massa is down in ninth place with 81 points , 30 of which have come in the last fortnight . he has been part of our family for over a decade and has shown , especially in this recent part of the season , that he is once again competitive at the highest level , which is what is expected of every driver who gets behind the wheel of a ferrari , ' said ferrari team principal stefano domenicai . we have always supported felipe , even in the most difficult moments of his career and we are certain of his worth and are sure he will know how to repay the confidence this renewal proves we have in him . ' one of the most testing moments in massa 's career came when he suffered severe head injuries after a crash in qualifying for the 2009 hungarian grand prix , with ferrari leaving the brazilian 's place open ahead of his return the following season .
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ferrari hope move will quash speculation linking them with sebastian vettel
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maher <tsp> sen. rand paul has spent quite a bit of time reaching out to liberals over the past year , and that list apparently now includes bill maher . paul , a libertarian-leaning republican from kentucky , and maher , a comedian who shares some of paul 's libertarian views , had drinks two weeks ago , maher told the liberal news outlet salon . the two met not long after maher said on his hbo show that paul is interesting ' and could possibly ' get his vote . if the 2016 presidential race came down to paul and hillary clinton , maher said he might consider backing paul . affleck , maher in heated debate about islam maher said he was most attracted to paul because of the senator 's general views on foreign policy , though he 's not a fan of his recent support for bombing isis . he 's great on ending the empire , not getting into any more foreign entanglements -- i 'm even to the left of him on the bombing ( of isis ) ; he wants to keep bombing isis , i want us to stop bombing altogether , ' he said . while maher donated $ 1 million to a super pac backing president barack obama in 2012 , he has been less than enthusiastic about a potential clinton presidency , especially when it comes to her foreign policy . rand paul 's campus challenge but maher told salon there 's stark daylight between him and paul on a different issue . i had drinks with him about two weeks ago . he 's a nice guy , he 's a smart guy . my big problem is i asked him about the environment , which is my big issue , ' maher said . he had made a comment that was very similar to what dick cheney said about a month or two ago , which was basically ,'why are we talking the environment when isis is out there ?'i said ,'senator , y'know , you sounded just like dick cheney .' last month , paul blasted clinton for saying climate change marked the most consequential , urgent , sweeping collection of challenges we face . ' i do n't think we really want a commander in chief who 's battling climate change instead of terrorism , ' paul said on fox news . maher said that paul 's answer on the environment was wholly unsatisfactory ' and that the senator would lose his vote based entirely on that issue unless paul comes up with a better answer . this is the deal-breaker issue with me . you 've got to be good on this or , i 'm sorry , not going to happen , ' maher said . real time with bill maher ' airs on hbo , which , like cnn , is a division of time warner .
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rand paul and bill maher had drinks , according to maher
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maher <tsp> sen. rand paul has spent quite a bit of time reaching out to liberals over the past year , and that list apparently now includes bill maher . paul , a libertarian-leaning republican from kentucky , and maher , a comedian who shares some of paul 's libertarian views , had drinks two weeks ago , maher told the liberal news outlet salon . the two met not long after maher said on his hbo show that paul is interesting ' and could possibly ' get his vote . if the 2016 presidential race came down to paul and hillary clinton , maher said he might consider backing paul . affleck , maher in heated debate about islam maher said he was most attracted to paul because of the senator 's general views on foreign policy , though he 's not a fan of his recent support for bombing isis . he 's great on ending the empire , not getting into any more foreign entanglements -- i 'm even to the left of him on the bombing ( of isis ) ; he wants to keep bombing isis , i want us to stop bombing altogether , ' he said . while maher donated $ 1 million to a super pac backing president barack obama in 2012 , he has been less than enthusiastic about a potential clinton presidency , especially when it comes to her foreign policy . rand paul 's campus challenge but maher told salon there 's stark daylight between him and paul on a different issue . i had drinks with him about two weeks ago . he 's a nice guy , he 's a smart guy . my big problem is i asked him about the environment , which is my big issue , ' maher said . he had made a comment that was very similar to what dick cheney said about a month or two ago , which was basically ,'why are we talking the environment when isis is out there ?'i said ,'senator , y'know , you sounded just like dick cheney .' last month , paul blasted clinton for saying climate change marked the most consequential , urgent , sweeping collection of challenges we face . ' i do n't think we really want a commander in chief who 's battling climate change instead of terrorism , ' paul said on fox news . maher said that paul 's answer on the environment was wholly unsatisfactory ' and that the senator would lose his vote based entirely on that issue unless paul comes up with a better answer . this is the deal-breaker issue with me . you 've got to be good on this or , i 'm sorry , not going to happen , ' maher said . real time with bill maher ' airs on hbo , which , like cnn , is a division of time warner .
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but maher says paul 's views on climate change may be a deal breaker
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paul <tsp> sen. rand paul has spent quite a bit of time reaching out to liberals over the past year , and that list apparently now includes bill maher . paul , a libertarian-leaning republican from kentucky , and maher , a comedian who shares some of paul 's libertarian views , had drinks two weeks ago , maher told the liberal news outlet salon . the two met not long after maher said on his hbo show that paul is interesting ' and could possibly ' get his vote . if the 2016 presidential race came down to paul and hillary clinton , maher said he might consider backing paul . affleck , maher in heated debate about islam maher said he was most attracted to paul because of the senator 's general views on foreign policy , though he 's not a fan of his recent support for bombing isis . he 's great on ending the empire , not getting into any more foreign entanglements -- i 'm even to the left of him on the bombing ( of isis ) ; he wants to keep bombing isis , i want us to stop bombing altogether , ' he said . while maher donated $ 1 million to a super pac backing president barack obama in 2012 , he has been less than enthusiastic about a potential clinton presidency , especially when it comes to her foreign policy . rand paul 's campus challenge but maher told salon there 's stark daylight between him and paul on a different issue . i had drinks with him about two weeks ago . he 's a nice guy , he 's a smart guy . my big problem is i asked him about the environment , which is my big issue , ' maher said . he had made a comment that was very similar to what dick cheney said about a month or two ago , which was basically ,'why are we talking the environment when isis is out there ?'i said ,'senator , y'know , you sounded just like dick cheney .' last month , paul blasted clinton for saying climate change marked the most consequential , urgent , sweeping collection of challenges we face . ' i do n't think we really want a commander in chief who 's battling climate change instead of terrorism , ' paul said on fox news . maher said that paul 's answer on the environment was wholly unsatisfactory ' and that the senator would lose his vote based entirely on that issue unless paul comes up with a better answer . this is the deal-breaker issue with me . you 've got to be good on this or , i 'm sorry , not going to happen , ' maher said . real time with bill maher ' airs on hbo , which , like cnn , is a division of time warner .
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the comedian has said he 's open to backing paul in 2016
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paul <tsp> sen. rand paul has spent quite a bit of time reaching out to liberals over the past year , and that list apparently now includes bill maher . paul , a libertarian-leaning republican from kentucky , and maher , a comedian who shares some of paul 's libertarian views , had drinks two weeks ago , maher told the liberal news outlet salon . the two met not long after maher said on his hbo show that paul is interesting ' and could possibly ' get his vote . if the 2016 presidential race came down to paul and hillary clinton , maher said he might consider backing paul . affleck , maher in heated debate about islam maher said he was most attracted to paul because of the senator 's general views on foreign policy , though he 's not a fan of his recent support for bombing isis . he 's great on ending the empire , not getting into any more foreign entanglements -- i 'm even to the left of him on the bombing ( of isis ) ; he wants to keep bombing isis , i want us to stop bombing altogether , ' he said . while maher donated $ 1 million to a super pac backing president barack obama in 2012 , he has been less than enthusiastic about a potential clinton presidency , especially when it comes to her foreign policy . rand paul 's campus challenge but maher told salon there 's stark daylight between him and paul on a different issue . i had drinks with him about two weeks ago . he 's a nice guy , he 's a smart guy . my big problem is i asked him about the environment , which is my big issue , ' maher said . he had made a comment that was very similar to what dick cheney said about a month or two ago , which was basically ,'why are we talking the environment when isis is out there ?'i said ,'senator , y'know , you sounded just like dick cheney .' last month , paul blasted clinton for saying climate change marked the most consequential , urgent , sweeping collection of challenges we face . ' i do n't think we really want a commander in chief who 's battling climate change instead of terrorism , ' paul said on fox news . maher said that paul 's answer on the environment was wholly unsatisfactory ' and that the senator would lose his vote based entirely on that issue unless paul comes up with a better answer . this is the deal-breaker issue with me . you 've got to be good on this or , i 'm sorry , not going to happen , ' maher said . real time with bill maher ' airs on hbo , which , like cnn , is a division of time warner .
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rand paul and bill maher had drinks , according to maher
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paul <tsp> sen. rand paul has spent quite a bit of time reaching out to liberals over the past year , and that list apparently now includes bill maher . paul , a libertarian-leaning republican from kentucky , and maher , a comedian who shares some of paul 's libertarian views , had drinks two weeks ago , maher told the liberal news outlet salon . the two met not long after maher said on his hbo show that paul is interesting ' and could possibly ' get his vote . if the 2016 presidential race came down to paul and hillary clinton , maher said he might consider backing paul . affleck , maher in heated debate about islam maher said he was most attracted to paul because of the senator 's general views on foreign policy , though he 's not a fan of his recent support for bombing isis . he 's great on ending the empire , not getting into any more foreign entanglements -- i 'm even to the left of him on the bombing ( of isis ) ; he wants to keep bombing isis , i want us to stop bombing altogether , ' he said . while maher donated $ 1 million to a super pac backing president barack obama in 2012 , he has been less than enthusiastic about a potential clinton presidency , especially when it comes to her foreign policy . rand paul 's campus challenge but maher told salon there 's stark daylight between him and paul on a different issue . i had drinks with him about two weeks ago . he 's a nice guy , he 's a smart guy . my big problem is i asked him about the environment , which is my big issue , ' maher said . he had made a comment that was very similar to what dick cheney said about a month or two ago , which was basically ,'why are we talking the environment when isis is out there ?'i said ,'senator , y'know , you sounded just like dick cheney .' last month , paul blasted clinton for saying climate change marked the most consequential , urgent , sweeping collection of challenges we face . ' i do n't think we really want a commander in chief who 's battling climate change instead of terrorism , ' paul said on fox news . maher said that paul 's answer on the environment was wholly unsatisfactory ' and that the senator would lose his vote based entirely on that issue unless paul comes up with a better answer . this is the deal-breaker issue with me . you 've got to be good on this or , i 'm sorry , not going to happen , ' maher said . real time with bill maher ' airs on hbo , which , like cnn , is a division of time warner .
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but maher says paul 's views on climate change may be a deal breaker
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ipad <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the new ipad may be a hot item in more ways than one . in the five days since the popular tablet went on sale , apple comment boards have filled with anecdotal reports from owners who say the back of the device grows uncomfortably warm to the touch , especially in the bottom left-hand corner when held in portrait mode . both my wife and i upgraded from ipad 1 to the new ipad , ' wrote a user named dhcwh on apple 's site . not happy about the uncomfortable warmth of the new idud . not hot , just annoyingly warm . seriously considering returning both . ' mine is also getting pretty hot , ' said another user , malageno , who bought a 32-gigabyte wi-fi model . it 's not too hot to hold yet , but it seems to be getting hotter the more it 's on . ' a user named limitin added , my new ipad is also overheating , bottom left like everyone else . the screen is great , but the heat is near unbearable at times and makes my hands sweaty while holding it . ' research by consumer reports appears to bear this out . using a thermal-imaging camera , consumer reports engineers recorded temperatures as high as 116 degrees fahrenheit -- up to 13 degrees higher than the ipad 2 -- on the new ipad while playing a video game , infinity blade ii . ' in a preliminary review last week , consumer reports had said the new ipad is shaping up to be the best tablet we 've ever tested . ' many owners of the third-generation ipad have reported no problems , however . and the issue does n't seem to have cooled interest in the tablet , which features a sharper screen and a more powerful processor than previous ipads . apple announced monday it has already sold more than 3 million of the new devices . in a statement tuesday , apple said , the new ipad delivers a stunning retina display , a5x chip , support for 4g lte plus 10 hours of battery life , all while operating well within our thermal specifications . if customers have any concerns they should contact applecare . ' in its tech specs for the ipad , apple says the device is not meant to be operated in temperatures greater than 95 degrees fahrenheit . some observers , including an unnamed apple store employee in suburban los angeles , have attributed the warmth to the ipad 's new battery , which is larger than in previous models . others blame the device 's larger graphics chip , which helps it run video games . some ipad owners said they returned their devices to apple stores and exchanged them for new ones . others said the problem went away after they drained the ipad battery completely and then recharged it . still others suggested reports of the problem were overblown . personally i think a lot of people are blowing the heat problem ... out of proportion , ' a user named daveblondon said . yes it gets hot , but is it too hot that it will burn you ? no . ' another user , jimpal , said , yes , it 's warmer than the previous ipads . but , what would anyone expect with so much going on in there ? it has spectacular graphics , is faster , and has a huge battery . any form of computer runs hotter when it is doing more . ' it 's not the first time consumers have grumbled about apple products overheating , especially when used in direct sunlight . scattered similar complaints surfaced about the original ipad and the ipad 2 , which did little to dent their popularity . apple has sold more than 55 million ipads since the device went on sale in april 2010 .
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some owners of the new ipad complain the device becomes uncomfortably hot during use
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ipad <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the new ipad may be a hot item in more ways than one . in the five days since the popular tablet went on sale , apple comment boards have filled with anecdotal reports from owners who say the back of the device grows uncomfortably warm to the touch , especially in the bottom left-hand corner when held in portrait mode . both my wife and i upgraded from ipad 1 to the new ipad , ' wrote a user named dhcwh on apple 's site . not happy about the uncomfortable warmth of the new idud . not hot , just annoyingly warm . seriously considering returning both . ' mine is also getting pretty hot , ' said another user , malageno , who bought a 32-gigabyte wi-fi model . it 's not too hot to hold yet , but it seems to be getting hotter the more it 's on . ' a user named limitin added , my new ipad is also overheating , bottom left like everyone else . the screen is great , but the heat is near unbearable at times and makes my hands sweaty while holding it . ' research by consumer reports appears to bear this out . using a thermal-imaging camera , consumer reports engineers recorded temperatures as high as 116 degrees fahrenheit -- up to 13 degrees higher than the ipad 2 -- on the new ipad while playing a video game , infinity blade ii . ' in a preliminary review last week , consumer reports had said the new ipad is shaping up to be the best tablet we 've ever tested . ' many owners of the third-generation ipad have reported no problems , however . and the issue does n't seem to have cooled interest in the tablet , which features a sharper screen and a more powerful processor than previous ipads . apple announced monday it has already sold more than 3 million of the new devices . in a statement tuesday , apple said , the new ipad delivers a stunning retina display , a5x chip , support for 4g lte plus 10 hours of battery life , all while operating well within our thermal specifications . if customers have any concerns they should contact applecare . ' in its tech specs for the ipad , apple says the device is not meant to be operated in temperatures greater than 95 degrees fahrenheit . some observers , including an unnamed apple store employee in suburban los angeles , have attributed the warmth to the ipad 's new battery , which is larger than in previous models . others blame the device 's larger graphics chip , which helps it run video games . some ipad owners said they returned their devices to apple stores and exchanged them for new ones . others said the problem went away after they drained the ipad battery completely and then recharged it . still others suggested reports of the problem were overblown . personally i think a lot of people are blowing the heat problem ... out of proportion , ' a user named daveblondon said . yes it gets hot , but is it too hot that it will burn you ? no . ' another user , jimpal , said , yes , it 's warmer than the previous ipads . but , what would anyone expect with so much going on in there ? it has spectacular graphics , is faster , and has a huge battery . any form of computer runs hotter when it is doing more . ' it 's not the first time consumers have grumbled about apple products overheating , especially when used in direct sunlight . scattered similar complaints surfaced about the original ipad and the ipad 2 , which did little to dent their popularity . apple has sold more than 55 million ipads since the device went on sale in april 2010 .
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apple : the new ipad ( operates ) well within our thermal specifications '
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philippines <tsp> tokyo ( cnn ) a former school principal in japan says he paid for sex with more than 12,000 women -- some of them girls as young as 14 -- during repeated visits to the philippines over more than a quarter of a century , according to police . now , at the age of 64 , he 's facing criminal charges . japanese police say they arrested the man , yuhei takashima , on wednesday over allegations he photographed an obscene act with a girl of 13 or 14 and produced pornography in a hotel room in manila , the philippine capital . police officers seized 147,600 photos that takashima took of his activities over the years , said takeshi akimoto , the police officer in charge of crime involving minors in kanagawa , a prefecture south of tokyo . the pictures were kept in more than 400 photo albums , he said . takashima , who comes from the city of yokohama , told police that he began paying for sex with women in 1988 when he went to work at a japanese school in manila . he said that stepping outside of moral codes relieved the heavy pressure he felt at work , according to police . takashima told police that he continued to pay for sex because it was so cheap . after the end of his three-year stint at the school in manila , he frequently returned to the philippines on vacations in order to buy sex . he said the ages of the prostitutes he hired ranged from 14 to over 70 . the philippines is a notorious destination for sex tourists , including pedophiles . the country 's sex industry is tied to human trafficking and feeds off the high poverty rate . akimoto , the police officer , said takashima 's case had been under investigation since 2013 . the incident for which he was arrested is believed to have taken place in manila in january 2014 . yokohama education authorities said that takashima became a junior high school teacher in 1975 and was sent to work at the school in manila between 1988 and 1991 . he served as a junior high school principal from 2008 until his retirement in 2011 . the education authorities said that the crime was very regrettable , if proven to be true , and that the city government works hard to try to prevent inappropriate actions . cnn 's yoko wakatsuki reported from tokyo , and jethro mullen wrote from hong kong .
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police : yuhei takashima , 64 , says he had sex with girls as young as 14 in philippines
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yuhei takashima <tsp> tokyo ( cnn ) a former school principal in japan says he paid for sex with more than 12,000 women -- some of them girls as young as 14 -- during repeated visits to the philippines over more than a quarter of a century , according to police . now , at the age of 64 , he 's facing criminal charges . japanese police say they arrested the man , yuhei takashima , on wednesday over allegations he photographed an obscene act with a girl of 13 or 14 and produced pornography in a hotel room in manila , the philippine capital . police officers seized 147,600 photos that takashima took of his activities over the years , said takeshi akimoto , the police officer in charge of crime involving minors in kanagawa , a prefecture south of tokyo . the pictures were kept in more than 400 photo albums , he said . takashima , who comes from the city of yokohama , told police that he began paying for sex with women in 1988 when he went to work at a japanese school in manila . he said that stepping outside of moral codes relieved the heavy pressure he felt at work , according to police . takashima told police that he continued to pay for sex because it was so cheap . after the end of his three-year stint at the school in manila , he frequently returned to the philippines on vacations in order to buy sex . he said the ages of the prostitutes he hired ranged from 14 to over 70 . the philippines is a notorious destination for sex tourists , including pedophiles . the country 's sex industry is tied to human trafficking and feeds off the high poverty rate . akimoto , the police officer , said takashima 's case had been under investigation since 2013 . the incident for which he was arrested is believed to have taken place in manila in january 2014 . yokohama education authorities said that takashima became a junior high school teacher in 1975 and was sent to work at the school in manila between 1988 and 1991 . he served as a junior high school principal from 2008 until his retirement in 2011 . the education authorities said that the crime was very regrettable , if proven to be true , and that the city government works hard to try to prevent inappropriate actions . cnn 's yoko wakatsuki reported from tokyo , and jethro mullen wrote from hong kong .
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police : yuhei takashima , 64 , says he had sex with girls as young as 14 in philippines
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enright <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a man who stabbed a new york city taxi driver three years ago after asking whether he was muslim will serve 9â½ years in prison . michael enright , 24 , pleaded guilty two weeks ago to attempted murder in the second degree as a hate crime and assault in the first degree as a hate crime , the new york supreme court clerk 's office said . enright was sentenced tuesday . in addition to his prison term , he must serve five years of post-release supervision , the clerk 's office said . this was a horrendous crime against an innocent new yorker . the victim , a native of bangladesh and the father of four children , has been working and living in our diverse city for nearly three decades . there is no place for bigotry in new york city . ' district attorney cyrus vance said at enright 's guilty plea proceeding . the taxi driver , ahmed sharif , suffered slashes across the neck , face , shoulder and hand in the august 2010 attack , the new york taxi workers alliance said . enright made an eloquent statement to the court , blaming himself , taking responsibility for the crime and apologizing to the victim , his lawyer , lawrence fisher , told cnn on wednesday . fisher said he thought the sentence was severe ' for a case in which the victim was released from the hospital within hours . prosecutors originally recommended 18 years in jail for enright before dropping it to 9â½ years . the minimum sentence is eight years , according to his lawyer . in previous court appearances , enright 's lawyer said his client suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism . after being released on bond with an ankle bracelet , enright successfully completed both in- and out-patient alcohol rehabilitation , performed community service projects and attended alcoholics anonymous , where he became a lecturer and sponsor , according to fisher . he 's made great strides and has been clean and sober for over two years since he 's been released , ' fisher said . according to bhairavi desai of the taxi workers alliance , enright , then 21 , allegedly began conversing with sharif before asking whether he was muslim . enright then cursed and allegedly shouted , assalamu alaikum , consider this a checkpoint . ' assalamu alaikum ' is an arabic greeting that means peace be upon you . ' sharif was then stabbed . bleeding profusely , he stumbled out of his taxi and managed to flag down a police officer who arrested enright , the union representative said . enright , who was a student at the school of visual arts in manhattan , had shot a film on american soldiers serving in afghanistan , said the director of intersections international , a nonprofit group that partially funded the trip . enright was intoxicated the night of the arrest , according to police , who found an empty bottle of scotch in his backpack . the attack occurred amid public debate over plans to build an islamic cultural center and mosque to be called park51 two blocks from the site of the september 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks on the world trade center . cnn 's jessica naziri and ashley fantz contributed to this report .
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michael enright , 24 , pleaded guilty two weeks ago to hate crime charges
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enright <tsp> new york ( cnn ) -- a man who stabbed a new york city taxi driver three years ago after asking whether he was muslim will serve 9â½ years in prison . michael enright , 24 , pleaded guilty two weeks ago to attempted murder in the second degree as a hate crime and assault in the first degree as a hate crime , the new york supreme court clerk 's office said . enright was sentenced tuesday . in addition to his prison term , he must serve five years of post-release supervision , the clerk 's office said . this was a horrendous crime against an innocent new yorker . the victim , a native of bangladesh and the father of four children , has been working and living in our diverse city for nearly three decades . there is no place for bigotry in new york city . ' district attorney cyrus vance said at enright 's guilty plea proceeding . the taxi driver , ahmed sharif , suffered slashes across the neck , face , shoulder and hand in the august 2010 attack , the new york taxi workers alliance said . enright made an eloquent statement to the court , blaming himself , taking responsibility for the crime and apologizing to the victim , his lawyer , lawrence fisher , told cnn on wednesday . fisher said he thought the sentence was severe ' for a case in which the victim was released from the hospital within hours . prosecutors originally recommended 18 years in jail for enright before dropping it to 9â½ years . the minimum sentence is eight years , according to his lawyer . in previous court appearances , enright 's lawyer said his client suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism . after being released on bond with an ankle bracelet , enright successfully completed both in- and out-patient alcohol rehabilitation , performed community service projects and attended alcoholics anonymous , where he became a lecturer and sponsor , according to fisher . he 's made great strides and has been clean and sober for over two years since he 's been released , ' fisher said . according to bhairavi desai of the taxi workers alliance , enright , then 21 , allegedly began conversing with sharif before asking whether he was muslim . enright then cursed and allegedly shouted , assalamu alaikum , consider this a checkpoint . ' assalamu alaikum ' is an arabic greeting that means peace be upon you . ' sharif was then stabbed . bleeding profusely , he stumbled out of his taxi and managed to flag down a police officer who arrested enright , the union representative said . enright , who was a student at the school of visual arts in manhattan , had shot a film on american soldiers serving in afghanistan , said the director of intersections international , a nonprofit group that partially funded the trip . enright was intoxicated the night of the arrest , according to police , who found an empty bottle of scotch in his backpack . the attack occurred amid public debate over plans to build an islamic cultural center and mosque to be called park51 two blocks from the site of the september 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks on the world trade center . cnn 's jessica naziri and ashley fantz contributed to this report .
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enright 's lawyer has said his client suffered from alcoholism and post-traumatic stress
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republican <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a group of republican senators drafted an alternative stimulus measure that narrows government spending to infrastructure programs and helping unemployed americans , addresses the housing crisis and relies mostly on tax cuts . sen. mel martinez has been working with gop senators on an alternative to the current stimulus plan . the $ 713 billion plan was put together by florida sen. mel martinez , who has been working with a handful of other gop senators . the proposal includes $ 430 billion in tax cuts , $ 114 billion for infrastructure projects , $ 138 billion for extending unemployment insurance , food stamps and other provisions to help those in need and $ 31 billion to address the housing crisis . the draft martinez put together is a broader approach than what some gop leaders have suggested . senate minority leader mitch mcconnell and other republicans appear to want to limit the stimulus to tax cuts and addressing the housing crisis . but the draft is more narrow than the democrats'plan because it eliminates spending on government programs that republicans and some democrats say should n't be in the bill because they do n't create jobs . martinez has just started showing the plan to his colleagues , and it is too early to tell how much traction this idea will get among other lawmakers . mcconnell on monday dismissed the idea that republicans are trying to block passage of the economic stimulus plan . nobody that i know of is trying to keep a package from passing , ' he said at a news conference monday . we 're trying to reform it . ' the house last week passed an $ 819 billion stimulus bill without a single republican vote , despite obama 's efforts to work with both sides of the aisle . the house version is two-thirds spending and one-third tax cuts . of concern for republicans has been how much of the money will be spent in the near future . an analysis released monday by the congressional budget office estimated the stimulus plan before the senate would use 78 percent of the proposed funding ( including the lost revenue from tax cuts ) by the end of fiscal year 2010 . sixty-four percent of the house bill would be put to use during the same period , according to the report . much of the $ 550 billion in spending is divided among these areas : $ 142 billion for education , $ 111 billion for health care , $ 90 billion for infrastructure , $ 72 billion for aid and benefits , $ 54 billion for energy , $ 16 billion for science and technology and $ 13 billion for housing . republicans have blasted numerous measures in the package , such as funding for veterans in the philippines , sod on the national mall and honey bee insurance . on monday , senate democrats dropped two controversial spending programs in the senate economic stimulus bill : $ 75 million for anti-smoking programs and $ 400 million for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and hiv . two democratic leadership sources told cnn on monday that the democrats dropped the programs as a symbolic gesture ' to show republicans they are listening to their objections . but one of the democratic sources also said , it 's hard to explain when you 're in the midst of a crisis why these programs are important . when people are struggling and thinking about their jobs , it 's hard to make that connection . ' republicans , and even some democrats , have been pointing to both of these items as prime examples of excess spending ' that does n't belong in the stimulus bill . the cbo analysis said the stimulus plan before the senate would increase the deficit by $ 885 billion over the next decade -- about $ 64 million more than the bill passed by the house last week . the cost difference is due in large part to a provision in the senate bill that would patch ' for one year the alternative minimum tax so that it does n't start to hit middle- and upper-middle-income families . sen. john mccain said monday that he would not be able to vote for the senate bill in its current form . watch mccain explain why he 'd vote no » the former gop presidential nominee said president obama and democrats will have to seriously negotiate ' with republicans if they want to pass a stimulus plan with bipartisan support . i think we are clearly prepared to sit down , discuss , negotiate a true stimulus package that will create jobs , ' mccain said on cnn 's american morning . ' but now it 's time , after the way it went through the house without any republican support . it 's been rammed through the senate so far . we need to seriously negotiate . we have n't done that yet . ' mccain said he 's been working with fellow republican senators to come up with a plan that eliminates policy changes that have nothing to do with job creation . he said the way to separate what 's pork and what is n't is by asking two things : does it take effect in the next year or so ? and does it create jobs ? one change already made in the senate version is the addition of $ 71 billion to fix the alternative minimum tax , which was intended to place a tax on the wealthy but now hits many middle-class families . the senate bill also adds a $ 300 payment to seniors , disabled people and others who ca n't work and suspends taxes on the first $ 2,400 on unemployment benefits . meanwhile , house republican leaders put out a list of more than 30 wasteful ' provisions in the senate version of the stimulus , including : • a $ 246 million tax break for hollywood movie producers to buy motion pictures • $ 650 million for the digital television ( dtv ) converter box coupon program • $ 248 million for furniture at the new department of homeland security headquarters • $ 600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees • $ 1 billion for the 2010 census asked if it would be better for the president to offer up two separate bills -- one for job creation and another for programs democrats think were neglected during the bush years -- sen. ben nelson , d-nebraska , said that might be a better way to bifurcate the issues . ' but , at times , you put things together because of the efficiency of getting something done , ' he said sunday on cnn 's state of the union . ' and there 's no pork in this . let me say that right away . but there may be some sacred cows . ' nelson and sen. susan collins , r-maine , spent the weekend scrubbing the bill of spending that does not narrowly target job and economic growth so moderate republicans and conservative democrats will be more likely to vote for it . president obama said monday that both parties need to work together so that a bill can be passed quickly . there are still some differences between democrats and republicans on the hill , between the white house and some of the products that have been discussed on the hill , ' he said . but what we ca n't do is let very modest differences get in the way of the overall package moving forward swiftly . ' obama 's remarks came after meeting with vermont gov . jim douglas , a republican governor who supports the economic stimulus program . the president also was meeting monday with democratic congressional leaders . obama said sunday he 's confident that his economic package will have republican support once the final plan is hammered out . i 've done extraordinary outreach , i think , to republicans because they had some good ideas . and i want to make sure that those ideas are incorporated , ' he said in an interview with nbc . we 're going to be trimming up -- things that are not relevant to putting people back to work right now , ' he said . cnn 's dana bash and cnnmoney 's jeanne sahadi contributed to this report .
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bill passed in the house without any republican support
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syria <tsp> zaatari refugee camp , jordan ( cnn ) -- they carried teapots and tiny gas canisters , shopping bags filled with clothes and overstuffed bundles of blankets balanced on their heads . many held jerry cans , once full with water , now dangling empty . this was our first day in jordan , and nothing could have prepared us for the scene in front of us : hundreds of refugees from syria making the long walk to safety in jordan , one long jagged line stretching out into the open desert . see more : stunning photo gallery of syria 's refugees the refugees came from the outskirts of damascus , walking for days in order to escape the ugly civil war that has engulfed their country for the past three years . their destination , like so many thousands before them , is the zaatari refugee camp in jordan . the numbers are staggering : syrian refugees are now estimated to make up 10 % of jordan 's population . these are the scenes i remember the most from our journey from the syria-jordan border to zaatari . the long walk from syria two children clutching plastic soda bottles filled with olives from their family farm in syria . one exhausted woman , eight months pregnant , gratefully taking the hand of a jordanian border police officer as she struggled over the dirt mound that marks the syria-jordan border . unhcr staff and jordanian border police carrying bag after bag , child after child , and , most of all , the astonishing number of injured and sick brought in on wheelchairs . interactive map : syrians turn zaatari into a home an old man sitting on his battered suitcase . he offered me a biscuit . when i asked him how old he was , he said maybe 90 or 95 . i do n't remember my birthday , ' he said with a toothless smile . a woman who stopped and sat in the endless stretch of sand to feed her six-month-old child . she did n't want to be filmed . i spoke to her off-camera . she had travelled for three days from damascus . her home had been destroyed . i asked about the baby . was he sleeping ? was she able to get enough food , produce enough milk to feed him ? she smiled shyly . i showed her a picture of my little boy . she let me take a photo of her beautiful baby . the mayor of zaatari ' zaatari is not simply a camp . more than 127,000 people have fled to the sprawling desert encampment since it opened in june 2012 . if it was a city it would be the 5th largest in jordan -- and , in fact , zaatari is much more like a city than you might imagine : hundreds of shops line a main road known as the champs elysees . ' there are supermarkets and vegetable gardens , bicycle workshops and beauty salons . overseeing all this is killian kleinschmidt . he has been called the mayor of zaatari ' but he 's actually the unhcr field coordinator for the camp . he believes in tackling problems head on and always with an impish sense of humour . he was kind enough to let us tag along on one of his frequent afternoon strolls through the camp . it turned out to be one of the most entertaining tours i 've ever been on . a town called zaatari the day in zaatari begins with bread . at dawn , the world food program delivers millions of loaves of bread for distribution to the camp 's residents . many families send their children to fetch the daily bread . and they come running in , waving pink vouchers in their hands . they leave loaded down with bags of bread , five pieces per family member . but that 's only the start . in fact , zaatari has a bustling economy : the u.n. estimates that $ 12 million is exchanged in business transactions here every month . the population demographics in zaatari are skewed towards women and children but also a surprising number of elderly residents . consider these statistics : more than half ( 54 % ) of the camp 's residents are under the age of 17 . 42 % of families in the camp are led by a female head of household . 3 % are more than 60-years old . syrian government demolished thousands of homes , report says safah 's story many of zaatari 's children bear the physical and emotional scars of war . six-year old safah is one of them . she and her family survived a rocket attack on their home in aleppo , but they were hit by a second rocket outside damascus . safah lost her leg in the blast and has struggled to cope . her father spoke to us about his heartbreak in seeing his bubbly daughter become quiet and withdrawn . syria 's 110-year-old refugee one of my favorite moments was meeting jabaari alawali . he 's does n't remember his birthday , so he does n't know exactly how old he is . but he reckons he is 110-years old with more than 200 grandchildren . and he is a charmer . his eyes sparkle when he tells you stories of life in syria before the assad family came to power . and he recites poetry , lots of poetry , in a wavering voice . assad made beggars out of his people , ' he told me . bringing beauty to zaatari i expected to see many things in zaatari : a bustling market-place , caravan homes under construction and many , many kids at play . i did not expect to get a facial experience in home-made spa . but that 's exactly what i got from rowaida abu-zaid , the proprietor of alma 's salon for women , one of three wedding shops in zaatari . i was really taken by her fearless attitude and candid views . we talked about the fears of the camp 's young women and why so many are now getting married much earlier . she also showed me how the simple act of applying lipstick is an act of resilience for the women of the camp . even the bread does n't taste the same ' zaatari is the main collection point for syrian refugees in jordan . but the vast majority of syria 's refugees actually live outside the camp , trying to find work in jordan 's cities . we met with one man , a baker , hoping to find work on the outskirts of amman . he lives in one bare room with his family of five . he spoke to us on condition of anonymity because he fears his family at home in syria could be targeted . but it 's very unlikely he 'll be able to find work . he lost his foot in a rocket attack , and his young son was crippled for life in the same attack . one of the most poignant moments , however , we did not catch on camera . we showed him the video we had shot of him using crutches to walk with his son . look ! ' he cried out , when you fast-forward the video it looks like i am running again . at last ! ' nothing can take away from the pain and loss of being a refugee . but everyone we met had a remarkable story of resilience and determination . zaatari is a remarkable place because its residents are building a strong community out of what little they have . they build homes , invest in businesses , plant vegetable gardens and paint works of art . but every single syrian refugee i spoke to said the same thing : if the war stopped today , i would be home tomorrow .
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u.n. estimates nearly 3 million children in syria have been forced to quit their education
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alvarenga <tsp> majuro , marshall islands ( cnn ) -- the mysterious castaway who turned up in the marshall islands after saying he spent 13 months at sea has been moved to an undisclosed location to avoid the media , sources familiar with his care told cnn on saturday . security around jose salvador alvarenga has tightened since he came ashore last week more than 6,600 miles from where he says he started ; a crush of media has descended on the tiny island nation . alvarenga , a salvadoran who lived and worked in mexico , was moved overnight from the marshall islands resort hotel in majuro , the sources said . security continues to guard the room where alvarenga was staying at the resort , giving the impression he is still there , according to the sources . five questions : what is going on ? his return journey to el salvador this week was postponed because of his health , but dr. kennar briand , chief of staff at majuro hospital in the marshall islands , says alvarenga is ready to travel . the castaway will have another medical checkup on monday to see whether he is fit to return home , briand said . alvarenga 's mental health appears to have improved , too , the doctor said . he was a bit'off ,'maybe it 's due to him being in the open for so many months and not talking to people , but i think he is finally getting it back , ' briand said . alvarenga was released from the hospital in majuro on friday , one day after being readmitted because of declining health . alvarenga 's claims have garnered widespread skepticism about how he could survive for 13 months adrift in the pacific . but from what officials can tell , they have no reason to doubt him . panama teen was adrift at sea for 26 days cnn 's chelsea j. carter contributed to this report .
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alvarenga says he was lost at sea for 13 months
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alvarenga <tsp> majuro , marshall islands ( cnn ) -- the mysterious castaway who turned up in the marshall islands after saying he spent 13 months at sea has been moved to an undisclosed location to avoid the media , sources familiar with his care told cnn on saturday . security around jose salvador alvarenga has tightened since he came ashore last week more than 6,600 miles from where he says he started ; a crush of media has descended on the tiny island nation . alvarenga , a salvadoran who lived and worked in mexico , was moved overnight from the marshall islands resort hotel in majuro , the sources said . security continues to guard the room where alvarenga was staying at the resort , giving the impression he is still there , according to the sources . five questions : what is going on ? his return journey to el salvador this week was postponed because of his health , but dr. kennar briand , chief of staff at majuro hospital in the marshall islands , says alvarenga is ready to travel . the castaway will have another medical checkup on monday to see whether he is fit to return home , briand said . alvarenga 's mental health appears to have improved , too , the doctor said . he was a bit'off ,'maybe it 's due to him being in the open for so many months and not talking to people , but i think he is finally getting it back , ' briand said . alvarenga was released from the hospital in majuro on friday , one day after being readmitted because of declining health . alvarenga 's claims have garnered widespread skepticism about how he could survive for 13 months adrift in the pacific . but from what officials can tell , they have no reason to doubt him . panama teen was adrift at sea for 26 days cnn 's chelsea j. carter contributed to this report .
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a doctor says that alvarenga is now ready to travel
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alvarenga <tsp> majuro , marshall islands ( cnn ) -- the mysterious castaway who turned up in the marshall islands after saying he spent 13 months at sea has been moved to an undisclosed location to avoid the media , sources familiar with his care told cnn on saturday . security around jose salvador alvarenga has tightened since he came ashore last week more than 6,600 miles from where he says he started ; a crush of media has descended on the tiny island nation . alvarenga , a salvadoran who lived and worked in mexico , was moved overnight from the marshall islands resort hotel in majuro , the sources said . security continues to guard the room where alvarenga was staying at the resort , giving the impression he is still there , according to the sources . five questions : what is going on ? his return journey to el salvador this week was postponed because of his health , but dr. kennar briand , chief of staff at majuro hospital in the marshall islands , says alvarenga is ready to travel . the castaway will have another medical checkup on monday to see whether he is fit to return home , briand said . alvarenga 's mental health appears to have improved , too , the doctor said . he was a bit'off ,'maybe it 's due to him being in the open for so many months and not talking to people , but i think he is finally getting it back , ' briand said . alvarenga was released from the hospital in majuro on friday , one day after being readmitted because of declining health . alvarenga 's claims have garnered widespread skepticism about how he could survive for 13 months adrift in the pacific . but from what officials can tell , they have no reason to doubt him . panama teen was adrift at sea for 26 days cnn 's chelsea j. carter contributed to this report .
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new : jose salvador alvarenga has been moved to an undisclosed location
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china <tsp> atlanta ( cnn ) silently moving deep beneath the ocean 's surface , combat submarines can employ the element of surprise to carry out devastating attacks on naval fleets and land targets . for decades , the u.s. military has maintained its dominance in the depths of the world 's oceans by boasting the most technologically advanced submarine fleet . however , officials say china and other nations are rapidly expanding the size and scope of their own submarine forces . and , according to a report by the center for strategic and budgetary assessments , the u.s. must rethink the role of manned submarines and prioritize new underwater detection techniques . we know they are out experimenting and looking at operating , and clearly want to be in this world of advanced submarines , ' vice adm. joseph mulloy told the house armed services committee 's sea power subcommittee in february . mulloy , who is deputy chief of naval operations for capabilities and resources , says chinese submarines are still technologically inferior to those used by the united states , but that margin of difference is shrinking . concern that china could match u.s. underwater capabilities in the near future has encouraged the development of an unmanned drone ship to independently track enemy ultra-quiet diesel electric submarines over thousands of miles to limit their tactical capacity for surprise . initiated by a pentagon research group called the defense advanced research projects agency ( darpa ) , the anti-submarine warfare continuous trail vessel ( actuv ) would be able to operate under with little supervisory control but also as remotely controlled or piloted vessels , depending on the circumstances of specific missions . we 're looking for test-ready , multi-sensor approaches that push the boundaries of today 's automated sensing systems for unmanned surface vessels , ' said scott littlefield , darpa program manager . enhancing the ability of these kinds of vessels to sense their environment in all weather and traffic conditions , day or night , would significantly advance our ability to conduct a range of military missions . ' darpa says the so-called drone ships will be 132 feet long and likely cost about $ 20 million , significantly less than the billion-dollar manned warships currently in use . the development of the actuv aligns with the culture change ' described by navy secretary ray mabus tuesday at the navy league 's sea air space symposium at national harbor , maryland . unmanned systems , particularly autonomous ones , have to be the new normal in ever-increasing areas , ' maybus said . maybus said new staff will be put into place to help streamline , coordinate and champion unmanned systems in all domains . ' an actuv prototype vessel is already in production and , if testing is successful , the navy could move to the next phase of development by 2018 .
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advances are necessary to maintain technological edge on russia and china , admiral tells house panel
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house <tsp> atlanta ( cnn ) silently moving deep beneath the ocean 's surface , combat submarines can employ the element of surprise to carry out devastating attacks on naval fleets and land targets . for decades , the u.s. military has maintained its dominance in the depths of the world 's oceans by boasting the most technologically advanced submarine fleet . however , officials say china and other nations are rapidly expanding the size and scope of their own submarine forces . and , according to a report by the center for strategic and budgetary assessments , the u.s. must rethink the role of manned submarines and prioritize new underwater detection techniques . we know they are out experimenting and looking at operating , and clearly want to be in this world of advanced submarines , ' vice adm. joseph mulloy told the house armed services committee 's sea power subcommittee in february . mulloy , who is deputy chief of naval operations for capabilities and resources , says chinese submarines are still technologically inferior to those used by the united states , but that margin of difference is shrinking . concern that china could match u.s. underwater capabilities in the near future has encouraged the development of an unmanned drone ship to independently track enemy ultra-quiet diesel electric submarines over thousands of miles to limit their tactical capacity for surprise . initiated by a pentagon research group called the defense advanced research projects agency ( darpa ) , the anti-submarine warfare continuous trail vessel ( actuv ) would be able to operate under with little supervisory control but also as remotely controlled or piloted vessels , depending on the circumstances of specific missions . we 're looking for test-ready , multi-sensor approaches that push the boundaries of today 's automated sensing systems for unmanned surface vessels , ' said scott littlefield , darpa program manager . enhancing the ability of these kinds of vessels to sense their environment in all weather and traffic conditions , day or night , would significantly advance our ability to conduct a range of military missions . ' darpa says the so-called drone ships will be 132 feet long and likely cost about $ 20 million , significantly less than the billion-dollar manned warships currently in use . the development of the actuv aligns with the culture change ' described by navy secretary ray mabus tuesday at the navy league 's sea air space symposium at national harbor , maryland . unmanned systems , particularly autonomous ones , have to be the new normal in ever-increasing areas , ' maybus said . maybus said new staff will be put into place to help streamline , coordinate and champion unmanned systems in all domains . ' an actuv prototype vessel is already in production and , if testing is successful , the navy could move to the next phase of development by 2018 .
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advances are necessary to maintain technological edge on russia and china , admiral tells house panel
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u.s. navy <tsp> atlanta ( cnn ) silently moving deep beneath the ocean 's surface , combat submarines can employ the element of surprise to carry out devastating attacks on naval fleets and land targets . for decades , the u.s. military has maintained its dominance in the depths of the world 's oceans by boasting the most technologically advanced submarine fleet . however , officials say china and other nations are rapidly expanding the size and scope of their own submarine forces . and , according to a report by the center for strategic and budgetary assessments , the u.s. must rethink the role of manned submarines and prioritize new underwater detection techniques . we know they are out experimenting and looking at operating , and clearly want to be in this world of advanced submarines , ' vice adm. joseph mulloy told the house armed services committee 's sea power subcommittee in february . mulloy , who is deputy chief of naval operations for capabilities and resources , says chinese submarines are still technologically inferior to those used by the united states , but that margin of difference is shrinking . concern that china could match u.s. underwater capabilities in the near future has encouraged the development of an unmanned drone ship to independently track enemy ultra-quiet diesel electric submarines over thousands of miles to limit their tactical capacity for surprise . initiated by a pentagon research group called the defense advanced research projects agency ( darpa ) , the anti-submarine warfare continuous trail vessel ( actuv ) would be able to operate under with little supervisory control but also as remotely controlled or piloted vessels , depending on the circumstances of specific missions . we 're looking for test-ready , multi-sensor approaches that push the boundaries of today 's automated sensing systems for unmanned surface vessels , ' said scott littlefield , darpa program manager . enhancing the ability of these kinds of vessels to sense their environment in all weather and traffic conditions , day or night , would significantly advance our ability to conduct a range of military missions . ' darpa says the so-called drone ships will be 132 feet long and likely cost about $ 20 million , significantly less than the billion-dollar manned warships currently in use . the development of the actuv aligns with the culture change ' described by navy secretary ray mabus tuesday at the navy league 's sea air space symposium at national harbor , maryland . unmanned systems , particularly autonomous ones , have to be the new normal in ever-increasing areas , ' maybus said . maybus said new staff will be put into place to help streamline , coordinate and champion unmanned systems in all domains . ' an actuv prototype vessel is already in production and , if testing is successful , the navy could move to the next phase of development by 2018 .
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u.s. navy is developing an unmanned drone ship to track enemy submarines to limit their tactical capacity for surprise
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yemeni <tsp> ( cnn ) -- fighting in northern yemen has moved into saudi arabia , forcing school closures and sending thousands fleeing , according to the united nations . fighting has now spilled into saudi arabia , reportedly causing 240 villages to be evacuated and more than 50 schools to be closed , sigrid kaag of unicef said in a statement this week . the total number of people displaced by the conflict since 2004 has gone up to more than 175,000 , from an estimated 150,000 only a few weeks ago . ' battles between yemeni forces and shiite houthi rebels have raged intermittently for five years . a government offensive launched this summer has caused more bloodshed . the conflict is considered to be both separatist -- over who will assert authority in the area -- and sectarian -- whether shiite islam will dominate in majority sunni yemen . the rebels are supporters of slain shiite cleric hussein al-houthi . as the fighting escalates , the situation is worsening for children , kaag said . during the past three months , children affected by the conflict in the north have seen all their basic rights violated . lack of safe water , nutrition and hygiene is exerting a heavy toll on their health and well-being , and threatening their very survival , ' kaag said . kaag said some camps for displaced people are filled and thousands are living just outside the camp . yemen 's official news agency saba reported friday that it was working with the u.n. to create a new refugee camp in amran . cnn 's mohammed jamjoom contributed to this report .
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yemeni forces , shiite rebels have fought intermittently for five years
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espanyol <tsp> ( cnn ) -- barcelona need just one point to win spain 's la liga for the third straight year after a 2-0 win over neighbors espanyol sunday night . goals from andres iniesta and gerard pique have taken barcelona to 91 points , eight ahead of real madrid , who thrashed sevilla 6-2 saturday to keep alive their slim hopes . barcelona will clinch the title wednesday night if they avoid defeat against levante . they will then turn their attentions to the champions league final against manchester united on may 28 at wembley . it was not a vintage display by pep guardiola 's men in the wake of their champions league semifinal second leg tie against real madrid in midweek . but world cup winner iniesta found room for himself to shoot home in the first half after 20 minutes with pique heading home from a xavi corner at the start of the second . espanyol , who are still chasing a europa league place , offered stiff resistance in the nou camp , but barcelona were always in command and eric abidal came off the bench for a second appearance after his successful recovery from a liver tumor . valencia look set to finish third behind barca and real as mallorca and villarreal drew 0-0 . they lead villarreal by five points after their 3-0 win over real sociedad 24 hours earlier . villarreal coach juan carlos garrido said his team were tired after contesting the europa league semifinal thursday . we can say that we have got a point which takes us closer to a place in the champions league although obviously a win would have been better , ' he told afp . osasuna scored a fine 3-1 away win at real zaragoza in sunday 's late game to ease their relegation fears .
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barcelona beat espanyol 2-0 to close on spanish title
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afghanistan <tsp> kabul , afghanistan ( cnn ) -- civilian casualties resulting from afghanistan 's war have spiked , jumping some 24 percent above figures from last year , the united nations reported friday . an afghan child allegedly hurt during a u.s.-led air strike earlier this year . the human rights unit of the united nations assistance mission in afghanistan announced it recorded 1,013 civilian deaths in afghanistan during the first six months of this year . that compares to 818 afghan civilians who were killed during the same period in 2008 , while 684 civilians were killed during the first half of 2007 . insurgent roadside bombs and suicide attacks , as well as air strikes conducted by u.s. and nato forces , are the two deadliest tactics being used in afghanistan . fifty-nine percent of this year 's civilian casualties resulted from insurgent bombs . western military airstrikes killed 30.5 percent of the civilians . the report concluded that taliban insurgents are basing themselves in civilian areas so as to deliberately blur the distinction between combatants and civilians , and as part of what appears to be an active policy aimed at drawing a military response to areas where there is a high likelihood that civilians will be killed . ' the un highlighted a pattern of deadly taliban attacks , targeting humanitarian workers , government employees , medical and educational staff ... and in particular , girls'schools . meanwhile , the un noted that nato forces have redrafted their tactical directives , in an effort to reduce civilian casualties . despite the creation last year of a military commission to track civilian deaths , western airstrikes remain responsible for the largest percentage of civilian deaths ' attributed to foreign troops in afghanistan . the un stated that these civilian casualties are counterproductive for the western military coalition , because they are undermining support for the continued presence of the international military forces and the international community generally . ' the united states has nearly doubled the number of american forces in afghanistan since last year . us-nato troops have mounted on of the biggest military operations of the eight year war , in an effort to route taliban insurgents from safe havens in southern afghanistan , ahead of august 20th presidential elections . the intensified military activities have contributed to making june the deadliest month for western forces for the war . at least 44 american service members died in the conflict zone this month , in addition to some 29 coalition forces .
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civilian casualties in afghanistan war have spiked by 24 percent
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afghanistan <tsp> kabul , afghanistan ( cnn ) -- civilian casualties resulting from afghanistan 's war have spiked , jumping some 24 percent above figures from last year , the united nations reported friday . an afghan child allegedly hurt during a u.s.-led air strike earlier this year . the human rights unit of the united nations assistance mission in afghanistan announced it recorded 1,013 civilian deaths in afghanistan during the first six months of this year . that compares to 818 afghan civilians who were killed during the same period in 2008 , while 684 civilians were killed during the first half of 2007 . insurgent roadside bombs and suicide attacks , as well as air strikes conducted by u.s. and nato forces , are the two deadliest tactics being used in afghanistan . fifty-nine percent of this year 's civilian casualties resulted from insurgent bombs . western military airstrikes killed 30.5 percent of the civilians . the report concluded that taliban insurgents are basing themselves in civilian areas so as to deliberately blur the distinction between combatants and civilians , and as part of what appears to be an active policy aimed at drawing a military response to areas where there is a high likelihood that civilians will be killed . ' the un highlighted a pattern of deadly taliban attacks , targeting humanitarian workers , government employees , medical and educational staff ... and in particular , girls'schools . meanwhile , the un noted that nato forces have redrafted their tactical directives , in an effort to reduce civilian casualties . despite the creation last year of a military commission to track civilian deaths , western airstrikes remain responsible for the largest percentage of civilian deaths ' attributed to foreign troops in afghanistan . the un stated that these civilian casualties are counterproductive for the western military coalition , because they are undermining support for the continued presence of the international military forces and the international community generally . ' the united states has nearly doubled the number of american forces in afghanistan since last year . us-nato troops have mounted on of the biggest military operations of the eight year war , in an effort to route taliban insurgents from safe havens in southern afghanistan , ahead of august 20th presidential elections . the intensified military activities have contributed to making june the deadliest month for western forces for the war . at least 44 american service members died in the conflict zone this month , in addition to some 29 coalition forces .
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u.n. : 1,013 civilian deaths in afghanistan during first six months of year
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world war ii <tsp> ( cnn ) -- don price 's passion for military airplanes flows through his veins , passed down from his father 's stories of piloting boeing b-17s in world war ii . these days , price restores those planes and , in doing so , rekindles a connection with his father . restoration is a complicated and expensive process -- price worked on one plane for five years -- but he says the payoff is worth it . as a kid , you look at war more romantically . it 's good versus bad , like cops and robbers , ' he said . but as you get older and you realize what they physically had to go through , the hardships , it changes your perspective . ' so when he learned a restored b-17 known as the liberty belle was consumed by fire after making an emergency landing in an illinois cornfield monday , price felt as though he had lost a family member . the seven people aboard the belle escaped with minor injuries but the plane , which cost more than $ 3 million to restore , was reduced to a charred shell as firefighters struggled to put out the fire . the passengers aboard were all members of the liberty foundation , which owned the plane . the belle toured the country offering paid flights to world war ii veterans and aviation enthusiasts . the liberty belle was the first b-17 that i got to ride on , ' price said . it 's a huge loss . ' though the plane had been grounded for maintenance issues over the weekend , it was cleared for flight on monday . investigators with the national transportation safety board said an inspection will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire . from what i can tell from the pictures , the pilot made a spectacular landing , ' price said . he got the landing gear down and found the best field possible . if they had crash-landed it , no one would 've gotten out of the plane . ' he said he vividly recalls looking at the massive boeing b-17 with wide-eyed wonder on a family trip to the wright-patterson air force museum . price , then 4 years old , crawled through the shiny aluminum plane out the back door and into his father 's arms . this is the plane i flew in the war , ' his father told him . growing up , price heard people call his dad a gifted ' pilot . he knew he 'd flown what was dubbed the flying fortress during the war . but price said never thought of lt. william m. price iii as much more than dad -- until he was much older . as history laid bare the harsh realities of wwii , price said , he decided to record his father 's experiences . i decided to interview him because i started to realize he was one of the heroes that they made movies about , ' he said . during the time he was flying , he had a one in four chance of finishing a mission alive . ' he completed 25 . lt. price was assigned to the 384th bombardment group ( heavy ) of the 8th air force at the height of the war . during one of his early missions , he and six other airmen bailed out of their plane over the english channel after it became apparent that their bullet-riddled bomber would n't make it back to england . they were rescued by an english fisherman . price was also one of the 43 wounded airmen to return from an air strike on a german ball bearing company during what military historians christened black thursday . ' the air force lost 600 men and 60 planes over enemy territory that day , according to the national museum of the u.s. air force . price survived . more than 60 years after the end of world war ii , don price refurbishes military airplanes in honor of his father . as a volunteer member in the gulf coast wing of the commemorative air force , price worked for five years to restore a b-17 known as the texas raiders to flying condition . since 1967 , commemorative air force has spent more than $ 1.1 million to restore raiders to flying condition , in accordance with federal aviation administration specifications . the most recent restoration work on the plane was completed in october 2009 . price described the raiders'first flight after that as nerve-wracking because he knew the plane had n't left the ground in seven years . it was definitely an adrenaline rush to take off and know that it was finally flyable , ' he said . it was an even happier moment when we landed and knew we could go back up again . ' after monday 's crash , both of the gulf coast wing 's b-17s were grounded as a precaution and will undergo inspection of their fuel systems . retired naval pilot felix usis called the loss of the belle devastating because the plane was in pristine condition . during world war ii , he said , 12,371 b-17s were built . as of monday , only 14 flight-worthy planes were left . we now have one less , ' he said . after retiring from years as a commercial airline captain , usis began volunteering as a military historian at the military aviation museum in virginia beach , virginia . he lamented not only the loss of a historic artifact , but also the liberty foundation 's loss of a major investment . in 1944 , the cost per delivery of a b-17 was $ 204,370 . if you multiply that figure by the 12,000 that were delivered you can start to see that the cost of war was very expensive even back then . ' sandra thompson , spokeswoman for the gulf coast wing , noted that most of the b-17 's parts are no longer manufactured . when you restore a part that is broken or cracked and corroded , you have to create a part that is no longer produced , ' she said . the process , called forgery , ' can take years of scouring the globe for a company willing to recreate a single part . generating all the materials necessary to completely restore a plane can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars . but thompson said the driving force behind all of the hard work and money lies within the volunteers . there is a passion many of us have in seeing the past being given life again through the restoration , ' she said . and in seeing families , like the prices , brought back together again . there are so few world war ii veterans living today , and when we reintroduce this aircraft with those veterans , it brings tears and old memories back into perspective , ' thompson said . that makes it very worthwhile for the volunteers who restore these planes . ' world war ii service members were always recognized for their contributions to freedom , price said . but when vietnam made the military unpopular , his father stopped telling stories . i asked him if i could record some of his stories and he was amazed and touched because he thought no one would care about what he 'd done , ' he said . it took a while for people to figure out that their fathers , uncles and brothers did heroic deeds worth being thankful for . ' the world war ii generation is often remembered as this nation 's greatest war generation but price said it 's important to not to forget the men and women in uniform who are still sacrificing for america . part of the hope is that by keeping the history alive and maintaining records of what it took to overcome a totalitarian dictator , we wo n't make some of the same mistakes we did before , ' he said . learning more and more from my dad and about him made a world of difference in my world view . i became proud of my country and my father . '
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lt. william price iii flew b-17 bombers during world war ii
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japan <tsp> ( cnn student news ) -- march 21 , 2011 download pdf maps related to today 's show : • libya • japan : disaster-affected areas • haiti transcript this is a rush transcript . this copy may not be in its final form and may be updated . carl azuz , cnn student news anchor : military action is underway in the skies over libya , and the u.s. is one of several countries involved . it 's our first story in the week 's first edition of cnn student news . first up : libya civil war azuz : it 's called operation odyssey dawn , ' and the goal is to enforce a no-fly zone over libya . the united nations security council voted for that no-fly zone late last week . the coalition responsible for enforcing it is made up of forces from the u.s. , great britain and france , among others . after the security council 's vote , libya 's government declared a cease-fire in its fighting with rebel forces . and it invited representatives from other nations to come to libya to make sure the cease-fire was real . coalition forces were convinced that libyan leader moammar gadhafi was not following the rules of the cease-fire . on saturday , the coalition attacked . you can hear the sounds of gunfire in the capital city of tripoli . a u.s. commander said missiles landed near the capital and around other cities as part of these attacks . the fighting between colonel gadhafi 's forces and rebels raged on in other cities , like benghazi . here , you can see a fighter jet that was shot down over benghazi on saturday . admiral michael mullen , the chairman of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff , said on sunday that coalition forces had taken out most of libya 's air defense systems . but admiral mullen also said the u.s. role in operation odyssey dawn ' would be limited , saying we 're not going to put any boots on the ground . ' colonel gadhafi ? he 's harshly criticized the other countries getting involved with the civil war in libya . he called the coalition forces terrorists ' and promised a long-drawn war . ' but sunday , a spokesman for the libyan military called for another cease-fire . soundcheck u.s. president barack obama : today , we are both also delivering assistance and support to the japanese people at their greatest hour of need . the ties that bind our nations to japan are strong . in the united states , we forged an alliance of more than sixty years . the people of japan are some of our closest friends , and we will pray with them , and stand with them , and rebuild with them until this crisis has passed . disaster in japan azuz : we 're starting to see some new effects of the nuclear crisis in japan that resulted from a tsunami triggered by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake . yesterday , the government health ministry banned the sale of spinach from the area near the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant . officials made that decision based on radiation levels that were over the government limit . there were already bans on the sale of raw milk and restrictions on produce from the area surrounding the nuclear plant . workers inside that power plant were starting to see some signs of progress over the weekend in their efforts to cool down these nuclear reactors . but officials say even in the best scenario , there will be a lot of bumps ahead . ' one they came across sunday was the possibility that they might need to release radioactive gas into the air . they would do that in order to release some of the pressure that 's building up inside one of the reactors . the tsunami knocked out the plant 's cooling systems , and getting those back online is crucial . allan chernoff has a household comparison that helps explain why . allan chernoff , cnn senior correspondent , new york : to get a sense of the challenge confronting the japanese at the daiichi nuclear plant , consider this situation in a kitchen : a pot with no water on top of a high flame . obviously , this dangerous situation could cause a fire in here . well , stay with me . those spent nuclear rods can generate tremendous heat , up to 2,100 degrees . enough to melt them , burn them and send radioactive material into the atmosphere . they have to be kept under water , just like spaghetti when we 're cooking . now , those rods are normally kept under 30 feet of water , but according to the nuclear regulatory commission , in at least one of the pools in japan , the rods are exposed ; there 's virtually no water or no water at all . so , how do we resolve this situation ? well , if we do n't take the pot off the flame , we add water . and that is exactly what the japanese are trying to do right now ; any way they can , even dumping it from helicopters . they are trying desperately to get water into that pool to avoid a nuclear disaster . allan chernoff , cnn , new york . azuz : there was some good news on sunday when rescue workers found an 80-year-old woman and her 16-year-old grandson . they 'd been trapped in their home for nine days . the news gave hope to other people whose loved ones are still missing . but as gary tuchman explains , the search efforts are not easy . ( begin video ) gary tuchman , cnn national correspondent : kesennuma , japan . the scene behind me here is one of chaos , confusion ; it is surreal . if you see the video we took , you wo n't believe it . at least , we did n't when we saw it in person . so much debris , so much rubble . it 's impenetrable . it is like a canyon . when we went down there , it 's like climbing a mountain . cars , boats , houses : pushed out of different neighborhoods , pushed out of different areas and blocking fire officials , military officials . they 're looking for survivors , the possibility of survivors , or trying to find bodies . we met a woman today who told us her father was at the second floor of his house , made the decision to stay in the second floor when the tsunami siren sounded . well , anyway , at this point , they ca n't get to the house . it appears the house is still there , but there 's so much rubble surrounding the house , there 's no way to check if this man survived . it 's just an absolutely incredible scene . it 's hard to imagine what the people here in northeastern japan are going through . the death toll is rising rapidly . we know it will continue to rise . we ourselves , just myself and my crew , found a body in the back of a car . this is how they 're finding bodies , the officials . there 's so much rubble down there they ca n't get to . it 's very likely that it will be weeks or months before they come anywhere close to knowing what this death toll is . and the aftershocks continue . last night , while we were sleeping , we felt at least six or seven sizable aftershocks , and that only increases the anxiety that people feel here in northeastern japan . this is gary tuchman , cnn , in japan . ( end video ) impact your world azuz : a lot of you have been asking on our facebook page about how you can help the victims of this crisis . in the spotlight section on our homepage , that 's cnnstudentnews.com , click on impact your world . ' you 'll get a list of the organizations helping out with relief efforts and learn how you can be part of them . for more information about what 's going on in japan or about any of the stories we cover in our show , you can always check out the in-depth section at cnnstudentnews.com . haiti elections azuz : haiti : a nation still struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake that hit it more than a year ago . it 's also trying to resolve a presidential election from last november . none of the candidates got enough votes for an outright victory . yesterday , haitians headed to the polls to vote in a runoff election . one candidate is a former law professor and first lady . the other is a haitian entertainer . there were some problems early on at a couple polling locations : missing ballot boxes , and not enough ink to mark who had voted . but officials said those issues were resolved by later in the morning . the final results of the runoff are scheduled to be released in mid-april . shoutout tomeka jones , cnn student news : a big gilles-sweet shoutout today is dedicated to mr. schulenberg 's class in fairview park , ohio ! which word best describes the moon 's orbit around the earth ? you know what to do ! is it : a ) circular , b ) helical , c ) elliptical or d ) square ? you 've got three seconds -- go ! the moon moves around the earth in an elliptical orbit . that 's your answer and that 's your shoutout ! super moon azuz : well , if you looked outside and thought the moon looked bigger and brighter than usual this weekend , it 's because it was ! because of that elliptical orbit around the earth , full moons look different . and this full moon this past saturday was the closest one to earth in 18 years . it 's called a super perigee moon . perigee being the point on the moon 's orbit when it 's closest to earth . the opposite point -- when it 's at its farthest point from earth -- is called apogee . if you did n't get a chance to see the special event over the weekend , you 're just gon na have to be patient . the next super perigee moon will show up in the year 2029 . before we go azuz : we had to do some digging to find today 's before we go segment . but it 's nothing compared to what these folks are going through ! it 's the 33rd international intercollegiate mining competition . three days of hauling , pounding , drilling , all to show off a mastery of mining . 33 teams come from colleges all over the world for the annual event . how do you get through three days of intense , physical competition ? goodbye azuz : it 's simply a case of mine over matter . we 're gon na cart ourselves out of here . but cnn student news returns tomorrow . you know the drill . we 'll see you then . bye bye !
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understand the challenges of assessing the toll of a disaster in japan
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babel <tsp> ( cnn ) -- liverpool striker ryan babel has been fined £10,000 ( $ 15,890 ) by the english football association ( fa ) for posting doctored photos of referee howard webb on his twitter blog . babel was found guilty of improper conduct monday by an fa regulatory commission and warned about his future conduct . he is the first premier league footballer to be charged and fined for inappropriate ' tweeting . the dutch international used his twitter account to criticize webb , who took charge of liverpool 's fa cup third round match against manchester united . world cup final referee webb awarded united a disputed penalty and then sent off liverpool captain steven gerrard as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat in kenny dalglish 's first match at the anfield helm . babel later posted a mocked-up picture of webb wearing a manchester united shirt and also wrote : and they call him one of the best referees ? that 's a joke . ' he later apologized and said it was meant to be light-hearted , but the fa took a dim view . dalglish makes losing start as liverpool go out commission chariman roger burden said : social network sites must be regarded as being in the public domain . all participants need to be aware , in the same way as if making a public statement in other forms of media , that any comments would be transmitted to a wider audience . it is their responsibility to ensure only appropriate comments are used . ' babel had run into trouble on twitter before , being forced to apologize to former liverpool manager rafael benitez for comments he published after being dropped . meanwhile , manchester united full-back rafael has been charged with improper conduct by the fa for his outburst at referee mike dean after being sent off in sunday 's goalless draw at tottenham . rafael was sent off for a second yellow card for a foul on benoit assou-ekotto in the second half .
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babel used a mock-up picture of referee howard webb and made derogatory comments
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babel <tsp> ( cnn ) -- liverpool striker ryan babel has been fined £10,000 ( $ 15,890 ) by the english football association ( fa ) for posting doctored photos of referee howard webb on his twitter blog . babel was found guilty of improper conduct monday by an fa regulatory commission and warned about his future conduct . he is the first premier league footballer to be charged and fined for inappropriate ' tweeting . the dutch international used his twitter account to criticize webb , who took charge of liverpool 's fa cup third round match against manchester united . world cup final referee webb awarded united a disputed penalty and then sent off liverpool captain steven gerrard as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat in kenny dalglish 's first match at the anfield helm . babel later posted a mocked-up picture of webb wearing a manchester united shirt and also wrote : and they call him one of the best referees ? that 's a joke . ' he later apologized and said it was meant to be light-hearted , but the fa took a dim view . dalglish makes losing start as liverpool go out commission chariman roger burden said : social network sites must be regarded as being in the public domain . all participants need to be aware , in the same way as if making a public statement in other forms of media , that any comments would be transmitted to a wider audience . it is their responsibility to ensure only appropriate comments are used . ' babel had run into trouble on twitter before , being forced to apologize to former liverpool manager rafael benitez for comments he published after being dropped . meanwhile , manchester united full-back rafael has been charged with improper conduct by the fa for his outburst at referee mike dean after being sent off in sunday 's goalless draw at tottenham . rafael was sent off for a second yellow card for a foul on benoit assou-ekotto in the second half .
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ryan babel is the first footballer to be charged by fa over a twitter posting
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eid al-adha <tsp> ( cnn ) -- authorities have recovered 54 bodies after a ferry crammed with people capsized in southern bangladesh , police said sunday . among the victims were 22 children and 15 women , said nazrul islam , the police chief of bhola district where the accident occurred friday . thirty more passengers are believed missing and presumed dead , he said . hopefully , in few hours , we should be able to confirm the exact number of missing ( people ) , ' islam said . the boat had a capacity of 1,500 but was overcrowded with about 2,000 people who were traveling from the capital , dhaka , to their homes in bhola for the muslim festival of eid al-adha . the boat toppled as passengers weighted down one side to disembark , islam said . police and firefighters rushed to aid passengers , many of whom were trapped in the lower deck . cnn 's harmeet shah singh contributed to this report
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they were traveling homes for the muslim festival of eid al-adha
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arsene wenger <tsp> ( cnn ) -- arsenal manager arsene wenger has launched an attack on european football 's governing body uefa after being charged with improper conduct for his behavior during tuesday 's champions league defeat by barcelona . wenger clashed with referee massimo busacca at the end of the english team 's 3-1 loss to the spanish champions in the away leg of their last-16 tie in europe 's top club competition . the frenchman reacted angrily when striker robin van persie was awarded a second yellow card and controversially sent off in the 56th minute of the game for shooting at goal after busacca had signaled for offside , with the score still 1-1 . i deny completely any charge . i do not understand where it 's from . they ( uefa ) do not punish me . it is arsenal football club who has been punished , ' wenger told reporters at a press conference on thursday . was wenger right -- did the ref kill the game ? we are out of the champions league and have lost one of our big ambitions , and on top of that we have to say sorry when we have done nothing wrong . it would be good for uefa to show some humility , to apologize for what has happened , not charge people who have done nothing wrong . ' france midfielder samir nasri was also charged for improper conduct after he approached busacca in the tunnel at the end of the game . netherlands star van persie said he did not hear the whistle for offside amid the noise of the 95,000-strong crowd at the nou camp . wenger was immediately outspoken in his criticism of busacca following the incident , and accused the swiss official of killing the game . ' arsenal won the home leg of the tie 2-1 in london , and would have reached the quarterfinals if the score in barcelona had remained 1-1 . it is a shame for me that the referee took the decision to send robin van persie off . it was the wrong decision , ' wenger said . wenger charged by uefa after barca clash ' this decision frustrated us and everyone who loves football . the first leg was a fantastic advert for football and the second game has been destroyed . people now will only remember the sending-off . ' it is the second game in succession that wenger has criticized a referee 's performance , following his condemnation of the officials during the 0-0 home draw with sunderland last saturday . the exit from the champions league came just nine days after the gunners'heartbreaking last-minute english league cup final loss to birmingham . wenger had further bad news for arsenal fans when he confirmed that skipper cesc fabregas had been ruled out of saturday 's fa cup quarterfinal clash with premier league leaders manchester united . he had a recurrence of his hamstring and will be out for the next game , maybe for the next two games , ' wenger said of the spaniard , who returned from injury to face his boyhood club barcelona . goalkeeper wojciech szczesny will also miss the trip to old trafford , after the polish player sustained a finger injury 18 minutes into the barcelona game and had to be substituted . he has a dislocated finger with a tendon problem , ' wenger said . he had a scan on wednesday but we need the assessment of a specialist to see where we go from here . he is out for a while , for how long i can not tell you . ' with manuel almunia now the club 's only fit goalkeeper -- lukasz fabianski is also out injured -- wenger may be forced to search for a replacement on an emergency loan .
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arsene wenger hits out at uefa and denies charge of improper conduct against him
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arsenal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- arsenal manager arsene wenger has launched an attack on european football 's governing body uefa after being charged with improper conduct for his behavior during tuesday 's champions league defeat by barcelona . wenger clashed with referee massimo busacca at the end of the english team 's 3-1 loss to the spanish champions in the away leg of their last-16 tie in europe 's top club competition . the frenchman reacted angrily when striker robin van persie was awarded a second yellow card and controversially sent off in the 56th minute of the game for shooting at goal after busacca had signaled for offside , with the score still 1-1 . i deny completely any charge . i do not understand where it 's from . they ( uefa ) do not punish me . it is arsenal football club who has been punished , ' wenger told reporters at a press conference on thursday . was wenger right -- did the ref kill the game ? we are out of the champions league and have lost one of our big ambitions , and on top of that we have to say sorry when we have done nothing wrong . it would be good for uefa to show some humility , to apologize for what has happened , not charge people who have done nothing wrong . ' france midfielder samir nasri was also charged for improper conduct after he approached busacca in the tunnel at the end of the game . netherlands star van persie said he did not hear the whistle for offside amid the noise of the 95,000-strong crowd at the nou camp . wenger was immediately outspoken in his criticism of busacca following the incident , and accused the swiss official of killing the game . ' arsenal won the home leg of the tie 2-1 in london , and would have reached the quarterfinals if the score in barcelona had remained 1-1 . it is a shame for me that the referee took the decision to send robin van persie off . it was the wrong decision , ' wenger said . wenger charged by uefa after barca clash ' this decision frustrated us and everyone who loves football . the first leg was a fantastic advert for football and the second game has been destroyed . people now will only remember the sending-off . ' it is the second game in succession that wenger has criticized a referee 's performance , following his condemnation of the officials during the 0-0 home draw with sunderland last saturday . the exit from the champions league came just nine days after the gunners'heartbreaking last-minute english league cup final loss to birmingham . wenger had further bad news for arsenal fans when he confirmed that skipper cesc fabregas had been ruled out of saturday 's fa cup quarterfinal clash with premier league leaders manchester united . he had a recurrence of his hamstring and will be out for the next game , maybe for the next two games , ' wenger said of the spaniard , who returned from injury to face his boyhood club barcelona . goalkeeper wojciech szczesny will also miss the trip to old trafford , after the polish player sustained a finger injury 18 minutes into the barcelona game and had to be substituted . he has a dislocated finger with a tendon problem , ' wenger said . he had a scan on wednesday but we need the assessment of a specialist to see where we go from here . he is out for a while , for how long i can not tell you . ' with manuel almunia now the club 's only fit goalkeeper -- lukasz fabianski is also out injured -- wenger may be forced to search for a replacement on an emergency loan .
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arsenal captain cesc fabregas will miss fa cup tie against manchester united
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arsenal <tsp> ( cnn ) -- arsenal manager arsene wenger has launched an attack on european football 's governing body uefa after being charged with improper conduct for his behavior during tuesday 's champions league defeat by barcelona . wenger clashed with referee massimo busacca at the end of the english team 's 3-1 loss to the spanish champions in the away leg of their last-16 tie in europe 's top club competition . the frenchman reacted angrily when striker robin van persie was awarded a second yellow card and controversially sent off in the 56th minute of the game for shooting at goal after busacca had signaled for offside , with the score still 1-1 . i deny completely any charge . i do not understand where it 's from . they ( uefa ) do not punish me . it is arsenal football club who has been punished , ' wenger told reporters at a press conference on thursday . was wenger right -- did the ref kill the game ? we are out of the champions league and have lost one of our big ambitions , and on top of that we have to say sorry when we have done nothing wrong . it would be good for uefa to show some humility , to apologize for what has happened , not charge people who have done nothing wrong . ' france midfielder samir nasri was also charged for improper conduct after he approached busacca in the tunnel at the end of the game . netherlands star van persie said he did not hear the whistle for offside amid the noise of the 95,000-strong crowd at the nou camp . wenger was immediately outspoken in his criticism of busacca following the incident , and accused the swiss official of killing the game . ' arsenal won the home leg of the tie 2-1 in london , and would have reached the quarterfinals if the score in barcelona had remained 1-1 . it is a shame for me that the referee took the decision to send robin van persie off . it was the wrong decision , ' wenger said . wenger charged by uefa after barca clash ' this decision frustrated us and everyone who loves football . the first leg was a fantastic advert for football and the second game has been destroyed . people now will only remember the sending-off . ' it is the second game in succession that wenger has criticized a referee 's performance , following his condemnation of the officials during the 0-0 home draw with sunderland last saturday . the exit from the champions league came just nine days after the gunners'heartbreaking last-minute english league cup final loss to birmingham . wenger had further bad news for arsenal fans when he confirmed that skipper cesc fabregas had been ruled out of saturday 's fa cup quarterfinal clash with premier league leaders manchester united . he had a recurrence of his hamstring and will be out for the next game , maybe for the next two games , ' wenger said of the spaniard , who returned from injury to face his boyhood club barcelona . goalkeeper wojciech szczesny will also miss the trip to old trafford , after the polish player sustained a finger injury 18 minutes into the barcelona game and had to be substituted . he has a dislocated finger with a tendon problem , ' wenger said . he had a scan on wednesday but we need the assessment of a specialist to see where we go from here . he is out for a while , for how long i can not tell you . ' with manuel almunia now the club 's only fit goalkeeper -- lukasz fabianski is also out injured -- wenger may be forced to search for a replacement on an emergency loan .
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arsenal manager confronted referee at the end of his side 's champions league exit
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cuban <tsp> havana , cuba ( cnn ) a message reported to be from retired cuban leader fidel castro late monday endorsed the fledgling talks to restore diplomatic relations between cuba and the united states , but added castro still did n't trust ' u.s. officials . in a letter , published on the website of the communist party newspaper granma , castro said that although he did n't trust u.s. policies and have not exchanged a word with them , this does not mean however that i would oppose a peaceful solution to conflicts or threats of war . ' last month cuba and the united states exchanged prisoners and agreed to discuss normalizing relations that had been trapped in over five decades of cold war animosity . while the u.s. economic trade embargo remains in place , president barack obama announced he would lift some sanctions and ease travel restrictions for u.s. citizens wishing to visit the island . despite the major shift in policy , for over a month castro made no public comment on the deal , reigniting rumors that the 88-year-old former cuban leader was in failing health . last week , cuban and u.s. diplomats met to discuss re-establishing embassies in washington and havana . while both sides hailed the first round of talks in havana as productive , the negotiators sparred over issues like human rights and the discussions ended without signs of any breakthrough . talks are expected to resume in washington , although no date has been set for the second round of discussions . the u.s. broke relations with cuba in 1961 , amid fears that castro and his bearded revolutionaries harbored communist sympathies . despite scores of cia assassination attempts against him and a failed u.s.-backed invasion of cuba , castro stayed in power until 2006 , when a still-undisclosed intestinal ailment forced him to step down . since then castro rarely appears in public , instead opining on current events in occasional newspaper columns . raul castro replaced him as president and demonstrated a less confrontational style of leadership than his older brother , who often led massive protests against u.s. policies . the younger castro has allowed more economic reforms to take place but resisted any challenges to the country 's single-party communist style of government . during the talks , cuban officials said they hoped the united states and cuba could learn to coexist despite the deep differences in the two countries political systems . we shall always defend the cooperation and friendship between all people , among them our political adversaries , ' fidel castro wrote in the message published monday . with this spirit , i have fought , ' castro concluded his letter , and will continue fighting until my last breath . '
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u.s. , cuban diplomats met last week in havana to talk about re-establishing embassies
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eminem show <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it 's official : taylor swift 's new album had the largest sales week since 2002 , according to billboard . 1989 ' sold almost 1.3 million copies in its debut week , said the data from nielsen soundscan . why taylor swift is everything to the music industry no one has posted such big numbers since eminem 's the eminem show ' sold just over 1.3 million during its second week on the charts in june 2002 . swift is the only artist to have three weeks in which an album sold a million copies , and this one is her fourth no . 1 -- following red , ' which was released in 2012 , speak now ' from 2010 and fearless ' in 2008 . it also makes swift the only single artist to go platinum in 2014 . taylor swift pulls her music from spotify the frozen ' soundtrack , which features multiple artists , has sold 3.2 million albums this year , but in just one week , swift has become the second-biggest seller . the singer just barely missed breaking the one-week sales record for an album by a woman , which is held by britney spears with oops ! ... i did it again ' in 2000 . spears sold 1.319 million copies . better nyc ambassadors than taylor swift ?
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that has n't happened since the eminem show ' in 2002
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guy hachey <tsp> ( cnn ) -- canadian aviation company bombardier is taking a major bet ' on the notoriously cut-throat passenger plane market , spending around $ 3.5 billion to compete with well-established rivals boeing and airbus , its chief executive guy hachey says . the money will be invested in bombardier 's new c series aircraft , which has the capacity to seat 100 to 150 passengers . bombardier faces obstacles , including the dominance of its competitors in the market and the eurozone financial crisis , which has hit the aviation industry hard . but the company is in a strong position to target a market that has been under-served ' by the major players , hachey said . watch : how to buy planes ' so far , we 've been serving customers up to about 100 seats , more in the regional segment . now we 're cracking into more of the mainline segment . we 're investing about $ 3.5 billion -- for the size of our company that is a very significant investment , ' he told cnn . if you look at our company we have two groups -- a group of about $ 10 billion on the rail side and $ 10 billion in aerospace . but it is a major bet for the corporation . ' cutting edge design hachey said bombardier 's competitive edge lies in the design of its planes . until now , this market had largely been served by the airbus a320 and boeing 737 . however these smaller versions of planes -- called shrinks ' -- - were also much heavier . the other option was brazilian company embraer 's e-195 -- known as a stretch ' -- but it can not fly as far in one go . in comparison , hachey said bombardier 's c series will deliver an optimized product ' built specifically for the 100 to 150-seat market . on its website the company says its aircraft will be lighter and more fuel efficient , yet provide a best-in-class , wide-body cabin environment . ' taking on the major players bombardier 's ambitions -- even with this new approach to design -- are high , given the long history of airbus and boeing in these markets . founded in 1942 , bombardier is a relatively new kid on the aviation block . the company expanded from trains to planes in the 1980s and is now the third largest aircraft manufacturer . its aerospace division now employs 33,600 people , with an annual turnover of â£8.6 billion . according to hachey , the company now has the scale to take such challenges . watch : three ceos in a cockpit hachey is hoping to capitalize on demand for around 7,000 aircraft in the 100 to 150-seat segment over the next 20 years . so far bombardier has secured 330 commitments and 138 firm orders for its new aircraft . hachey , who worked in the automotive industry for 30 years before moving to planes , said : we feel very comfortable with the level of production we have going forwards , so we are very happy with our position . ' beyond europe as european markets continue to take a battering , hachey says bombardier will be expanding its focus elsewhere . in the past year the company has doubled its sales force in emerging countries , with a renewed push in the u.s. ' in europe typically things have been slower than usual , and this is a fortress market for us . we 've been very strong in europe so we are feeling the impact of the economic uncertainty , ' hachey noted . watch : airlines brace for economic impact ' the good thing is the rest of the world is not necessarily in the same shape . if you look at emerging countries we 've been doing very well , ' he said . we 're focusing elsewhere . the u.s. has also been picking up which is a very , very important market for us . ' sheena mckenzie contributed to this report
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bombardier ceo guy hachey says it is a major bet for the corporation '
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dubai <tsp> ( cnn ) inked on croatian teenager borna coric 's arm are the words : there 's nothing worse in life than being ordinary . ' andy murray got a taste of the 18-year-old coric 's pursuit of the extraordinary as the croatian pulled off one of the biggest upsets of his nascent tennis career with a straight sets victory over the world no . 3 . few had given coric much chance of winning the pair 's quarterfinal contest at the dubai championships , his last victory against a top-10 ranked player dating back to a historic win over rafael nadal at the end of 2014 . luck had played a part in coric 's path to the last eight after he had initially lost to 350th-ranked fabrice martin in qualifying and he only snuck into the tournament by virtue of a lucky-loser berth . but in a thoroughly one-sided quarterfinal contest , the teen served up a 6-1 , 6-3 victory as murray struggled to make inroads with 55 unforced errors . runner-up at the australian open last month , murray mustered just 38 points in the 80-minute match . the briton was in dubai without coach amelie mauresmo and had previously admitted to struggling to find playing partners . but he made no excuses in the aftermath of his defeat . he did n't make any errors , ' murray told the atp world tour website . he played very solid and he moved well . i made way too many mistakes from the beginning of the match right through to the end , early in the rallies , rushing points . ' it was a far cry from the pair 's last encounter in a davis cup tie in 2013 . prior to that contest , coric had admitted he had no chance of victory . but the world no . 84 has grown noticeably in confidence , saying in a recent interview that he was the best of his generation . ' coric has been tipped for a place among the world 's top 10 and murray , for one , has noticed the improvement . he makes good decisions on the court , he 's stronger now , he serves a bit better , ' said coric . his ranking would suggest that he 's made some big improvements . '
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18-year-old borna coric beats andy murray in straight sets in dubai quarter-final
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dubai <tsp> ( cnn ) inked on croatian teenager borna coric 's arm are the words : there 's nothing worse in life than being ordinary . ' andy murray got a taste of the 18-year-old coric 's pursuit of the extraordinary as the croatian pulled off one of the biggest upsets of his nascent tennis career with a straight sets victory over the world no . 3 . few had given coric much chance of winning the pair 's quarterfinal contest at the dubai championships , his last victory against a top-10 ranked player dating back to a historic win over rafael nadal at the end of 2014 . luck had played a part in coric 's path to the last eight after he had initially lost to 350th-ranked fabrice martin in qualifying and he only snuck into the tournament by virtue of a lucky-loser berth . but in a thoroughly one-sided quarterfinal contest , the teen served up a 6-1 , 6-3 victory as murray struggled to make inroads with 55 unforced errors . runner-up at the australian open last month , murray mustered just 38 points in the 80-minute match . the briton was in dubai without coach amelie mauresmo and had previously admitted to struggling to find playing partners . but he made no excuses in the aftermath of his defeat . he did n't make any errors , ' murray told the atp world tour website . he played very solid and he moved well . i made way too many mistakes from the beginning of the match right through to the end , early in the rallies , rushing points . ' it was a far cry from the pair 's last encounter in a davis cup tie in 2013 . prior to that contest , coric had admitted he had no chance of victory . but the world no . 84 has grown noticeably in confidence , saying in a recent interview that he was the best of his generation . ' coric has been tipped for a place among the world 's top 10 and murray , for one , has noticed the improvement . he makes good decisions on the court , he 's stronger now , he serves a bit better , ' said coric . his ranking would suggest that he 's made some big improvements . '
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murray , without his coach amelie mauresmo in dubai , is full of praise for his vanquisher
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syria <tsp> a gruesome snuff video that has garnered more than 180,000 views on youtube underlines just how grim the syrian conflict has become . this video appears to document one of the worst kinds of war crimes : the summary executions of wounded men . ( warning : the scenes are extremely graphic . ) several paramilitaries in battle fatigues armed with automatic weapons -- some speaking arabic in distinctive lebanese accents -- pull wounded men out of the back of a van and drop them on to the ground , then shoot them in their heads at point-blank range . as they shoot their victims , some of the paramilitaries seem almost giddy with excitement . a man who appears to be their commander admonishes his men , come on guys , we are here to carry out our duties not to seek revenge on our own . this is unacceptable . ' one of the paramilitaries smilingly replies , but we are killing them in god 's cause , only in god 's cause . ' the wounded men lying on the ground awaiting their deaths repeat religious phrases that are commonly said just before death . they all appear to be civilians . there has been much analysis of the al qaeda-aligned groups in syria fighting the assad regime that have recruited thousands of foreign fighters from around the arab world and a smaller number from the west , but there has been far less discussion of the shiite militias in syria that have recruited foreign fighters from iraq as well as from lebanese hezbollah , all of whom are fighting to support syrian president bashar al-assad . barak barfi , an american journalist who is a fellow at the new america foundation and who has reported inside syria for many months , says that one of the executioners in the videotape is wearing a distinctive yellow armband that hezbollah fighters wear . barfi says , this appears to be a hezbollah video , though we can not conclude this with high confidence . ' similarly , augustus richard norton , professor of international relations at boston university and the author of an authoritative study of hezbollah , says , the only identifying marks on the uniforms are yellow ribbons , which , in theory , would identify them as hezbollahis . ' randa slim , also a fellow at the new america foundation and a scholar at the middle east institute who is writing a book about hezbollah , says that based on the accents of the arabic-speaking executioners the video shows syrians as well as fighters from iraq and lebanon . slim cautions , however , that the paramilitaries conducting the executions could well be members of an alawite militia made up mostly of syrians who have been trained by hezbollah , but that are not part of hezbollah itself . phillip smyth , a researcher at the university of maryland who specializes in shiite militias operating in syria , says that the fighters are likely from hezbollah as they speak in a lebanese accent and when they perform the executions they mention a religious edict handed down by a key hezbollah religious guide . oubai shahbandar is a syrian-american who worked at the pentagon for much of the past decade as a middle east analyst , including a stint on general david petraeus'staff during the iraq war , and is now a vice president at the syrian support group , which supports moderate elements of syria 's armed opposition . ' shahbandar has been tracking hezbollah since 2007 and he asserts that the executioners in the video are definitely from hezbollah and that the video itself was shot in homs province in western syria . an analysis done by cnn 's international desk confirms that the dialect spoken by the executioners in the videotape is lebanese arabic and they can be heard shouting fi sabil allah , ' an arabic phrase that means in god 's cause , ' an expression commonly used by hezbollah fighters on the battlefield . the international desk 's analysis points out that the yellow and green ribbons tied to the fighters'uniforms appear to mark them as hezbollah fighters . as is now well known , many of the players in the syrian conflict , including most prominently the assad regime itself , have committed war crimes against civilians . on friday , human rights watch released a report documenting a massacre on august 4 that was perpetrated by two al qaeda-aligned sunni militant groups , the islamic state of iraq and sham and jabhat al-nusra . the massacre took place in the coastal region of latakia in a number of alawite villages supportive of the assad regime . according to the report eight survivors and witnesses described how opposition forces executed residents and opened fire on civilians , sometimes killing or attempting to kill entire families who were either in their homes unarmed or fleeing from the attack , and at other times killing adult male family members , and holding the female relatives and children hostage. human rights watch collected the names of 190 civilians who were killed in these attacks , including 57 women and at least 18 children and 14 elderly men . while the world in the past few weeks has been distracted by the u.s. government shutdown and the brutal attack on the mall in kenya by an al qaeda affiliate that left at least 67 dead , the syrian war has ground on . it is a war that has now claimed as many as 120,000 lives . four of those deaths are documented in the appalling videotape of the shiite paramilitaries gleefully executing wounded men who appear to be civilians . and the deaths of 190 civilians killed by sunni militias in august are documented in great detail in the human rights watch report that was released friday . just when you thought the syrian civil war could n't get any worse , it does .
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a video purportedly shot in syria shows gruesome executions
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syria <tsp> a gruesome snuff video that has garnered more than 180,000 views on youtube underlines just how grim the syrian conflict has become . this video appears to document one of the worst kinds of war crimes : the summary executions of wounded men . ( warning : the scenes are extremely graphic . ) several paramilitaries in battle fatigues armed with automatic weapons -- some speaking arabic in distinctive lebanese accents -- pull wounded men out of the back of a van and drop them on to the ground , then shoot them in their heads at point-blank range . as they shoot their victims , some of the paramilitaries seem almost giddy with excitement . a man who appears to be their commander admonishes his men , come on guys , we are here to carry out our duties not to seek revenge on our own . this is unacceptable . ' one of the paramilitaries smilingly replies , but we are killing them in god 's cause , only in god 's cause . ' the wounded men lying on the ground awaiting their deaths repeat religious phrases that are commonly said just before death . they all appear to be civilians . there has been much analysis of the al qaeda-aligned groups in syria fighting the assad regime that have recruited thousands of foreign fighters from around the arab world and a smaller number from the west , but there has been far less discussion of the shiite militias in syria that have recruited foreign fighters from iraq as well as from lebanese hezbollah , all of whom are fighting to support syrian president bashar al-assad . barak barfi , an american journalist who is a fellow at the new america foundation and who has reported inside syria for many months , says that one of the executioners in the videotape is wearing a distinctive yellow armband that hezbollah fighters wear . barfi says , this appears to be a hezbollah video , though we can not conclude this with high confidence . ' similarly , augustus richard norton , professor of international relations at boston university and the author of an authoritative study of hezbollah , says , the only identifying marks on the uniforms are yellow ribbons , which , in theory , would identify them as hezbollahis . ' randa slim , also a fellow at the new america foundation and a scholar at the middle east institute who is writing a book about hezbollah , says that based on the accents of the arabic-speaking executioners the video shows syrians as well as fighters from iraq and lebanon . slim cautions , however , that the paramilitaries conducting the executions could well be members of an alawite militia made up mostly of syrians who have been trained by hezbollah , but that are not part of hezbollah itself . phillip smyth , a researcher at the university of maryland who specializes in shiite militias operating in syria , says that the fighters are likely from hezbollah as they speak in a lebanese accent and when they perform the executions they mention a religious edict handed down by a key hezbollah religious guide . oubai shahbandar is a syrian-american who worked at the pentagon for much of the past decade as a middle east analyst , including a stint on general david petraeus'staff during the iraq war , and is now a vice president at the syrian support group , which supports moderate elements of syria 's armed opposition . ' shahbandar has been tracking hezbollah since 2007 and he asserts that the executioners in the video are definitely from hezbollah and that the video itself was shot in homs province in western syria . an analysis done by cnn 's international desk confirms that the dialect spoken by the executioners in the videotape is lebanese arabic and they can be heard shouting fi sabil allah , ' an arabic phrase that means in god 's cause , ' an expression commonly used by hezbollah fighters on the battlefield . the international desk 's analysis points out that the yellow and green ribbons tied to the fighters'uniforms appear to mark them as hezbollah fighters . as is now well known , many of the players in the syrian conflict , including most prominently the assad regime itself , have committed war crimes against civilians . on friday , human rights watch released a report documenting a massacre on august 4 that was perpetrated by two al qaeda-aligned sunni militant groups , the islamic state of iraq and sham and jabhat al-nusra . the massacre took place in the coastal region of latakia in a number of alawite villages supportive of the assad regime . according to the report eight survivors and witnesses described how opposition forces executed residents and opened fire on civilians , sometimes killing or attempting to kill entire families who were either in their homes unarmed or fleeing from the attack , and at other times killing adult male family members , and holding the female relatives and children hostage. human rights watch collected the names of 190 civilians who were killed in these attacks , including 57 women and at least 18 children and 14 elderly men . while the world in the past few weeks has been distracted by the u.s. government shutdown and the brutal attack on the mall in kenya by an al qaeda affiliate that left at least 67 dead , the syrian war has ground on . it is a war that has now claimed as many as 120,000 lives . four of those deaths are documented in the appalling videotape of the shiite paramilitaries gleefully executing wounded men who appear to be civilians . and the deaths of 190 civilians killed by sunni militias in august are documented in great detail in the human rights watch report that was released friday . just when you thought the syrian civil war could n't get any worse , it does .
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peter bergen : atrocities in syria continue , and appear to involve both sides
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syria <tsp> a gruesome snuff video that has garnered more than 180,000 views on youtube underlines just how grim the syrian conflict has become . this video appears to document one of the worst kinds of war crimes : the summary executions of wounded men . ( warning : the scenes are extremely graphic . ) several paramilitaries in battle fatigues armed with automatic weapons -- some speaking arabic in distinctive lebanese accents -- pull wounded men out of the back of a van and drop them on to the ground , then shoot them in their heads at point-blank range . as they shoot their victims , some of the paramilitaries seem almost giddy with excitement . a man who appears to be their commander admonishes his men , come on guys , we are here to carry out our duties not to seek revenge on our own . this is unacceptable . ' one of the paramilitaries smilingly replies , but we are killing them in god 's cause , only in god 's cause . ' the wounded men lying on the ground awaiting their deaths repeat religious phrases that are commonly said just before death . they all appear to be civilians . there has been much analysis of the al qaeda-aligned groups in syria fighting the assad regime that have recruited thousands of foreign fighters from around the arab world and a smaller number from the west , but there has been far less discussion of the shiite militias in syria that have recruited foreign fighters from iraq as well as from lebanese hezbollah , all of whom are fighting to support syrian president bashar al-assad . barak barfi , an american journalist who is a fellow at the new america foundation and who has reported inside syria for many months , says that one of the executioners in the videotape is wearing a distinctive yellow armband that hezbollah fighters wear . barfi says , this appears to be a hezbollah video , though we can not conclude this with high confidence . ' similarly , augustus richard norton , professor of international relations at boston university and the author of an authoritative study of hezbollah , says , the only identifying marks on the uniforms are yellow ribbons , which , in theory , would identify them as hezbollahis . ' randa slim , also a fellow at the new america foundation and a scholar at the middle east institute who is writing a book about hezbollah , says that based on the accents of the arabic-speaking executioners the video shows syrians as well as fighters from iraq and lebanon . slim cautions , however , that the paramilitaries conducting the executions could well be members of an alawite militia made up mostly of syrians who have been trained by hezbollah , but that are not part of hezbollah itself . phillip smyth , a researcher at the university of maryland who specializes in shiite militias operating in syria , says that the fighters are likely from hezbollah as they speak in a lebanese accent and when they perform the executions they mention a religious edict handed down by a key hezbollah religious guide . oubai shahbandar is a syrian-american who worked at the pentagon for much of the past decade as a middle east analyst , including a stint on general david petraeus'staff during the iraq war , and is now a vice president at the syrian support group , which supports moderate elements of syria 's armed opposition . ' shahbandar has been tracking hezbollah since 2007 and he asserts that the executioners in the video are definitely from hezbollah and that the video itself was shot in homs province in western syria . an analysis done by cnn 's international desk confirms that the dialect spoken by the executioners in the videotape is lebanese arabic and they can be heard shouting fi sabil allah , ' an arabic phrase that means in god 's cause , ' an expression commonly used by hezbollah fighters on the battlefield . the international desk 's analysis points out that the yellow and green ribbons tied to the fighters'uniforms appear to mark them as hezbollah fighters . as is now well known , many of the players in the syrian conflict , including most prominently the assad regime itself , have committed war crimes against civilians . on friday , human rights watch released a report documenting a massacre on august 4 that was perpetrated by two al qaeda-aligned sunni militant groups , the islamic state of iraq and sham and jabhat al-nusra . the massacre took place in the coastal region of latakia in a number of alawite villages supportive of the assad regime . according to the report eight survivors and witnesses described how opposition forces executed residents and opened fire on civilians , sometimes killing or attempting to kill entire families who were either in their homes unarmed or fleeing from the attack , and at other times killing adult male family members , and holding the female relatives and children hostage. human rights watch collected the names of 190 civilians who were killed in these attacks , including 57 women and at least 18 children and 14 elderly men . while the world in the past few weeks has been distracted by the u.s. government shutdown and the brutal attack on the mall in kenya by an al qaeda affiliate that left at least 67 dead , the syrian war has ground on . it is a war that has now claimed as many as 120,000 lives . four of those deaths are documented in the appalling videotape of the shiite paramilitaries gleefully executing wounded men who appear to be civilians . and the deaths of 190 civilians killed by sunni militias in august are documented in great detail in the human rights watch report that was released friday . just when you thought the syrian civil war could n't get any worse , it does .
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bergen : as the world 's attention wanders , as many as 120,000 have died in syria
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tnc <tsp> ( cnn ) -- libyan transitional national council chairman mustafa abdel jalil has dismissed the rebels'14-member executive board , a spokesman for the council said tuesday . the death of the rebel government 's military commander , gen. abdel fattah younis , on july 28 played a role in board members'ouster monday , said shamsiddin abdulmolah , the council 's media director . they were dismissed because of some are directly responsible for how gen. younis was arrested , ' abdulmolah said . there were shortcomings and mishandling of the events that led to his assassination . ' younis and two other rebels were killed after the tnc sought to question him about allegations that he or those close to him had ongoing ties to libyan ruler moammar gadhafi , younis'supporters have said . there are two investigations going on now in relation to his assassination , ' abdulmolah said . there is the criminal investigation , and there is another investigation looking for the administrative mistakes that led to younis'death . ' at least four people are directly responsible administratively for the events leading to the younis assassination , abdulmolah said . but the criminal investigation is still ongoing , and no arrests have been officially been made . despite their dismissal , abdulmolah said some of the people who served on the board can definitely be included in the new cabinet . ' the rebel government 's chairman commissioned mahmoud jibril , the former head of the executive board , to submit new names to be considered for a new board soon , abdulmolah said , but no exact deadline was mentioned . nato has used air power to enforce a u.n. resolution protecting civilians from the gadhafi regime , and world powers have announced their support for libya 's rebel umbrella group . but concerns have been raised that the mysterious assassination might have been carried out by feuding rebel groups . according to gadhafi spokesman musa ibrahim , younis'killing represented more proof that the transitional council of the traitors is not able to lead any sort of government or have any control of eastern cities of libya . ' in july , rebel military council member mohammad ethish released a statement that seemed to imply that gadhafi loyalists had something to do with the death . this incident will increase the will and courage of the rebels , and it will even get us close together to reach the home of the tyrant , ' ethish said . we promise our brothers in the east that we will do the impossible to avenge the death of abdul fattah younis , and we promise that we will increase our blows and empower our will . until we capture the tyrant moammar gadhafi . ' a one-time general in gadhafi 's army , younis told cnn in february that he switched sides after gadhafi told him he planned to bomb benghazi -- a move younis said would have killed thousands . meanwhile , the libyan embassy in london re-opened tuesday under national transitional council management , a shift that marks very clearly the fundamental change that is taking place in libya , ' british foreign secretary william hague said . rebel forces also reported tuesday that they had advanced more than 9 miles ( 15 kilometers ) north from b'ir al ghanam toward the key coastal city of az zawiyah , which is about 27 miles ( 43 kilometers ) west of tripoli . rebels took b'ir al ghanam in fierce fighting saturday . cnn 's elise labott , ivan watson and joe sterling contributed to this report .
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a tnc spokesman says the death of the rebels'military commander plays a role
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assen <tsp> ( cnn ) -- valentino rossi snapped a near three-year victory drought in motogp by claiming the dutch round at assen saturday , but said the real hero ' had been his yamaha teammate jorge lorenzo who took a brave fifth with a broken collarbone . the defending world champion crashed at 200kph in practice earlier this week and underwent an operation in barcelona early friday on his injuries . passed fit to race , he finished just behind fellow spaniard and current title leader dani pedrosa to concede just two points in the overall standings , trailing him by nine after seven rounds . for me he is the hero of the day , ' rossi told the official motogp website . when he told me he was going to ride , i thought there was no way he could . two days after a terrible accident and such an operation is amazing . ' but for the legendary italian , it was also a welcome return to the top of the podium after two disappointing seasons with ducati . i 'm happy but i ca n't believe it and it 's a great feeling to be back in first position , ' he admitted . it 's been a long , long time since sepang 2010 and during those years i 've ask myself the question :'can i get back to first position ?' but i 've never given up and i 've always worked hard because this is my passion . i love to ride and race motorcycles . ' it was the nine-time world champion 's 80th victory in motogp , the premier class of motorcycling , and pushes him up to fifth in the overall standings , but still 51 points adrift of pedrosa . marc marquez of spain finished second for honda ahead britain 's cal clutchlow , who had claimed the first pole position of his career friday . marquez is third in the overall standings , 23 points adrift of teammate pedrosa , after riding with injuries of his own . i am , happy with the result given that i have a fractured small finger on my right hand and a broken big toe , ' he said . but marquez was unable to make much impression on rossi , who took the checkered flag to a massive roar from the devoted motorcycling fans at one of the best attended races on the calendar . the eighth round of the championship takes place in germany in two weeks time .
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valentino rossi wins dutch motogp at assen
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italian <tsp> ( cnn ) -- valentino rossi snapped a near three-year victory drought in motogp by claiming the dutch round at assen saturday , but said the real hero ' had been his yamaha teammate jorge lorenzo who took a brave fifth with a broken collarbone . the defending world champion crashed at 200kph in practice earlier this week and underwent an operation in barcelona early friday on his injuries . passed fit to race , he finished just behind fellow spaniard and current title leader dani pedrosa to concede just two points in the overall standings , trailing him by nine after seven rounds . for me he is the hero of the day , ' rossi told the official motogp website . when he told me he was going to ride , i thought there was no way he could . two days after a terrible accident and such an operation is amazing . ' but for the legendary italian , it was also a welcome return to the top of the podium after two disappointing seasons with ducati . i 'm happy but i ca n't believe it and it 's a great feeling to be back in first position , ' he admitted . it 's been a long , long time since sepang 2010 and during those years i 've ask myself the question :'can i get back to first position ?' but i 've never given up and i 've always worked hard because this is my passion . i love to ride and race motorcycles . ' it was the nine-time world champion 's 80th victory in motogp , the premier class of motorcycling , and pushes him up to fifth in the overall standings , but still 51 points adrift of pedrosa . marc marquez of spain finished second for honda ahead britain 's cal clutchlow , who had claimed the first pole position of his career friday . marquez is third in the overall standings , 23 points adrift of teammate pedrosa , after riding with injuries of his own . i am , happy with the result given that i have a fractured small finger on my right hand and a broken big toe , ' he said . but marquez was unable to make much impression on rossi , who took the checkered flag to a massive roar from the devoted motorcycling fans at one of the best attended races on the calendar . the eighth round of the championship takes place in germany in two weeks time .
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first victory for the italian legend since 2010
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gop <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- the senate judiciary committee on tuesday approved the nomination of federal judge sonia sotomayor to become the nation 's first hispanic supreme court justice , setting up a final confirmation vote by the senate . with republican senators'support , sonia sotomayor 's confirmation by the full senate is a virtual certainty . the 13-6 committee vote was mostly on partisan lines , with one republican joining the panel 's democrats in sending the nomination to the full senate . at least five republican senators have announced their intention to support sotomayor , making confirmation by the democratic-controlled senate a virtual certainty . sotomayor , 55 , is president obama 's first nominee to the nation 's highest court . she would be 111th person to sit on the supreme court , and the third female justice . the judiciary committee held a four-day confirmation hearing earlier this month that foreshadowed tuesday 's vote , with democrats praising sotomayor 's 17-year record as a federal judge and her made-in-america story as a minority woman who rose to success through hard work and opportunity . republicans questioned her judicial neutrality , complaining about speeches in which she made controversial statements , including her hope that a wise latina woman , with the richness of her experiences ' would reach a better conclusion than a white man who has n't lived that life . ' conservative sen. lindsey graham of south carolina , the lone republican to back sotomayor , said tuesday that he still has concerns about her impartiality . some of her speeches bugged the hell out of me , ' graham said , but he added that some of his own speeches probably bugged the hell out of people on the other side ' of the political divide . graham praised sotomayor 's competence and qualifications , and he joked that she was unlikely to be worse than the justice she was chosen to replace , david souter , a liberal . she can be no worse than souter from our point of view , ' he said to fellow republican sen. charles grassley of iowa , who opposed sotomayor . see how sotomayor compares with supreme court justices » graham also noted that sotomayor is a unique historical figure . this is the first latina woman in the history of the u.s. to be nominated to the supreme court . that is a big deal , ' he said , although he said it was neither a reason to vote for or against her . it was the first time that any of the republican opponents had voted against a supreme court nominee put forward by either a democratic or republican president . sen. orrin hatch of utah said tuesday that he genuinely wrestled with this decision , ' but that in studying sotomayor 's speeches , articles and cases , he found a troubling approach to judging ' that the judge 's testimony before the committee did not resolve . he said he believes she gave short shrift to constitutional rights and used inappropriate legal standards in deciding cases . democrats on the panel praised the judge , with sen. dianne feinstein of california saying : i see her as a most impressive person on a number of different levels . ' referring to sotomayor 's judicial record , feinstein said she found no example of infidelity to the law . ' sen. arlen specter of pennsylvania , a former republican and the longest-serving member of the panel , said sotomayor was the best nominee of the 11 he has reviewed over the years . specter also praised the wise latina ' comment , saying : if a woman did n't stand up for women , i would n't think much of her . ' obama 's democratic party holds a 58-40 edge in the full senate , with two independents considered part of the democratic caucus . cnn 's terry frieden contributed to this report .
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at least 5 gop senators back sotomayor , making senate confirmation almost sure
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istanbul <tsp> ( cnn ) -- wimbledon champion petra kvitova will open proceedings at the wta championships in istanbul tuesday in her first appearance in the prestigious end-of-season finale . the czech was a surprise winner at sw19 , beating maria sharapova in the final of the grass court grand slam , helping her to earn a place in the elite eight-strong field in turkey . she faces experienced russian vera zvonerava in the first match in red group and knows that to progress from the robin stage will be tough . it does n't matter who 's in the group . all eight players are very strong , ' she told the wta official website . kvitova , with four other titles in her breakthrough season , must emerge in the top two out of section which also includes world no.1 caroline wozniacki and agnieszka radwanska . pole radwanska is also a newcomer to the wta championships after a storming late season run with two titles . arguably , she is in better form than her opponent wozniacki in the second match on court tuesday . while she was winning titles in beijing and tokyo , danish ace wozniacki was making early exits . i was the last one to get in here so i 'm just going to enjoy myself and try to play my best tennis , like in asia , ' said radwanska , who had to sweat on the performance of first alternate marion bartoli in the final counting event at the kremlin cup before sealing her place . the final match of the first day 's proceedings pits sharapova against newly-crowned u.s. open champion samantha stosur in the blue group . victoria azarenka of belarus and china 's li na complete the section and will be in action wednesday . stosur , who stunned serena williams to claim her first grand slam title at flushing meadows , knows she faces a tough task to progress . maria ( sharapova ) and victoria ( azarenka ) i 've never beaten before , so there 's a great challenge in itself , ' she said . defending champion kim clijsters , who beat wozniacki in last year 's final , did not qualify for the tournament after a season ruined by injury , while williams has not played since reaching the final at the u.s. open and is in 12th place in the rankings . sharapova , who beat williams for the title in 2004 , is the only previous winner of the event in an inexperienced field with french open champion li na joining kvitova and radwanska as first timers .
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wta championships begin in istanbul tuesday
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wta championships <tsp> ( cnn ) -- wimbledon champion petra kvitova will open proceedings at the wta championships in istanbul tuesday in her first appearance in the prestigious end-of-season finale . the czech was a surprise winner at sw19 , beating maria sharapova in the final of the grass court grand slam , helping her to earn a place in the elite eight-strong field in turkey . she faces experienced russian vera zvonerava in the first match in red group and knows that to progress from the robin stage will be tough . it does n't matter who 's in the group . all eight players are very strong , ' she told the wta official website . kvitova , with four other titles in her breakthrough season , must emerge in the top two out of section which also includes world no.1 caroline wozniacki and agnieszka radwanska . pole radwanska is also a newcomer to the wta championships after a storming late season run with two titles . arguably , she is in better form than her opponent wozniacki in the second match on court tuesday . while she was winning titles in beijing and tokyo , danish ace wozniacki was making early exits . i was the last one to get in here so i 'm just going to enjoy myself and try to play my best tennis , like in asia , ' said radwanska , who had to sweat on the performance of first alternate marion bartoli in the final counting event at the kremlin cup before sealing her place . the final match of the first day 's proceedings pits sharapova against newly-crowned u.s. open champion samantha stosur in the blue group . victoria azarenka of belarus and china 's li na complete the section and will be in action wednesday . stosur , who stunned serena williams to claim her first grand slam title at flushing meadows , knows she faces a tough task to progress . maria ( sharapova ) and victoria ( azarenka ) i 've never beaten before , so there 's a great challenge in itself , ' she said . defending champion kim clijsters , who beat wozniacki in last year 's final , did not qualify for the tournament after a season ruined by injury , while williams has not played since reaching the final at the u.s. open and is in 12th place in the rankings . sharapova , who beat williams for the title in 2004 , is the only previous winner of the event in an inexperienced field with french open champion li na joining kvitova and radwanska as first timers .
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wta championships begin in istanbul tuesday
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turley <tsp> house republicans are hoping the third time is a charm in their effort to sue president barack obama over his signature health care law . after two washington law firms backed out of earlier commitments to represent house republicans in their legal challenge , house speaker john boehner hired jonathan turley on tuesday . turley is a george washington professor who is an expert on constitutional law and well known to cable tv viewers as a legal analyst . professor turley is a renowned legal scholar who agrees that president obama has clearly overstepped his constitutional authority . he is a natural choice to handle this lawsuit , ' boehner 's spokesman michael steel said in a written statement . obamacare 's next fight for survival house democratic leader nancy pelosi criticized the move to continue the legal effort and referred to turley as a tv lawyer ' in a press conference tuesday . pelosi has criticized boehner 's office for using taxpayer funds to pay for the litigation . the democratic leader told reporters she hoped the latest announcement on the lawsuit was in response to internal republican politics , and that the legal fight was n't a sign that gop leaders are n't interested in working across the aisle . the house voted mostly along party lines in july to approve a lawsuit against the president for unilaterally making changes to obamacare . although many republicans backed the delays the administration approved last year , they maintained it was congress'job to change the law . but house republicans have had trouble retaining a firm because of the political blowback on the issue . obama confident as new enrollment opens at healthcare.gov the house 's office of general counsel will represent the house in court , but the resolution that passed this summer gives the speaker the authority to hire outside lawyers to finalize the legal strategy and file a formal complaint . some are suggesting the gop case be broadened to respond to any executive action the president takes on immigration . beyond the political concerns , many constitutional experts have raised doubts that federal courts will take up the obamacare case pushed by the gop-controlled house . the legal burden will be on the house to demonstrate it was damaged as an institution by the president 's actions . rubio , ryan crafting obamacare alternative the supreme court may rule on the controversial health care law before the house case makes its way through the system . earlier this month the high court announced it would consider a challenge to the law that on the tax credits that many americans use to subsidize health plans they purchase on the federal health exchange .
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john boehner has hired jonathan turley a lawyer for house republicans
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