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(CNN) -- In football-obsessed Kenya, like much of Africa, the beautiful game is more than just a sport -- it's an inescapable way of life for millions of young people, a sacred carnival that's staged passionately everywhere from grandiose stadiums to gravel fields and dusty patches of land. But for the laborers inside this brightly lit workshop on the outskirts of Nairobi, football is also serious business. Surrounded by Arsenal and Liverpool team posters on either side of the walls, the blue-shirted workers meticulously cut and stitch pieces of leather. Eyes straight down, they put the final touches on the white and yellow footballs they're crafting on their wooden work stations. This is the Kenya-based hub of Alive & Kicking, the only formal manufacturer of sports balls in Africa. The social enterprise, which has two more plants in Zambia and Ghana, uses the widespread popularity of football in the continent to help create jobs and offer disadvantaged children access to sport equipment. "In Africa, the passion for football is absolutely immense," says Sughra Hussain, chief executive of Alive & Kicking, which was launched in 2004 by late Briton Jim Coogan. "But according to our calculations, a third of children have actually never played with a real football before," she adds, explaining the principles on which the group was founded. "At the same time, there are very high levels of unemployment, with a high proportion of the population living below the poverty rate." Durable balls . All across Africa, millions of football-loving children are unable to afford quality balls to play with. Instead, they often rely on whatever's at hand to create their own makeshift versions, using anything from strings and plastic bags to strips of cloth and inflated condoms. These improvised balls, however, often won't last long. Lopsided and fragile, they regularly fall victim to the thorn bushes dotting the weedy fields and pebbly yards the game is usually played on. Read this: Cameroon's outspoken football star . To deal with this, Alive & Kicking uses locally sourced leather to produce durable balls that are suited to local conditions. "Our balls are made from genuine leather, so they last longer on the rough terrains of the compounds and slums in which they are often used," says Hussain. Health awareness . Over the last nine years, Alive & Kicking has produced more than 500,000 balls, including volleyballs and netballs. About half of them are sold in the major supermarkets of the countries the group works in, at a cost of around $18, while the rest are either bought by local NGOs or corporate organizations. But Alive & Kicking, which employs 130 people in three countries, is not only interested in the retail side of the business. More than just a company, the group has donated a fifth of the balls it's produced --- more than 100,000 -- to schools and children's projects in rural areas as part of its efforts to raise health awareness. Read this: Flying doctor saving lives . Each donated ball is printed with simple directives such as "Play Safe" and "Sleep Under A Net" to convey health messages about the dangers of HIV/AIDS and malaria. Famous backers . For its efforts, the group has over the years attracted the interest of several high-profile athletes and officials, including English Premier League football stars and world dignitaries like the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon. Even Barack Obama was presented with one of the group's balls during a visit to Kenya in 2006. England international footballer Micah Richards, who's been named an ambassador for Alive & Kicking, says: "It's a fantastic way to create jobs for those that need them in Kenya, Zambia and Ghana, and provide equipment for people that can't afford to buy it."
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Alive & Kicking is a social enterprise that manufactures balls in Africa . It aims to create jobs for adults, provide children with balls and raise health awareness . Launched in 2004, it has so far produced more than half a million balls . It employs 130 people -- one third of its workforce is people under 30 .
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Conakry, Guinea (CNN) -- The loser and the winner of Guinea's disputed presidential runoff election have both filed court complaints alleging fraud, party officials told CNN on Saturday. In a press conference Saturday in Conakry, European Union officials called the election credible and transparent. Still, weeks after voters went to the polls, the campaign continues to stir discord and, in some cases, violence in the west African nation. Guinea held its much-delayed presidential runoff election between two candidates, Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Conde, on November 7. Provisional results issued November 15 by the electoral commission declared Conde the winner with 52.5 percent of the overall vote. The African nation's Supreme Court must now look at fraud allegations put forth by both Diallo and Conde, and will finalize the results by December 2. And the candidates also have voiced their disputes with authorities outside Guinea. As of Saturday, Diallo had filed dozens of official complaints with the Supreme Court, while Conde had filed three fraud complaints. This comes after three days of clashes between Diallo partisans and supporters of Conde and security officials in multiple cities around the country. At least nine people have died and dozens more were injured. Diallo also plans to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court for alleged abuses in the post-election violence. The Guinean government has declared a national state of emergency and a curfew restricting movement of people from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., but residents of ethnic Peul neighborhoods in the Conakry suburbs of Enco5, Bambeto, Hamdallaye and Cosa said that security forces entered the homes of civilians and shot at innocent people before and after the curfew was called. Amnesty International, the U.N. High Commission for Human Rights and the International Crisis Group have all detailed what they say are examples of arbitrary arrests, excessive force, incitement of ethnic hatred and killings by Guinean security officials. Diallo's UFDG party (the French acronym for the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea), has said that the government backed a bloody repression by security forces against its supporters, who are largely from the Peul ethnic group. On Saturday, Oury Bah, UFDG's vice president, told CNN that the party would make an official complaint to the International Criminal Court. "There have been cases of [security forces] raping women, shooting at unarmed persons and inciting [ethnic] hatred," Bah told CNN on Saturday. Guinea's prime minister, Jean-Marie Dore, denied UFDG's accusations on national TV recently, saying that Diallo's supporters were responsible for the violence. If necessary, "we will ask the ICC to prosecute those who put people in the streets," Dore said, referring to Diallo's supporters. In addition to accusing Diallo of inciting violence, Dore singled out journalist Mouctar Bah (no relation to Oury Bah) of French radio RFI for calling the government repression of post-election protesters "bloody." "What he said was a violation of the law because he cannot show a pool of blood in any Conakry neighborhood," Dore said. Mouctar Bah told CNN that the prime minister's comments put him in a dangerous position. "I'm scared for my personal security ... if a prime minister talks about you, attacks you on television, he is leaving you vulnerable to extremists, to police, to the army and to political officials ... I don't have any confidence in the government," Bah told CNN. The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, opened its file on Guinea after the September 28, 2009, massacre in Conakry, when security forces killed more than 150 peaceful protesters and injured more than 1,000, according to Human Rights Watch. The Guinean government said about 50 protesters died and that they were acting violently. Fatou Bensouda, deputy prosecutor for the ICC, visited Conakry on November 19, when she released a statement saying, "The Office of the Prosecutor is keeping a close eye on the situation in Guinea and deplores that at least seven persons have been reportedly killed since the announcement of the election results." "All reported acts of violence will be closely scrutinized by the office in order to determine whether crimes have been committed that fall under the Court's jurisdiction and should warrant an investigation." Guinea is still waiting for the Supreme Court to validate provisional results. It must review charges of fraud from both Diallo's and Conde's parties. Despite the provisional results, Diallo's party is confident that it will emerge as winner. "We have given the Supreme Court a document 50 centimeters (20 inches) wide with proof of fraud according to what the law demands. We are sure that with that, a dignified official will see that there has been fraud and the results will give El Hadj Cellou the victory," Oury Bah said. Guinea has been ruled by a military junta, led by Gen. Sekouba Konate, since the death of longtime autocrat Lansana Conte in December 2008. The presidential election is meant to complete the transition from military to civilian rule. Despite immense mineral wealth, Guinea is one of the poorest countries in Africa.
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Both the losing and winning candidates have filed complaints . EU officials call the Guinea election credible and transparent . Defeated Guinean party claims that troops repressed citizens . Prime minister claims the opposing party itself is to blame .
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(CNN) -- An infant falls to his death from a second-story window while his parents are making love. The mother (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is consumed with grief and guilt. She's hospitalized and sedated for days and weeks before her husband (Willem Dafoe), a therapist, insists she return home. He gets rid of all her medications. He will be her partner and her grief counselor, and he will see her through this, if only she will place her trust in him. Not a good idea for either of them, as it turns out. Halloween is nearly upon us, but "Antichrist" is a mighty strange kind of horror movie, a wrenching psychodrama for two-thirds of its running time before collapsing into a steaming heap of deranged sadism and supernatural symbolism in the outrageous third act. The movie's peculiarity can be accounted for in three words: Lars von Trier. The Danish provocateur twice won prestigious honors at the Cannes Film Festival (with "Breaking the Waves" and "Dancer in the Dark") and re-energized European art cinema in the 1990s with the Dogme movement's so-called "Vows of Chastity." It's not often that an art-house director takes up the implements to make a horror film, and for a while, "Antichrist" compels with its anguished intensity and audacious stylistic choices, not least the severity that keeps the focus exclusively on this man and woman, neither of whom is named. The prologue -- the child's death -- is a luxurious, slow-motion rhapsody of explicit sex, black-and-white photography and baroque music, commingling with the infant's almost ersatz tragedy and finding perfunctory counterpoint in banal close-ups of the family's washer-dryer. (There may be a deliberate echo here of the famous sex scene in Nicolas Roeg's "Don't Look Now," a far more keenly calibrated examination of grief succumbing to the supernatural.) Dafoe and Gainsbourg are riveting as the ill-matched couple. He's an implacable rationalist, urging her to confront her fears and venture into the darkest recesses of her psyche. She's not sure he's ready to share that torment with her. Their bitter, sometimes sourly funny back-and-forth fleetingly echoes the railing, pugnacious and remorseful men and women we find again and again in Strindberg and Bergman. Of course, when those great Scandinavian dramatists wanted to shock us with the ferocity of the battle of the sexes and show a married couple going at it tooth and nail, their only weapons were words. Mindful that he's up against "Hostel," "Saw" and the like, Herr von Trier ups the ante considerably. Hiking to a log cabin in the mountains to uncover the apex of his wife's fears (it could be anywhere, but let's imagine we're in the neighborhood of Burkittsville), the doctor's little experiment in exposure therapy ends in crushed genitals and, uh, worse. Much worse. It's safe to say von Trier knows this climax is over the top: "Chaos reigns!" announces a fox, in perfect English, just as the movie goes off the deep end. Chaos reigns all right, and Gainsbourg's traumatized mom is transformed nonsensically into a raving psycho witch-bitch. This director has often been accused of misogyny for the punishments that befall his heroines -- spuriously, in my opinion. But this time the boot is on the other foot, and for once the charge seems to stick; no matter that the first half of the movie suggests Dafoe's smug therapist is due for a comeuppance. Apparently someone had a seizure when the movie showed at the New York Film Festival recently. When I caught up with it at the Vancouver International Film Festival two weeks ago, the screening was punctuated with the single loudest shriek I've ever heard in the theatre -- that would have been when Gainsbourg gets out the scissors for a spot of ad hoc auto-surgery. There also was a very vociferous walk-out: a gentleman who fairly barked "You get what you pay for, folks" as he made for the exit a full 20 minutes before the end. That unhappy camper had a point. Either von Trier is barking up the wrong tree, or he's pandering to the basest instincts of an audience that's seen it all before and still demands more, more, more. Beautifully shot by Anthony Dod Mantle and acted with raw conviction, "Antichrist" is a calamitous atrocity from a major filmmaker, nothing more and nothing less. If you don't believe me, go ask the talking fox. "Antichrist" is not rated and runs 104 minutes. For Entertainment Weekly's review, click here.
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"Antichrist" has met with vitriolic reaction at film festivals . Lars von Trier film stars Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourgh as troubled couple . Horror goes from moody to over-the-top and graphic . To CNN.com's Tom Charity, the film is a "calamitous atrocity"
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MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Florida Law enforcement officials said Monday they had launched an investigation into a tragic boating accident near St. Augustine, Florida, that took the lives of five people and seriously injured seven others. CNN affiliate WJXT shows the scene of the deadly boating accident near Jacksonville, Florida, on Sunday. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has taken over as the lead agency involved in the investigation. The incident took place on Sunday around 7:15 p.m., in the intracoastal waterway in St. Johns County, Florida, about 20 miles north of St. Augustine. According to FWC investigators, a 22-foot boat with 12 people on board rammed into the rear and right side of a 25-foot tugboat. "We are still investigating and haven't come to any conclusions yet," said Carol Pratt, spokeswoman for FWC. She said they still do not know who was driving the boat. They also are waiting for victims' next of kin to be notified before releasing any of their names and ages. The tugboat was at a dock and boat launch under construction on the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Valley, said Jeremy Robshaw, a spokesman for St. Johns County Fire and Rescue. Robshaw said rescuers couldn't initially reach the end of the unfinished dock, but laid plywood sheets on the structure to get to crash victims. No one was onboard the tugboat, which is registered to F&A Enterprises in St. Augustine. The seven injured were taken to Shands Jacksonville Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Two patients remain in critical condition, one is considered serious and three are in fair condition. A hospital spokesman did not have information on the seventh victim. FWC told CNN that they hope to release more information on the incident and on their investigation. As in any accident, toxicology studies will be done on the driver of the boat, to determine whether he or she was impaired, spokesman Carol Pratt told CNN.
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Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission takes lead in the investigation. Boat crashed into tugboat, barge and dock under construction . Five people killed; remaining seven taken to hospital with serious injuries . Rescuers had to use plywood panels to reach the passengers .
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(CNN) -- Twelve-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal dropped just two games as he eased through his first singles match since losing in the opening round at Wimbledon. The former world No. 1 beat 132nd-ranked Canadian Jesse Levine 6-2 6-0 in just one hour and 12 minutes in the first round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal. The Spaniard suffered a major upset when he lost in straight sets to unseeded Steven Darcis at the All England Club in June but he was pleased to get back on track in his first singles match in six weeks. "I didn't play a perfect match, I played well," the 27-year-old, who made a winning comeback in the doubles Tuesday, told the ATP Tour's official website. "The conditions out there today were very difficult. I will say I did the right things to be in the next round." Next up for Nadal, a two-time Rogers Cup champion, is Wimbledon semi-finalist Jerzy Janowicz after the Pole overcame Canadian wildcard Frank Dancevic in a match which lasted nearly two and a half hours. British world No. 2 Andy Murray, who beat Janowicz on his way to his first Wimbledon title, was also in action for the first time since his success at the All England Club. The two-time grand slam champion took his winning streak at the tournament to 13 with a 6-4 7-6 (7-2) win over Spain's Marcel Granollers. Murray, a winner in Montreal in 2009 and 2010, will face Latvia's Ernests Gulbis in round two. "I was pretty nervous beforehand," said the 26-year-old. "That was a good sign. I'm pretty ready to move forward and not think too much about Wimbledon and concentrate on the U.S. Open." World No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro emerged victorious from a grueling encounter with Croatia's Ivan Dodig. Argentina's Del Potro, fresh from winning a title in Washington last weekend, took the first set before the 35th-ranked Dodig fought back to clinch the second. Del Potro fell a double break down in the third and deciding set before clawing his way back to secure a 6-4 4-6 7-5 triumph. In the women's event in Toronto, Serena Williams recovered from losing a service game in the opening set to beat Italy's 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-2. "I felt good. I felt solid," the 16-time grand slam winner told the WTA Tour's official website. "Obviously I made a few errors, but it's just my first match on hard in a really long time. "I also played a really good player, so it was a good match. It took me a few games to adjust to her game, but it's good that she played like that because of my next opponent. "Now I feel like I'm completely adjusted, and I feel good going into the next round." Next up for Williams is a first encounter with Dutch ace Kirsten Flipkens, who beat her sister Venus Williams in the first round. Wimbledon winner Marion Bartoli eased past American qualifier Lauren Davis 6-0 6-3, while 2011 French Open champion Li Na defeated Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 6-4. Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki won the first set of a thrilling match with Romania's Sorana Cirstea, before slipping to a 5-7 7-6 (7-0) 6-4 defeat.
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Spaniard Rafael Nadal wins his first singles match shock Wimbledon exit . The 12-time grand slam winner beat Jesse Levine 6-2 6-0 at Rogers Cup in Canada . Wimbledon champion Andy Murray defeats Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-4 7-6 (7-2) In the women's event, there are wins for Serena Williams, Li Na and Marion Bartoli .
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Moorestown, New Jersey (CNN) -- Rosemary Hernandez was going through hard times, coping with financial woes after recently losing her job at an insurance company, all that coming years after an accident left her husband unable to work. Yet it was something else entirely on her mind when she and her daughter came weeping into their Moorestown, New Jersey, church Thursday, according to their pastor. "I knew it was something bad," Marantha Christian Fellowship church Senior Pastor George Bowen told CNN on Sunday. Hernandez told Bowen that police came to her door the previous day, saying their visit had "something to do with the Etan Patz case." The 6-year-old boy's sudden disappearance a block from his Manhattan home on May 25, 1979, spawned a national movement to raise awareness of missing children, including the then-novel approach of putting an image of the child's face on milk cartons. Her husband, Pedro Hernandez, ended up leaving the family home with police -- and, with his subsequent arrest, he hasn't returned. "She seemed absolutely shell-shocked," Bowen recalled Sunday of his conversation three days earlier with Rosemary Hernandez. "She was crying. She had an expression on her face like, 'How could this ever happen?'" That same day, police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters that Pedro Hernandez had admitted -- as a then-19-year-old clerk in a Manhattan bodega -- to luring Etan to the store with the promise of a soda, choking him and placing his body in the trash about a block and a half away. The Manhattan district attorney's office charged Pedro Hernandez with second-degree murder, finding his confession credible even given that authorities concede there is no physical evidence linking him and that Patz's body has never been found. Defense lawyer Harvey Fishbein claims his client -- who is on suicide watch at New York's Bellevue Hospital, according to a law enforcement source -- has a "long psychiatric history" including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and hallucinations. Hernandez has not entered a plea due to a pending psychiatric evaluation. Rosemary Hernandez is Pedro Hernandez's second wife. Bowen, the New Jersey pastor, said he got the impression Pedro Hernandez never mentioned anything about the Patz case or about killing anyone to his wife, while ceding he never posed the question directly to Rosemary Hernandez. What he did know for certain was that the Hernandez family attended the church regularly. The couple faithfully sat in the second row during services, the pastor said. Rosemary Hernandez and her daughter were active in church ministries. But Pedro Hernandez, who Kelly has said had been collecting disability payments since a 1993 accident prevented him from working, was more in the background. "He's very quiet, very shy," Bowen said, describing him as "socially awkward." The pastor said that his interactions with the husband typically consisted of brief greetings and little else. Once, the couple came to him for counseling -- for an issue he say was not related to their marriage or a crime -- and Rosemary Hernandez "did all the talking," Bowen said. For this Sunday's services, Rosemary Hernandez and her daughter were not in their regular spot in the second row. But they were on Bowen's mind, as was Pedro Hernandez's alleged victim and the boy's family. "Please pray for the Patz family, pray for Rosemary and (her daughter)," the pastor told his congregation. "Please pray for Pedro."
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Rosemary Hernandez visited her pastor after her husband's arrest, the pastor says . She was weeping and confused that Pedro Hernandez was accused of murder . Police say her husband confessed to killing Etan Patz, 6, in 1979 . The pastor asks church members to pray for the Patz and Hernandez families .
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London (Financial Times) -- Samsung successfully fended off a legal move by Apple to block the sale of its tablet computers in the UK but only after suffering the indignity of a judge ruling that its Galaxy Tabs were "not cool" enough to be mistaken for iPads. Apple had claimed three models of the Galaxy Tab too closely resembled the design of the iPad. But Judge Colin Birss ruled that there were noticeable differences between the tablets in terms of their thickness and the designs on the back. "They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design," the judge said of the Samsung gadgets. "They are not as cool." The ruling is the latest skirmish in a global patent battle that Apple has been waging since 2010 against companies like Samsung and HTC which produce tablet computers and mobile phones using Google's Android operating system. Such devices are the biggest commercial threat to Apple, and rivals have accused the US company of using its patents aggressively to disrupt their sales. Last month Apple persuaded a San Jose court to put a temporary block on sales of Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets in the US, pending a full court trial over patent claims at the end of July. Last week an appeals court lifted the ban on smartphone sales while upholding the block on sales of the tablet. Apple shipped 11.8m iPads during the first three months of the year, giving it a worldwide market share of 68 per cent, according to IDC, the technology research company. Samsung devices have started to gain traction, however, taking the South Korean company to second place in global market share in the first quarter. Despite the legal wrangling, Samsung reported record operating profits last week, largely on the back of sales of its Galaxy smartphones. The company has said it expects to have sold more than 10m units of its latest smartphone, the Galaxy SIII, by July. Apple has been given 21 days to appeal against the UK ruling. It said: "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we've said many times before, we need to protect Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas." Samsung welcomed the ruling and said: "Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims in other countries based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited." © The Financial Times Limited 2012 .
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UK judge rules Galaxy Tabs "not cool" enough to be mistaken for iPads . Apple claimed three models were too similar to its iPad design . Apple has 21 days to appeal against the UK ruling . Rivals access Apple of using its patents aggressively to disrupt sales .
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(CNN) -- Antwan "Big Boi" Patton considers himself a "truther." The 37-year-old rapper, producer and one-half of the legendary hip hop group OutKast said his grandmother once told him his position as a public figure was to bring valuable information to his audience and community. "There's facts right there in your face," Big Boi said. "They've got a cure for cancer, they've got a cure for AIDS, cure for everything, but they make so much money off the medicine you'll never see it. The people have to understand that." CNN Soundwaves: Big Boi on Big Boi . Talking about life . According to Big Boi the average person is living an illusion and accepting false information. Hence the name of his latest solo album (he counts it as his third, calling "Speakerboxxx" his actual first album), "Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors," which he has called an overall "search for truth." Released via Def Jam, "VLADR" is a follow-up to Big Boi's 2010 release, "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty," and comes from a title his grandmother had for her (planned?) autobiography in which she would air the family's dirty laundry. Big Boi's latest musical effort is his way of exposing himself and the world around him. "I'm talking about life," he said of the 14-track disc (17 if you nabbed the deluxe version). "Some people don't get that because they're so numb to what the mainstream media is pumping into their head with these reality shows and a certain type of song that's played 1,000 times on the radio every day and I refuse to do that." So what did he do? If you were to ask the music critics, Big Boi just released his most complete work to date and the closest fans will get (for now) to an OutKast album in terms of it's boldness in sound and creative risks. But before Big Boi could ever move forward carving out his legacy, he had to shake an old stigma from his past. 'The player and the poet' Shortly after the success of their first hit single, "Player's Ball" in 1993, Big Boi and his partner-in-rhyme Andre 3000 were dubbed "the player and the poet," with Patton playing the role of the former. Through marketing and promotion, Big Boi was cast as the bad boy, while Andre was the thoughtful, creative one. Big Boi maintains that he has never liked the moniker. "Everybody thought I was just a DBoy. I'm just selling dope and getting laid all day," he said. "I think when they put that title on it people kind of took it and ran with it." OutKast went on to sell more than 20 million records, earning multiple Grammys, including album of the year in 2004, and the group has since been hailed as creative geniuses and one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time. Search for truth . While "VLADR" has a lot of George Clinton-style funk and features indie rockers Phantogram and Little Dragon, it also carries the political punch of Public Enemy, with songs like "Shoes for Running," which some might say borders on conspiracy theory. One of the track's opening lines is: "I wish they could send me to the moon and back with a cure for cancer and save the lives of my great grandmomma and great granddaddy now that's the answer to the question/ but they make money off the medicine leaving us all stuck in elections with no progressions just recessions." And so back to that whole "truther" thing, which Big Boi said is just his taking the time to find information and share it with anyone who will listen. He is also quick to strike down the conspiracy theorist label. "I mean its drone strikes, United States killing kids overseas every day, they're not telling you about that," he said. "Why not? Are our kids' lives more valuable than the ones' overseas? A child is a child. These are facts. There's no conspiracy in this." Best friends . Another theory Big Boi finds himself dealing with is the status of OutKast and his relationship with Andre 3000. There was the whole Gillette "diss" and the apology Andre 3000 made to Big Boi via T.I.'s "I'm Sorry." Or could it just be the fact that since, really, 2000's "Stankonia," the duo has more or less not made an album together? If you listen carefully, Big Boi addresses the matter on "VLADR," but he doesn't hold back if asked about it, either. "People don't know or they don't catch all of the interviews and then (there's) all the sensational headlines, but you've got to really understand that me and Dre have a relationship that's bigger than music," he said. "We're best friends. Music just came along because it's what we're put here to do and what God brought us together to do. But that's my brother; you know what I'm saying? There's no beef, no nothing." In fact, not one song made it to the final cut of "VLADR" without a listen from Andre 3000, Big Boi said. Verbal exercises . Fans and the Internet were abuzz when word got out Big Boi and Dre would be "reuniting" for Frank Ocean's "Pink Matter," and T.I.'s I'm Sorry," both tracks that already featured Andre 3000. In a text message, Big Boi responded to the idea of these songs being OutKast reunions. "They aren't," he wrote. "I'm just verbally exercising." To the folks calling for a new OutKast album, Big's answer is, well, honest. "If we did records like what I'm doing right now, if I go so deep y'all will never get an OutKast album," he said. "We ain't excited about doing an OutKast album because people ain't going to understand it."
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Rapper Big Boi says his latest album is a "search for truth" Says there is no beef between him and fellow Outkast member Andre 3000 . Fans have been awaiting a reunion from the pair .
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(CNN) -- The execution of Najiba, an Afghan woman in her 20's, shot 13 times in front of a cheering crowed in Parwan province -- and seen widely online in a grainy cell phone video -- is a show of confidence by the Taliban. It's unclear why she was shot, but local officials offer various reasons for her execution. She was reportedly executed last month for adultery, a crime that is indeed punishable in Islam. But for an adultery charge to be proved, Islam requires four eyewitness accounts that match precisely. This is nearly impossible in cultures like Najiba's, where sexual acts are extremely discrete. But that religious requirement is irrelevant in any case to the Taliban, whose fanatic view of Islam has been nothing but a violation of the spirit of the religion itself. Manhunt under way for Taliban who shot woman in public execution amid cheers . After an hour-long trial, Najiba was shot either by her Taliban husband or someone else. (One version of the story is she had affairs with two Taliban members.) But this case is less about Najiba and more about the Taliban demonstrating its power, even as the United States and Afghanistan attempt negotiations with the Taliban. You see, women are like the canary in the coal mine: What happens to them is an indicator of a larger political direction for the society. The Taliban has consistently used women to demonstrate its power. When it first took over much of Afghanistan in 1996, it imposed the harshest seclusion and prosecution of women in modern history. Afghan women suffered under house imprisonments. They were forbidden education and any form of mobility, to name only a few of its brutal prohibitions. But when the international community entered Afghanistan in 2001 and started introducing laws to protect women's rights, albeit in very basic ways, the Taliban retreated as its political and military power was weakened. In the past two years, however, and particularly since the international community started talking about withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban began boldly resuming its own rules in provinces where they have recently regained control, such as Parwan province. And this has been reflected in one act of violence toward women after another. Through such public acts -- sometimes recorded, as this one was -- the Taliban is demonstrating its complete disregard of the Afghan government and the national rule of law. Women's rights cannot be taken lightly, nor can they be seen as a marginal issue separate from the political process of a country. The international community entered Afghanistan with a clear promise to protect women's rights and invest in creating opportunities for women to stand up on their feet. Afghan women took advantage of the opportunities that were presented. They ran for and took political offices, they sent their daughters to school, they took loans from microcredit entities and started new business, and they worked in factories all at personal risks. They are now asking whether the international community is planning to abandon them as forces prepare to depart Afghanistan in 2014, and they are worried, very worried indeed. Educated and uneducated women working in all sectors in the country are asking the same question: "Is the international community going to sacrifice its promise to protect us from the rule of the Taliban in order to reach political settlement with it?" If it is, then all the efforts of every soldier, every taxpayer, every humanitarian worker who has worked -- and in some cases, died -- in Afghanistan will have been in vain. To abandon the protection of women's rights to seek political agreement with a force of repression is to risk a return not only to insecurity in Afghanistan, but I'd dare say to the world. The Taliban only started its acts of violence with women. We have to remember that it did not stop there. That violence eventually affected every Afghan man and child, and it eventually came to America and impacted the world. Saving Face: The struggle and survival of Afghan women . The taping of Najiba's execution is the Taliban's message that it is confident. What's going to be the message back to them from the Afghan government and the international community? Will it be to demonstrate that women's rights and protections are valued in actions, in addition to the political statements already made condemning the execution? We all are responsible for the answer to that question. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Zainab Salbi.
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Zainab Salbi: Execution of woman in Afghanistan is show of Taliban's confidence . She says killing woman for alleged adultery flouted Afghan legal system, spirit of Islam . She says Taliban uses force to repress women first; world must react, not just denounce . Salbi: It's short step between Taliban brutality toward women, aggression to rest of world .
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Washington (CNN) -- A jury was seated Friday in the trial of a man charged with the 2001 murder of Chandra Levy. Prosecutors, defense attorneys and the judge picked 12 women and four men -- four of the 16 are alternates -- to serve on the panel. The trial is expected to start Monday. Levy's disappearance nine years ago received widespread publicity because of her relationship with a congressman. The revelation contributed to the political downfall of California Democrat Gary Condit, who now may be called to the witness stand. Police said Condit was never a suspect in the case, although he was questioned intensively as investigators tried to find Levy, who vanished at the end of her federal internship at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Blog: Retracing Chandra Levy's steps . The man accused of her murder, Ingmar Guandique, is a reputed member of the Salvadoran gang Mara Salvatrucha. Authorities believe that he attacked Levy, 24, as she jogged in a park, killing her when she began to scream. Her remains were found more than a year later in a wooded area of D.C.'s Rock Creek Park. Guandique was sentenced in 2002 for attacking two other women in the same park. Years later, officials say, he admitted to fellow inmates that he had killed Levy. Defense attorneys have questioned the police investigation and, this week, wondered about a second man named in a FBI fingerprint memo prosecutors had just disclosed to Guandique's counsel. In that memo, both Guandique and the other man were cleared of any match in fingerprints lifted from a vehicle parked near the crime scene. Guandique denies that he committed the crime, and there is no physical evidence linking him to it, leaving prosecutors to base their case largely on his alleged jailhouse admission that he killed the young intern. The judge in the case struck a number of potential jurors this week without further questioning. They provided unacceptable answers on a 55-question survey the pool filled out Monday. Others were called in to further explain certain responses that could affect their ability to render a fair verdict. The judge's instructions and opening presentations in the trial are expected to begin Monday.
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The trial is expected to start Monday . The man charged with her murder says he is not guilty . Levy disappeared in 2001; her body wasn't discovered for a year .
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(Wired) -- No more will soldiers' vision be limited to the socket-embedded spheres that God intended. The Pentagon now wants troops to see dangers lurking behind them in real time, and be able to tell if an object a kilometer away is a walking stick or an AK-47. In a solicitation released today, Darpa, the Pentagon's far-out research branch, unveiled the Soldier Centric Imaging via Computational Cameras effort, or SCENICC. Imagine a suite of cameras that digitally capture a kilometer-wide, 360-degree sphere, representing the image in 3-D onto a wearable eyepiece. You'd be able to literally see all around you, including behind yourself, and zooming in at will, creating a "stereoscopic/binocular system, simultaneously providing 10x zoom to both eyes." And you would do this all hands-free, apparently by barking out or pre-programming a command (the solicitation leaves it up to a designer's imagination) to adjust focus. Then comes the Terminator-vision. Darpa wants the eyepiece to include "high-resolution computer-enhanced imagery as well as task-specific non-image data products such as mission data overlays, threat warnings/alerts, targeting assistance, etc." Target identified: Sarah Connor... The "Full Sphere Awareness" tool will provide soldiers with "muzzle flash detection," "projectile tracking" and "object recognition/labeling," basically pointing key information out to them. And an "integrated weapon sighting" function locks your gun on your target when acquired. That's far beyond an app mounted on your rifle that keeps track of where your friendlies and enemies are. The imaging wouldn't just be limited to what any individual soldier sees. SCENICC envisions a "networked optical sensing capability" that fuses images taken from nodes worn by "collections of soldiers and/or unmanned vehicles." The Warrior-Alpha drone overhead? Its full-motion video and still images would be sent into your eyepiece. It also has to be ridiculously lightweight, weighing less than 700 grams for the entire system -- including a battery powerful enough to "exceed 24 hours [usage] under normal conditions." That's about a pound and a half, maximum. The Army's experimental ensemble of wearable gadgets weighs about eight pounds. And it is to SCENICC what your Roomba is to the T-1000. Here's how far advanced SCENICC is compared to bleeding-edge imaging and networking capabilities that the Army is currently developing. Right now, the Army's asking three different companies -- Raytheon, Rockwell Collins and General Dynamics -- to build a wearable platform of digital maps, computers and radios, networked with one another. Soldiers would have warzone maps beamed onto helmet-mounted eyepieces. The system, known as Nett Warrior, needs to weigh less than eight pounds, and it builds on a years-long and ultimately fruitless effort called Land Warrior. (One of the problems with Land Warrior is it was heavy and cumbersome, owing in part to battery weight.) The Army hopes to choose one of the Nett Warrior designs by March. By the time it'll actually roll out Nett Warrior after testing, production and deployment -- a few years, optimistically -- SCENICC will already be hard at work on its replacement. Darpa wants a hands-free zooming function within two years of work on the contract. By year three, the computer-enhanced vision tool needs to be ready. Year four is for 360-degree vision. Then it's on to development. The Army is generally hot for combat-ready smartphones to keep soldiers linked up with each other. And the buzz-generating tool for the soldier of the near future is mapping technology, delivered onto a smartphone or some other handheld mobile device, at least judging from this year's Association of the U.S. Army confab. But all of these representation tools are two-dimensional, and require soldiers to look away from their patrols in order to use them. Textron's SoldierEyes Common Operating Picture, for instance, lets soldiers see icons on a tablet-mounted map telling them where their friends, enemies and neutrals are. It can't put those icons onto a 3-D picture sent to a soldier's eyes, let alone allow a 10x zoom for a kilo-wide 360-degree field of vision. Why would anyone use a map on a smartphone when they could have SCENICC? Even with all the advances in digital imaging, it'll be a tall order to put together 360-degree vision and 10x zoom and mapping software and integration with weapons systems and lightweight miniaturization and network connectivity. Darpa doesn't really address how the system's networked optics would work in low-bandwidth areas like, say, eastern Afghanistan (though maybe drone-borne cell towers can help). Indeed, judging from the solicitation, while SCENICC is supposed to be networked, it doesn't seem to have any communications requirements for soldiers to talk through what their optics are sharing with each other. Maybe there's a role for those new soldier smartphones after all. Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here! Copyright 2010 Wired.com.
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The Pentagon's Darpa unit unveiled a camera system that can project a 3-D image . You'd be able to see all around you, including behind yourself, and zooming in at will . An "integrated weapon sighting" function locks your gun on your target when acquired .
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(CNN) -- Paul McIlhenny, the chairman and chief executive of the company that makes Tabasco sauce, has died. He was 68. McIlhenny Company, based in Avery Island, Louisiana, said he died Saturday. The cause of death was not immediately clear. "All of McIlhenny Company and the McIlhenny and Avery families are deeply saddened by this news," Tony Simmons, president of McIlhenny Company, said in a statement Sunday. "We will clearly miss Paul's devoted leadership but will more sorely feel the loss of his acumen, his charm and his irrepressible sense of humor." McIlhenny was part of the sixth generation of his family to live on Avery Island and among the fourth generation to make Tabasco, the iconic hot pepper sauce. Eatocracy, the CNN food blog . He joined the 145-year-old company in 1967 and is credited with overseeing years of record growth in sales and earnings. He is also credited with introducing new flavors and products, and expanding where Tabasco brand products are sold. McIlhenny attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. In 2006, he was Rex, the first King of Carnival after Hurricane Katrina. Around that time, McIlhenny reportedly joked that if the subject of hot sauce came up, he'd say: "That's one form of global warming I'm totally in favor of." "We're defending the world against bland food," he said, according to The Times-Picayune newspaper. McIlhenny loved wing shooting, red fishing, wine tasting and game cooking. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and four grandchildren. Obituaries 2013: The lives they've lived .
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Paul McIlhenny died Saturday at the age of 68; the cause of death is unknown . McIlhenny was a fourth-generation member of his family to make Tabasco . He is credited with increasing sales, adding more Tabasco-brand products . He is survived by his wife, two daughters and four grandchildren .
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Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Tired of all the squawking about America's unemployment? Try out for a job as a corporate duck. People are lining up in six major cities to audition Monday and Tuesday to be the next quacksperson for the insurance company Aflac. The scene in Atlanta was like the duck itself: grating, conspicuous, and most of all loud. "Let me hear a duck skydiving," said casting director Brian Beagle. "Aflaaaaac!" cried Sandy Smith, 54, of Birmingham, Alabama, in her most terrified duck voice. One by one, the hopefuls waddled through, putting their ducks in a row as much as one can for a job limited by one bird and his one word. The contenders were allowed to grunt, groan and mutter, but their only word began with "A" and rhymed with quack. They quacked like Donald. They quacked like Daffy. They quacked shy, shrill, scared and silly. Recorders rolled as the wannabes channeled their inner ducks to quack like a duck in love ... a duck answering the phone ... a duck singing about being in love ... a duck on a wire ... a duck flying by ... a duck getting bad news ... another duck in love. Ducks fearful and ducks overjoyed. Traci Naman, 42, of Atlanta didn't wait for a prompt to let loose her quackery. "I figured he might have an evil twin," she said of the Aflac icon. "And I thought it was time for him to have a girlfriend too." "Let's hear a conversation between those three," Beagle said. "You're the first person to present multiple ducks!" The six-figure voice-over job with benefits opened up after Aflac fired comedian Gilbert Gottfried for his fowl, er foul, Twitter comments regarding the Japan earthquake. The comedian later apologized. Aflac plans to screen about 1,000 live auditions and 12,000 online submissions, with the company's new duck scheduled to quack out a new ad later this month. The duck, said company spokesman Jon Sullivan, perches high on Aflac's organizational chart. "Everyone is secondary to the duck because the duck is such an amazing campaign," he said. "In the 10 years we've had the duck, our brand identification has gone from slightly more than 10 percent to 92 percent." Several wannabes compared the odds of getting the job of official squawker to the odds of winning the lottery. Naman, an account manager for 14 years and unemployed for two years, felt triumphant simply by auditioning. "I've sent out applications and gone to job fairs and it's like throwing your resume into a black hole," she said. "Companies have done a good job of building a wall to keep people out. Just getting this job interview is like winning the lottery." The long-shot duck gig represented a brass ring to others. The last interview for Wayne Cobb -- a roofing contractor in Stockbridge, Georgia -- was when he was 18. The 61-year-old contestant calmed his pre-quack jitters by rehearsing in front of his grandchildren with a duck puppet. "It might sound corny, but this job would let me do some landscaping around my church that we don't have the funding to take care of," he said. The high stakes prompted Lori A. Preston, 44, to pop peppermints to keep her gullet from quacking hoarse. After her audition, she admitted her work experience with ducks was limited. "Other than feed them and seeing the water roll off their back, that's about it," she said. "But they [casting directors] asked me to make the duck my own, and that felt really comfortable." Each audition lasted only minutes, and almost everyone left smiling. Leonard Bates, 56, a retired FedEx shipping agent, felt good as he ducked out. He waved to those in the waiting room and said, "Let the best quacker win."
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Hundreds of people are quacking their hearts out in auditions to be the Aflac duck . They're quacking like ducks in love, answering the phone or getting bad news . Winner gets a six-figure salary and benefits for their quacking perfection . New duck replaces comedian Gilbert Gottfried, who was fired for tweets about Japan .
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(CNN) -- When President Barack Obama responded to this summer's torrent of disclosures about the National Security Agency by commissioning a review board, some wondered whether waiting for the committee to report its findings would involve a lot of delay and not much in the way of progress. But Wednesday the panel issued a blockbuster report urging big changes in how the NSA does business. The recommendations are not perfect, but civil libertarians should embrace many of them, and we are glad that on Friday Obama said that they are being seriously considered. There is no question that all of us will be substantially better off if they are followed. Consider what the report has to say about the bulk collection of Americans' phone records. Even among the troubling programs disclosed this summer, this one stood out because of the sheer number of innocent people whose personal information was swept up and its deliberate targeting of Americans within the United States. Also striking was the government's failure to offer any credible evidence that it has made us safer -- even if you are willing to trade liberty for security, you shouldn't be willing to trade it away for nothing. More than that, the call records program squarely raises one of the most fundamental questions about surveillance in the era of big data: Should we "collect it all" in case some of it is useful later? The review board comes very close to rejecting this philosophy of surveillance -- closer than it at first appears: . "We recommend that, as a general rule, and without senior policy review, the government should not be permitted to collect and store all mass, undigested, nonpublic personal information about individuals to enable future queries and data-mining for foreign intelligence purposes. Any program involving government collection or storage of such data must be narrowly tailored to serve an important governmental interest." This is a curious statement. On the one hand, the review board does not recommend a complete ban on government mass surveillance programs. But on the other, it sets such a high bar for them -- collection and storage must be "narrowly tailored to serve an important governmental interest" -- it is difficult to conceive of a program that would pass muster. How can a program of mass surveillance be narrowly tailored? Moreover, lawyers will recognize that this language has been borrowed directly from the First Amendment's "strict scrutiny" standard, which famed constitutional scholar Gerald Gunther once described as "strict in theory and fatal in fact." In other words, while it is theoretically possible to meet this high bar, in practice few laws manage it. On the bulk telephone records program specifically, the panel said: . "We recommend that legislation should be enacted that terminates the storage of bulk telephone meta-data by the government under Section 215, and transitions as soon as reasonably possible to a system in which such meta-data is held instead either by private providers or by a private third party." This recommendation does not go far enough, but it is a good start. First, the review board acknowledges the two key civil liberties problems with the bulk collection of telephone records: "the record of every telephone call an individual makes or receives over the course of several years can reveal an enormous amount about that individual's private life," and "knowing that the government has ready access to one's phone call records can seriously chill 'associational and expressive freedoms.'" (The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit arguing the program violates the constitution for these exact reasons.) Second, the review board suggests that the government not hold the records, instead favoring a voluntary agreement that carriers will retain the records for some time (a solution the carriers have already opposed). On the one hand, this is a disappointing half-measure because the privacy and speech intrusions the review board identifies aren't actually eliminated by shifting custody of the records from the government to the carriers. The true solution would be for the carriers to retain records only as long as necessary for billing and network maintenance purposes. On the other hand, at least the panel is saying clearly that current surveillance practices are in need of major, structural changes. If the review board reframes the debate such that government-maintained call records are out of bounds, that is a helpful contribution. Friday, the president's expressed willingness to consider ending the NSA's collection of phone records, saying, "The question we're going to have to ask is, can we accomplish the same goals that this program is intended to accomplish in ways that give the public more confidence that in fact the NSA is doing what it's supposed to be doing?" With this comment and the panel's report coming on the heels of Monday's remarkable federal court ruling that the bulk collection of telephone records is likely unconstitutional, this has been the best week in a long time for Americans' privacy rights. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Catherine Crump.
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Catherine Crump: Three major developments this week on the NSA surveillance issue . A judge questioned constitutionality of mass surveillance program . Report by NSA review panel recommended sweeping changes . President signaled willingness to seriously consider the panel's proposals, Crump says .
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Kettleman City, California (CNN) -- Spring in California's San Joaquin Valley is seemingly idyllic, with rolling hills and miles of fruit orchards. But what's happening in the small town of Kettleman City has people scared. In the past three years, 10 babies in Kettleman City, California, have been born with birth defects, including cleft palates and heart problems. Four cases were reported in 2008 and there was another possible case that same year. According to the California Department of Public Health and California Birth Defects Monitoring Program, those four cases in Kettleman City are higher than expected. Nationally, the Birth Defects Monitoring Program lists one out of every 33 babies as born with a birth defect. Three infants have died, including Maria Saucedo's daughter, Ashley. "It's such a small town and such a large problem. We want to give our children life, not death," said Saucedo. "When Ashley was born, the doctors told me that there was something wrong with her. They told me that Ashley wouldn't live more than one or two months." Despite a weak immune system, Ashley managed to live for almost 10 months. She died of a blood infection on January 24, 2009. Through tears, Saucedo said, "I apologized for not taking her earlier to the hospital, but the doctors told me that it wasn't my fault, that with babies like this, this is what happens." But Saucedo wants to know why it happened to her and the other mothers living here. Kettleman City is one of the poorest towns in the state. Maricela Mares Alatorre, who works as a teacher, grew up there. "It's a really small town," said Alatorre. "Most people have been here for generations. I like to call it the Mayberry feeing with a Latino twist." But unlike Mayberry, the 1,500 people of this farming community have no grocery store, no high school and few sidewalks. The town, which is surrounded by farms, is polluted. It is plagued with poor air quality, unsafe drinking water and exposure to pesticides. Kettleman City's water does not meet EPA standards, because of high levels of naturally occurring arsenic. . The state and EPA have found poor air quality throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Kettleman City is surrounded by agriculture and is exposed to heavy use of pesticides. Because of its location right off Highway 41, there also is a lot of emissions pollution. The major concern for many people in Kettleman City, however, lies just four miles outside town. It is the largest toxic waste site west of the Mississippi. The site is operated by the waste disposal firm Waste Management, which said that last year 400,000 tons of hazardous waste -- including lead and cancer-linked PCBs found in plastics -- was dumped there. Every day, hundreds of trucks pour in and out. Some residents believe the birth defects could be linked to the waste site. Waste Management has said its Kettleman Hills facility operates safely and fully protects human health and the environment. The site has been inspected by four separate local, state and federal entities since 2007. All concluded the facility operates safely and does not affect local residents. Waste Management has agreed to cooperate with investigations into the community's concerns. Tension between Waste Management and the community goes back decades. Residents led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson waged a battle against Waste Management in 1991 to stop a toxic waste incinerator from being built. They won. Now the residents of Kettleman City are fighting again, this time over a proposed waste site expansion, for which their local officials voted. For Alatorre, environmental activism is in her genes. "I'm a second-generation activist," she said. Alatorre has been fighting against the waste site expansion and fighting for a state health investigation into the birth defects for nearly two years. She and others are upset that the county voted to expand the waste site before a full investigation was completed. "We don't want an expansion because we feel like there are a lot of health problems in town and we're not necessarily attributing it to the dump, but we feel like with all of the other environmental factors we face, why add more to it?" In December, the Kings County board asked the state for a health investigation into the birth defects, but one week later they voted in favor of granting a permit to allow the waste site to expand. Ingrid Brostrom, an attorney with the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, said, "If there is any potential that these birth defects are caused by environmental contaminants, then we shouldn't be introducing any new contaminants. There should not be an expansion of the existing hazardous waste dump. It is essential the county knows what is causing these birth defects before the hazardous waste site can be expanded." Activists and residents have filed a lawsuit against Kings County in an effort to stop the waste site expansion. In a press release, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office said he has "directed his State Department of Public Health and Environmental Protection Agency to expand their investigation into what could be causing an abnormal percentage of birth defects in the small farming town." For Saucedo and the other mothers of Kettleman City, an investigation can't come soon enough. "I want a response and I want it quickly. Nobody's given us any answers and children continue to be born sick," said Saucedo.
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In 3 years, 10 babies in Kettleman City, California, have been born with birth defects . Residents blame a variety of pollution, including a toxic waste dump . Government reports say the dump is not a hazard . The latest on plans to expand the waste site on tonight's "Campbell Brown" 8 p.m. ET .
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(Coastal Living) -- There's a stillness that permeates the streets -- and the water -- in Irvington, Virginia. The glasslike surface of Carter's Creek is so calm you can't help but touch it to see if you'll cause a ripple. The scent of warm, dry grass fills the air. Colors appear softer. It feels almost magical. Irvington, Virginia, is three hours from Washington, D.C., and 90 minutes from Richmond and Norfolk. But wander around a bit and you'll discover something more: an energy beneath the quiet facade. A former steamboat port, Irvington is reestablishing itself as the hub of the state's Northern Neck. Just three hours from Washington, D.C., and 90 minutes from Richmond and Norfolk, the town that George Washington called the "Garden of Virginia" still serves as a quiet getaway from the city. But now it also offers two fine inns, several upscale restaurants and trendy shops. The Dandelion -- once a church parsonage -- fills its two floors with apparel, accessories and gifts. Across the street, Avolon specializes in hip designer clothing, and, two doors down, Khakis offers way more than neutral slacks. River Cottage's 19th-century building is as captivating as its merchandise: Check out the wavy-glass windows and original flooring from Washington, D.C.'s historic Willard Hotel. Owner Paul Carlson welcomes clientele to browse his hodgepodge of Peacock Alley linens, Maine Cottage furniture, Zekiah stained glass and Hobie kayaks. At The Bay Window, Nancy Drake, Candy Terry and Mary Ragland provide knitting supplies and classes. "It's so quiet here," Mary says. "This is truly country." She's right. Locals spend time outdoors. Nightlife consists of gazing at stars in the velvety sky. It also consists of dining at Irvington's sophisticated but playful social mecca, Trick Dog Cafe. Many patrons return for homegrown dishes, prepared by chefs Jeffrey Johnson and Tony Filiberti and flavored with ingredients harvested within 10 to 15 miles of town. Although still largely undiscovered, Irvington revels in its new identity as a destination -- thanks in part to the Tides Inn. Renovated in 2002, the 480-acre resort features 106 rooms overlooking Carter's Creek and a 64-slip marina. Four on-site restaurants include the Chesapeake Club for local seafood and regional cuisine. Guests can golf, bike, play croquet, and take sailing lessons at the resort's Premier Sailing School. For a more eclectic getaway, The Hope and Glory Inn's recently refreshed accommodations comprise seven rooms in an 1890 schoolhouse, plus six cottages. Owner Dudley Patteson says he encourages guests to "step away from what's going on in life and reconnect." That's easy to do this time of year, when autumn brightens the town's trees, and straw-color mums decorate Victorian porches on King Carter Drive. Irvington, even with its metropolitan touches, offers its visitors a low-key respite from daily life. In this "Garden of Virginia," the harvest may just be peace and quiet. If you go ... For general information, visit townofirvington.com. Sweet Dreams: Rates at the Tides Inn start at $210; 800/843-3746 or tidesinn.com. Rates at The Hope and Glory Inn start at $165; 800/497-8228 or hopeandglory.com. Cuisine: The Chesapeake Club at the Tides Inn (reservations recommended); 800/843-3746 or tidesinn.com. If you stay at The Hope and Glory Inn on a Saturday, make reservations at the Chef's Table for a four-course meal paired with wines selected by the chef; 800/497-8228 or hopeandglory.com. The Trick Dog Cafe (reservations recommended); 804/438-1055. The Local serves gourmet coffees and sandwiches, and doubles as an Internet café; 804/438-9356. Shops 'n' Such: Avolon; 804/438-6793. The Bay Window; 804/438-6636. The Dandelion; 804/438-5194 or thedandelion.com. Khakis; 804/438-6779 or khakisofirvington.com. The River Cottage; 804/438-9007 or therivercottage.net. Local Attractions: Try your hand at grape harvesting during the Irvington Stomp, September 1 this year; 804/438-5559 or irvingtonstomp.com. The Steamboat Era Museum gives visitors a glimpse into vessels that helped shape cities and towns along the Chesapeake; 804/438-6888 or steamboateramuseum.org. For a more reverent experience, visit Historic Christ Church, a restored Colonial-era church and national landmark; 804/438-6855 or christchurch1735.org. E-mail to a friend . Enter to win a monthly Room Makeover Giveaway from MyHomeIdeas.com . Copyright © Coastal Living, 2009 .
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Irvington, Virginia, is just three hours from Washington, D.C. The former steamboat port is drawing more weekend visitors . The 480-acre Tides Inn resort is one reason for Irvington's higher profile .
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(EW.com) -- People constantly debate whether the phrase, "All publicity is good publicity," actually has any credence, but in the case of Lana Del Rey, the saying has proven itself true. After nearly six months of feverish online debate -- her name! her lips! her backstory! -- the divisive songstress, whose poorly received performance on "SNL" launched a thousand blog posts, lands high on this week's chart. Her debut album "Born to Die" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling a solid 77,000 (if not spectacular, considering its marketing budget) copies. Impressively, Del Rey accomplished this feat without a single bona fide "hit" to her name. Although her recent video for "Born to Die" has amassed over 19 million views, she has only charted one song domestically: "Video Games," and that only reached No. 91 on the Hot 100. Understandably, 74 percent of her album sales were digital downloads. Adele, of course, topped the chart once again, logging her 19th week in first place. Thanks to massive Grammy buzz, the blockbuster album moved another 122,000 copies, which means "21" has now sold over 100,000 units in 35 separate weeks. Yahoo's Paul Grein notes that this is the first time an album has done this since Creed's "Human Clay," which logged 49 weeks of sales above 100,000 from 1999 to 2001. If Adele wins Album of the Year at the Grammys on Sunday (as she is expected to), "21" should easily blaze past the 7 million mark. The only other debuts in the Top 10 were Leonard Cohen's "Old Ideas," which sold 41,000, and Fred Hammond's gospel album "God, Love And Romance," which sold 26,000. Check out the Top 10 below: . 1. Adele, "21" -- 122,000 . 2. Lana Del Rey, "Born To Die" -- 77,000 . 3. Leonard Cohen, "Old Ideas" -- 41,000 . 4. Various Artists, "2012 Grammy Nominees" -- 34,000 . 5. Kidz Bop Kids, "Kidz Bop 21" -- 30,000 . 6. Drake, "Take Care" -- 30,000 . 7. Tim McGraw, "Emotional Traffic" -- 29,000 . 8. Fred Hammond, "God, Love And Romance" -- 26,000 . 9. LMFAO, "Sorry For Party Rocking" -- 22,000 . 10. Rihanna, "Talk That Talk" -- 22,000 . See the full article at EW.com . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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Lana Del Rey lands high on this week's chart . Her debut album "Born to Die" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling a solid 77,000 copies . Impressively, Del Rey accomplished this feat without a single bona fide "hit"
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The debate about using technology to help referees has been re-ignited following a number of controversial decisions in the Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Barcelona. The Hawk-Eye system is already widely used in tennis and has transformed the game. Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, the game's governing body, has consistently opposed the use of in-game video replays, but goal-line technology, to determine if the ball has crossed the goal line, has received more support. The Hawk-Eye system is extensively used in tennis, using cameras to calculate the trajectory of the ball. The system then uses the trajectory data to determine exactly where the ball has hit the ground, making it invaluable for marginal line calls. Using similar technology, Hawk-Eye Innovations, based in England, has developed a football system to determine if a goal has been scored. It again uses cameras to track the ball and computers to calculate its position. If the system detects that the ball has crossed the goal line a central computer transmits a signal to the referee via either a watch or earpiece. The system was tested at Premier League football club Fulham in 2006 and then at Reading's training ground in 2007. It was backed by the British Football Association and funded by the Premier League. Another goal-line technology, a microchipped football, was developed by Adidas and German firm Cairos Technologies. A microchip built into the football detects a magnetic field generated by underground cables in the penalty area. Like the Hawk-Eye system it uses a computer to send a signal to the referee's watch when a goal is scored. The system was tested at the World Under-17 Championships in 2005 and the 2007 World Club Championship in Tokyo. The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which decides the laws of the game, discusses new rules at an annual general meeting consisting of four representatives from FIFA and one each from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Explaining the IFAB's decision, Blatter said the microchipped ball had failed in one of the seven World Club Championship matches because of interference to the signal sent to the referee and that it would be difficult to implement the chip technology in the many types of football used around the world. He added that it was not possible to ensure that the Hawk-Eye system worked in a crowded goalmouth, where players might block the cameras' view of the ball. "FIFA are of the opinion that the systems are very costly, would not add anything to the game and would harm the position of the referee," the UK's Press Association reported at the time. Do you think goal-line technology should be used? Share your thoughts in the Sound Off box below. But Hawk-Eye managing director Paul Hawkins told CNN that he believes FIFA has decided that it doesn't want technology in football. "I saw FIFA last week and told them that we can provide a system if they want it, but it's very clear they don't want the system," he said. Hawkins said his company cannot develop the technology any further without more testing in real stadiums, but that kind of testing requires FIFA's consent. The idea that football's governing bodies are opposed to more technology in football has been supported by statements from the sport's governing bodies. In March 2009, Blatter said in a statement: "The IFAB believes that football is a game for human beings and, as such, we should improve the standard of refereeing - and not turn to technology." Michel Platini, President of UEFA, European Football's governing body, has expressed similar views. Instead of pursuing goal-line technology, the IFAB chose to trial the idea of having two extra match officials, one behind each goal. A FIFA spokesman told CNN that while the use of goal-line technology hasn't been ruled out forever, even after recent refereeing controversies, the IFAB's current position is to continue to experiment with extra officials. The IFAB's decision means there will be no goal-line technology used in the Champions League final on 27 May, which means there is the potential for more refereeing disputes. "Maybe there will be a controversial goal in the Champions League final and maybe the discussion over the technology will begin again," Oliver Braun, marketing and communications director at Cairos Technologies told CNN. Hawkins agrees that it will take a controversial goal-line incident in a big FIFA match to get the IFAB to change their position, saying it took a series of contentious calls at the 2004 US Open for tennis authorities to seriously consider using the Hawk-Eye system. If that is the case, there will be some football fans hoping for plenty of goal-line drama come May 27.
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Debate over whether technology should be used to help referees . FIFA is opposed to video replays but has considered goal-line technology . Hawk-Eye system and microchipped footballs were rejected by IFAB . Some feel it will take a big-match controversy to re-open the debate .
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Washington (CNN) -- The prospect of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell resigning as he copes with a federal investigation into the nearly $150,000 worth of lavish gifts the Republican and his family received from a wealthy executive is unlikely, people close to the governor insist. Yet the topic remains a tantalizing conversation piece around Richmond these days, mainly because it would be an act without modern precedent. While Virginia has had its fair share of tumultuous politics over the years, not since Reconstruction has the commonwealth been forced to grapple with a question of succession. No Virginia governor has resigned, or been impeached, in the last century. Virginia governor scandal: 'That's not the guy we know' But there's another reason some Virginia political watchers are buzzing about the hypothetical: McDonnell's resignation, however unlikely, would elevate his lieutenant governor, Republican Bill Bolling, to the state's highest office. And Bolling has made it abundantly clear he has little tolerance for the Republican running to succeed McDonnell -- Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. "I have serious reservations about his ability to effectively and responsibly govern our state," Bolling said of Cuccinelli in a recent interview with CNN. Candidates say McDonnell should consider resigning . Here's the backstory: Bolling has served as lieutenant governor since 2006, and had long eyed this election year as his moment to make the leap to governor. Bolling had McDonnell's endorsement, and campaign backing from other establishment leaders and members of Virginia's influential business community. Then Cuccinelli stepped in. The ambitious Fairfax native, an uncompromising social conservative and tea party darling, also had designs on the governorship -- and he had no time for the succession plan orchestrated by Bolling, McDonnell and other GOP leaders. So last year, Cuccinelli's allies in the Republican Party re-wired the GOP's nominating process so that the 2013 gubernatorial nominee would be selected by convention instead of a primary. Since conventions tend to attract only a small slice of the electorate -- the most committed and vocal conservatives who revel in spending their spring weekends at political conventions -- that left Bolling, who views the tea party movement with a mixture of scorn and exotic bewilderment, with little option but to drop out of the race. McDonnell's poll numbers fall as scandal unfolds . An exasperated Bolling left the race, and Cuccinelli easily captured the GOP gubernatorial nomination in May with the support of roughly 8,000 delegates who showed up at the Richmond Coliseum to support him (and two other conservatives, attorney general candidate Mark Obenshain and a bombastic pastor named E.W. Jackson, the party's nominee for lieutenant governor). Clearly incensed at Cuccinelli for dashing his gubernatorial hopes, Bolling soon embarked on a media tour lamenting the rightward drift of the Republican Party. He used his remaining campaign funds to launch an initiative called "The Virginia Mainstream Project" to recruit pragmatic Republican candidates and advance "responsible conservative policy solutions." Bolling's message was clear: hard-liners like Cuccinelli are eating away at the Republican Party from the inside, and hindering legislative compromise in Richmond. Cuccinelli's allies think Bolling is a sore loser, bordering on irrelevance. Bolling, freed from the pressures of campaign politics for the first time in nearly two decades, says he's just speaking his mind. McDonnell points to 'irresponsible' rumors . "Frankly, I don't care what they think of me," Bolling said last month over lunch at a Greek restaurant in the Richmond suburbs, several weeks before The Washington Post revealed some of the more explosive details of the unfolding McDonnell controversy. Picking at a salad, the lieutenant governor characterized himself as a conservative, explaining that his first taste of politics came as a teenager in the coalfields of West Virginia, when he toiled on the 1972 re-election campaign of Gov. Arch Moore, a Republican in what was then a heavily Democratic state. "The definition of what a conservative is has changed so much that now all of a sudden I look like a moderate," he said. "The truth is that Bill Bolling is a conservative guy, always has been, always will be. But I am not an anti-government guy. I believe there is a role for government to play." The conversation pivoted to Bolling's central criticism of Cuccinelli -- that he is an ideologue uninterested in the sort of compromises needed to govern. "This is not just the most conservative ticket, but it is the most ideologically driven ticket that we have seen in the history of our state," Bolling said of the Cuccinelli-Jackson-Obenshain tea party troika. Bolling says he has "tried to be measured" in his public comments about Cuccinelli. But that's not really true. "The difference between us is the kinds of issues we focus on, the leadership style and demeanor that we demonstrate," Bolling said. "Our willingness to compromise, to get things done. Mr. Cuccinelli will have to run his campaign, and to win this election, he is going to have to convince people that he has the ability to govern Virginia in a mainstream way. Whether he can do that or not remains to be seen." All of this, mind you, is coming from the man who would become chief executive if McDonnell were to leave office prematurely. New allegations against McDonnell emerge . To the delight of Democrats, it's conceivable that the governor's mansion could be occupied by a Republican who happens to be openly contemptuous of the Republican running to succeed him. Democrats might enjoy that scenario almost as much as the one they have now, with Cuccinelli having to answer questions about his own ties to Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams, the embattled executive who provided McDonnell and his family with undisclosed gifts like a Rolex watch, a $15,000 Bergdorf Goodman shopping spree and pricey catering for the wedding of the governor's daughter. Cuccinelli also accepted gifts from Williams and owned stock in his company, though an investigation last week found he did not violate the state's conflict of interest laws. "This is a no-win situation for Cuccinelli," said Democratic strategist Mo Elleithee, a veteran of Virginia campaigns. "If Bob McDonnell somehow is able to remain in office, he'll be a daily reminder of Cuccinelli's own ethical challenges with Star Scientific. If Bolling assumes the governorship, not only will Cuccinelli still be under an ethical cloud, but the new governor will be a daily reminder of how even mainstream Republicans view him as too extreme." Bolling's comments over the last few months to a spate of news organizations seem tailor-made for negative television ads and mail pieces: "Don't believe us? Here's what Virginia's own Republican governor had to say about Ken Cuccinelli ..." Bolling has even left the door open to voting for Cuccinelli's Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, who, he kindly pointed out, "takes a more pragmatic approach to politics and to governing." At the moment, it doesn't seem the Bolling-as-governor scenario will come to pass. Bolling is close with McDonnell and certainly isn't angling for the job. Though he's had designs on the governorship for years, taking over for McDonnell in the wake of scandal, with regular legislative business wrapped for the year, isn't much of a prize. Nor could Bolling suddenly decide to run for a full term -- the filing deadline to run in November passed in June. Barring another devastating disclosure about the investigation, the only real pressure point for McDonnell as he braces for a tough final six months in office would be a chorus of resignation calls from legislators in his own party. But so far, not a single prominent Republican has called for McDonnell to leave office. Meanwhile, McDonnell has hired a Washington-based crisis communications consultant and former U.S. attorney to fight back against federal investigators, and some of his supporters launched a legal defense fund last week. Those aren't the actions of a man preparing to step aside. But if he does, Cuccinelli and Virginia Republicans might only be trading in one headache for another.
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Lieutenant governor says he has reservations about fellow Republican running for governor . Bill Bolling feels Ken Cuccinelli jumped line to run for state's top office . Gov. Bob McDonnell has been embroiled in scandal over gifts to him and his family . Cuccinelli is backed by the tea party; Bolling had support from establishment .
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(CNN) -- Rapper DMX has found himself in trouble with the law again, this time with a DUI charge in South Carolina, authorities said Friday. Troopers in Greenville pulled over in a 1978 Plymouth station wagon Thursday night after spotting it traveling erratically, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said. DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was driving, he was given a field sobriety test and failed, the agency said. The rapper was charged with driving under the influence, driving without a license and driving without a seat belt, the patrol said.. However, his publicist, Domenick Nati, said DMX wasn't arrested for DUI. "He was arrested early this morning but quickly released," Nati told CNN. "X was given a breathalyzer test and easily passed it. He is back at his home in South Carolina and we are continuing our focus on his upcoming album and acting roles." But the state highway patrol responded to a CNN inquiry Friday evening by repeating that the 42-year-old rapper was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, driving without a license and driving without a seat belt. DMX has faced various criminal charges in the past, including probation violation, illegal drug possession and animal cruelty. Maricopa County, Arizona, authorities said he was arrested five times after August 2007. That included a May 2008 arrest on drug and animal cruelty charges, when Simmons attempted to barricade himself inside his Cave Creek home, sheriff's deputies said. Simmons also ran into trouble while in prison, being placed on "lockdown status" and forced to eat only bread and water for "jailhouse infractions." In February 2009, he threw a food tray in anger at a corrections officer, according to the sheriff's office. In 2010 he was sent to prison after violating his probation. Four days later DMX was admitted to the Flamenco Mental Health unit for an undisclosed disorder.
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NEW: Publicist for DMX counters report of DUI arrest . Rapper DMX arrested after failing a field sobriety test, South Carolina authorities say . He was also driving without a license, without a seat belt, SC Highway Patrol says .
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A federal judge on Thursday threw out an author's claims that Jessica Seinfeld, the comedian's wife, plagiarized from her cookbook, but the judge left open claims of defamation against Jerry Seinfeld himself. Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld attend an event in New York City in June. "This is a complete victory for Jessica Seinfeld," said Orin Snyder, Seinfeld's lawyer. Snyder said U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed all claims brought against Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food." In the lawsuit, filed in 2007, author Missy Chase Lapine accused Jessica Seinfeld of taking ideas from Lapine's cookbook "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals." Lapine's cookbook was published in April 2007, six months before Seinfeld's book. "The court categorically rejected the claim that 'Deceptively Delicious' infringed the copyright and trademark of the plaintiff's book," Snyder said. "The federal judge ruled that 'no reasonable fact finder could conclude' that copying occurred here given that the works are 'very different' and that Jessica's book 'has a completely different feel.' " But Lapine's lawyer, Howard B. Miller, said his client may appeal the dismissal of her copyright and trademark claims, and will refile in state court claims against Jerry Seinfeld. Lapine's defamation claims against the comedian refer to a comment he made on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in 2007, when he compared the fact that Lapine uses three names to the fact that assassins sometimes use three names, as was the case with Lee Harvey Oswald. "The claims against Jerry Seinfeld for defamation are still fully alive," Miller said. "He just says he is joking; we don't think calling someone an assassin and a wacko is a joke." "I'm up against a very powerful opponent," Lapine said in a telephone interview from her home in Westchester County, New York. "Justice is not always served." Lapine, a 45-year-old mother of two, said she has gone on to publish two other books, all in the "Sneaky Chef" series.
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Cookbook writer alleged that Jessica Seinfeld plagiarized . All claims against Jessica Seinfeld dismissed by federal judge, lawyer says . Judge leaves open claims of defamation against Seinfeld's husband, Jerry . Defamation claims relate to comments Jerry Seinfeld made about author .
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(CNN) -- Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has rejected reports that the elite motorsport's owner CVC Capital Partners may sell up. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is lining up a bid along with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, according to Sky News -- which is owned by Murdoch's News Corp. But the 80-year-old Ecclestone, who runs F1 on behalf of CVC since selling his rights to the private equity firm in 2006, said such a deal would not be in the commercial interests of the sport. "Formula One is not for sale. And, anyway, we would not sell to a media company because it would restrict the ability to negotiate with other broadcasters," he told British newspaper The Times on Wednesday. Ecclestone, who first secured the rights to negotiate television contracts for races in the late 1970s, said News Corp had not made any approach to CVC. "If they were interested for sure they would have called me and they haven't," he told Bloomsberg. "If someone was to come along with an enormous offer, a lot more than it were worth, then they have to look at it. They have never talked about selling, though." The current Concorde Agreement between the F1 teams expires next year, and Ferrari -- one of eight marques on the grid who made a failed breakaway bid in 2009 before signing the deal -- is reportedly among the parties seeking to wrest control of the sport from Ecclestone. The British entrepreneur has been helping German prosecutors investigating Gerhard Gribkowsky, who handled F1's sale to CVC five years ago. Gribkowsky, who has been arrested under suspicion of fraud, is a former employee of state-run BayernLB -- which had a stake in Formula One up to 2006. "I have been co-operating with the State Prosecution Office's investigation of the affairs of Dr. Gribkowsky since the outset," Ecclestone said in a statement last week. "When I was informed that there was a first suspicion in relation to my perceived involvement in the matter, I went to see the Senior State Prosecutor and her team in Munich earlier this month to clear up any allegations against me. "I am confident that when the full facts have been established, I will be exonerated of blame for any wrongdoing."
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Rupert Murdoch's News Corp reportedly interested in buying F1 rights . The elite motorsport's boss Bernie Ecclestone insists owner CVC will not sell . Ecclestone says media company such as Newscorp would not be a suitable buyer . He is aiding German authorities in probe of man who helped him sell F1 in 2006 .
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(CNN) -- For the South Korean who picked up the second major title of her career to move up to second in the world rankings, it was a walk in the Park. Inbee Park led the field by three strokes heading into the final day of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, carding a three-under-par final round of 69 to finish 15-under for the tournament - four strokes ahead of compatriot Ryu So-Yeon. After taking the traditional plunge into Poppy's pool at the Mission Hills Country Club, Park is setting her sights on usurping Stacy Lewis and becoming the world's top-ranked female golfer. "That's the place that I've always wanted and I only have one more spot to go," the 24-year-old told the LPGA Tour's official website after clinching 2013's opening major. "That brings a lot of momentum, keeps momentum going for me, especially after this week. I felt a lot of confidence with my swing and with my putting. Everything has been going the right way this season. It feels good." American Lewis was full of praise for Park, hailing the 2008 U.S. Women's Open winner as "the best putter on Tour." "I've seen Inbee do this before," said Lewis, who finished 14 shots adrift of Park. "When she rolls it, you just can't beat her. "The course here is a little softer than normal, so I think that's to her advantage. She doesn't hit it as high as some other people, but when she's rolling it, you are not going to beat her." The 2011 U.S. Women's Open winner and Park's compatriot Ryu So-Yeon (65) was second on the leaderboard on 11 under, ahead of Sweden's Caroline Hedwall (68) and 2007 LPGA Championship winner Suzann Pettersen (69). Haeji Kang (68), also of South Korea, and seven-time champion Karrie Webb (72) were tied for fifth. Fifteen-year-old New Zealander Lydia Ko was the highest-placed amateur, finishing tied for 25th. Former world No. 1 Yani Tseng finished two over for the tournament, in a four-way tie for 48th place.
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Inbee Park moves to No. 2 in the world rankings with win at Kraft Nabisco Championship . The win at Mission Hill CC the second major triumph of Park's career . World No. 1 Stacy Lewis finished 14 shots behind Park . Park's fellow South Korean Ryu So-Yeon was second on the leaderboard .
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(CNN) -- Latvia's president has described the deadly collapse of a supermarket roof in Riga as "basically mass murder" of defenseless citizens, local media reports. At least 53 people died in Thursday's collapse at the Maxima supermarket, in the west of Latvia's capital, national news agency LETA said Saturday. It said rescue workers are continuing their hunt for survivors and still have about 150 squre meters to search. President Andris Berzins had told Latvian television that "nature could not be blamed" for the collapse and that those involved needed to think about what they had done, so that action could be taken. "This incident is basically the mass murder of a large number of defenseless civilians. We must act accordingly,'' Berzins said. Berzins urged for a team of independent experts from abroad to be assembled to investigate the collapse. Latvia has declared three days mourning -- Saturday to Monday -- for victims of the collapse. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that two Russian citizens -- a man and a woman -- were among those killed. It said a second collapse had occurred after rescue workers arrived and a third took place Saturday, but that no rescuers were injured in the latest collapse. LETA earlier quoted a State Fire and Rescue Service spokesman as saying rescuers had begun searching the "least stable" area of the site Saturday. "The area is very dangerous and unstable, and the decision has been made to search the area with less men, so to prevent anymore collapses," the news agency said. Three firefighters are among the dead. Latvia's Interior Ministry said their families would receive 50,000 LVL ($95,600) in compensation. Treatment for rescue workers injured in the operation would also be paid for, it said. In an interview with CNN Friday, Rescue Service spokeswoman Viktorija Sembele declined to speculate on the cause of the collapse. "There are a lot of versions, a lot of stories. The real cause of this tragic accident will be investigated by state police and other authorities once the rescue is finished," she said. However, Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs earlier told CNN that authorities think building materials stored on the roof caused it to collapse. The supermarket collapse is the Baltic state's deadliest accident since it won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, LETA said. Latvia's previous most deadly accident was a nursing home fire that killed 26 people in 2007. Deadly South Africa building collapse investigated .
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NEW: The death toll from a supermarket roof collapse in Latvia Thursday has risen to 53 . NEW: Latvia's president has described the collapse as "basically mass murder" of defenseless citizens . President Andris Berzins has called for foreign independent experts to investigate . Russia's state media is reporting that two of its citizens are among those killed in Riga .
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(Coastal Living) -- Spectacular courses combine with sumptuous lodgings for a vacation Tiger Woods might envy. Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina is among Coastal Living's top 10 golf resorts. Pebble Beach Resorts, Pebble Beach, California . Four legendary courses, three luxurious lodgings, incomparable coastal scenery -- golfers' fantasies come true here on Central California's Monterey Peninsula. Of course, they don't come cheap. Lodging starts at $505 a night for the 269-room Inn at Spanish Bay, $580 for the 161-room Lodge at Pebble Beach (most of which dates to 1919), and $705 for the 24-room Casa Palmero, an intimate, Mediterranean-style enclave of exclusivity. However, the room rates do include preferred booking privileges at Del Monte Golf Course, The Links at Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, and the glorious Pebble Beach Golf Links; 800/654-9300 or pebblebeach.com. The Lodge at Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Georgia . Old-school elegance pervades this 40-room getaway, which has earned both five diamonds from AAA and five stars from Mobil Travel Guide. The 24-hour butler service attends to such details as unpacking and pressing one's golf attire. Personalized stationery stands ready to facilitate correspondence. Haunting music from a lone bagpiper floats over the grounds to announce the end of each day. Most important, three 18-hole championship layouts await anyone confident enough to match wits with three devilishly creative course architects: Tom Fazio, Rees Jones, and Davis Love III; 800/732-4752 or seaisland.com. Four Seasons Resort Lana`i at Manele Bay, Lanai, Hawaii . Jack Nicklaus designed The Challenge at Manele -- 18 dramatically beautiful holes that scramble along the shoreline, sometimes using the Pacific Ocean as a water hazard. The accommodations at the 236-room resort, by contrast, coddle rather than challenge. Rooms offer private balconies and marble baths. Spa treatments rejuvenate tired golfers. Nearby Hulopoe Beach in 1997 earned the title of "America's best beach"; 800/450-3704 or fourseasons.com. Coastal Living: So you want to live in Hawaii? The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, Florida . This luxe, Mediterranean Revival outpost on the edge of the Everglades already has achieved five-diamond status from AAA. Greg Norman created the resort's Tiburón Golf Course. Its 36 holes, with their coquina-shell sand and sod-wall bunkers, test top players without torturing duffers. Resort guests get full privileges at the beachfront Ritz-Carlton, Naples, another five-diamond property (with a spa) five minutes away; 239/593-2000 or ritzcarlton.com. The American Club, Kohler, Wisconsin . In 1918, plumbing magnate Walter J. Kohler, Sr., added to his company town a Tudor-style structure to house immigrant workers. In 1981, the building, less than an hour north of Milwaukee, received a considerable upgrade and became the elegant American Club. Each room in the AAA five-diamond resort hotel features a spa tub (by Kohler, of course). More recently, the resort added Whistling Straits, two 18-hole public courses along Lake Michigan that left even their designer, the legendary Pete Dye, in awe. "I should say this with some degree of modesty, but in my lifetime I've never seen anything like this. Anyplace. Period," he says; 800/344-2838, ext. 700, or destinationkohler.com. Bandon Dunes Resort, Bandon, Oregon . Three 18-hole courses -- Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, and the new Bandon Trails -- take golf back to its origins. The game began on Scotland's craggy, wind-whipped shores. In fact, the term "links" originally referred to narrow strips of land that "link" the beaches with inland farms. The rolling, tumbling terrain and Pacific Ocean breezes create such beauty that golfers might even forgive the havoc those conditions can wreak on their games. Or maybe not. Like the courses, the resort buildings blend with the natural contours of the land. Sumptuous lodging and fine dining welcome home weary golfers; 888/345-6008 or bandondunes.com. Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Kiawah Island, South Carolina . With five championship courses designed by such titans as Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, and Gary Player, only one thing kept this Charleston-area resort from being enshrined among the very best golf retreats: super-luxe accommodations. Now, with the opening of The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, that shortcoming has vanished. Pete has returned more than once to tinker with his legendary seaside Ocean Course. The world saw the results when the 2007 Senior PGA Championship took place there; 800/576-1570 or kiawahresort.com. Four Seasons Resort Aviara, Carlsbad, California . Arnold Palmer designed this 18-hole gem to take advantage of the coastal topography along the tidal Batiquitos Lagoon. Wildflower-lined fairways enhance the ruggedly lovely views of the surrounding mountains. The Spanish Colonial-style resort, just north of San Diego, offers the sort of luxurious accommodations and excellent dining typical of a Four Seasons property plus a spa; 800/819-5053 or fourseasons.com/aviara. Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida . Every golfer knows about the Pete Dye-designed TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and its famous Island Hole (the 17th, where only a narrow walkway connects the island green to the fairway). But this resort, nestled between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean just south of Jacksonville, also boasts four other championship courses, all of which offer water challenges of their own. In fact, it's difficult to lose sight of water anywhere on the property, either inside or out. Guests can even fish the lagoons; 800/457-4653 or sawgrassmarriott.com. Casa de Campo, La Romana, Dominican Republic . Eight gorgeous ocean holes provide tempting scenic distractions on the legendary, Pete Dye-designed Teeth of the Dog course. Pete and his wife, Alice, also designed the resort's other two courses. Alternative sporting options include tennis, horseback riding, deep-sea fishing, and clay-pigeon shooting. The villas supply the most lavish lodgings, with private concierge service and either a pool or a spa tub. However, everybody gets to share the expansive, soothing Caribbean views; 888/222-8859 or ghotw.com/hotel/home/casa-de-campo.htm. Enter to win a monthly Room Makeover Giveaway from MyHomeIdeas.com . Copyright © Coastal Living, 2009 .
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Coastal Living has compiled a list of the top 10 golf resorts . They feature spectacular courses, sumptuous lodgings . Destinations include resorts in California, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina .
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(CNN) -- This week the world will reach 7 billion people. Understandably that raises concern about a soaring world population. But there is a good news story from the demographic data that is not often told. We -- or rather the poor women of the world -- are defusing the population bomb. Women today are having half as many children as their mothers and grandmothers. The global average is now down to 2.5 children per woman, and it continues to fall. This is not just a rich-world phenomenon. Much of Asia now has fertility rates below two, from Japan and Korea to China, with its one-child policy, through Taiwan, Vietnam, Burma, Singapore and much of southern India and parts of the Middle East. Behind the veil, the women of Iran have cut their fertility from eight to less than two in a generation. The young people out on the streets demanding democracy during the Arab Spring are arguably far more politically active because they are not at home raising large families. Falling fertility happens faster if countries get richer and if women are better educated. Similarly urbanization helps a lot. While even young children can be an economic asset on an African peasant farm, they are an economic liability in cities, where they require education before they can get a job. The teeming megacities of the poor world may look like symbols of overpopulation, but they are part of the solution, too. But the real story is that rich or poor, Muslim or Catholic, secular or devout, socialist or capitalist, with tough government birth control policies or none, most countries tell the same story. Small families are becoming the new norm. The reason, I believe, is very simple. Women are having smaller families because for the first time in history they can. In the 20th century, the world largely eradicated the diseases that used to kill off most children. Today, most kids get to grow up. Mothers no longer need to have five or six children to ensure the next generation. Two or three is enough, and that is what they are choosing to have. There are holdouts, of course. In much of Africa, rural women still typically have five children or more. But if Africa follows Asia, then we can see an end to population growth. We are, I believe, likely to see "peak population" by about mid-century. Perhaps at around 9 billion people. After that, on current trends of fertility falling to below replacement levels, we will see a falling world population. And rapid aging. With longer life expectancy and fewer babies, this is all but inevitable. China will soon be aging faster than anywhere on Earth. Aging is set to be the dominant demographic phenomenon of the 21st century, just as the population boom dominated the 20th century. What does this mean for the environment? Well, peak population is good news, of course. But don't hang the flags. It is a pervasive myth that it is all those extra people that are wrecking the planet. That's no longer the case. Rising consumption today is a far bigger threat to the environment than a rising head-count. And most of that extra consumption is still happening in rich countries that have long since given up growing their populations. According to Stephen Pacala, the director of the Princeton Environmental Institute, the world's richest half billion people -- that's about 7 % of the global population -- are responsible for half the world's carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of man-made climate change. Meanwhile the poorest 50 % of the world are responsible for just 7 % of emissions. So there is no way halting population growth in the poor world today would have more than a very marginal effect on climate change. It is the world's consumption patterns we need to fix, not its reproductive habits. Every time we talk about too many babies in Africa or India, we are denying this fact. The population bomb may be being defused by the women of the poor world. But the rich world has not even begun to defuse the consumption bomb. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Fred Pearce.
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Fred Pearce says there's good news attached to the 7 billion population milestone . He says woman are having far fewer children than their forebears; global average is 2.5 . He says small families new norm as old reasons for having more children are gone . Pearce: Problem now is smaller population has upped its consumption, environmental damage .
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New Delhi (CNN) -- In New Delhi's upscale diplomatic district, Ram Dhan lives in a parallel world. For years, his home has been a rickety shanty that he shares with his ailing wife, a young son, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. Now 62, Dhan has lived through India's journey as an independent nation. He finds little reason to rejoice as the country celebrates Monday, the 64th anniversary of freedom from British rule. "The poor have hardly benefited," he says. Sitting on a cot in his shack huddled in a squalid slum in one of the richest neighborhoods of the Indian capital, he bitterly recalls how flooding in his native village ravaged his ancestral land way back in 1978 and forced him to move to the city in search of work. But today, Dhan says, the family of six can barely manage $130 a month. "This is no development ... or growth. I think we have moved backwards," he says. Dhan typifies the hand-to-mouth existence millions of Indians still live despite the nation's rise as Asia's third-largest economy. In a speech on the eve of his country's independence in 1947, India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, made an impassioned call to fight and end "poverty and ignorance and disease." Sixty-four years later, his successors accept that that fight is far from over. "We have to banish poverty and illiteracy from our country. We have to provide the common man with access to improved health services," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in his annual Independence Day address Monday. According to the World Bank, India is home to one-third of the world's poor. Corruption, policymakers have agreed over the years, is a major culprit. "Corruption manifests itself in many forms," Singh said in what has been a refrain by Indian planners on the chronic scourge. "In some instances, funds meant for schemes for the welfare of the common man end up in the pocket of government officials. In some other instances, government discretion is used to favor a select few. There are also cases where government contracts are wrongfully awarded to the wrong people. We cannot let such activities continue unchecked." Singh's remarks came ahead of a hunger strike anti-corruption activists have planned to press for an anti-graft law stronger than the legislation introduced in Parliament this month to create a citizen ombudsman. Indian leaders concede no single measure will work to combat corruption, which is believed to be deeply entrenched in the system. "I believe that there is no single big step which we can take to eradicate corruption. In fact, we will have to act simultaneously on many fronts," Singh said. He disapproved of hunger strikes as a means to push demands. As India's finance minister, Singh unleashed economic reforms in the 1990s that dismantled stiffening regulations and opened the nation to foreign capital. This year, India also marked another milestone event: the 20th anniversary of liberalization. But the occasion has been clouded by massive corruption scandals in Singh's administration and a rigid inflation crushing impoverished groups and the country's growing middle-class alike. Criticism is mounting against the nation's political establishment. "The twin monsters India faces today are inflation and corruption, both of which could derail the India growth story. To keep that story going, today's dysfunctional political class will need to radically re-invent itself," wrote the Times of India in an editorial headlined "Batting at 64." India's marginalized communities often feel forced to compromise skills that are key to eliminating poverty. Fears haunt Dhan that his grandchildren, like his son, also might not be able to achieve higher education if economic conditions at home do not improve. And Dhan's cab-driver son, Ashok Kumar, leaves it to luck. "I am trying my best to see that my children don't face the same circumstances that I went through. I am putting my best efforts. The rest is their luck," Kumar said.
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India is marking its 64th anniversary of freedom from British rule . "The poor have hardly benefited," says one man . Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admits much needs to be done for the "common man" Policymakers have agreed over the years that corruption is a major factor .
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Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan authorities have recovered the bodies of five police officers and three intelligence agents just days after they were kidnapped by insurgents in the country's volatile Wardak province, officials said Sunday. The men had been driving through a mountainous district outside the provincial capital of Maidan Shar on Thursday when gunmen stopped their vehicle and took them hostage, according to Shahidullah Shahid, a provincial governor's spokesman. The Taliban have since claimed responsibility for the killing, according to the group's spokesman. Wardak has long been considered a hotbed of insurgent activity and is the province where militants reportedly shot down a NATO Chinook helicopter last week that killed 38 people, including 30 Americans.
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The men were kidnapped Thursday and killed . The Taliban take responsibility for the killing . Wardak has long been considered a hotbed of insurgent activity .
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(CNN) -- Roger Federer has told CNN he may make another attempt to win the Olympic singles gold medal he craves in Rio in four years' time. The world No. 1 was pipped to the London 2012 crown by Britain's Andy Murray -- the man Federer beat to secure his seventh Wimbledon title just over a month ago. The 30-year-old has won 17 grand slams in his illustrious career and took gold in the doubles with Stanislas Wawrinka in Beijing four years ago, but he has failed to win the singles title in four attempts. Despite the disappointment he felt at being brushed aside 6-2 6-1 6-4 by Murray and missing out on topping the podium, Federer did at least claim his first solo medal. "I'm not sure yet, it's four years away. I can retire in the meantime and come again!" Federer told CNN about his hopes of an Olympic appearance in Brazil. "But I'm not going to do that, I'm going to keep on playing. I hope I can do it. I'm turning 31 in a few days, so I'll be 35 for Rio -- I think it's possible but we'll see how it goes." Murray conquers Federer to take Olympic gold at Wimbledon . A gold medal would have capped a perfect month for Federer, after his victory at Wimbledon catapulted him back to the top of the world rankings. And once the bitter sting of defeat on Centre Court had subsided, Federer insisted finally getting his hands on a singles medal tempered the disappointment of his straight-sets loss. "I'd have to say I was very disappointed for three to five minutes," he said. "I was in a little room waiting for the ceremony, I saw Del Potro and Murray and I saw how happy they were for gold, for bronze. "Of course I'd just lost my match where Del Potro had to win the bronze over Djokovic. So I was in the middle and I was the only one who'd lost that day. "I thought, 'Hmmm, I could either be sad right now, extremely sad, or extremely proud and happy,' and I chose to be extremely happy and proud. "It was a dream summer for me. I won Wimbledon and I returned to world No. 1 and I tried everything I could to win Olympic gold, and I just came up against a better player on the day. "So for me silver is the maximum I could get out of the Olympics this time around. I was just extremely happy, like a little kid there on the podium." Supreme Serena crushes Sharapova to achieve the Golden Slam . Murray's victory offered the Scot recompense for his heartbreaking defeat in the Wimbledon final -- the first time a British male had reached the showpiece event since 1938. The 25-year-old beat former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic on his way to the final, and also claimed silver in the mixed doubles with Laura Robson. And Federer paid tribute to his rival for winning his first major tennis title less than a month after losing his fourth grand slam final. "I thought he played great," Federer said. "What a champion, to come back from losing in the finals of Wimbledon, resting, preparing. "With the pressure, okay he had home advantage -- you can see that as an advantage or a disadvantage -- but for him to come back and win the Olympics, people sort of expected him to maybe do that. Why Federer's friend flew the Swiss flag . "But he came through Djokovic and through me, who he lost to at the finals at Wimbledon, that's the sign of a champion. "I always knew he had it in him but it was good to see he didn't let his head hang and was disappointed and upset and sour about his loss at Wimbledon. "He should have been proud of it and that's what I told him then. I hope he enjoys this victory like he should because it was a big victory for him." Federer survives marathon semifinal . Federer admitted his challenge for the gold was dampened by his marathon semifinal against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro -- the longest in Olympic history at four hours and 26 minutes. The deciding set was eventually won 19-17 by Federer but the Swiss refused to blame tiredness for his lackluster performance. "I missed a lot of opportunities, I think I made zero of nine break points and he made four out of 10. We weren't that far away from each other but he pulled away," he said. "I think with the crowd he got momentum and it was hard to stop. Maybe emotionally I was a bit drained, or physically a bit slow at times after the Del Potro match, but I had a day to rest so no excuses, he was the better player on the day. "I have regrets, a little bit, but I tried everything I could but it wasn't enough."
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World No. 1 Roger Federer wants to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio . Federer was beaten to gold in the men's singles at the Games by Andy Murray . The Swiss has competed in four Olympics but this was his first singles medal . The 16-time Grand Slam won doubles gold with Stanislas Wawrinka in 2008 .
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(CNN) -- A Disney stunt performer died Monday night after suffering an injury during a rehearsal, company and local officials said. A performer was injured during rehearsal for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Hollywood Studios. Walt Disney World spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said the performer was injured while performing a tumbling roll for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney's Hollywood Studios, part of the Orlando, Florida, theme park. It was the third fatal incident at the park in less than two months. Earlier this month, a performer was injured in a pirate show and later died. In July, two monorail trains collided, killing a driver. "'We feel a sense of loss for these valued cast members," Suarez said. She said a review would be conducted on each incident. Performers receive extensive training, she said. The Orange County Sheriff's Department identified the performer in the latest incident as Anislav Varbanov, 30, and said he had been pronounced dead at a hospital. Watch a report on the incident » . Security personnel at Hollywood Studios called 911 Monday evening to say a cast member had suffered a head injury during the rehearsal, the sheriff's department said. No other details were given. The sheriff's department said the incident is under investigation. CNN's Carolina Sanchez contributed to this report.
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Man hurt while rehearsing for Indiana Jones stunt show at Hollywood Studios . Two people died after incidents at Orlando, Florida, theme park this summer . Sheriff's department is investigating death of Anislav Varbanov .
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(CNN) -- Newcastle's 16-year stay in the English Premier League has come to an end as a Damien Duff own goal saw them lose 1-0 at Aston Villa. Newcastle players react after Damien Duff's own goal sees them relegated from the Premier League. Duff deflected a 38th-minute shot from Gareth Barry past his own keeper Steve Harper to seal Newcastle's fate. Newcastle's misery was complete when defender David Edgar was sent off for a late challenge on England winger Ashley Young. The result meant Magpies legend Alan Shearer failed to work the miracle he was brought in to try and achieve with eight games remaining. Newcastle will be joined in the Championship by Middlesbrough, who were beaten 2-1 at West Ham and West Bromwich Albion, whose relegation was already confirmed prior to Sunday's final matches. Both Hull and Sunderland survived the drop, despite both also losing their final matches. Hull were beaten 1-0 at home by a second-string Manchester United side, while Sunderland lost 3-2 at home to Chelsea in Guus Hiddink's final game in charge of the London side. Despite escaping relegation, Sunderland manager Ricky Sbragia -- who had only been in charge for five months after Roy Keane's relegation -- announced his decision to resign at the end of their match. Meanwhile, Newcastle have paid the price for a season of instability ever since Kevin Keegan decided to quit as manager in early September and owner Mike Ashley decided to put the club up for sale. Joe Kinnear was brought in to try and rescue the situation until his heart problems terminated his involvement and led to former England and Newcastle striker Shearer getting the call. But it was always going to be an uphill task to reverse a season of under-achievement and turmoil in such a short space of time. Now Shearer has to decide whether he wants to take on the task of trying to help the Magpies regain their top flight status and is due to have talks with Ashley early next week. "It's painful and it hurts. It's been a great experience for me and in a weird way I have enjoyed it," Shearer told Sky Sports."But lets get something straight, we didn't go down because of today, but because we weren't good enough after 38 games. "Big changes need to be made at this club, players need to go and others have to arrive because, collectively, we were not good enough to survive." Newcastle's result ensured Hull stayed in the Premier League, despite their defeat against champions Manchester United. As expected, United manager Alex Ferguson put out a reserve side with one eye on Wednesday's Champions League final against Barcelona, but they still proved too strong for the home side and Darren Gibson's superb first half long-range strike proved enough for the visitors. Second-bottom Middlesbrough will join the Magpies and already-relegated West Brom in the Championship after their defeat at Upton Park. The hosts went ahead after 33 minutes when Carlton Cole sidefooted past goalkeeper Brad Jones and although Gary O'Neill hit an equalizer shortly after the break, the Hammers won the match eight minutes later through Junior Stanislas. Sunderland were the only other side in danger of getting relegated at the start of play and had other results to thank for their survival after they were beaten by Chelsea. Nicolas Anelka claimed the season's Golden Boot award in style with a wonder-strike, his 19th of the season, two minutes into the second half. Kieran Richardson took advantage of Petr Cech's fumble to level but Salomon Kalou gave the visitors the lead again in the 74th minute and Ashley Cole wrapped up the win in the final 10 minutes. Kenwyne Jones scored a late consolation goal for Sunderland, who will now be looking for a new manager following Sbragia's announcement, although the Scotsman will remain on the coaching staff. Everton finish the table in fifth place after a 2-0 victory at Fulham, who have qualified for the Europa League in seventh place despite the defeat. Leon Osman hit both goals for the Toffees, but Roy Hodgson's team retained seventh as Tottenham were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool. The hosts took the lead in the first-half thanks to Fernando Torres' header and Alan Hutton's own goal made it two after the break. Robbie Keane pulled one back against his former club with a quarter of an hour to go, but Yossi Benayoun netted Liverpool's third nine minutes from time. Elsewhere, Arsenal were in a rampant mood at the Emirates Stadium, demolishing Stoke in the first half on the way to a 4-1 victory. The Gunners opened the scoring on 10 minutes when striker James Beattie slotted the ball into his own net from Cesc Fabregas' cross. The hosts then made it 2-0 on the quarter hour when Robin van Persie was brought down by Ryan Shawcross and then converted the resulting spot-kick. Frenchman Abou Diaby headed home a a third goal two minutes later before Stoke pulled one back through a Ricardo Fuller penalty. Van Persie completed the scoring with his second of the game, taking advantage of a mistake from Rory Delap.
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Newcastle are relegated from the Premier League after 1-0 loss at Aston Villa . Damien Duff's own goal sees them lose top flight status after 16-year tenure . Middlesbrough also go down following their final day 2-1 defeat at West Ham . Hull and Sunderland both remain in Premier League despite final day defeats . Sunderland manager Ricky Sbragia announces resignation after final whistle .
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(CNN) -- The acquittal and mistrial in John Edwards' campaign finance fraud trial completes a fall from grace that transformed the man who might have been president into one of the most vilified and lampooned political figures in the country. Opinion: Edwards jury got it exactly right . The boyish-looking, smooth-talking lawyer and self-described "son of a millworker" was once known for rallying supporters with a populist mantra describing two Americas -- the haves and have-nots. Now he is best known for fathering a child in an extramarital affair while his wife Elizabeth battled incurable cancer and, according to prosecutors, scheming to use wealthy donors' money to help him cover up his affair and hide his mistress from the public. WTVD: Juror had no intention of flirting with Edwards . It was all so different five years ago, when Edwards could be heard preaching his populist prose to Iowa voters who eagerly packed into lumber barns, Veterans of Foreign Wars halls and restaurants across the state. He had every reason to believe he could be president. He felt the country would let Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, both senators at the time with presidential ambitions of their own, destroy each other with negative campaigning. John Edwards: Once a cheater, always a cheater? And if the country wasn't ready to elect a black man or a woman president, he would rise as the more experienced and safe nominee. To many voters, Edwards was a fitting candidate to live in the White House and serve as president. Instead, Edwards appeared in front of TV cameras Thursday and took responsibility for "my sins" after his federal corruption case ended in an acquittal and mistrial. Prosecutors had accused Edwards of using almost $1 million in illegal campaign contributions to keep his pregnant mistress under wraps. But after more than 50 hours of deliberations, jurors cleared him of one of six counts and deadlocked on the rest. Why politicians lie . Edwards, who turns 59 on June 10, argued that while his actions were wrong, they were not illegal. Emerging from the courthouse with his parents and daughter at his side, he said that while he never believed he committed a crime, "I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong, and there is no one else responsible for my sins." Now a widower, he is the sole caregiver to his two youngest children by his late wife -- Emma Claire, 13, and Jack, 11. The couple also raised two older children. Their son, Wade, died at age 16 in a 1996 road accident. Daughter Cate Edwards Upham attended every day of her father's four-week trial, sitting behind Edwards and next to her grandparents. Edwards charges: The rundown . Edwards also provides financial support for his daughter with Rielle Hunter, his mistress from the campaign trail during his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2008 election. A product of a working class family from South Carolina, Edwards got a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977. He became a successful trial lawyer representing claimants against large corporations and insurance companies. He won his first, and only major, political race in 1998, unseating a Republican incumbent to become a U.S. senator from North Carolina. As a senator, Edwards reportedly made it onto a list of potential running mates for Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. He didn't make the ticket that time. But before his first term ended, he was running for president and ended up as Sen. John Kerry's running mate in 2004. Kerry lost to incumbent President George W. Bush. Once running mates, Kerry and Edwards quickly severed their friendship after what was a disappointing election for Edwards. He quickly set his sights on Iowa, gearing up for another presidential bid in 2008. Edwards met Hunter in early 2006 at a bar at the Regency Hotel in New York City. Hunter approached Edwards, not believing it was him. Later that evening, Edwards and Hunter met again, privately. Overheard on CNN.com: 'Being a slimy dirtbag doesn't equal being a criminal' The man who constantly spoke about two Americas began living two lives. The 40-something Hunter told Edwards that she could help his campaign. Edwards hired her to produce a few videos that would present the politician in a more relaxed manner. The videos were called "webisodes" and were posted to Edwards' campaign site. However, instead of showing Edwards in a new light, the flirtatious on-camera banter only highlighted just how close Edwards and Hunter had become. Staffers began to suspect that Hunter had become more than a videographer to Edwards. That thought was fueled by Edwards' directive that Hunter be allowed to travel with him whenever either of them insisted. Josh Brumberger was Edwards' chief of staff during the time Hunter traveled with the campaign. On several occasions, he talked to Edwards about Hunter's involvement with the campaign. One heated altercation ended with Edwards firing Brumberger, and by the fall of 2006, several longtime senior aides left the campaign amid Edwards' refusal to end his relationship with Hunter, as detailed in "Game Change," the book about the 2008 election. On December 28, 2006, Edwards launched his presidential campaign in New Orleans against the backdrop of a city trying to rebuild and revive itself. He vowed to strengthen the middle class, progressively end poverty and tackle the longstanding Democratic health care platform. But just as the campaign got off the ground, it hit turbulence. In March 2007, Elizabeth Edwards announced she had breast cancer for the second time, and it was incurable. Still, they decided to continue with the campaign. And in the weeks after the devastating discovery, internal campaign polling showed Edwards surging ahead of rivals Clinton and Obama in Iowa. Meanwhile, Hunter had become pregnant. And to complicate things, Edwards was swimming in a pool of bad press -- he had received $400 haircuts and had made a six-figure salary working for a hedge fund that was linked to subprime lending and foreclosed homes. Enter Rachel "Bunny" Mellon. The wealthy banking heiress and widow who was once a close friend of Jacqueline Kennedy had been a supporter of Edwards since the 2004 election. After already contributing to Edwards the maximum allowed by law, Mellon provided additional money. According to court documents, between June 2007 and January 2008, Mellon allegedly wrote personal checks payable to a friend, hiding that she was giving money to Edwards. The checks were made out to the wife of Edwards aide Andrew Young, in her maiden name, and were deposited into accounts controlled by her and Young. As Edwards and Young planned, Young allegedly used the money to provide Hunter with rent, furniture, care, living expenses, medical visits and prenatal care. In total, the now 101-year-old Mellon gave Edwards seven checks ranging from $10,000 to $200,000. On October 10, 2007, the National Enquirer ran its first story saying Edwards was having an affair. The next day while campaigning in Summerton, South Carolina, Edwards denied the report, calling it "tabloid trash." With tabloid reporters and photographers chasing Hunter and publishing photos of her pregnant, a second wealthy donor came forward. Fred Baron, a wealthy Texas lawyer who is now deceased, was the national finance chair of the campaign. Court documents show that from December 2007 to January 2008, Baron allegedly wrote nine checks ranging from $9,000 to $58,000. The money was used for Young to hide a pregnant Hunter from the media, as he falsely claimed paternity for her child. Baron's money was used to charter a private jet for trips to Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Aspen, Colorado; San Diego and Santa Barbara, California. Things weren't faring better for Edwards on the campaign trail. He placed second in the Iowa caucuses, and following disappointing losses in New Hampshire and South Carolina, he ended his campaign for president on January 30, 2008. Amid rumors in Democratic circles that he was secretly trying to broker a deal for vice president or attorney general in a Clinton or Obama administration, reporters remained persistent and continued to ask Edwards if he was having an affair. In February 2008, Hunter's and Edwards' child was born. Six months later, after repeated denials, Edwards admitted he had an affair with Hunter in an August 8 interview with ABC. When asked in the interview if he was the father of Hunter's child, he responded, "That is absolutely not true." While his name was not on the birth certificate, Edwards would eventually claim paternity and apologize for denying the baby was his child. In February 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice acknowledged they had opened an investigation on Edwards regarding campaign finances. By this point, his more than 30-year marriage was falling apart. John and Elizabeth separated and lived apart until Elizabeth Edwards succumbed to breast cancer weeks before Christmas in 2010, with Edwards and their oldest daughter, Cate, at her bedside. For Edwards, life got worse. After testimony from a cast of former staffers, including Hunter and Young -- the latter having published a scandalous tell-all book -- a grand jury indicted Edwards on June 3, 2011. Edwards refused a plea bargain that would have given him a few months in prison but would have allowed him to keep his law license.
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Once a Democratic star, John Edwards fell from grace after an affair . His trial on campaign finance charges wrapped up Thursday . Edwards' affair with a campaign videographer ended his political career . The former vice presidential candidate once had his eyes on the White House .
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(CNN) -- Venezuela's president has spoken with embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi about a proposal to bring an international mediation team to Libya, Venezuela's information minister confirmed Wednesday. The two leaders conversed Tuesday, Minister Andrez Izarra said in a post on his Twitter account. "All the contacts that Venezuela is making with the Arab world and the entire world is for peace in Libya. Tomorrow new developments," the tweet read. Earlier this week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the United States' criticisms of Gadhafi had a clear aim: military invasion. "Let's not get carried away by the drums of war, because the United States, I am sure that they are exaggerating and distorting things to justify an invasion," Chavez said Monday, according to Venezuelan state media. The United States has said all options are on the table. Speaking in Caracas Monday, Chavez proposed sending an international committee to Libya to mediate and help develop a peaceful solution to unrest in the North African country. "Instead of sending marines and tanks and planes, why don't we send a goodwill commission to try to help so that they do not continue killing in Libya? They are our brothers," he said in a speech televised on the government-run network. Chavez and Gadhafi have a close relationship, having bonded partly over shared opposition to U.S. global influence. At a lavish Tripoli celebration commemorating 40 years of Gadhafi's leadership in 2009, the two leaders sat side-by-side during a two-hour military parade. That same year, a new football stadium in Benghazi was named after the Venezuelan leader. As rumors swirled about Gadhafi and his whereabouts last week, some suggested that he may be en route to Venezuela. Those reports proved to be false; the Libyan leader later spoke publicly in his country's capital. But the close ties between the two leaders remain strong. On Monday, Chavez said Gadhafi "has been my friend and our friend for a long time" in remarks broadcast on Venezuelan state television. "We must be cautious. We know what our policy is: we do not support invasions, or massacres, or anything, no matter who does it. But there is no doubt that, regarding Libya, a campaign of lies is being woven -- the same that has been woven about Venezuela for a long time," he said. The U.N. Security Council over the weekend voted for tough restrictions and possible war crimes charges against the Libyan regime. CNN's Nelson Quinones and journalist Osmary Hernandez Sosa contributed to this report.
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The Venezuelan leader proposes sending a goodwill commission to mediate in Libya . "Let's not get carried away by the drums of war," Chavez says . Gadhafi and Chavez have a close relationship . Chavez claims "a campaign of lies is being woven" about Libya .
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(CNN) -- Hundred's of fans and former teammates of Robert Enke gathered to lay flowers and light candles outside of Hannover 96's Niedersachsen Stadion after the club's German goalkeeper was struck and killed by a train on Tuesday, in what police called an apparent suicide. Enke, 32, died around 6:25 p.m. (12:25 p.m. ET), Hannover police press officer Stefan Wittke said in a statement. "Preliminary police investigations indicate a suicide," Wittke said. Police did not elaborate on what evidence they had that pointed to suicide, but Enke's close friend and advisor Jorg Neblung told the official Web site of football's world governing body FIFA: "I can confirm that it was suicide. Robert took his own life shortly before six o'clock." The team's official Web site has been converted into a single-page memorial. Enke captained Hannover 96, a team who currently lie tenth in Germany's Bundesliga top division, and had been capped by his national side eight times after making his debut aged 29. The shot-stopper had also appeared for teams including Carl Zeiss Jena, Borussia Monchengladbach, Benfica, Barcelona, Fenerbahce and Tenerife in Spain. His teammates were stunned by news of his death. "We are in a state of shock," said team manager Oliver Bierhoff in a statement from the German Football Federation. "It is beyond words." The German Football Federation (DFB) said Enke always said he wanted to play for the national team at the 2010 World Cup. Soccer commentator and journalist Rafael Honigstein told CNN International that Enke was on course to be picked as the number-one choice for the team. Enke had missed Germany's last four matches because of a bacterial infection, but had recently returned to action with Hannover. "The leadership of the German national team never had any doubt that he was important for the team both as a goalkeeper and as a human being," the DFB statement said. Enke is survived by his wife and eight-month-old daughter, who the couple adopted. The couple's two-year-old daughter died in 2006 from a heart condition, and Honigstein said the loss of his child had taken a toll on Enke. "It's been well documented that he had a tough time," Honigstein said. "People knew it was a terrible, terrible tragedy for him." "I don't know why and how this happened," said Martin Kind, the chairman of Hannover 96. "It is a total catastrophe. I am finding it hard to understand. All I can say for sure is that it had nothing to do with football." Fellow players said they believed that Enke had been suffering depression. "He was unstable," said Mr Kind. "But he kept it under wraps." The coach of Germany's national team, Joachim Lowe, had been preparing his squad for their friendly game against Chile this weekend. The DFB have not yet confirmed whether the game would still be played. A press conference is due to be held by the DFB at 1130 GMT, while Hannover 96 will speak to the media at 1200 GMT on Wednesday. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen contributed to this report.
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Germany international footballer Robert Enke has died at the age of 32 at a rail crossing . Police say that the Hannover goalkeeper's death was apparent suicide . He won eight caps for Germany and was expected to be in squad for the 2010 World Cup finals .
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(CNN) -- Five men in El Salvador, including a police officer, were arrested Wednesday in connection with the killing last week of French filmmaker and photographer Christian Poveda, the country's attorney general's office said. Two of five men arrested Wednesday in connection with the killing of French filmmaker Christian Poveda. A sixth man who allegedly ordered the murder was already in prison, according to a statement from the agency. Poveda -- who recently finished a documentary about a violent street gang, part of the Mara 18 gang in El Salvador -- was found shot dead in the town of Tonacatepeque, about 10 miles northeast of the capital, San Salvador, on September 2, authorities said. Four of those arrested were members of the same Mara 18 gang that was the subject of Poveda's film, the attorney general's office said. National Civil Police Officer Juan Napoleon Espinoza also was arrested, it said. Poveda's documentary, "La Vida Loca," which follows the lives of members of the Mara 18 gang, had been screened at a handful of film festivals and is slated for wider release later this month. His body was found in an area controlled by that same gang, local reports said.
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5 men in El Salvador arrested in killing of French filmmaker Christian Poveda . A sixth man who allegedly ordered the murder was already in prison, officials said . Poveda recently finished a documentary about a violent street gang in El Salvador . Poveda found shot dead in town of Tonacatepeque, on September 2, officials said .
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(CNN) -- McDonald's probably won't be exclaiming "I'm Lovin' It" in this case. McCurry restaurant owners A.M.S.P Suppiah and his wife Kanageswary Suppiah. In a David-and-Goliath match-up in the world of fast food, McCurry -- a small Indian curry shop in Malaysia -- has won an eight-year legal battle against the hamburger giant. McDonald's claimed that the prefix "Mc" in McCurry trampled on its trademark. The country's Federal Court on Tuesday ruled that it didn't. "We're very relieved -- much, much relieved -- that this eight-year-old saga is finally over," said McCurry owner P. Suppiah. "We're a typical South Asian-Malay cuisine. No way people walking into McCurry can confuse us with McDonald's." The sparse 24/7 self-service restaurant in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, is popular with blue-collar workers who are drawn to its affordable fare, such as biryani rice and fishhead curry. Its logo: a chicken flashing a thumbs-up. The eatery opened in 1999. McDonald's filed suit two years later. "We were shocked that such a big giant wants to take us to court," Suppiah said. "We felt that we had nothing in common, because we were not selling any Western fast food." The hamburger chain, which has 185 restaurants throughout Malaysia, said McCurry was violating the prefix "Mc" and that McDonald's had the right to protect it. McCurry, in turn, said the prefix is common and is part of last names all across Europe. Furthermore, it said, the "Mc" in McCurry stands for "Malaysian Chicken Curry." A lower court ruled in favor of McDonald's, and Suppiah appealed. An appeals court in 2006 overturned that ruling, prompting McDonald's to appeal this time. On Tuesday, the Federal Court -- the highest in the land -- held up the appeals court ruling. McDonald's said it accepts the judgment. "We respect the finding of the court and beyond that have no further comment," said Liam Jeory of McDonald's Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region. Suppiah said the ruling means he can now add other McCurry locations, with its slogan: "Tasty and so Gooood."
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David-and-Goliath match-up in fast food world sees McCurry defeat McDonald's . McDonald's claimed that the "Mc" in McCurry trampled on its trademark . McCurry owner P. Suppiah: "We're very relieved -- much, much relieved"
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(CNN) -- A Massachusetts husband and wife were each sentenced to prison Monday after being found guilty last month of raping their two adopted children. Joseph Mayotte, 50, sexually abused his daughter over a five-year span, starting when she was 8, according to a news release from prosecutor Joseph D. Early Jr. Mayotte was convicted in August on 11 charges -- including rape of a child aggravated by age difference -- and was sentenced Monday to 16 to 20 years in prison. His wife, Linda Mayotte, was convicted on 19 charges -- including three counts of rape of a child -- and sentenced from 18 to 22 years behind bars. The 49-year-old became pregnant with her adopted son's child when he was only 15, according to Paul Jarvey of the Worcester County District Attorney's Office. It was a pregnancy she carried to term, Jarvey said. "Let them burn in hell," is what the son, now 21, said of his former parents in an impact statement read in court today, according to Jarvey. The Mayottes, who lived in the central Massachusetts town of Northbridge, were arrested in 2009. The two adopted children -- along with the child to whom Linda Mayotte gave birth -- were adopted by other families. "Their trust was broken by these two predators," Early's statement said. "Now, justice has been served." Man abducts, rapes three teens over ten years .
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Joseph and Linda Mayotte of Massachusetts were convicted last month . Prosecutor says Linda Mayotte became pregnant by her adoptive son, who was 15 . He faces 16 to 20 years in prison; she faces 18 to 22 years . Now 21, the adoptive son reportedly said in court: 'Let them burn in hell'
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(CNN) -- You may not know Trevor Jones by name but chances are you are familiar with his work. The South African composer is the man behind movie soundtracks such as 'Last of the Mohicans' and 'In the Name of the Father.' In a career spanning more than 30 years, he has composed more than 100 original scores for Hollywood blockbusters and popular TV programs. But Jones ultimate career success and critical acclaim masks a journey to the top was far from run of the mill. As a mixed-race child growing up in Apartheid South Africa, he spent the formative years of his life in Cape Town's infamous District 6 neighborhood. "It was a very violent area," says Jones of his early home. "It was a place (with) so many nationalities and so many people from so many parts of the world. See also: American opera singer finds African soul . Times were tough but such a racially disparate backdrop ensured the young Jones was exposed to a rich symphony of culture and musical influences. He has kept these sounds and inspirations with him as professional career has developed. "My tastes cover every style from medieval through classical, avant-garde, folk and ethnic, jazz, rock and pop," he says. Below, Jones has selected a small sample of the musicians and artists that have inspired him on his way to becoming one of Hollywood's leading composers. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika . First composed by a school teacher in Johannesburg over 100 years ago, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika is one of the two songs (along with Die Stem van Suid-Afrika) that make up South Africa's hybrid national anthem. The original hymn became synonymous with African liberation and was itself adopted as the national song of Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Namibia and Zimbabwe however have since adopted alternative musical pieces for their national anthems. "I cannot help but feel the hairs rise on the back of my neck whenever I join in the singing of Nkosi Sikelel 'iAfrika, says Jones. Being a South African, "this music has obvious deep significance for me." Sir Edward Elgar . In a musical career that spanned the best part of the Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian eras, Sir Edward Elgar created some of the most enduring music of his time. The English composer was one of the first to experiment with the gramophone and is credited with inspiring a renaissance in British classical music. See also: The man who brought MTV to Africa . His extensive body of work continues to capture the imagination and admiration of Jones. "I listen to the works of Sir Edward Elgar on a regular basis to inspire me and to marvel at his mastery and skill as a composer which transcends the creation of sounds and becomes a direct emotional line to his audience." "'Elegy', ('Sospiri') and 'Introduction and Allegro' are just three of the wonderfully inspirational works on the album 'A portrait of Elgar,'" says Jones. Hugh Masekela . "The man and his music is an inspiration to us all," says Jones of South African jazz multi-instrumentalist and singer, Hugh Masekela. Equally comfortable on the trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn and trombone, Masekela has sold millions of records around the world and collaborated with rock luminaries such as The Byrds and Paul Simon. He also penned the 1987 hit single "Bring Him Back Home," which became a rallying cry for the free Nelson Mandela movement, then still imprisoned on Robben Island. "Any of his albums from 'Hope' and 'Home is where the Music is' to 'African Breeze' is testament to one of Africa's greatest musicians and role models," says Jones. Ariel Ramirez . A native music of an altogether different kind is that of Ariel Ramirez. The Argentine composer, music director and pianist is generally regarded as one of the chief exponents of his country's folk genre. Jones highlights Ramirez's Misa Criolla as an extended piece of music that strikes a particular chord as well as other works such as Navidad Nuestra. See also: Somalian rapper Knaan makes songs in key of love . Both are featured on Miss Criolla - Navidad Nuestra - Navidad Verano, a year 2000 record cited by Jones that saw Ramirez perform alongside Spanish tenor Jose Carreras and the Grupo Huracana ensemble. Bernard Herrmann . A man Jones would have been more than content to call a contemporary, Bernard Herrmann is the composer behind the music of many of twentieth-century's most iconic movies. He died in 1975 but worked closely with legendary directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and Martin Scorcese. Scores for the likes of Citizen Kane, Psycho and Taxi Driver are just a few works from his vast oeuvre. "Herrmann's work is always superbly crafted imbuing the films with an intensely atmospheric musical structure without ever mickey-mousing the action." "The sheer craftsmanship of the writing and the quality of the musical ideas elevate beyond measure the films that were fortunate enough to be scored by him." How does the soundtrack of your life compare to the great Trevor Jones? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Trevor Jones is a South African composer renowned for his movie scores . In a 30-year career he has been involved in over 100 film or television soundtracks . Some of his most popular scores include "Last of the Mohicans" and "In the Name of the Father"
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MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- In response to a spate of attacks allegedly by a drug cartel, Mexico more than tripled the number of federal police officers patrolling the state of Michoacan, a government spokeswoman said. Drug violence is up in Michoacan state, shown by recent attacks on police in at least a half-dozen cities. The government on Thursday dispatched 1,000 federal police officers to Michoacan state in southwest Mexico, increasing its presence to 1,300 total, Public Safety spokeswoman Veronica Penunuri told CNN. At least 18 federal agents and two soldiers have been killed since the weekend in Michoacan, the home state of President Felipe Calderon. The sudden spike in violence followed the arrest Saturday of Arnoldo Rueda Medina, whom authorities described as a high-ranking member of the drug cartel known as La Familia Michoacana. Cartel members first attacked the federal police station in Morelia to try to gain freedom for Rueda, authorities said. When that failed, drug gangs attacked federal police installations in at least a half-dozen Michoacan cities, according to authorities. The Michoacan cartel also is accused in the slaying of 12 federal police officers whose bodies were found Tuesday on a remote highway. Video from the scene showed three signs, known as narcomensajes, left by the killers. They all stated the same thing: "So that you come for another. We will be waiting for you here." Since Calderon went after the drug cartels shortly after coming into office in 2006, more than 10,000 people have died across Mexico, about 1,000 of them police. The state of Michoacan, on Mexico's southwest Pacific coast, is not alone in the wave of violence sweeping the country. The border city of Ciudad Juarez set a record this weekend when its toll of drug-related deaths for the year topped 1,000, a distinction the Mexican city did not reach last year until September.
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Mexican government responding to a spate of deadly attacks in Michoacan . The number of federal police officers patrolling the state has more than tripled . Sudden spike in violence follows arrest Saturday of high-ranking drug cartel member . La Familia Michoacana accused in the slayings of 12 federal police officers .
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(CNN) -- As recently as six years ago, it was conventional wisdom among lawyers, legislators and policy advocates that the states had no role in setting immigration policy. Since then, there has been a federalist revolution of historic proportions. One-third of the states now mandate that some employers enroll in the federal employment verification program, E-Verify. Seven states require it of all but the smallest employers. Five have enacted policing laws similar to Arizona's SB 1070 that allow local police to inquire about the immigration status of people they stop for other reasons who they suspect are in the country illegally. No wonder the Supreme Court is weighing in, hearing arguments this week on the Justice Department's challenge to SB 1070. Refereeing turf battles between Washington and the states is one of the court's first responsibilities. But something is troubling. The court is considering and will eventually rule on one very particular, polarizing state stratagem. That doesn't come across as impartial refereeing. Whatever the outcome, it will feel like judges making policy -- either endorsing or outlawing police questions about immigration status. If the justices are going to encourage federalism, I'd like to see them encourage it more evenhandedly, opening the way to a broader array of state initiatives, including those that go beyond enforcement. Those who want Washington to make immigration policy have a hundred years of history and a raft of persuasive arguments on their side. The Constitution reserves some powers for Congress: naturalization and, by extension, determining who and how many immigrants we admit. Federal law carves out other areas, including most worksite enforcement. And sheer practicality argues for one national policy on the border. But after five years of federal paralysis, with Washington still unable to act to fix the immigration system, it's understandable that states have been taking matters into their own hands. The laws have come in waves: One state tries something, others follow. The first waves were all enforcement measures: voters and lawmakers trying anything to get control, first by regulating landlords, then limiting hiring, then using local police and even public school teachers to inquire about people's immigration status. But recently, a handful of states have tried to go beyond enforcement. Utah pioneered the new path. Three-part legislation passed in spring 2011 combined an Arizona-like policing measure with a state-run guest worker program to bring in legal workers from Mexico, plus an initiative to grant work permits to unauthorized immigrants already living and working in Utah. This year, lawmakers in five other states as different as Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Vermont and California floated similar worker authorization bills. Legislators in many states express interest in guest worker programs. It's not just immigrant rights advocates who are driving the measures -- many are backed by surprising coalitions. In some instances, business is engaged. Even in the downturn, farmers, nonfarm seasonal employers and other industries that rely on physical labor need immigrants to do jobs for which there are few willing and able Americans. In some states, the sponsors are pragmatic conservatives. Republican state Sen. Curt Bramble of Utah is as eager as Arizona's enforcement-minded sheriffs to get control of illegal immigration. But Bramble believes it will take a combination of enforcement and realism about the unauthorized population. "Most aren't going home," he says, "no matter what we do. And the states are stuck with the costs. We have to educate, medicate and incarcerate them. But we can't let them work. It's the biggest unfunded mandate in history." What's different in the states is that this kind of pragmatism can break through, and lawmakers aren't afraid to try experiments, even unlikely bipartisan experiments like Utah's worker authorization program. The problem for Utah is that the Obama administration, determined to limit states' rights and keep the lid on state immigration enforcement, hasn't let the state implement any of its initiatives. Unlike states pursuing enforcement alone, states seeking to combine enforcement with other measures can't simply take matters into their own hands. A state-run guest worker program can't bring legal workers across the border without cooperation from federal authorities. And without permission from Washington, a state-run worker authorization initiative would leave employers and employees dangerously vulnerable to federal immigration enforcement. The result is a dramatic asymmetry in the experiments in immigration policy being conducted in the laboratories of democracy. It's no accident that the Supreme Court, which many observers see as inclined to encourage state initiatives, is about to consider the merits of yet another enforcement measure. How do we get off this narrow path? How do we break the logjam where Congress is paralyzed, creative state lawmakers are stymied and the only people implementing new immigration policy are those seeking to use draconian enforcement to drive immigrants out of the United States -- a theory known as attrition through enforcement? Personally, I hope the Supreme Court will strike down the Arizona law and put the responsibility back on Congress' shoulders. But if it doesn't -- if the justices decide to empower the states -- I hope they and the administration will open the door as widely as possible, with the court ruling broadly to free the states, and the administration cooperating with some constructive state experiments. As many state lawmakers are starting to grasp, the best antidote to illegal immigration is a legal immigration system that works. Let them experiment -- as freely as possible. Over time, their experimentation just may point the way for Congress. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Tamar Jacoby .
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Tamar Jacoby: In recent years many states have taken issue of immigration into their own hands . She says when Supreme Court rules on SB 1070 it will be making a judgment on federalism . She says states that have tried pragmatic approaches run up against federal immigration law . Jacoby: SB 1070 should fall, but if not, ruling should let states experiment on immigration policy .
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Broad Channel, New York (CNN) -- Power lines crackled in the solid black night as the Atlantic Ocean rushed ashore. A sandy strip of a neighborhood called Broad Channel was about to go underwater. "We're gonna drown if this goes any higher!" Karen Panetta remembers yelling to her four children. Superstorm Sandy hit a year ago this week, shocking this tiny community with its force. On one side of Broad Channel, the ocean poured through homes and met Jamaica Bay on the other side. The Panettas' home was right in the middle. But one glimmer of hope emerged from that dark and scary night: A hero was born. "I jumped into the water and went for help," said Ryan Panetta, 13 at the time. He swam like a little fish to the neighbors' homes looking for people. His mother remembers how the little kids were screaming with fear. She pulled them atop a bed but the water was rising too high. Ryan finally found someone on the second floor of a neighbor's house. He swam back with them through the debris, he said, "not even thinking about what I was doing but just about my family." Everyone got out alive. They laughed later that he'd made time to pull on his swim trunks. "It's hard to explain how you feel about your son after that," Karen said a year later. "I'm so proud of him. Even more after what he's endured ever since." Ryan's exploits have become a footnote to his endurance, a high point at the beginning of his journey from heroism to heartache. In the days after Sandy, he and his family evacuated to temporary housing an hour away in downtown Brooklyn. His storied community was a wreck. Broad Channel has been home to New York's rescue workers -- firefighters, police, military and medical -- for generations; getaway neighborhoods of beach bungalows converted into permanent homes. It sits along the Rockaway Peninsula, which juts into the Atlantic Ocean with majestic views of Manhattan's signature skyline. Dee Dee Ramone, who combed its beaches here as a child, famously sang about "Rock Rock Rockaway Beach." The sun is out, I want some . It's not hard, not far to reach . We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach . In the days after Sandy crashed ashore, the sun did seem out of reach. The historic community was awash with water from a bay, an ocean and even a massive sewage treatment plant that overflowed into Ryan's school, Scholars' Academy. It was one of the worst hit among the 1,750 schools so badly damaged by Sandy that the New York City school system -- the nation's largest -- closed for several days for the first time in recent memory. Immediately after the storm, Ryan's house looked fine from the outside, though a boat had floated onto the adjacent lawn. But inside, a lifetime of memories were soaked with saltwater, the foundation was soggy and the walls were quickly crawling with mold. A family home rebuilt, then destroyed . Despite the damage, it was the Panetta family's lifelong home, so they began rebuilding at once. The family moved to a temporary apartment in Brooklyn where Ryan and his two brothers and sister would rise before dawn for a trip to the closest school bus stop, where private bus companies had been enlisted to fill in for the 300 lost in the storm. A half-hour later, the children were sitting in workrooms and auditoriums and even hallways, crammed into every available space in already crowded schools around the city that had welcomed 73,000 displaced kids. When school wrapped at 3 p.m., they would make an hourlong commute to their wounded home, pulling out dirty wet clothes, useless appliances and furniture, and photo memories that would never be recovered. The Panetta family wasn't alone: More than half the Scholars' Academy students had also lost homes, even the principal and many of the teachers. "It was heartbreaking to watch that kid and so many others," said Principal Brian O'Connell, who also lost his home. "But they remained so resilient." 7 years to build Scholars' Academy, 15 minutes to destroy it . "It's just too much," Ryan said one day, breaking into tears at his desk in the temporary school. The teachers did their best to not miss a beat, but scattered friends and families, lost notebooks and lost books crippled the learning process for Ryan. He feared he might not keep up. Then 2013 rolled around and Ryan had "the best day ever" when the Scholar's Academy reopened, with students wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the words, "Rockaway Resilient." With the ups came the downs. Six months after Ryan and his family started banging away at new wall supports and installing drywall in their wounded home, the city condemned the house and the menacing claws of a giant excavator chewed Ryan's birthplace to pieces. "I would want to be here to see it but I didn't know it was going to be so tough," said Ryan, as machinery put an end to efforts to save their family home. Sandy bringing down homes, families vow to be back . As the family began the process of building a new home on their now vacant lot, the obstacles they faced were substantial. "The city required us to have two trees in place for a year before we could start unless we got an exemption. The new flood maps require us to build 10 feet over the sidewalk with at least a 5 foot foundation with flood vents," Karen Panetta said. New flood maps issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency aimed to prepare for another big storm by stepping up building requirements in areas likely to flood. New homes had to be built higher and stronger and the Panetta family was among those who didn't know where they would get the money. The Panettas were among the New Yorkers who applied for assistance from the federal "Build it Back" program. The federal government had allocated $648 million to the city for housing, but almost none of the money has reached the 24,000 people who registered for the program. This week, the federal government allocated another $650 million to the program and announced the first recipient. "They are taking such a long time and we are $100,000 short of money to rebuild," said Karen Panetta, her voice cracking with frustration. "We're going to put up whatever we can put up, rebuild whatever we can, grab money paycheck to paycheck," she said. "We can't wait. We want to come home." A new beginning . Plan A for the Panettas is to buy an inexpensive modular home, which comes without a kitchen, flooring or appliances. "That is what we opted for since we would run out of money and we wanted to at least get a home rebuilt," Karen Panetta explained. "It is those things along with front steps and back steps that we will have to still work on, along with the plumbing and electrical hookups." She said the family has spent additional funds to meet the new building codes, including having a fire sprinkler system inside the house and other pricey extras that they did not expect when they filed with their insurance after the storm. "The house has to be Energy Star rated, which was an increase in the cost to rebuild as well -- all things not taken into consideration when the insurance company is paying out," she said. They hit another hurdle this week, when the city rejected their architect's plans. The family believes a few revisions will get them approval. They are living in rented housing paid for by an assistance program. Karen Panetta said she avoids visiting the spot where they used to live, an empty lot punctuated by a single mailbox. The children have only gone back once in many months, to pose for a picture for this article. "All that we can hope for is that a storm like this never comes this way again," she said. "The only thing I'm sure of is that me and the kids will never, never, ever be in this home again when a storm is on the way." Ryan, now 14, expresses his frustration to his family daily, even as he brings home high grades and a perfect attendance record. He set up his own paper route and signed up 38 customers, insistent that he would help his family with money. "He wants his home back just like we all do," Karen Panetta said. "I truly thought things would move quicker. There are days when we are just angry at the whole system and think something has just failed us." Then, just as she and her husband and children begin to fall into a state of dark despair, their glimmer of hope shines again. Ryan was recently awarded a medal of honor from the Boy Scouts of America, something given rarely. It was to applaud him for risking his life to save others. They posted a video on YouTube about his exploits. "The motto is 'Be prepared,'" said Ryan. "Which really helps, because you never know what life is going to throw at you." Or what one teenage boy will throw back.
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Ryan Panetta, now 14, helped save his family when Superstorm Sandy hit last year . He also helped his family rebuild the family home . The house was condemned and torn down . Now the family is struggling to build a new home that meets strict codes .
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(CNN) -- Didier Drogba is backing his Ivory Coast team to make history by becoming the first African country to reach the final of the World Cup next year. Drogba is contemplating a big challenge by the Ivory Coast in South Africa. The Chelsea striker scored the decisive goal as the Elephants sealed their place in South Africa with a 1-1 draw against Malawi on Saturday, but he is now looking ahead to the finals with relish. "It is going to be a challenge," the 31-year-old told reporters. "To make it to the final will not be easy because there are great teams like Brazil and Germany who have won the World Cup for many years. "But my teammates and I want to make history and want to change the way the world sees African football. Can an African team win the World Cup next year ? "I hope that we'll be the team that is going to go to the final and win the competition." Ivory Coast have joined Ghana as definite qualifiers from Africa, with three other places up for grabs in the final round of matches in November. Drogba is one of several stars in the Ivorian squad with Champions League experience, including Barcelona's Yaya Toure who is anxious to erase memories of their failure to qualify from the group stages in the 2006 finals in Germany. "At the last World Cup we played really well in Germany, but we were unlucky because we were in a very tough group with Argentina and Holland and so went out in the first round," he said. "But I think with this kind of experience, it will be possible at South Africa 2010 to do much better. Perhaps we can make the quarterfinals and then semifinals, this is something we can achieve." Coach Vahid Halilhodzic is also upbeat after seeing his side fight back from a goal down against Malawi to top African Group E. "We are very proud to participate in the World Cup for the second consecutive time and this time it is going to be better," he added.
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Didier Drogba targets World Cup glory with African powerhouses Ivory Coast . Drogba scored crucial goal as Ivory Coast clinched qualification for South Africa . Ivory Coast exited in group stages at the World Cup finals in Germany in 2006 .
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Madrid (CNN) -- The first day of the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona on Thursday was a swift race through old town for hundreds of runners trying to stay a step ahead of the raging bulls, but just four runners went to the hospital with injuries, officials said. Commentators on Spanish state television TVE considered it a relatively safe start to the dangerous annual tradition in Pamplona, which has tallied thousands of injuries and 15 deaths since record-keeping began in 1924, including the fatal goring of a Spanish man in 2009. The run in Pamplona started 400 years ago and became popular worldwide after author Ernest Hemingway wrote about it in the 1920s in his book "The Sun Also Rises," also published under the title "Fiesta." It is now broadcast live across Spain by state television TVE, which pays Pamplona for exclusive rights, and positions some 20 cameras along the course. A Red Cross official at the scene initially said just one runner went to the hospital, but the Navarra regional government issued a medical report later showing that four male runners were taken to hospitals. The most seriously injured was a 40-year-old Spanish man who suffered broken ribs and a fractured shoulder blade and remained hospitalized later Thursday. The other three were released from the hospital hours after arriving. They included two Spaniards, one with bruised ribs and the other with an eye injury, and a Panamanian man, 35, with a nose injury. Television images showed numerous runners falling hard to the pavement and the bulls trying to step over them. Most of the runners were men, mainly dressed in the traditional white outfits with red handkerchiefs, but there was also a small number of women. The six bulls were from the Torrestrella breeding ranch and weigh between 470 kgs to 635 kgs (about 1,034 pounds to 1,397 pounds). Accompanied by a pack of tame steers, they exited the corral just 10 seconds after the opening rocket was fired to signal the start of the run. They moved quickly along the 825-meter (902 yard) course, and it took two minutes and 30 seconds until the bulls reached the corrals of the bull ring. The bulls face certain death against matadors in a bullfight later in the day. Pamplona's new mayor, Enrique Maya, told TVE just before the race that he had never run. He said he watched it from one of the numerous balconies along the course, which are filled with local residents or visitors, the latter typically paying top dollar for a safe vantage point. The daily run continues for eight days, through July 14, at 8 a.m. (2 a.m. ET). It is the highlight of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona that attracts hundreds of thousands to the nonstop fiesta.
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NEW: Four runners go to the hospital with injuries . Numerous runners fall hard as the bulls try to step over them . Hundreds of thousands expected at nonstop festival in Pamplona .
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Los Angeles (CNN) -- Slain Santa Monica gunman John Zawahri left behind a note on his body apologizing for killing his father and his brother and hoping his father's estate would support his mother, police said Friday. Zawahri, 23, who lived with his father in a house that was also set afire, wrote a three- to four-page handwritten letter in which he spent a "larger" measure of it saying good-bye to his friends than talking about his family, police said. Authorities described the tone of the letter as "conversational talk" without "overall hatred to anything," a police spokesman said. "He was sorry for having killed his father. He was sorry for having killed his brother, that he hoped his mother would be looked after financially and that she would receive financial recompense from the father's estate, and he said goodbye to his friends," said Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said. "It was more of a farewell," Seabrooks added. Santa Monica shooting survivor: 'Thank God, I'm alive' No motive to his alleged shooting -- in which a total of five people were killed -- was given in the note, she said. Police revealed Friday that Zawahri tried a buy a weapon in 2011, but the U.S. Justice Department issued a notice stating that Zawahri was ineligible to buy a firearm. Seabrooks said the Justice Department denial "may have something to do with our contact with him in 2006, but I'm not sure." Police had contact with Zawahri in 2006, but because he was a juvenile then, authorities weren't releasing further information, the chief said. Zawahri had suffered mental health issues, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN last week. A couple of years ago, he was hospitalized for treatment after allegedly talking about harming someone, according to the official. It's not clear whether the California state government or his family committed him for treatment or whether he committed himself. It's also unclear under what circumstances he was released. Zawahri used firearm components to construct a rifle that is illegal to possess, Seabrooks said Friday. Shooting takes 5 lives . He allegedly fired 100 or fewer rounds during a shooting rampage across Santa Monica, adjacent to Los Angeles, that ended at the Santa Monica College, where police shot him to death, authorities said. He was armed with multiple guns and about 1,300 rounds of ammunition, police said. When asked where or how Zawahri obtained the firearms used in the shootings -- especially after the Justice Department deemed him ineligible to buy weapons -- Santa Monica Police Sgt. Richard Lewis stated: "That is a part of the investigation that we will not disclose." His father and brother died of gunshot wounds, and their bodies were found in the back of the father's Santa Monica house, a police spokesman said. Their bodies were identifiable, "and it's not that they were burned beyond recognition," the chief said. Neighbors said the parents were divorced. The mother has spoken with investigators, but the police chief didn't elaborate further. Zawahri was unemployed and hadn't attended Santa Monica College, where his shooting rampage ended, since 2010, a police spokesman said Friday. Gunman previously hospitalized for mental health .
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Police aren't disclosing how Zawahri obtained guns used in rampage . Slain gunman John Zawahri hopes his father's estate will support his mother . The handwritten letter "was more of a farewell," police chief says . U.S. Justice Department said he was ineligible to buy a weapon in 2011, police say .
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than 33,000 items of old denim -- jeans, hats and jackets -- were sent to Washington in a recycling effort that will benefit disaster-struck homes, officials said. Erek Hansen donated five pairs of his own outgrown jeans to the cause and collected almost 1,700 pairs. National Geographic Kids magazine encouraged readers to donate their old denim instead of throwing it away. The resulting 33,088 pieces of denim clothing set a world record, verified Wednesday by a representative from Guinness World Records, according to the magazine's blog. The thousands of pairs of jeans, which are on display at Union Station for two weeks, will be turned into housing insulation for homes affected by natural disasters. According to the magazine, there will be enough material to provide insulation for 60 houses. The jeans will be turned over to Cotton Inc., which collects used denim for natural fiber insulation made without carcinogens or chemical irritants. Paula Rosario, vice president of consumer marketing for the company, said that the new record "certainly attests to the civic-mindedness of today's children." The ceremony unveiling the denim display also honored 9-year-old Erek Hansen, who collected nearly 1,700 jeans. The elementary school student from Curtice, Ohio, said that his friends and classmates "were happy to help the environment." Hansen donated five pairs of his own outgrown jeans. The display also includes a pair from actor Ben Stiller.
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National Geographic Kids magazine encouraged readers to donate old denim . More than 33,000 items of old denim -- jeans, hats and jackets -- sent to Washington . Material will be turned into housing insulation for homes affected by natural disasters . Erek Hansen, 9, of Curtice, Ohio, collect almost 1,700 pairs of jeans .
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(CNET) -- AT&T is offering free public Wi-Fi hot spots to help it deal with increasing congestion on its wireless network. On Tuesday, the company launched a free outdoor wireless hot spot in New York's Times Square. The pilot program will offer free Wi-Fi access to AT&T wireless and broadband customers using smartphones, laptops, and other Wi-Fi enabled devices. AT&T's Wi-Fi network is set up on the north side of Times Square on Seventh Avenue between 45th and 47th Streets. The program is designed to see how Wi-Fi can help relieve wireless data congestion on AT&T's network. Customers with Wi-Fi-enabled devices will connect to the Wi-Fi network instead of AT&T's 3G network to access the Internet or Web-based applications. If all goes well, AT&T said it may expand the offering to other cities. AT&T, the exclusive carrier in the U.S. for the iPhone, has been struggling to keep up with demand for data services on its network. The company has reported that due to new devices like the iPhone it's seen mobile data traffic grow on its network 5,000 percent in three years. The extra traffic, particularly in densely populated locales such as New York City and San Francisco, has caused problems for consumers in the way of dropped calls and slow Net access. The telephone company has been investing in its network to improve capacity and network coverage. It's upgraded its backhaul networks, which connect the cell sites to its Internet backbone. It's added new Microcell devices that expand in-home coverage. And it's bulked up coverage in sports stadiums, convention halls and other areas where people congregate. AT&T has also been using its more than 20,000 Wi-Fi hot spots throughout the country to offload some of the traffic. The company has offered free Wi-Fi access to its smartphone subscribers in the hopes that customers will use the Wi-Fi network when it's available rather than the slower 3G network. So far, the company has seen some success. In 2009, AT&T consumers connected to an AT&T Wi-Fi hot spot four times more often than they did in 2008, the company has said. And in the first quarter, AT&T handled 53.1 million Wi-Fi connections on its network, which is nearly five times higher than the same quarter last year. One of the biggest advantages of Wi-Fi is that it's already in most devices. Laptops come with Wi-Fi pre-installed, and most new smartphones also come with Wi-Fi built in. It's also faster than a 3G network, so it offers subscribers a better experience. Advancements in the technology, especially new features found in the latest version of Wi-Fi 802.11n, increase the range and speed of the networks. In urban areas, Wi-Fi hot spots now extend almost 2,000 feet, which is nearly as far as some cellular cell sites, according to Jeff Thompson, CEO of fixed wireless provider Towerstream. © 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. CNET, CNET.com and the CNET logo are registered trademarks of CBS Interactive Inc. Used by permission.
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On Tuesday, AT&T launched a free outdoor wireless hot spot in Times Square . The program is designed to see how Wi-Fi can help relieve wireless data congestion . If all goes well, AT&T said it may expand the offering to other cities .
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(CNN) -- Here's what we know about Saturday's crash landing of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 and some of the key questions raised by those facts: . 1. A preliminary readout from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders shows the aircraft was approaching well below the target landing speed of 137 knots (157 mph). Records from the flight data recorder show that at 500 feet of altitude and 34 seconds before impact, the aircraft had already slowed to 134 knots (154 mph). At seven seconds before impact, the pilots attempted to spool up the engines. At four seconds, the stall warning sounded. At 1.5 seconds, the pilots tried to abort the landing and go around to attempt another landing. At impact, the flight data recorder shows the aircraft had a forward speed of a mere 106 knots (121 mph). What we don't know: Why was the aircraft approaching so slowly? Did the pilot not realize he was short? Girls killed in crash were headed for camp . 2. Asiana said the pilot at the controls was making his first landing of a Boeing 777 at San Francisco International Airport. While a pilot with more than 10,000 hours of experience, including many hours flying Boeing 747s, he had only 43 hours of flying time in a 777. What we don't know: Did pilot inexperience with the aircraft play a role? Why did the captain not speak up or take control? 3. The NTSB investigators have found nothing to corroborate online flight tracking records showing that Asiana Flight 214 descended from cruising altitude much more steeply and rapidly than previous Asiana flights on the same route. The NTSB says it found no "abnormally steep descent data." 4. Part of the instrument landing system approach on Runway 28L was not working on the day of the crash. It had been down for some time. Flights were landing using visual flight rules. The weather was clear. The flight data shows the autopilot was disengaged at 1,600 feet and the pilot then took manual control of the plane. What we don't know: Did the lack of ILS force the pilot to make a VFR landing in an aircraft with which he was not fully familiar? 5. The runway's precision approach path indicator lights, showing correct flight approach altitudes, were working. What we don't know: Why didn't the pilot recognize he was too low for the approach and initiate a go-around earlier? 6. Based on the debris field and the video obtained by CNN, the aircraft appears to have struck the rock sea wall well before the start of the runway. There are some marks on the sea wall, consistent with an impact of some part of the plane. 7. The debris field runs from the water, slightly right of the paved threshold and runway center, all the way to the stopped aircraft fuselage. The NTSB says pieces of the rear of the aircraft are in the water near the seawall, visible at low tide. 8. The Boeing 777 lost its tail section, including vertical and horizontal stabilizers, near the end of the paved threshold, just before the start of the runway. What we don't know: Is this an indication the tail of the aircraft detached after first impact? 9. The right engine is detached from the wing and wedged against the right side of the fuselage. The left engine is a considerable distance forward of the fuselage in a grassy area to the right of Runway 28L. The NTSB says both engines had high rotational damage, showing that they were powering at impact. 10. Most of the fire damage to the aircraft occurred after the Boeing 777 came to a stop on its belly. 11. Passengers described the cabin interior as heavily damaged, with overhead bins dropping and at least one life raft/escape slide inflating inside the aircraft, trapping a flight attendant, whom passengers helped free. The NTSB says it will investigate the structural safety of the seats. 12. The coroner says one of the two passengers killed appears to have been run over by an emergency vehicle, though the coroner had not yet determined the cause of death. Asiana has identified the fatalities as Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia of China, both of whom were 16. 13. Audio recordings of air traffic control conversations show no sign that the pilot declared an emergency before the crash landing. Emergency vehicles were dispatched afterward. 14. The aircraft was built in 2006 and was purchased new by Asiana. 15. The NTSB was planning to interview the four pilots Monday afternoon. Key information from those interviews will be made public at Tuesday's briefing. First responders describe eerie, chaotic moments . Why so many people survived . CNN's Dan Simon and Richard Quest contributed to this report.
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Airline: Pilot was making first landing in control of a Boeing 777 at San Francisco airport . Pilot had 10,000 hours of experience but only 43 hours flying time in a 777 . An emergency vehicle ran over one of the passengers . Passengers describe the engines spooling up and the nose tilting up before impact .
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Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) -- Somalia's top militant group may soon counter the government's recent thrust against them with an offensive of their own. African Union intelligence sources say Al-Shabaab is massing hundreds of troops in the African nation's embattled capital of Mogadishu for a show of force during the Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins Monday. The sources said Al-Shabaab received a shipment of weapons by sea in preparation for this offensive. They believe that Al-Shabaab allies in Yemen shipped the items across the Red Sea to Somalia. Ramadan is a period of fasting and religious reflection. Islamic radicals have chosen the period to carry out attacks against their enemies during the holy month. Fighting has intensified this summer as Somali government forces -- backed by troops from the African Union -- have battled insurgents from the militant Al-Shabaab. Somali government forces on Thursday launched an offensive on Islamist strongholds in northern Mogadishu. The U.N. refugee agency on Friday expressed concerns about "the protection of civilians" in Mogadishu amid the fighting. But African Union forces said the offensive was launched to counter Al-Shabaab attacks on displaced persons camps. "An offensive on Thursday by pro-government forces in and around the important Bakara and Balcad markets has increased the risk for Mogadishu's citizens as well as the estimated 100,000 internally displaced people (IDP) who have fled drought and famine in neighbouring regions in recent months," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said. Since September, African Union forces said they have steadily been taking territory in the capital from Al-Shabaab. The fighting comes also as Somalia is battling its worst drought in 60 years and tens of thousands of famine-stricken people are walking for days into both Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food and water and away from the conflict between government forces and rebels. The United Nations on Friday said it is asking for a further $1.4 billion to help starving people across the Horn of Africa. The request lifts the Horn of Africa appeal to $2.4 billion, of which $1 billion has been received so far. "More than 12 million people -- in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti -- are in dire need of help, and the situation is getting worse," said Valerie Amos, U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "If we are to avoid this crisis becoming an even bigger catastrophe, we must act now." Meanwhile, Erastus Mwencha, the African Union Commission deputy chief, visited Mogadishu to assess the humanitarian situation and announced an international pledging conference August 9 in Ethiopia. The African Union has already donated $500,000 of assistance in the famine.
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NEW: The African Union announces a pledging conference for famine relief . AU sources says Al-Shabaab got a shipment of weapons by sea . The government forces launched an offensive on Thursday . The U.N. has issued another appeal for aid money .
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(CNN) -- We found him in the foggy mountains of central Chile, near the town of Aguila Sur, conducting a ritual at dusk with two assistants. Dr. Milton Flores, 58, is not the leader of a religious sect or underground cult. He's a psychiatrist who's unusual in many respects. But in this South American country, it's his crusade to legalize marijuana that has earned him notoriety. When asked to describe marijuana, he says it's "a tool and a medicine." Flores has used cannabis for years to treat patients with different conditions, including depression and anxiety. He also admits he has smoked pot since he was 14. Flores is Chile's main advocate for the legalization of marijuana and similar drugs including peyote, ayahuasca and San Pedro. Flores and other experts call these drugs entheogens. They're all psychoactive plants that were used in Latin America by shamans and healers in religious ceremonies well before the arrival of European conquerors in the 16th century. Flores' main contention with these drugs' illegal status is that the state gains nothing by criminalizing individuals who use them for medicinal or spiritual purposes the way he does. "Cannabis is neither good nor bad," he says. "Its use can be appropriate or inappropriate. It's a tool that can have very significant effects." Throughout his career, the psychiatrist has spoken publicly about his position regarding these drugs. He's gone to great lengths to make his point. His property has been raided twice by Chilean authorities. In March, police confiscated several marijuana plants at his mountain retreat. His case went all the way up to the Chilean Supreme Court, but it was dismissed on a technicality. More recently, Flores was found guilty of growing 116 plants of marijuana on his property in Aguila Sur; he was sentenced last week to 541 days, or more than 18 months, of probation. "There's no willingness to hear the pleas of a citizen who decides to exercise his freedom of conscience and his freedom to grow what is sacred to care for his life," Flores told CNN. "This to me is the most serious violation that has become evident [by this ruling]." Not surprisingly, Flores has a significant number of fans among young Chileans, including Oscar Bustamante, a 27-year-old student at the University of Chile in Santiago. "Consuming marijuana, whatever the reason, is totally and absolutely a personal choice and should not be banned as long as the individual doesn't harm anybody else," Bustamante says. Some Chilean politicians are sympathetic to Flores' cause. A few years ago, a government minister acknowledged he smoked marijuana. Some senators and representatives followed suit. And even though smoking marijuana no longer has the stigma it once had, and smoking it is rarely prosecuted, the country still bans the production, sale, distribution and large-scale possession of marijuana. The Chilean government is getting pressure from two sides. Unintentional marijuana exposures up in Colorado kids . On the one hand, countries such as the United States and Colombia favor a tough, law-enforcement approach on drugs. On the other hand, liberal politicians advocate making a distinction between public health and national security when it comes to dealing with drugs. It's a debate that leaders in the United States and other South American countries know well. Uruguayan legislators have been arguing for nearly a year over a bill that would legalize marijuana. The bill would give the Uruguayan government the power to regulate the production, sale and distribution of marijuana. Leftist President Jose Mujica is said to favor the legislation. Former Latin American presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, Cesar Gaviria of Colombia and Vicente Fox of Mexico have all publicly spoken in favor of legalizing not only marijuana, but several other drugs. The war on drugs, Fox told CNN in November, "costs a lot of money. It costs a lot of lives and blood; it costs a lot of foreign investment lost, a lot of tourism that we have lost in Mexico." Its effectiveness, the former president says, is questionable at best and countries should take a public health approach to the drug problem. Patricio Navia, a Chilean-born professor of liberal studies at New York University, says a growing number of legislators in his country favor the idea of decriminalizing marijuana so law enforcement can concentrate efforts on more addictive drugs such as crack. "The drug problem in Chile has to do with crack," Navia says. "Among the low-income population, crack is the biggest problem that's associated with crime. People who smoke marijuana don't go and assault other people in order to get more money to keep on smoking marijuana." Flores' biggest fan is, perhaps, his own daughter. Carola Flores-Fernandez, a 33-year-old anthropology doctoral student at the University of California-Santa Barbara, says her father's crusade has opened an important national debate on drugs -- a topic that used to be taboo. "I'm very proud, and I think it's something that is slowly changing the perspective of many people in different levels in this country," Flores-Fernandez says. Back at his mountain retreat near Aguila Sur, Flores says he's no longer growing marijuana, although he keeps small plants of San Pedro and ayahuasca. His hope is that his crusade will allow him to grow and consume these drugs without fear in the near future. Scheme to reel in pot at county jail hits a snag .
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Dr. Milton Flores has gained notoriety in Chile for his crusade to legalize marijuana . Flores was recently convicted of growing 116 plants of marijuana on his property . Some Chilean politicians are sympathetic to Flores' cause . Others favor a tough law-enforcement approach on drugs .
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Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- A second person survived a massacre in which 72 migrants from Central and South America were killed last week in northern Mexico, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and Mexican officials said. A man from Ecuador was previously thought to be the only survivor. That man, identified as Luis Freddy Lala Pomavilla, said someone else also lived through the mass shooting, Correa said at a news conference late Tuesday night upon his return to Ecuador from a trip to Haiti. Correa did not provide details other than to say the second survivor came from Honduras. "We don't want to put him in danger," Correa said. Viviana Macias, a spokeswoman for the Mexican attorney general's office, confirmed Wednesday that a second person had survived the attack. The attorney general's office said authorities had not revealed news of the second survivor in order to protect the person's safety. For the same reason, officials said Wednesday, they will not reveal the person's identity. The attorney general's office said in a release Wednesday afternoon that the survivor is being held and protected as a witness and has given officials "relevant information to identify those presumed to be responsible." The agency has been in touch with authorities in Honduras, the release said. Lala Pomavilla, the Ecuadorian survivor, was returned to his homeland late Sunday. The young man was wounded in the attack and said he survived by playing dead. He later walked several miles to a military roadblock near the town of San Fernando in Tamaulipas state, less than 100 miles from the U.S. border. Officials are investigating whether members of the Zetas drug cartel were responsible for the deaths. The bodies of the 72 victims are being returned to their homelands, which include Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Brazil. Mexican officials returned the remains of 16 migrants to Honduras on Wednesday. A live broadcast on CNN affiliate Televicentro showed six-man honor guards wheeling the bodies one by one off a transport aircraft. Bereaved relatives and friends cried and held each other as the gray caskets glided by slowly, guided solemnly by soldiers in dress uniforms and red-plumed hats. The caskets, each adorned with a bouquet of flowers on top, were placed under a large tent on the tarmac at the air force airport in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. "Repatriation," said the Televicentro banner imposed over the bottom of the TV image. "What started as a search for the American dream ended in a mortal nightmare." After the 16 caskets were gathered in the tent, a Roman Catholic priest prayed over them. "Don't lose your faith in God," he told those gathered there before he sprinkled holy water on each of the caskets. Honduran President Porfirio Lobo also addressed the crowd, merely reading the names of the 16 victims before walking back to his spot in a line of dignitaries. Some family members were brought up to have a word with Lobo, who hugged them and spoke quietly with them. The caskets were released to the families after the ceremony, and at one point Lobo went to where a man with a gray New York Yankees cap was sobbing as he leaned on a coffin. Lobo patted the man on the shoulder and reached out to a woman standing next to him. The victims will be taken to their hometowns for burial. CNN's Jose Antonio Flores, Krupskaia Alis and Arthur Brice contributed to this report.
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The second survivor is a migrant from Honduras, officials say . The only previously known survivor was from Ecuador . That survivor said someone else also had lived, the Ecuadorian president said . The bodies of 16 victims were returned to Honduras on Wednesday, Mexico said .
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(Health.com) -- A chemical used in the manufacture of common household products -- such as some food packaging, carpets, paint, and nonstick cookware -- may be associated with an increased risk of heart disease, a new study suggests. The chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), is present in trace amounts in up to 98% of Americans. Previous research has linked PFOA exposure to unhealthy cholesterol levels and other risk factors for heart disease, but the potential health hazards posed by the chemical remain largely unknown. In the new study, which included a nationally representative sample of adults, those with the highest levels of PFOA in their blood had double the odds of having a history of heart disease, heart attack, or stroke, compared to adults with the lowest PFOA levels. The highest PFOA levels also were associated with 78% higher odds of peripheral artery disease, a condition related to heart disease in which the arteries in the limbs narrow and harden. Although these numbers may sound alarming, the researchers say the results should be interpreted with caution. Because the study looked at the relationship between PFOA and heart disease at a single point in time, it doesn't show that PFOA exposure causes -- or even precedes -- heart disease. Health.com: Surprising heart attack risks . The researchers did factor in numerous health and demographic measures (such as race, education, obesity, smoking, and cholesterol), but they emphasize that unknown factors besides PFOA may explain some or all of the association seen in the study. "What we are finding is that high levels of PFOA and cardiovascular disease coexisted for some reason. That is all," says lead author Dr. Anoop Shankar, an epidemiologist at the West Virginia University School of Public Health in Morgantown. "It is possible that we are seeing something that is just a bystander and is there because of confounding associations." The study, which was published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a large government health survey conducted annually. Health.com: 11 things it's best to buy organic . Although the study is merely a "red flag" and more research is needed, minimizing exposure to PFOA still may be prudent in the meantime, says Dr. Debabrata Mukherjee, chief of cardiovascular medicine at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso. For instance, people whose drinking water may be contaminated by nearby factories that use PFOA could use bottled water or filtered water, says Mukherjee, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study. Avoiding nonstick cookware and other consumer products that may contain PFOA is another way for individuals to limit exposure, he adds. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the trace amounts of PFOA found in consumer products are generally a remnant of the manufacturing process and do not appear to pose a threat to human health. Still, the agency is working with several large companies to eliminate PFOA and related chemicals from products and factory emissions by 2015. Prior studies in humans, animals and petri dishes have suggested several pathways through which PFOA might affect heart health. PFOA exposure has been associated, for instance, with blood-vessel dysfunction, high "bad" cholesterol (LDL), low "good" cholesterol (HDL), and insulin resistance, all of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Health.com: 10 ways to lower cholesterol . Even if this preliminary research is borne out, however, it's important to remember that obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, and other classic risk factors are responsible for an overwhelming majority of heart attacks, says Dr. Eugene Storozynsky, a cardiologist and internist at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York. "Not smoking and maintaining a healthy lifestyle should be part of any kind of prevention program for cardiovascular disease," Mukherjee says. "We don't want to forget the 900-pound gorilla in the room." Chemical linked to rise in kids' cholesterol . Copyright Health Magazine 2011 .
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Perfluorooctanoic acid is present in up to 98% of Americans . Study: Those with the highest levels may have an increased risk of stroke or heart attack . Researchers say the numbers should be interpreted with caution .
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LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Nigeria's main militant group said Friday it destroyed another oil pipeline owned and operated by a foreign company in the Niger Delta region. File image shows Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta fighters. It is the third reported attack this week by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, which demands a fairer distribution of the country's oil wealth. "Heavily armed fighters" blew up a "major" crude oil pipeline run by the Italian gas company, Agip, in Bayelsa state early Friday, MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo said in an e-mail. There was no immediate word from Agip about the purported attack. Some companies in the region have shut down their operations in the Niger Delta in the wake of ongoing violence there. The fighters reached the pipeline after overpowering a Nigerian military gunboat, Gbomo said. "All the soldiers numbering seven (7) were dispossessed of their weapons," he said. "The gunboat was also stripped of its weapons before it was disabled by explosives. The soldiers pleaded for their lives to be spared and we did." The militant group said it blew up Shell's major crude oil trunk line late Wednesday in Bayelsa state, as part of its campaign "to cripple the entire oil and gas export of the Federal Republic of Nigeria." MEND called on the company to "vacate the Niger Delta region to avoid collateral damage to their investment and death to staff." Shell confirmed an attack on its pipeline in Bayelsa on Wednesday, saying it shut down some production "to avoid potential environmental impact," spokesman David Williams said. "There's a joint investigation underway to determine the quantity of crude (oil) spilled," Williams told CNN from the company's headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. MEND also claimed to have attacked a Chevron oil station in the Niger Delta region Monday and threatened further attacks in other states in the Niger Delta region, as well as on offshore oil facilities. At the time, a Chevron spokesman said it was investigating the reported attack on its Abiteye flow station. The U.S.-based company halted its onshore operations in the region last month. MEND on Monday also warned the international football association FIFA that it should "rethink" allowing Nigeria to host the upcoming under-17 World Cup series later this year. "The safety of international players and visitors can not be guaranteed due to the current unrest," MEND said in an e-mail. Only two out of the nine stadiums in Nigeria are close to being ready for the tournament which is scheduled to take place between October 24 and November 15, according to FIFA. The association has given the country a grace period to start constructing the remaining venues, FIFA Vice President Jack Warner said. Last month, the militant group declared an "all-out war" on the government after what it said was a deadly bombing raid on civilians. It is not the first declaration of war by MEND, which demands that more of Nigeria's oil wealth be reinvested in the region instead of enriching those whom the militants consider corrupt politicians. The militant group declared war against the government in September for what it said were unprovoked attacks. At that time, MEND destroyed several oil facilities, forcing Nigeria to cut its oil exports by as many as 1 million barrels of oil per day, or 40 percent. The recent violence -- which has included attacks on pipelines and hostage-taking -- has limited shipment of crude oil supplies out of Nigeria, Africa's largest producer.
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Militants claim to have overpowered gunboat and bombed a major pipeline . Third alleged attack this week by the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) Last month the militant group declared an "all-out war" on the government . Recent violence has limited shipments of crude oil supplies from Nigeria .
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PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (CNN) -- Trash litters its cities. Electricity is sporadic at best. There is no clean water. Medical and educational services are limited. Basic infrastructure is severely lacking. "Planet in Peril" met in a secret location with members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. These are not conditions that should plague one of the richest oil states in the world. Hundreds of billions of dollars has been made from the Niger Delta's oil reserves and many people have gotten very rich. Conversely, the average Nigerian has suffered as a result of the country's oil prosperity. The United States Agency for International Development says more than 70 percent of the country lives on less than a dollar a day -- the population is among the 20 poorest in the world. Oil companies are only part of the equation. The other is the Nigerian government. Transparency International, a global organization intent on stamping out corruption, has consistently rated Nigeria's government one of the most corrupt in the world. Nigeria's federal government and oil companies split oil profits roughly 60-40. The money is then supposed to make its way down to the local governments to fund various projects. Somehow, little money actually reaches its intended destination. Nigeria's own corruption agency estimates between $300 billion to $400 billion has been stolen or wasted over the last 50 years. Lisa Ling travels to secret location to meet notorious Nigerian militant group » . Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state, one of the largest oil producers of Nigeria's 36 states, acknowledges past problems with corruption, but thinks progress is being made. "There's a lot of improvement," Amaechi said. "The work being done by the corruption agency and the federal government has somehow been able to control the level of corruption in government." Over the last few years, a culture of militancy and violence has arisen in the absence of jobs and services. Kidnappings for ransom, robberies and even murder happen with regularity. The biggest and most powerful armed group is the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND. They say they are at war against the Nigerian military and the oil companies operating there. MEND, formed in 2005, said it has more than 30 camps throughout Nigeria. Members are armed with high-tech weaponry they said was obtained from "foreign sources." Hundreds of people have been killed on both sides and countless oil workers have been kidnapped. Over the years, MEND's attacks on oil pipelines have halted oil production and, therefore, raised the price of oil around the world. They demand oil profits be distributed to average Nigerians of the Niger Delta and said they will not stop their attacks until their objectives have been fulfilled. See environmental battle lines for "Planet in Peril" » . The battle is over oil -- one of the world's most valuable resources. But to most Nigerians -- oil is a curse. It has provoked an environmental disaster of monstrous proportions. Since the 1970s, the United Nations estimates there have been more than 6,000 oil spills in the Niger Delta -- that is equal to more than 10 times the amount spilled from the Exxon Valdez in 1989. Yet, there is no international outcry and rarely are the spills reported, even to most Nigerians. They are still happening and the consequences are nothing short of devastating. Communities along the Niger Delta have lived off subsistence fishing and agriculture for decades. Collecting food becomes impossible when a spill happens, like one that occurred in August. The waterways and mangroves are blanketed in thick brown oil sludge that goes on for miles. Toxicity overpowers the air and a sense of lifelessness pervades the landscape. Many say it will take 10-15 years for the area to be free of contamination -- if the cleanup effort commences in a timely manner. The August spill was a result of a leak from an old pipeline that had corroded. It took the oil company three months to clamp the leak, but the company said it wasn't reported for a full month after it began. Once the leak was reported, the company said it was denied access to the site by the community. Leaders of the village deny that, and the finger-pointing between the two sides is nothing new -- there is no love lost here. Who is telling the truth? Who knows? Either way, the creeks are blackened. This is life in the Niger Delta.
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Nigeria is one of world's richest oil states; people are among poorest in world . Nigerian agency: $300 billion to $400 billion in oil profits squandered, stolen . Militant group MEND attacks oil pipelines, demands profits given to Nigerian people . UN: Niger Delta has had more than 6,000 spills; 10 times more than Exxon Valdez .
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(CNN) -- Erroll Southers In the aftermath of the attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253, it is likely the Senate will move to confirm the embattled nomination of Southers as head of the Transportation Security Administration when it returns from its winter recess. Objections to Southers' confirmation were first made by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina over the potential unionization of TSA employees. Southers is the Los Angeles International Airport's assistant chief for homeland security and intelligence. The airport's police department, which Southers has helped manage since early 2007, is the largest such operation in the country, with approximately 1,200 employees. Southers is also associate director at the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events at the University of Southern California. The former FBI special agent served as a deputy director of homeland security for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. CNN Political Ticker: DeMint defends blocking appointment . Miriam Siefer The attorney who will defend the 23-year-old Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up Northwest Flight 253 is no stranger to terrorism cases, according to The Detroit News. Miriam Siefer, chief federal defender with the Federal Defender Office in Detroit, Michigan, represented James Nichols when he was a suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing. His brother Terry Nichols was convicted for that act of domestic terrorism. Siefer is now the lead attorney for Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, who is accused of hiding explosive materials sewn into his underwear that could have brought down the airplane. "She's one of a handful of people who is universally respected and admired by people in the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Alan Gershel, the former head of criminal prosecutions in Detroit who now is a law professor at Cooley Law School in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Detroit News: Suspect's lawyer old hand at terror cases . Micah Fialka-Feldman A U.S. district judge has ruled that Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, violated a federal law by refusing to allow Fialka-Feldman, a disabled student, to live in a campus dorm and now must make a room available for him. The Detroit News and NPR report that Fialka-Feldman has a mild cognitive impairment that hinders his ability to read and write. But the university said because he was in a special program and not a full-time student, he couldn't live on campus. It took him two buses and two hours to get to campus from his parents' home. The judge ruled that Oakland University had discriminated against Fialka-Feldman, who says he will hang a poster in his room with quotes from civil rights leaders. One says: "A community that excludes one member is not a community at all." NPR: Intellectually disabled student wins dorm suit . Detroit News: Student wins housing fight . William Koch The Palm Beach, Florida, billionaire says that a 1787 Lafite Bordeaux with Thomas Jefferson's initials etched into the bottle is fake. "I thought that I had a piece of history, a piece of America's most important history," Koch told the Los Angeles Times. So Koch sued the seller and has filed four other lawsuits. He says there are more to come. His goal is to clean up an industry where a single bottle can go for more than $100,000. In 1989, Koch purchased the Lafite and three other bottles of Bordeaux, also purported to be Jefferson's, for about $500,000. In the federal lawsuit he filed in New York against the wine supplier, Koch claims Jefferson's "initials" were etched into the bottle with modern-day power tools. Los Angeles Times: Wine collector sues over alleged fakery . Michael Landers This 15-year-old 10th-grader from Old Westbury, New York, is the youngest player to win the men's national singles championship in table tennis, or pingpong. In a New York Times profile, Landers says his training can last 30 hours each week. For 14 months, Goran Milanovic, a former Serbian discuss thrower, has been putting him through 90-minute workouts two or three times a week. NY Times: The ping-pong prodigy . What makes a person intriguing? There are people who enter the news cycle every day because their actions or decisions are new, important or different. Others are in the news because they are the ones those decisions affect. And there are a number of people who are so famous or controversial that anything they say or do becomes news. Some of these people do what we expect of them: They run for office, pass legislation, start a business, get hired or fired, commit a crime, make an arrest, get in accidents, hit a home run, overthrow a government, fight wars, sue an opponent, put out fires, prepare for hurricanes and cavort with people other than their spouses. They do make news, but the action is usually more important than who is involved in the story. But every day, there are a number of people who become fascinating to us -- by virtue of their character, how they reached their decision, how they behaved under pressure or because of the remarkable circumstances surrounding the event they are involved in. They arouse our curiosity. We hear about them and want to know more. What they have done or said stimulates conversations across the country. At times, there is even a mystery about them. What they have done may be unique, heroic, cowardly or ghastly, but they capture our imaginations. We want to know what makes them tick, why they believe what they do, and why they did what they did. They intrigue us.
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Nominee for TSA chief held up by South Carolina senator . Lawyer for terror suspect familiar with terrorism cases . 10th-grader is youngest player to win national table tennis championship .
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(The Frisky) -- Even if you're not going to Fiji or the Maldives, accidentally ending up in a popular honeymooning spot while not actually on your honeymoon is easier than you think, especially with the abundance of all-inclusive deals online. Just because your hotel mates are on a romantic getaway doesn't mean they're not open to company. If watching smooching couples while chilling out with your friends makes you want to puke, no worries. You can still have a blast, even if you're not traveling with your newly committed soul mate. Relax . You probably chose the fantastic place because you found a great deal to an amazing destination (much like your cuddling neighbors), so take advantage. Hit the spa, do some yoga, swim or make time for the mellow activities that are tough to fit in back home. While you probably won't meet the guy of your dreams lying motionless in a mud wrap, you'll be Zen enough to have a new outlook once your return home. Don't underestimate the locals (or the ex-patriot) There's nothing better than getting to know a place by hanging out with people who can tell you more than a guidebook about the area's culture and hidden gems. Have a glass of wine and chat up the bartender (or the person with the best English if you're abroad) or find out about an area of town where the ex-patriots live. Especially if you've been away from home for a long time, an American omelet or bagel can keep you smiling. Make friends . Just because your hotel mates are using the vacation as a romantic getaway doesn't mean that they are not open to meeting others on their travels. There's a chance you'll end up chatting with a couple who bores you with the details of their wedding, but you might luck out and make a few friends (who perhaps will save you seats at the breakfast buffet the next morning). Plan activities . Jet skiing, para-gliding, R.V. treks -- take advantage of all the offerings, that way you'll have fun and burn some of the calories you've packed on by sipping cocktails on the beach all day. Besides experiencing new things, you may run across others who have unknowingly booked the same Travelocity deal without any romantic intentions. Come prepared . With portable board games, books, cards and an unlimited amount of iPod-fueled music, keeping busy in a honeymoon spot can seem a bit like summer camp (but with booze). Use the time a couple might spend in their room getting busy to work on your Scrabble skills, or catch up on all the new music you've downloaded but have yet to hear. And if you forgot your iPod, don't like spas, and can't find anyone in the entire city who isn't newly married and in love, you and your travel-mates can always place bets on which honeymooning couple will be the first to break up. TM & © 2009 TMV, Inc. | All Rights Reserved .
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It's easy to accidentally wind up in a popular honeymoon spot while traveling . Hit the spa, do some yoga or swim, author suggests . There's nothing better than getting to know a place by hanging out with locals . Author: Come prepared with board games, iPod music, etc.
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(CNN) -- Spain have won the Davis Cup for a fifth time, and the third time in four years, after Rafael Nadal recovered from dropping the opening set to defeat Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in Sunday's penultimate singles rubber in Sevilla. The hosts won Friday's first two singles matches, but Argentina claimed Saturday's doubles to give them a foothold in the final going into the final two matches, . And del Potro started like a man on a mission, crushing the world number two 6-1 in an impressive opening set. Resurgent Federer hungry for more major titles . But in the same stadium where Nadal became the youngest Davis Cup winner in 2004, the world number two fought back in impressive fashion to secure a 1-6 6-4 6-1 7-6 (7-0) triumph to spark scenes of wild celebration. Nadal told reporters: "It was a very emotional match and I am happy for the team. "It was the most amazing atmosphere I have ever played in. The crowd were crazy. and everything was perfect for us," he continued. "It was complicated at the start of the match, but the beginning of the second set was very important and at 1-0 and 40-0 that was the turning point for me." Spanish captain Albert Costa added: "It was an unbelievable match. These guys are great and that's why we were in the final. "Rafa tried to play deeper and harder because at the start Del Potro was inside the line and hitting so hard. He fought hard so that's why we won." The result handed Argentina an unwanted record fourth Davis Cup final defeat, but Spain's fifth victory still leaves them trailing the United States (32) and Australia (28) in overall successes.
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World number two Rafa Nadal beats Juan Martin del Potro to win Spain the Davis Cup . Nadal fights back from dropping the opening set to secure the point Spain needed . Spain's victory over Argentina ensured they won the Davis Cup trophy for a fifth time .
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Stars and Stripes, the newspaper that receives U.S. military funding to help it cover and get distributed free to American forces in war zones, complained Tuesday of censorship by military authorities in Iraq. A soldier with the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division patrols the streets of eastern Mosul, Iraq, on June 16. In a story on its Web site, the newspaper known as Stripes said the military violated a congressional mandate of editorial independence by rejecting a request to embed reporter Heath Druzin with the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division, which is attempting to secure the city of Mosul. The military cited various problems in Druzin's reporting on previous embed assignments with units of the division, according to the story. One example noted by the military was a March 8 story that said many Mosul residents would like the American soldiers to leave and hand over security tasks to Iraqi forces, the Stripes Web site said. "Despite the opportunity to visit areas of the city where Iraqi Army leaders, soldiers, national police and Iraqi police displayed commitment to partnership, Mr. Druzin refused to highlight any of this news," Maj. Ramona Bellard, a public affairs officer, wrote in denying Druzin's embed request, according to the Stripes story. A military official in Iraq defended the move to turn down the reporter's request. "U.S. Army units in Iraq remain committed to the media embed program and appreciate objective media reporting," said Lt. Col. David H. Patterson Jr., a spokesman for Multi-National Corps-Iraq. "The relationship that Druzin established with the command during a previous embed did not facilitate being invited back." Patterson added that Druzin was welcome to embed in another unit and that the 1st Cavalry Division was open to having a reporter other than Druzin. "Accusations of censorship are without merit," Patterson said. Other allegations against Druzin by the military included that he used quotes out of context, behaved unprofessionally and persisted in asking Army officials for permission to use a computer to file a story during a communications blackout period, the Stripes story said. Terry Leonard, editorial director at Stars and Stripes, denied the Army's allegations, calling Druzin's previous reporting on the division accurate and fair. "To simply say 'you can't send him because we didn't like what he wrote' is unacceptable," Leonard said. He noted that Congress set up Stripes as an independent newspaper so that "no commander can decide what news troops in the field receive." Army officials have offered to allow a different Stripes reporter to embed with the division or to allow Druzin to embed with a different Army unit in Kirkuk, Leonard said. Stripes rejected those offers because the military has no right to deflect coverage from Mosul or decide which Stripes reporter covers its operations, Leonard said. "To deny Mr. Druzin an embed under the reasons stated by Maj. Bellard is a direct challenge to the editorial independence of this newspaper," Leonard wrote in his appeal to the decision, according to the Stripes story. "That independence is mandated by Congress. The denial of the embed constitutes an attempt at censorship and it is also an illegal prior restraint under federal law. ... The military cannot tell us what stories to write or not write." Stripes receives close to $10 million a year from the Department of Defense to help defray the costs of covering "contingency" operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the publishing and distribution of roughly 85,000 free newspapers a day, Leonard said. The newspaper receives additional government subsidies, with the total amounting to less than half of its budget, he said. Other revenue comes from ad sales and circulation at permanent U.S. military bases and elsewhere, Leonard said. CNN has been denied embed requests on occasion but never because of the past conduct of individual journalists. The reasons have almost always involved logistical details involving security and force coverage.
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Newspaper says military's rejection of embed request is censorship . Paper wanted reporter Heath Druzin to be embedded with Army division in Iraq . Army rejects request, cites Druzin's previous interactions with division . Army denies accusations, says different reporter may embed with division .
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Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- Kim Jong Un cut a somber figure Monday, marking the first anniversary of his father's death. North Korea said Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack from overwork on December 17, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers assembled outside the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang where the bodies of Kim Jong Il and his father Kim Il Sung lie. Read more: North Korea silences doubters, raises fears with rocket launch . Accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol Ju, who appeared to be heavily pregnant, Kim Jong Un bowed to giant statues of the former leaders inside the mausoleum. Outside, he listened to a commemorative speech from Choe Ryong-hae, head of the military's political arm. Choe praised the achievements of the former leaders before declaring, "Kim Jong Un is North Korea's fate and future." A lot has changed over the past year. Kim Jong Un has transformed from grieving son to a triumphant leader leading a controversial rocket launch this month. The 20-something leader, who was suddenly thrust into the limelight last December was considered by many outside, and possibly even inside, North Korea to be ill-prepared for the responsibilities that lay ahead. But experts say it was soon clear that the younger Kim would not be emulating the style of his father. "Kim Jong Il was rather low profile for a few years after the death of Kim Il Sung which is in accordance with even older Confucian practices," says John Delury assistant professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. "This is after all a dynastic system, but Kim Jong Un quickly proved by the spring that he was going to be quite public, quite active." April 2012 brought with it one of the most significant dates on the North Korean calendar, as it marked the centenary of the birth of the country's founder Kim Il Sung, celebrations for which had been planned for years by the late Kim Jong Il. His son picked up the mantle and controversially launched a rocket in commemoration. Following his father's example, Kim ignored international condemnation for what he called an attempt to put a working satellite into orbit. Washington, Seoul and others in the region saw the launch as a cover for testing ballistic missile technology. Read more: Experts: Rocket launch bolsters North Korean leader . The rocket was a failure, made all the more public by the international media which had been invited into the country for the occasion. But disregarding the international embarrassment, Kim Jong Un continued with the celebrations. "He actually performed quite well by the standard set for him," says Delury. "He spoke in public which is something his father did not and he projected a kind of confidence and energy, he really turned the young and experienced to his advantage." The world and the people of North Korea heard the voice of the new leader for the very first time. Even more surprising was Kim's acknowledgment of his people's suffering. He told a gathering of hundreds of thousands, "Our Party is determined our people will not have to tighten their belts but will enjoy wealth and the honor of socialism." Style-wise, Kim cuts a very different figure to his father. He is more personable and willing to interact with his people. He is often seen smiling and laughing and his wife has accompanied him on many field trips, which was unheard of during his father's reign. Read more: Is Kim Jong Un's uncertainty driving the rockets? "She's played a very surprising role in constructing this image of a looser, more relaxed, more open leader domestically," adds Delury. But despite a softer side appearing on camera, little has improved for the people of North Korea. Aid groups say malnutrition is still rampant in the countryside, brutal labor camps still remain and defector groups in Seoul claim Kim has cracked down even harder on people trying to escape. They say the leader has threatened to imprison or even kill three generations of the family left behind. It's a claim CNN cannot independently confirm. Kim has made his mark on the military, replacing some generals loyal to his father with those loyal to him. "Certainly everyone has noticed a number of the key military figures, you know four who walked with Kim Jong Il's remains a year ago have sort of disappeared from the scene or have been reshuffled." But his statements on the South Korean or American leadership remain just as bellicose as during the his father's era and he frequently visits military barracks and installations. Read more: What is life like inside North Korea? Speculation about internal displeasure among some of those replaced by Kim Jong Un may be easing since last week's successful rocket launch, the second attempt in a year. "I think it earned him a lot of patriotic points," says Jasper Kim, founder of Asia-Pacific Global research Group. "So that will basically placate the military so this will give him extra room to maneuver in terms of making modernization efforts if that's his plan." Kim Jong Un's use of the media has been a drastic departure from his father's time. Live broadcasts and televised public speeches are no longer so unusual. Jasper Kim adds, "Kim Jong Un basically grew up on Google and his father grew up on letters and stamps. It's a new era and Kim Jong Un realizes the more he can kind of shape the narrative to the international community, the more it is to his benefit in terms of getting security and money and everything else that he wants for his country."
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Kim Jong Un has ruled North Korea for one year . His father, Kim Jong Il died of heart attack on December 17, 2011 . Younger Kim departs from his father's style, but repression, malnutrition remain .
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Beijing (CNN) -- For the first time, urban dwellers in China now outnumber those living in the country. At the end of 2011, China counted 690.79 million urban dwellers, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Tuesday. That marks an increase of 21 million over the previous year and accounts for 51.27% of the country's 1.347 billion people. During the same period, the rural population shrunk by 14.56 million to 656.56 million. The number of people between the ages of 15 and 64 stood at about 1 billion, or 74.4% of the total population, the NBS added. China's breakneck economic growth over the past three decades has seen an explosion in the size of China's cities and towns, especially along its prosperous east coast. China's economic growth slowing? Spurred by Deng Xiaoping's reform policies of the 1970s, which were aimed at modernizing an economy that had been dominated by agriculture, millions of Chinese farmers have been on the move, a massive internal migration that has changed the face of China. Many of these migrant workers, known as "mingong," have left the countryside for the cities looking for better-paid jobs in areas such as manufacturing. Mega-cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, have been at the heart of this change, serving as the engines of China's rapid economic transformation. "Urbanization is an irreversible process and in the next 20 years, China's urban population will reach 75% of the total population," said Li Jianmin, head of the Institute of Population and Development Research at Nankai University, in quotes carried by Agence France-Presse. "This will have a huge impact on China's environment, and on social and economic development." There are at least 200 million migrant workers in the whole country, according to a national census carried out in April last year. Many are seasonal workers who work in cities part-time and then return to their villages -- though an increasing number live and work in urban centers permanently. However, it is difficult for many rural migrants working in cities to become fully-fledged urban residents, due to a centuries-old household registration system known as "hukou," which categorizes the population into rural and urban residents. Without an urban hukou permit, a migrant is often denied access to the subsidized health, housing and education for children that city dwellers enjoy.
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2011: China counted 690.79 million urban dwellers, 656.56 million in rural areas . China's breakneck economic growth has seen explosion in size of China's cities . Many migrant workers, known as "mingong," have left the countryside for the cities . Analyst: Urbanization is an irreversible process in the next 20 years .
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(CNN) -- Zemco Industries in Buffalo, New York, has recalled approximately 380,000 pounds of deli meat that may be contaminated with bacteria that can cause a potentially fatal disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday. The products were distributed to Wal-Marts nationwide, according to the USDA's website. The meats may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which was discovered in a retail sample collected by inspectors in Georgia. The USDA has received no reports of illnesses associated with the meats. Upon learning of the voluntary recall, Wal-Mart immediately told its stores to remove the meat from their shelves, the company said in a statement. "Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease," according to the USDA. "Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis. However, listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. "Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy," the USDA said. The products subject to recall are: . -- 25.5-pound cases of "Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches BLACK FOREST HAM With Natural Juices Coated with Caramel Color" with the number 17800 1300. -- 28.49-pound cases of "Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches HOT HAM, HARD SALAMI, PEPPERONI, SANDWICH PEPPERS" with the number 17803 1300. -- 32.67-pound cases of "Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches VIRGINIA BRAND HAM With Natural Juices, MADE IN NEW YORK, FULLY COOKED BACON, SANDWICH PICKLES, SANDWICH PEPPERS" with the number 17804 1300. -- 25.5-pound cases of "Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches ANGUS ROAST BEEF Coated with Caramel Color" with the number 17805 1300. The meats were produced on dates ranging from June 18 to July 2, 2010. The "Use By" dates range from August 20 to September 10, 2010. Wal-Mart noted the recall involves Marketside Grab and Go sandwiches, but not individual packages of deli meat. "We encourage customers who recently purchased this item to return it for a full refund," the company statement said. CNN's Ashley Hayes contributed to this report.
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NEW: Wal-Mart says products immediately were pulled from shelves . The recalled meat products were sold at Wal-Marts nationwide . The meat products were produced from mid-June through early July . Listeriosis is an uncommon, but potentially fatal disease .
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St. Louis (CNN) -- A 1-year-old boy whose family fought a Canadian hospital over whether he should be allowed to die received a tracheotomy at his St. Louis hospital early Monday morning. Officials at the SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center where Joseph Maraachli -- widely known in the media as "baby Joseph" -- is being treated, wrote that following a thorough examination by a multi-disciplinary team of specialists and ethicists, a tracheotomy was deemed "medically appropriate" for the child. The surgical procedure creates an opening into the airway through an incision in the neck, and a tube allows for suction of fluid out of the lungs. According to the hospital, this creates a safe and stable way to use a mechanical ventilator. Joseph, who was born in January 2010, had been in the care of the London Health Sciences Centre in Canada since October. His doctor, in court papers, said there was no hope for recovery and recommended that the infant's breathing tube be removed and he be allowed to die. The hospital would not perform a tracheotomy because they consider it to be an invasive procedure, one not typically recommended for patients who require a long-term breathing machine. The child's parents, Moe and Sana Maraachli, refused to comply with court orders and sought instead to have their son transferred to a location where he could get a tracheotomy combined with continued mechanical ventilation and later be transferred home into their care. Physicians at Cardinal Glennon say Joseph suffers from a rare genetic neurometabolic disorder called Leigh Syndrome. According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders. The condition is characterized by the degeneration of the central nervous system and is inherited in most cases. In February, a family spokesperson told CNN the Maraachlis have undergone genetic testing, but no genetic link had been found. Joseph will remain in the intensive care unit for seven to 10 days and then head to Ranken Jordan, a pediatric specialty hospital in St. Louis, before being discharged and transported to his family home in Windsor, Ontario.
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Canadian doctors had refused, citing no hope for recovery . Surgical procedure allows use of mechanical ventilator . Boy has rare genetic disorder .
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(CNN) -- The feelgood factor which surrounded the London Olympics has been credited with bringing the Tour de France to Britain. The 2014 race, which will begin in the northern English county of Yorkshire on July 5, will have three stages before moving across the channel. Bradley Wiggins became the first British man to win the Tour last year and led the way as the host enjoyed a hugely successful Olympic Games. English county Yorkshire to host start of 2014 Tour de France . Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France Director told the competition's official website: "The Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2007 in London, the first ever organised in the United Kingdom, will remain unforgettable. We are very glad to return, seven years after, to this magnificent city. "We hope and trust that the 2014 Grand Départ will be just as spectacular: this is my wish, and I don't think I need to worry, as it seems very likely to come true given how impressed we were with the passion and desire of our friends from Yorkshire ever since we first met. Wiggins the first Tour de France victory for British cyclist . "At that time, we were considering a return to the UK for the Tour in 2016- 2017. That was before British cycling's golden summer. Bradley Wiggins' historic victory in the Tour de France combined with the phenomenal success of the cycling events during the Olympic Games convinced us that we should come back earlier and, to tell the truth, as quickly as possible." The 101st edition of 'Le Tour' will start with a 190 kilometer ride through the Yorkshire Dales National Park before reaching Harrogate, where the first yellow jersey will be presented. The riders will then complete the Holme Moss climb the following day as they weave their way from York to Sheffield before heading south towards London on July 7. Wiggins makes history . The peloton will pass the Olympic Park, the River Thames, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. The final stage will finish at the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace where huge crowds are expected. Over one million people lined the streets six years ago when the tour passed from London through to Canterbury in Kent. "In its 110 years, the Tour will depart for a second time from Great Britain, but it's a second time in seven years, proof of the development of cycling in the United Kingdom," added Prudhomme. The remaining stages of the 2014 Tour will be revealed in Paris on October 23.
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The 2014 Tour de France will start in Britain for first time since 2007 . Three stages will be held in Britain before competition moves across the Channel . 2012 champion Bradley Wiggins hoping for good start in front of home fans . Remaining stages of Tour will be announced in Paris on October 23 .
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(EW.com) -- Gru, the bald and beetle-browed rascal hero of "Despicable Me 2," is an infectious imp — as voiced by Steve Carell, he's like Uncle Fester with the personality of Nikita Khrushchev. But in the first "Despicable Me" (2010), he was a supervillain with a grand plan (he wanted to steal the moon), and in the surprisingly toothless sequel, he has been neutered into a boring nice guy. The co-directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, create a seductively tactile computer-animated landscape in which gentle slapstick rules the day. For some reason, though, they have mostly left out the flashes of egomaniacal dastardliness that even a movie for kids can thrive on (e.g., the far superior Will Ferrell animation Megamind). Kristen Wiig voices Lucy, the Anti-Villain League agent who has a crush on Gru and recruits him to be a spy. You keep waiting for Wiig to display some of her flaked-out inspiration, but she, too, has been given almost nothing to play but sweetness and light. The best thing in the movie is the army of chattery yellow minions who are injected with a serum that transforms them into gnashing purple beasties. By the end, every child in the audience will want his or her own monster-minion toy. Adults will just regret the way that "Despicable Me 2" betrays the original film's devotion to bad-guy gaiety. Grade: C . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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The film is sequel to the 2010 original . This time the main character Gru is a nice guy . Reviewer says the best thing about the film is the minions .
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Washington (CNN) -- Alexander Haig, who managed the Nixon administration during the Watergate crisis and served a controversial stint as secretary of state under President Reagan, died on Saturday. He was 85. Haig died at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, after he was admitted there on January 28, spokesman Gary Stephenson said. "He served his country well. For that he should be remembered," said William Bennett, who was secretary of education during the Reagan administration. "He carried himself well. He carried himself with dignity and honor." The White House issued a statement mourning Haig, saying he "exemplified our finest warrior-diplomat tradition of those who dedicate their lives to public service." A top official in the administrations of three presidents -- Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan -- Haig served as Nixon's chief of staff during the Watergate political crisis, a scandal that dogged the administration in the 1970s. "There was a time during the Watergate crisis when President Nixon was nearly incapacitated," said political analyst and CNN contributor David Gergen, who worked with Haig during the Nixon and Reagan administrations. "He had a hard time focusing, so obviously obsessed with the scandal and the gathering storms around him. I watched Al Haig keep the government moving. I thought it was a great act of statesmanship and service to the country." Haig became secretary of state during the Reagan administration and drew controversy for his much-criticized remark on television after the president was shot and wounded by John Hinckley in March 1981. "As of now, I am in control here in the White House," Haig said as Vice President George H.W. Bush was headed to Washington from Texas. Haig said he wasn't bypassing the rules; he was just trying to manage the crisis until the vice president arrived. However, he was highly criticized for his behavior, and many observers believe it doomed his political ambitions. Born December 2, 1924, in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. was raised by his mother after he lost his father at age 10. He attended the University of Notre Dame for two years before transferring to the U.S. Military Academy in 1944. After his graduation in 1947, he served in Japan and later served on Gen. Douglas MacArthur's staff in Japan during the Korean War. He also served in Vietnam, where he earned the distinguished service cross for heroism in combat. He also won the Purple Heart and Silver Star twice. Haig served as supreme allied commander of NATO forces in Europe for five years. There was an assassination attempt on him in Brussels in 1979 as he was being driven to NATO headquarters. A public official known for his loyalty, Haig had hawkish foreign policy views, and Gergen said he could be tough and "combustible." "He was first and foremost a soldier," Gergen said. Haig was assistant to National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger in the Nixon White House and was involved in the Paris peace agreements that brought an end to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He was long rumored to be Deep Throat, the Washington Post's inside source on the Watergate break-in and cover-up that eventually destroyed Nixon's presidency. W. Mark Felt, then a high-ranking FBI official, declared in 2005 that he was the source. "Great tensions" in the Reagan administration simmered over his stances, and Gergen said, "There was a sense in the White House that he was grabbing too much power. "He wanted to be the, quote, vicar of foreign policy, and there was a lot of pushback from the White House on that. He felt that he had been guaranteed by Ronald Reagan a role as a strong secretary of state and the reins of power would be in his hands. He resented the White House staff trying to manage him," Gergen said. "My own sense is that he has been underappreciated," he said. TIME: Read why Haig left the Reagan White House . As secretary of state, Haig tried shuttle diplomacy to head off war between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982, but he failed. He opposed Reagan's handling of Iran and disagreed with the president's plan on aid to the contra rebels in Nicaragua. He eventually left the Reagan administration after 18 months and made a run for president in 1988, pulling out before the New Hampshire primary. He backed Bob Dole instead of George H.W. Bush when he dropped out. Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton announced Haig's death to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington on Saturday and called him a patriot.
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Haig worked under Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan . He was highly decorated soldier who served during Korean and Vietnam wars . As secretary of state, Haig wrongly declared "I am in control here" after Reagan was shot . He unsuccessfully sought the 1988 Republican presidential nomination .
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(CNN) -- Substitute Mario Balotelli scored a second-half equalizer to earn Inter Milan a 1-1 draw at Parma in their re-arranged Italian Serie A match on Wednesday. Balotelli fired home from close range on the hour mark, just two minutes after coming off the bench, after the Parma defence failed to clear a corner. On-loan Manchester City forward Valeri Bojinov had put the home side ahead in the 54th minute, the goal also coming from a corner that was not cleared properly. Parma played the final 18 minutes with just 10 men after having Francesco Valiani dismissed for a second yellow card. Inter are now unbeaten in nine matches and have increased their lead at the top of the table to nine points from Roma, with city rivals AC Milan another two points further back in third place. Meanwhile, in Germany, Bayern Munich and Schalke joined Werder Bremen in the semifinals of the German Cup with victories on Wednesday. Bayern thumped Greuther Furth 6-2 while Schalke had a narrow 1-0 win at Osnabruck. They are joined in the last four by second division side Augsburg, who claimed a 2-0 vsuccess over Cologne. And in Spain, Sevilla are through to the Copa del Rey final despite a narrow 1-0 defeat Getafe. Roberto Soldado's 53rd minute goal separated the sides, but Sevilla reach the final courtesy of their 2-0 first leg success. They are now likely to face Atletico Madrid in the final, with the capital side facing Racing Santander in Thursday's other semifinal with a 4-0 first leg lead.
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Mario Balotelli scores second-half equalizer to earn Inter Milan a 1-1 draw at Parma . The result leaves Inter nine points clear of Roma at he top of the Serie A table . Sevilla are through to the Copa del Rey final despite a narrow 1-0 defeat Getafe .
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Savannah, Georgia (CNN) -- As Billy Carruthers confidently walks through Savannah's Forsyth Park, the homeless residents do a double take. Most remember Carruthers as a mentally ill, homeless, drug addict who spent his day conning tourists to buy books, then using the money to feed his cocaine habit. Carruthers is bipolar and suffers from depression. It took many years of arrests and falling off his medication before he could kick his cocaine habit. "They look at me today, there's one thing, beyond a shadow of a doubt that they see. They see change. They see recovery," Carruthers said. "They say, 'Where you been? What happened to you?' That's what recovery is." Psychiatrist: I hate suicide but also understand it . Today, Carruthers is helping those still living on the streets cope with their mental illnesses as part of an experimental program in Georgia. Supporters of the Opening Doors to Recovery program believe it can help stop prisons, jails and hospitals from becoming dumping grounds for the mentally ill. The program is trying to show state leaders the benefits of putting state money into this front end program rather than funding prisons and hospitals -- which are much more expensive, according to Nora Haynes who oversees the project for the National Alliance of Mentally Ill, or NAMI. "We've saved the state probably about $10,000 per participant and we have 100 participants ... and that's a minimum," said Nora Haynes, overseeing the project for the National Alliance of Mentally Ill, or NAMI, citing data compiled by NAMI. "We're keeping them out of jails and prisons and state hospitals and we're moving them to recovery which means they'll be going into the system less." Most of the 100 participants in the program are suffering from a variety of mental issues including schizophrenia, bipolar disease and depression, according to NAMI. Many have long criminal records for relatively minor crimes that sent them to jail or to local hospitals at a huge expense to citizens. Each participant is assigned a peer navigator, like Carruthers. Navigators are a point of contact for participants and help them with doctor appointments safe housing, taking medication and even run-ins with the law. Participant names are entered into a database where they are red-flagged in the system if they have a run-in with police. Then, instead of ending up in jail or the emergency room, the flagged participant is picked up by their assigned navigator -- anytime, day or night. Often, said Haynes, participants' erratic behavior can be rectified by something as simple as getting them to take their medication. A typical stay at a county jail will run about $60 per day for a psychiatric inmate, according to Georgia's Department of Corrections. The supervision provided by the Opening Doors to Recovery program costs about $25 a day. To get her cost-savings point across to Georgia legislators last year, Haynes brought a soda can with a $1160 price tag attached to it. This prop helped her tell lawmakers the story of one mental patient who failed to take his medication, then walked out of a convenience store with a can of Coca-Cola without paying for it, and was taken to county jail. Taxpayers paid $1160 for the incident because the patient spent 21 days in jail. The gimmick caught enough notice to get about $800,000 from the Georgia legislature, to help get the program off the ground. "The issue is the same across the country," said Larry Branson of the Savannah Chatham Police Department. "Our jails and prisons are the largest mental health institutions in the nation. There has to be an alternative to hospitalization or jail." A U.S. Department of Justice study in 2006 found mental illness is rampant in the penal system: 56% of state prisoners, 45% of federal prisoners and 64% of local jail inmates have mental health problems. Many are substance abusers. According to the National Alliance of Mentally Ill, prisoners with mental illness cost taxpayers about $9 billion a year. Professor recounts struggle with mental illness . One of the keys to ending this cycle, experts say, is through a personal, one-on-one connection with a trusted mentor. "I need to have someone who could speak to me in my own voice, someone I could respect, someone I could understand," said Carruthers. So, each week Carruthers leads peer groups for the folks he navigates. They've all been homeless at one time or another. "I'd rather stay healthy than be back in the places I've been in," said one female participant. "I want to be myself and not walk around like a zombie anymore," said one man. One person Carruthers cares for and navigates through the system -- who did not want to be identified -- has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. He also has a drinking problem and suffers from delusions. "I just hear voices," he told CNN. "When I was in jail and not taking medications, I thought I was somebody from the Bible. ... I thought my neighbor was talking to me and I took apart the ceiling fan and was trying to find a camera in there." Canine help for mentally ill . The participant has been in and out of jail for a wide variety of minor crimes -- mainly due to his illness. For a while he lived in a homeless shelter. His parents wanted desperately to help him, but just didn't know how. Finally, one day, they picked him up and got him out of the shelter. "You're just emotionally worn out with everything," his mother said. "One minute I say, 'Go live under a bridge' and the next, you just want to hold him and make him better." Now, they credit the Opening Doors to Recovery program and Carruthers, his navigator, for helping him slowly get his life back. "When I was struggling with the medication aspect, he was always there at the doctor's appointments and he would always come before work," the man said. "He'd go out of his way to make sure everything was OK." He has been studying to be an engineer. Up until recently, he's been stable, but he had a positive test for alcohol during a drug court appearance, which was a setback in his lifelong battle. His family still believes he has a decent shot at a normal life, due to his newly found help. "I just want him better," said his mother. "We're not always going to be here." What is bipolar II disorder?
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Georgia's Opening Doors to Recovery helps the mentally ill stay off streets, out of jail . It tries to prevent jails, hospitals from becoming a dumping ground for the mentally ill . The program's director says it has saved the state at least $1 million .
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(CNN) -- Rescuers have yet to find any survivors or bodies Saturday after a landslide that buried 83 workers at a gold mine in the Tibet Autonomous Region, reported Xinhua, the Chinese state-run news agency. The likelihood of the miners' survival of the Friday landslide are slim, a government spokesperson was quoted in the Xinhua report. Rescue efforts are ongoing, despite being hindered by additional minor landslides and altitude sickness. The mining site is located at 4,600 meters, which is 15,092 feet. Cold temperatures falling to -3 degrees Celsius (26 degrees Fahrenheit) have hampered the sniffer dogs' sense of smell and their ability to trace the trapped miners, the news agency reported. The incident occurred Friday, about 6 a.m. in Maizhokunggar County, east of Lhasa, the regional capital. The landslide extended three kilometers (almost two miles) and was made up of about 2 million cubic meters (2.6 million cubic yards) of mud, rock and other debris, according to Xinhua. The victims, including two Tibetans, were workers from Tibet Huatailong Mining Development Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corp., the news agency said. CNN's Lonzo Cook contributed to this report .
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Rescuers seek 83 miners after massive landslide in Tibet Autonomous Region . No survivors or bodies have been found yet; Rescue efforts ongoing . Likelihood of miners' survival are slim, says government official .
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(CNN) -- During a protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square a month after the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, Bothaina Kamel spotted a slogan supporting womens' right to be president of Egypt. She said: "At that moment, I thought we shouldn't just be saying that, we should be putting it into practice." A month later, Kamel announced she was to become Egypt's first female presidential candidate for elections expected to be held early next year. Kamel, 49, is not new to the spotlight in Egypt. She is a television presenter and political campaigner who once resigned from her job as a newsreader on state television because she did not believe the news she was reading. She is an outsider to heavyweight candidates such as Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Amr Moussa, former secretary general of the Arab League, but Kamel believes her campaign is gaining momentum. Although no date has yet been set for the election, Kamel, is already touring the country in an attempt to reach the people she says have been forgotten by the political elite of Cairo. She admits she does not have a budget like the mainstream candidates, or the entourage of bodyguards, but claims to have an army of passionate supporters meeting her wherever she goes. "From the day I announced my candidacy we have achieved a lot," she said. "We have moved through the villages and brought the revolution to all of Egypt, not just the big cities." Describing herself as a social democrat, Kamel has made it her mission to listen to grievances of minorities. She said: "I promise by the election I will be the most informed of the candidates about the Egyptian people. I know the demands of the Bedouin, the people of Upper Egypt, the Coptic Christians, the workers and different groups from all parts of the country." Kamel believes the hard graft is paying off and winning her acceptance as a woman candidate. She said: "At first people were shocked, and after that they took me lightly, but now they are taking me more seriously. "They told me the Egyptian people can't accept a woman president but now they accept me. "The stereotype of Egyptians is that they won't vote for a woman, but people will vote for someone who can help them. If I'm ready to help people, they will vote for me. People are very practical." Kamel's career in radio and television began soon after she graduated from Cairo University, where she was active in student politics. For six years, she hosted a late-night radio show called "Night Confessions" before it was abruptly suspended in 1998. She went on to host a television show called "Argook Efhamni" -- or "Please Understand Me" -- for the Saudi-owned Orbit network for 10 years, before that too was taken off air earlier this year. In 2005, Kamel and two other women founded a movement called "Shayfeen," or "We Are Watching You" to observe Egypt's first multi-party elections, and made a documentary about their efforts. She is now putting together a documentary of the same name about her experiences on the campaign trail, and is accompanied by a cameraman wherever she goes. The slogan for Kamel's campaign -- Egypt is My Agenda -- stems from her experience during the 18 days of Egypt's revolution in January and February this year. "When we were in Tahrir Square, the official media said we were part of a foreign agenda, so I chose the slogan 'Egypt Is My Agenda.'" That revolution is still a work in progress, according to Kamel, who is vocal in her criticism of interim government, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. She said: "I know that we have just started a revolution, we haven't made a revolution yet. There's a lot more to do. "It's still possible that we will see the blood coming, like in Libya and Syria because the army council wants to stay and try to kill the revolution, and one of the dirty schemes is to put the Egyptian people in a helpless state economically. "Now the Egyptians can't feel good from the revolution." Such strong words don't make her popular with everyone, but her calls for a complete change in politics resonate with many. Walid Kazziha, professor of politics at the American University of Cairo, said she is well-known among young people, a familiar face in Tahrir Square during the revolution and famously outspoken, particularly in her criticism of the military council. He said: "On one occasion she was being interviewed on national TV after the revolution and when she criticized the military council the interviewer announced that he got orders to terminate the interview from his superiors." Young people -- much credited with bringing about Egypt's revolution -- are central to Kamel's philosophy. "What we need is not only a political revolution but also a social revolution," she said. "Politics under the Mubarak regime was thugs and black deals, so I want to work to build new values for Egypt." She added: "I believe in tolerance and dialogue between the generations. I tell the elders we must respect our sons and daughters and take them seriously." Kamel, a divorcee with one daughter, has just remarried. Her wedding to the activist judge Ashraf El Baroudi, a campaigner for judicial independence, slotted in between campaigning, trips abroad to speak at conferences on women's issues and studying law part-time at university. The wedding was the day after Kamel's telephone interview with CNN. A few days later she flew to Kenya for a summit of African women. "I'm always busy," she said. "It's important to keep learning."
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Bothaina Kamel plans to stand as Egypt's first female presidential candidate . She is an outsider to forerunners Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa . Kamel is a news presenter who once resigned from state television .
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Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- A Georgia man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease says he wants to die by having his organs harvested rather than wait for his degenerative nerve ailment to kill him. Garry Phebus has been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as the disease is formally known, since 2008. The 61-year-old told HLN's "Prime News" on Thursday that the diagnosis is "a death sentence, positively, no questions asked," and he wants do donate his organs while he still can. "If people have their legs cut off or their wife left them and they commit suicide, it's another story. They still have a life ahead of them. But I do not," he said. And for people waiting for transplants, "There's nothing greater than for a family member to receive an organ so they can watch their family grow up." Lou Gehrig's disease attacks the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, affecting voluntary muscle control. In its later stages, the disease can leave sufferers paralyzed but fully conscious and alert. Phebus lives in White, Georgia, about 50 miles north of Atlanta. He conceded his decision is "not for everyone," but said his family supports him -- a statement backed up with some qualifications by his daughter, Kerri Wilkinson. "We kind of said, 'OK, well, let's not do this at this very second,' but to find out more about it," Wilkinson said. But she said that when her father's disease "gets to the point where he's lost his pride or become humiliated in how he's having to suffer and the indignities ... we're not going to have an issue with that." About 5,600 Americans a year are diagnosed with the disease, according to the ALS Association, a nonprofit group that advocates for more research on the disease. Those diagnosed typically live two to five years. But some, like famed Cambridge University physicist Stephen Hawking, survive for decades. Phebus' offer is "admirable, and our heart goes out to him," Leigh Vinocur, an emergency medicine physician at the University of Maryland, told HLN. "But 10 percent of people can live 20 years with this disease." Vinocur said what Phebus wants to do amounts to physician-assisted suicide, a practice legal in only three U.S. states -- Oregon, Washington and Montana. And in those states, patients who seek to end their lives are typically in the last stages of a terminal disease. "We donate organs in patients that, say, are brain dead or have terminal events," she said. Most doctors "would have a problem" with what Phebus wants to do, because "at this point, he's fairly healthy." "I can't picture any states essentially putting, right now, a relatively healthy man under anesthesia, taking out vital organs like his heart and taking him off the ventilator," Vinocur said. And ALS is unlikely to harm the organs most likely to be used for transplants unless some sort of related infection strikes them, she said. Phebus has also taken his appeal online. In a video posted on the website YouTube, he argues that 90,000 people a year die waiting for organ transplants, and compares his situation to a soldier in a foxhole throwing himself on a grenade to save his comrades. "I am not suicidal," he says. "I just know that it is a matter of time before I die and wish to do a good thing for those people who have a good life expectancy"
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Garry Phebus says he's under a "death sentence" "There's nothing greater than for a family member to receive an organ" Doctor: Physicians are unlikely to go along with the Georgia man's plan . Some ALS sufferers live for decades with the disease .
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(CNN) -- The ever-changing cast of "Saturday Night Live" is getting two new faces, but losing a couple of current members. Michaela Watkins was known for her impressions of Barbara Walters and "Today" show co-host Hoda Kotb. Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson have been dropped from the show, while Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad are joining the cast, Entertainment Weekly reports. Watkins -- who joined "SNL" mid-season last year and was known for her hilarious impersonations of Barbara Walters and Kathie Lee Gifford's suffering "Today" show co-host Hoda Kotb -- said she was shocked by the firing. In an interview with EW, she recalled getting the news from Lorne Michaels, the creator and executive producer of "Saturday Night Live." "I don't think anyone knows what Lorne Michaels was thinking," Watkins told the magazine. "The only explanation I got from him -- and he's not known to say things just to make people feel better -- was that he felt deep down that I should have my own show. And I agreed. 'SNL' was a dream come true for me. It was a fantastic year. I don't have any regrets." Watkins told EW she thinks the new hires will be "exquisite" on the show and said she would take Michaels' advice to pursue her own show. Meanwhile, "SNL" veteran Darrell Hammond is still negotiating for a return to the show, Variety reports. "Saturday Night Live" kicks off its 35th season on September 26.
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Michaela Watkins, Casey Wilson have reportedly been dropped from the show . "'SNL' was a dream come true for me," Watkins tells Entertainment Weekly . "Saturday Night Live" kicks off its 35th season on September 26 .
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(EW.com) -- It's remarkable how strong the Charlie Brown specials continue to perform in the ratings, year after year. "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" is not the most popular entry in the beloved animated franchise (both "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and It's the "Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" deliver bigger numbers). Yet the program still managed to hold its own against CBS' "Survivor" and Fox's "The X-Factor" (in fact, the special edged out Factor in total viewers, see below). Plus,"A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" delivered its biggest audience in four years — 8.1 million viewers and a 2.2 rating in the adult demo, up 22 percent from last year. Pretty spry for a 39-year-old repeat, huh? As for the rest of the programs last night, well ... only the most masochistic of TV showrunners and network executives even look at ratings during a holiday week (which is to say, pretty much all of them). Everything slipped from last week, with CBS' "CSI" dropping the least (only 8 percent) and NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" falling the most (down 24 percent). If you're wondering what to watch today, check out our guide to all the Thanksgiving weekend TV marathons that networks have planned. EW Daily Poll: What will you do on Black Friday? Here's your full chart, repeats marked with an "R": . RANK IN DEMO ADULTS 18-49 RATING TOTAL VIEWERS (+000) FOX 8-10P X-FACTOR #4t 2.2 7,177 . ABC 8-9P CHARLIE BROWN R #4t 2.2 8,092 . 9:00P MODERN FMLY R #6 1.7 5,833 . 9:30P SUBURGATRY R #9t 1.1 3,828 . 10-11P PRIVATE PRCTC #12 1.0 3,682 . CBS 8-9P SURVIVOR #2t 2.3 9,360 . 9-10P CRIMINAL #1 2.7 11,470 . 10-11P CSI #2t 2.3 10,668 . NBC 8:00P WHITNEY #9t 1.1 3,937 . 8:30P GUYS-KIDS #9t 1.1 3,503 . 9-10P LAW&O:SVU #8 1.3 5,194 . 10-11P CHICAGO FIRE #7 1.4 5,431 . See original story at EW.com. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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"A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" delivered 8.1 million viewers and a 2.2 rating in the adult demo . The ratings were up 22 percent from last year . Other regular programming slipped .
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(CNN) -- Authorities have linked seven deaths to the nor'easter affecting the Eastern Seaboard, and more than 300,000 customers remained without power Monday in the Northeast after rain and fierce winds. Hurricane-force winds over the weekend toppled trees, taking power lines with them. Five of the weekend's deaths were caused by falling trees, authorities said. Two people died in New Jersey; authorities from Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, West Virginia and New York each said they had one storm-related death. Heavy rain also caused flooding across the region. Flood warnings were in effect from northern Virginia to southern New Hampshire, the National Weather Service said. The city of Alexandria, along the Potomac River across from Washington, distributed nearly 800 sandbags to those in low-lying areas that typically are first to see high water. A coffee shop there experienced minor flooding, said Alexandria official Rich Baier. Some coastal areas have received more than 6 inches of rain since Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Are you there? Share pictures and video . Con Edison said that more than 86,000 customers were without power Monday in New York City and Westchester County, New York, while the Long Island Power Authority said that 64,437 customers were in the dark. In New Jersey, about 100,000 were without power. Flooding caused 2,000 customers in New Jersey to lose their gas service, PSEG said. Connecticut Light and Power said that about 56,000 customers also had no power Monday. And in Pennsylvania, utility companies had restored power to a majority of residents, but the outage still affected more than 5,000. "The ground is so wet from all the snow we've had this winter, it's helping the trees to topple over as well as our utility poles," said Long Island Power Authority President and CEO Kevin Law. "The conditions are still too terrible to get crews out there." Some customers probably will go without power for a few days, Law said. The outages were due mostly to power lines downed by Saturday's winds, which knocked over trees and utility polls. Wind speeds reached 75 mph at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport -- as strong as a Category 1 hurricane -- and 72 mph in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In Connecticut, the lingering effects of wind and rain from the weekend were apparent just by looking at the streets, according to J.P. McNamara, an iReporter in Fairfield, along the coast. "The beach area of Fairfield experienced high tides that flooded streets with ... water and sand on Saturday night," McNamara said Monday. "Many roads are still blocked off because of fallen trees and limbs, and it seems that this occurrence is widespread." James Durosier, an iReporter from Rahway, New Jersey, said the storm's aftermath reminded him of a scene from an action movie. "The way the whole scene looked was just incredible," Durosier said Sunday of the damage in the area. "Power lines were hanging, street signs knocked down, and it was very quiet." Brian DeNicola of Sayreville, New Jersey, said he has opened his home to three friends who don't have any power or hot water to shower. He said he lost electricity for about an hour Saturday evening and had to use a vacuum to relieve his basement of flooding. DeNicola said he's eager for spring's arrival Saturday. "Oh, thank God, it's almost here," he said. "We're ready. We've had it with this stuff." CNN's Paul Courson, Edmund DeMarche, Henry Hanks and Khadijah Rentas contributed to this report.
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NEW: Five deaths blamed on falling trees . 86,000 without power in New York City and Westchester County, Con Ed says . Some customers will be without power for days, Long Island utility says .
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(CNN) -- American Airlines is making Karen O'Laughlin a little nervous. O'Laughlin, a longtime fan of the airline, already bought her American plane ticket to fly from St. Louis to New York to visit her grandsons next month. "I choose American because it's a straight flight, no stops, and it's the right time, (but) I do have some angst about my flight being canceled," she said. Who wants to fly American? The troubled airline has been beset by labor troubles, delays and flight cancellations and, most recently, two aircraft that couldn't keep several seats in place. American, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last year, persuaded a judge to throw out its contract with the pilots union last month. Since then, the pilots have been engaging in what the airline calls a slowdown that has caused the number of flights that are delayed and canceled to skyrocket. Broken coffee pots and reading lights, torn seat pockets and precautionary maintenance checks that lead to nothing wrong: Those are some of the complaints by pilots that are slowing American flights, according to spokesman Bruce Hicks. American Airlines plane makes emergency landing . "Clearly, our operation is nowhere near where we want it to be, where it has historically been and the kind of quality operation American Airlines runs day in and day out," Hicks told CNN in an interview two weeks ago. "We are working as hard as we can to try and mitigate this and do all we can to resolve it. We certainly understand; we very much do apologize for any delay or cancellation that we have seen." The solution, Hicks said, is for the pilots to stop their slowdown. The airline threatened last week to seek an injunction in court, if the pilots union doesn't "take steps to end the disruption of American's operations by some pilots," according to a letter to the union from Denise Lynn, American's senior vice president/people. Customers are piling on . Stories of American employees making choices that upset their customers are starting to proliferate, possibly driving existing customers away. In his "Friends Don't Let Friends Fly American Airlines" blog post on Slate, Matthew Yglesias wrote of a delayed first flight turning into a missed connection because the pilot chose to leave rather than let a group of passengers on board two minutes before his scheduled departure time. At least that flight left on time. Gary Shteyngart described a trans-Atlantic flight that should have taken a few hours turning into a 30-hour Kafkaesque ordeal that included a stop in a third country. Aeroflot came off looking good in his absurdly humorous New York Times tale. Travel agents shying away . Travel agents say they can't count on American flights to depart -- or those that do depart to land on time. So they started directing their customers away from American after the troubled airline began canceling flights last month. In the past month, more than 1,000 American flights have been canceled and 12,000 delayed. "It's just getting too risky with the threat of probable cancellations on the horizon," said Jay Johnson, president of Coastline Travel Advisors, a Virtuoso travel agency in Garden Grove, California, that temporarily halted sales of American tickets until "we have confidence that there will not be widespread cancellations." "It's an unfortunate situation, as we really don't have a lot of other options, especially to the Caribbean, where they dominate the market," he said. "To be proactive, we are in the process of looking for alternative flights for those passengers who have booked refundable tickets." Why did aircraft seats get loose? Passengers already feeling the bumpy impact of that labor dispute had another concern over the weekend when a row of seats dislodged during a flight and prompted an emergency landing, the airline said Monday. A Boeing 757 from Boston to Miami carrying 175 passengers diverted to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport on Saturday when three seats in row 12 came loose shortly after takeoff. A second American Boeing 757 returned to JFK on Monday morning after a similar seats issue was discovered. "An initial internal investigation into why a row of seats became loose on two American Airlines Boeing 757s has indicated that there could be a possible issue with a certain model of seats and how they fit into the tracking used to secure the seats," the airline said in a statement. "Out of an abundance of caution, American has decided to proactively reinspect eight 757s today that could possibly have this same issue. The seats were installed by American maintenance and contract maintenance. The issue does not seem to be tied to any one maintenance facility or one work group. "This afternoon, the company flew engineers, tech crew chiefs and inspectors from its Tulsa maintenance base to New York to evaluate the aircraft and determine the next course of action to correct the problem." The Allied Pilots Association, the largest independent pilot union and a certified collective bargaining agent for the 10,000 American pilots, said the interior overhaul of the Boston plane was performed by third-party maintenance workers, according to spokesman Gregg Overman. 'I'm not looking for headaches' One Atlanta-based travel agent shifted one set of clients traveling to Europe this fall from an American flight to a Delta flight. "Price was about the same. American had a slightly better schedule, but I am not looking for headaches and canceled flights are big headaches." "In our business, it is very hard to recommend something that you know is not certain," wrote the travel agent, who didn't want to be named, in an e-mail. "Any time you have labor disputes and/or financial problems, the dependability factor goes down." iPad use picking up in cockpits . Teen with Down syndrome stopped from boarding plane . Golden days of air travel: How glorious were they?
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Broken coffee pots and reading lights, torn seat pockets could be delaying flights . More than 1,000 American flights have been canceled and 12,000 delayed in the past month . Some travel agents have started directing their customers away from American Airlines .
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(CNN) -- An Arizona sheriff's deputy who said he was shot by a suspected drug trafficker in the desert has been fired following an investigation into comments he made to a Phoenix newspaper and investigators, the department said Wednesday. Louie Puroll, who was previously suspended, will appeal his termination, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Ten allegations were sustained during an internal probe, including incompetence, improper conduct, and violations of truthfulness and the code of ethics, according to the statement. Sheriff Paul Babeu cited comments Puroll made to reporter Paul Rubin of the Phoenix New Times, which challenged Puroll's version of the April 30 shooting incident. "I stood by my deputy after he was shot by drug smugglers in April because his statements to both criminal and internal investigators were consistent, supported by physical evidence, radio transmissions, GPS coordinates, other victims/witnesses and later through gunshot residue testing conducted on the shirt he was wearing," Babeu said in the statement. "The manner in which Deputy Puroll conducted himself following the shooting investigation when interviewed by Reporter Paul Rubin brought great discredit to himself and the men and women representing our sworn law enforcement profession." The department released no other details of the investigation. Puroll told the newspaper that representatives of "the Mexican cartel" have approached him four or five times over the years wanting to do business and asking him to look the other way. Puroll told the newspaper he didn't arrest any of these men, call for backup, or write reports about the encounters, the New Times reported. Puroll was also investigated for allegedly telling the reporter "you're lucky to be alive right now" and that he knew a rancher who offered to murder the reporter after his initial article challenged Puroll's account of his wounding, sheriff's office spokesman Tim Gaffney said in early December. In October, authorities said Puroll was telling the truth about how he was wounded. They presented evidence from a follow-up investigation provoked by a media report that challenged the deputy's version of events. "Many have suggested a conspiracy, (that) somehow our deputy shot himself," Babeu said at a press conference October 7. "People weighed in that weren't from Arizona ... and it put that question of doubt in the public's mind that there's something here to look at." In September, The Phoenix New Times cited forensic experts who challenged the account from Puroll, who said he was shot in the central Arizona desert from a distance by an illegal immigrant with an AK-47. Two experts were quoted by the New Times as saying the evidence suggested Puroll had been shot at very close range. The Pinal County Sheriff's Office said in October that new testing on the bullet-torn shirt Puroll was wearing on the day of the shooting had ruled out a close-range shot. "The physical evidence, radio traffic, phone calls and now this gunshot residue testing completed by the Arizona Department of Public Safety all confirm (Puroll's) account of the events," the sheriff's office said in a statement. The New Times allegations provoked the sheriff's office to reopen its investigation into the case "to maintain transparency," according to the sheriff's office, and "to prove without question that the weapon fired at Deputy Puroll was not a 'contact wound.' " The office said last year that Puroll's shirt from the day of the incident was tested by the Arizona Department of Public Safety for "the presence of munitions residue, indicative of a close contact discharge." "This testing further confirms that the gunshot wound was not a close contact shot as had been reported by the two doctors through a local media entity," the statement said, referring to The Phoenix New Times. Asked at an October press conference if he was anxious about how the tests would come back, Puroll said no. "I did not need any test -- I was there," he said. "I did not shoot myself." On April 30, Puroll contacted authorities after being wounded in the desert, Lt. Tammy Villar, a sheriff's spokeswoman, said at the time. The deputy radioed that he had encountered five men, some wielding long guns and handguns, and said they were carrying a large amount of marijuana. At one point the deputy lost radio contact with authorities, leading to a search by foot and by air for him and the shooter, according to CNN affiliate KNXV. Video from the scene showed that the deputy was located while sitting in desert brush, surrounded by cactus. He was able to walk to a helicopter, which airlifted him to a hospital. The deputy was shot in the left abdomen and suffered a superficial wound, law enforcement sources said at the time. The shooting came amid a national debate over Arizona's tough new immigration law.
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Sheriff's office terminates deputy over comments to newspaper . Louie Puroll said he was shot by suspected drug trafficker . Puroll's conduct after probe of shooting "brought great discredit," sheriff says . He will appeal his firing, the department says .
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(CNN) -- Liverpool announced on Thursday that they have reached an agreement with Dutch club Heerenveen for the transfer of winger Oussama Assaidi, on a busy day of transfer activity in the Premier League. With the new season due to start on Saturday, and just over two weeks left of the transfer window, several of clubs have moved to finalise transfers in time for the first fixtures. Assaidi's move is subject to a medical, but the Morocco international's transfer could still be completed in time for him to play against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Elsewhere, former Manchester United, Fulham and Everton striker Louis Saha has signed a for Sunderland. The 34 year old striker left Tottenham Hotspur at the end of last season, and has agreed a one year deal with Martin O'Neill's side. "Louis is a striker whose abilities have been proven at the very highest level and he brings with him a raft of experience of top flight football," O'Neill told the club's website. "I'm delighted we have been able to complete a deal ahead of our first match of the season." Sunderland's local rivals Newcastle United also added to their side on Thursday, finally completing the transfer of Ajax midfielder Vurnon Anita. The 23 year old has signed a five year deal to become the club's fourth signing of the summer. Newcastle manager Alan Pardew described Anita as "exceptionally talented" and said he hoped the young players "best years" will be at Newcastle. "He has strengthened us. You need three top class central midfield players, which we now have. That is mainly where he will play," said Pardew on the official website. The Dutch midfielder was delighted with the move. "I won almost everything in Holland so the step was not difficult to make. Now I think we can also win trophies with Newcastle and it's time to do that.," Anita told the club's website. "In the Premier League especially, every game is tough so it can help me also to grow in my football skills." "I talked to the manager and the coach and they know that I want to play in a defensive midfield place and that's why they brought me here," he added.
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Liverpool have agreed a deal for winger Oussama Assaidi . Sunderland have signed striker Louis Saha on a free transfer . Newcastle have completed the signing of Vurnon Anita . Anita was described as "exceptionally talented" by his new manager .
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(CNN) -- When Neil Armstrong took one small step onto the moon in 1969, it seemed only a matter of time before the advent of thriving space colonies and summer vacations on distant planets. But after an initial flurry of moon landings, manned lunar expeditions dwindled: the last time an astronaut left his footprints on the moon was in 1972. Plants such as lettuce, peppers and tomatoes will be on the menu at Moon Base One. Then, in January 2004, President Bush announced NASA's intention to return humans to the moon by 2020, and in 2006, NASA announced plans to set up a manned lunar outpost by 2024, with the European and Russian Space Agencies now planning bases of their own. After years in limbo, the dream of living in space is alive once more. Sustaining long-term space habitation presents space agencies with a whole new set of technological and logistical challenges. Currently, the International Space Station supports three astronauts in a low Earth orbit, with food supplied periodically by space shuttle. But, just as home cooking is cheaper than getting takeout, when it comes to more permanent settlements, this kind of supply voyages would be prohibitively expensive: we will need to grow our own food in space. Raymond Wheeler, a plant physiologist at Kennedy Space Center, explained to CNN, "In the near term it's not needed, for example on the space station and initial short sorties to the moon, but as you go further and stay longer, regenerative systems become much more cost effective." Wheeler sees this development of space farming as a gradual process in which space outposts become increasingly self-sufficient. "It would probably be evolutionary," he said. "The first human missions to Mars might set out with everything stowed, but they might set up the beginnings of an in-situ production system -- maybe a plant chamber -- that you could use to grow perishable foods. You wouldn't be providing everything, but in subsequent missions if you returned there you could expand the infrastructure." Of course, this means growing plants in conditions very different from those on Earth. Yet research has shown that plants are surprisingly adaptable. For example, while plants normally use gravity to direct the growth of their stems and roots, in low gravity conditions they can use light to orient themselves. And research suggests that plants can grow well even at very low atmospheric pressures. That reduces the leakage of oxygen and carbon dioxide from their growth chamber out into space, but crucially, it also reduces the structural requirements of a "space greenhouse," meaning less construction material needs to be shipped into orbit. Nor is the absence of soil a problem. Many supermarket vegetables are already grown hydroponically in nutrient-enriched water, and research indicates this technique could work well in space. Some have even suggested the loose rock regolith on the surface of the moon or Mars as a growing medium, although additional minerals would need to be brought from Earth. So what's on the menu at Moon Base One? Well, initial crops would need to be small in stature and grow well in controlled environments with artificial light. Plants such as peppers and tomatoes are already extensively grown hydroponically, while lettuce, with its short lifecycle, would yield fast returns for pioneering space colonists. But again, Wheeler sees the choice of crops as part of an evolutionary process. He tells CNN, "The first things you might grow would be perishable foods -- maybe vegetables or fruits -- things that don't keep very well if you're on a journey to Mars. Even though you're not providing a lot of calories, these things could have a strong impact in terms of adding color, flavor and texture to the diet." "The other reason for considering freshly consumed foods on early missions is that they don't require any processing," he continued. "If you were to grow grains, like wheat, you'd have to thresh the seed out of the head, then clean it and mill it to make flour. Staple crops like wheat, soy bean, rice and potato -- things that would provide carbohydrates, protein and fat -- they're the final end point." Crops need a sheltered environment, protected from the extreme temperatures and frightening levels of radiation found on the moon's surface, with water, carbon dioxide and light. Researchers at the University of Arizona's Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC), in collaboration with Sadler Machine Company (SMC), have come up with one solution: to house plants and astronauts in an inflatable habitat. They are working on a full-scale prototype Mars Inflatable Greenhouse. Space-worthy inflatable structures have been around since the 1960s and are lightweight, compact in transit and easy to assemble on landing. But what's novel about the CEAC design is that it incorporates a bio-regenerative life-support system -- the kind of technology that could one day not only feed an outpost on the moon or Mars, but also provide it with oxygen and recycle its water. Gene Giacomelli, Director of CEAC, told CNN, "If people get to Mars we want to be able to feed them, but maybe even more importantly revitalize the atmosphere -- allow the plants to consume the carbon dioxide as they do so well here on Earth, and provide oxygen." In the prototype designed by Phil Sadler (SMC) and evaluated by Giacomelli and graduate student Lane Patterson, plants are grown hydroponically. As water evaporates from their leaves, air moisture is condensed and re-used for irrigation. The inedible bits of plants, the stems and leaves, are fed into a composter that breaks down the biomass, releasing carbon dioxide that can be re-used by growing plants. In a working moon base, waste water from the astronauts' showers and laundry could also go into the composter, where it would be cleaned by microbes and then used in the plants' hydroponic system, before being condensed and re-used by the astronauts once again. The CEAC team intends to test the finished prototype in Antarctica, a harsh and remote environment that provides a realistic analog of conditions on the moon. The team has already provided a food growth chamber for the Amundsen-Scott South-Pole Station and the time Sadler and Patterson have spent there has provided a unique insight into some of the other benefits that bio-regenerative life support might provide for inhabitants of a space base. "It's not just oxygen, fresh water and food that it provides, but it's also the green, living plants that psychologically become so important to people living and working in a confined, harsh, black and white space at the South Pole or in a moon or Mars base," says Giacomelli. Patterson adds, "Bright lights, high humidity, green plants and the fragrance as well -- these are things that are missing in that environment. Those things shouldn't be underestimated." The CEAC project offers a tantalizing glimpse of the kind of habitat that may house settlers in the space colonies of the future. And perhaps one day, as you relax in your inflatable villa by the Sea of Tranquility, plants will provide much more than just your dinner. ................................................................................................................... Do you think farming on the moon will be a reality by 2024? Should man be developing stations on the moon? Send us your thoughts by using the "Sound Off" below.
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NASA plans lunar outpost by 2024 . Long-term space habitation will require space farming . CEAC and SMC working on prototype Mars Inflatable Greenhouse . Greenhouse could provide food, oxygen and recycle water .
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(CNN) -- A federal judge threw out Lance Armstrong's lawsuit against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency with great force and speed Monday, blasting the seven-time Tour de France champion in a sharply worded ruling. Armstrong filed the case Monday morning in his hometown of Austin, Texas, in a bid to halt a doping case against him. In his brief order, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks wrote that the case was full of legally irrelevant claims "included solely to increase media coverage of this case" and stir up hostility toward the USADA. "This court is not inclined to indulge Armstrong's desire for publicity, self-aggrandizement, or vilification of defendants, by sifting through 80 mostly unnecessary pages in search of the few kernels of factual material relevant to his claims," Sparks wrote. He urged the cyclist to re-file his lawsuit without "any improper argument, rhetoric, or irrelevant material." "Contrary to Armstrong's apparent belief, pleadings filed in the United States District Courts are not press releases, internet blogs or pieces of investigative journalism," the judge added in a footnote. "All parties, and their lawyers, are expected to comply with the rules of this court, and face potential sanctions if they do not." French Tour de France cyclist arrested . In a statement issued late Monday, Armstrong lawyer Tim Herman said he would "conform my conduct precisely" to the judge's order. "When Judge Sparks speaks, I listen," Herman said. "It doesn't change the legal issues involved or any of the relief that we seek." Mark Fabiani, another Armstrong attorney, said the suit could be re-filed as early as Tuesday. The USADA has accused Armstrong of using performance-enhancing drugs. The 40-year-old cyclist, who is now competing in triathlons, had asked the court to file an injunction against the USADA by Saturday, the agency's deadline for Armstrong to either contest the charges or accept sanctions. Armstrong maintains he has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and said the USADA and its CEO, Travis Tygart, are out to get a "big fish" to justify the agency's existence. "Defendants have charged Mr. Armstrong with unspecified doping violations and seek to try him through USADA's self-created, self-regulated and self-operated process that it has rigged to ensure that it cannot lose," the lawsuit says. "USADA's kangaroo court proceeding would violate due process even if USADA had jurisdiction to pursue its charges against Mr. Armstrong." In June, the agency announced that it was opening proceedings against Armstrong and five former teammates. In a statement issued in response to the lawsuit, Tygart said the agency "was built by athletes on the principles of fairness and integrity." "Like previous lawsuits aimed at concealing the truth, this lawsuit is without merit and we are confident the courts will continue to uphold the established rules, which provide full constitutional due process and are designed to protect the rights of clean athletes and the integrity of sport," he said. The 40-year-old Armstrong has said the Union Cycliste Internationale, the international governing body of cycling, is the "only organization permitted to assess the evidence." He said he has taken at least 500 drug tests in his cycling career without failing one. Why fans shouldn't forgive Armstrong . Armstrong faces a lifetime ban and could be stripped of his Tour de France victories if found guilty by the USADA. Armstrong won the Tour each year from 1999 to 2005, most of those for a team sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service. He retired twice from cycling, -- first in 2005, for four years, and again in 2011. The USADA is a quasi-government agency recognized as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic events in the United States. In a June letter to Armstrong, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, the agency said it collected blood samples from Armstrong in 2009 and 2010 that were "fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions." EPO, or erythropoietin, boosts the number of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the muscles. The letter accused Armstrong and five former cycling team associates engaged in a doping conspiracy from 1998 to 2011. If there is a hearing, riders will testify that Armstrong used EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone and masking agents, and that he distributed and administered drugs to other cyclists from 1998 to 2005, according to the letter. Armstrong has been dogged by allegations of drug abuse in recent years, with compatriot Floyd Landis -- who was found guilty of doping in the 2006 Tour de France, resulting in him being stripped of the title -- making a series of claims last year. Armstrong came out fighting in May 2011, in the face of fresh allegations made on the CBS News' "60 Minutes" show by another American, Tyler Hamilton. In the CBS interview, Hamilton, who retired in 2009 after twice testing positive himself, says he first saw Armstrong use EPO in 1999. "I saw it in his refrigerator," Hamilton told the news program. "I saw him inject it more than one time like we all did, like I did many, many times." In February, Justice Department prosecutors said they closed a criminal investigation after reviewing allegations against Armstrong. They had called witnesses to a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, but they apparently determined they lacked evidence to bring a charge that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong has won two half-distance Ironman events this year, and he is suspended from World Triathlon Corporation competitions. The world championships will be held in October in Hawaii. He was a U.S. triathlon champion as a teenager. CNN's Nick Valencia contributed to this report.
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"When Judge Sparks speaks, I listen," Armstrong lawyer says . Court filings "are not press releases," a judge scolds Armstrong . The seven-time Tour de France winner faces doping charges . Armstrong says the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is out to justify its existence by pursuing him .
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(CNN) -- When Jon Huntsman announced his campaign for president last summer, he received the type of media attention that presumed he would be an immediate and formidable challenger for the Republican nomination. Unlike other early casualties like Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann, Huntsman did not self-destruct. There was no spectacular immolation or flameout that rocked the political world, nor had there been the type of stratospheric rise that marked Cain and Bachmann's campaigns. Instead, there was just a long, steady flatline, with maybe the slightest sign of a heartbeat in the days before the New Hampshire primary, but far too little and too late to make any difference. It was only in the superheated world of cable TV and online media that his withdrawal received more than a moment's notice. So what went wrong for a candidate who entered the race with a biography and a bank account that seemed to presume a major impact on the primary campaign? The conventional wisdom is that Huntsman was unnecessarily confrontational toward conservatives early in his campaign, the Republican who didn't seem to want to be a Republican. For a candidate with such strong conservative credentials on almost every issue, the strategy didn't make sense. But that combative approach, combined with his time in the Obama administration, allowed him to be typecast by a lot of GOP voters from the outset and he never recovered. The other, bigger problem he faced was his lack of presence in the candidate debates. The debates this year, for better or worse, became the stage on which the contenders defined themselves for the voters in the early primary states. They provided campaign-changing moments for Cain, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and others. But Huntsman just faded into the background and was never able to use them as a platform from which he could draw attention to his candidacy. Exacerbating his irrelevance was Huntsman's decision to skip the Iowa caucuses, condemning him to be overlooked in most daily campaign coverage. John McCain made the same decision 12 years earlier and used the time to build a New Hampshire campaign that catapulted him to victory in that state's primary. But McCain's biography as a Vietnam POW drew public attention in a way that Huntsman's time as ambassador to China could never duplicate. Worse, Huntsman never developed a policy proposal that created a rationale for an insurgent candidacy the way McCain's embrace of campaign finance reform did for him that year. It's not that Huntsman made any major errors in his campaign. He was perfectly presentable and mostly polite, the perfect lodger and the perfect guest. For most of the campaign, though, Jon Huntsman was simply the man who wasn't there. Join CNN Opinion on Facebook and follow updates on Twitter . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dan Schnur .
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Jon Huntsman drops out of GOP race after weak performance in New Hampshire . Dan Schnur: Huntsman did not self-destruct, but his candidacy never caught on . Schnur says Huntsman didn't become much of a presence in the GOP debates . Huntsman's decision to skip the Iowa caucuses helped lessen media's interest in him, he says .
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(CNN) -- More countries pledged aid to Taiwan on Friday, days after Typhoon Morakot battered the island and left dozens of villages deluged with floodwaters, killing 116 people. This image from an ireporter emphasizes the damage inflicted by Typhoon Morakot. Officials from Hong Kong said they would recommend sending HK$50 million (US$6.45 million) in aid. The aid request needed to get final authorization. Once that happens Hong Kong will join a growing group of countries and territories that have rushed to help typhoon-battered Taiwan. More than 30 countries have offered money, helicopters, medication or other supplies. "They have presented the goodwill to help," said Benjamin Chi, a government spokesman. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou toured the Jiadong and Linbian townships in Pingtung County Thursday, then visited Kaohsiung County, where a wall of mud had cut off the village of Shiaolin. Watch why public anger's building » . Meanwhile, nearly 1,700 people were rescued from areas devastated by the storm, and a government spokeswoman said she believed "the situation is getting better." Janet Chang said 1,692 people were rescued Thursday, mostly from the two mountainous counties that bore the brunt of the storm -- Kaohsiung and Pingtung. However, a funeral director in coastal Kaohsiung County, where a makeshift morgue was set up, told CNN that about 200 bodies had arrived there -- many from neighboring villages. Relief workers cleaned and photographed the bodies, preparing them for identification by loved ones. Chang said that based on official figures, 45 people were injured in the storm and 59 remain missing. She could not say how many more people needed to be rescued. Watch a grandmother describe her escape » . Since the typhoon made landfall over the weekend, nearly 15,700 people have been rescued from villages hit by mudslides and floodwaters, according to official government figures. Most of the missing were in Kaohsiung County, the National Disaster Prevention and Protection Commission reported. Watch a makeshift morgue and funeral » . Torrential downpours, dense fog, rugged terrain and raging rivers have made rescues difficult. Washed out roads and bridges rendered ground rescue operations virtually impossible in the central and southern regions of the island. Rescuers were forced to search by helicopter, inflatable boats and zip-line mechanisms that suspended them over the muddy waters raging below. In some cases food drops have been conducted over isolated villages tucked amid the rugged terrain, as villagers sought higher ground to stay dry. The Central Weather Bureau in Taiwan said that over a one-day period after the typhoon hit, Pingtung County received a record 55 inches of rain (1,403 mm). Elsewhere on the island, rainfall amounts were as high as 83 inches (2,108 mm). Seattle, Washington, one of the wettest U.S. cities, has an average annual rainfall of 37 inches per year (940 mm). The storm primarily targeted southern Taiwan. Isolated scattered showers and thunderstorms were forecast for Taiwan overnight Thursday into Friday, mostly in the north, where the capital is located, said CNN International meteorologist Brandon Miller. "As a whole, the weather actually is pretty good," he said. It was 90 degrees (31C) late Thursday. Miller said Taipei had had "significant rainfall" of 5 or 6 inches (150 mm) over the past two days. The Red Cross is helping the government dispense food, water and other necessities from a central command center, where helicopters pick up the supplies for their humanitarian missions, said organization spokesman Christian Li on Wednesday. Economic losses due to Morakot have been estimated at U.S. $274 million. After hitting Taiwan, Morakot roared on to mainland China on Sunday, killing at least six people and displacing 1.4 million, authorities said. CNN's Pauline Chiou contributed to this report.
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NEW: Death toll rises . NEW: Hong Kong officials say they will recommending sending US$6.45M (HK$50M) More than 30 countries offer money, helicopters, medication, other supplies Official: Nearly 15,700 people pulled from flooded villages .
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(CNN) -- The New Hampshire House majority leader lashed out Friday on his Facebook page at a Roman Catholic bishop, calling the clergyman a "pedophile pimp" who "has no moral credibility to lecture anyone." The comments come in the wake of a rally Thursday where John McCormack, who is bishop of the Roman Catholic Manchester Diocese, criticized state budget cuts that he argued would hurt "the most vulnerable in our society," according to a transcript of his remarks posted on the diocese's website. State Rep. D.J. Bettencourt responded with a Facebook post Friday morning that said, "Would the Bishop like to discuss his history of protecting the 'vulnerable?' This man is a pedophile pimp who should have been led away from the State House in handcuffs with a rain coat over his head in disgrace. He has absolutely no moral credibility to lecture anyone." Critics called on McCormack to resign as bishop in 2003 when the Diocese of Manchester settled more than 170 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests in New Hampshire, though he stayed put. He was also a top official in the Archdiocese of Boston during its sex abuse scandal. Manchester Diocese spokesman Kevin Donovan said Bettencourt's comment was "false, defamatory and detracts from the real issue." "Bishop McCormack's message to the people of New Hampshire yesterday was the simple message of the Gospels. The Church and our broader society have a fundamental obligation to care for the poor," Donovan said in a statement. "The bishop's message is a challenge to ourselves and our elected officials to never waver in our obligation to care for the most vulnerable of society." Bettencourt could not be reached for comment. New Hampshire GOP Chairman Jack Kimball said in a statement Friday that he has not spoken to Bettencourt yet following the Facebook posting, "but I am disappointed with his words and I don't share his sentiments."
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D.J. Bettencourt made the comments on his Facebook page . The comments follow a rally Thursday where the bishop criticized state budget cuts . The bishop was pressured to resign in 2003 after his diocese settled sexual abuse lawsuits .
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(CNN) -- Sonia Sotomayor, who rose from humble roots in a Bronx, New York, housing project to a high-powered legal career, was sworn in Saturday as the 111th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Sonia Sotomayor takes the judicial oath Saturday as her mother, Celina, holds the Bible. With friends and family looking on, the 55-year-old jurist took the judicial oath in the court's wood-paneled East Conference Room, pledging to "faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me." It was the first time such a ceremony was televised. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the 62-word oath required of all federal judges. In a private ceremony just moments before, Sotomayor took a separate, constitutional oath across the hall. Both oaths are necessary for her to assume her new duties. As her mother, Celina, held a ceremonial Bible, Sotomayor beamed as she waved to relatives and guests when she entered the room for the public ceremony. Among those in the room was her brother, Juan Sotomayor. Watch Sotomayor take the oath » . Roberts made brief preliminary remarks, telling the audience of about 60 that after the swearing-in, Sotomayor can "begin her duties as an associate justice without delay." "Congratulations and welcome to the court," he said afterward. Sotomayor made no statements and did not answer questions. She hugged her mother and several people in the front row. The newest justice can begin moving into her chambers and preparing for the upcoming fall term. The other justices plan to return early from their three-month recess to hear a case September 9 on free speech and campaign finance laws. Sources close to Sotomayor say she has already begun reading up on the caseload, and will soon formally hire four law clerks. She also will have two secretaries and a messenger to assist her. Justice Anthony Kennedy was the only current Supreme Court member on hand for the swearing-in ceremony. David Souter, whom Sotomayor replaces on the bench, was not there. He has retired to New Hampshire. The Senate confirmed Sotomayor on Thursday in a 68-31 vote. President Obama, who did not attend the swearing-in, will welcome his first high court appointee to the White House for a reception Wednesday. Watch Senate vote » . Obama, who selected Sotomayor on May 26, said Thursday he was "deeply gratified" by the Senate vote. "This is a wonderful day for Judge Sotomayor and her family, but I also think it's a wonderful day for America," he said in brief remarks. Sotomayor, who watched Thursday's final vote surrounded by friends and family at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, was confirmed after senators spent a final day of debate rehashing the main arguments for and against her. Democrats continued to praise Sotomayor as a fair and impartial jurist with an extraordinary life story. Many Republicans portrayed her as a judicial activist intent on reinterpreting the law to conform with her own liberal political beliefs. See how Sotomayor measures up to other justices » . Sotomayor's confirmation capped an inspiring personal and professional journey. Her parents came to New York from Puerto Rico during World War II. Her father worked in a factory and did not speak English well. She was born in the Bronx and grew up in a public housing project, not too far from the stadium of her favorite team, the New York Yankees. Her father died when she was 9. Her mother, whom Sotomayor has described as her biggest inspiration, worked six days a week as a nurse to care for her and her younger brother. Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and attended Yale Law School, where she was editor of the Yale Law Journal. She worked at nearly every level of the judicial system over a three-decade career before being tapped by Obama. Her supporters touted her as someone with bipartisan favor and historic appeal. President George H.W. Bush named her a district judge in 1992. She had served as a judge on the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since President Bill Clinton appointed her in 1998. Prior to her judicial appointments, Sotomayor was a partner at a private law firm and spent time as an assistant district attorney prosecuting violent crimes.
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NEW: Sonia Sotomayor's mother, Celina, holds Bible for ceremony . NEW: Sotomayor makes no remarks, shares hugs with loved ones . New justice becomes first Hispanic to serve on Supreme Court, third woman . Sotomayor will start work in September to hear challenge to campaign finance bill .
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- The New York City Council on Thursday voted in favor of a bill that would extend term limits, allowing Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run for a third term. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to seek a third term in office. The vote was 29 in favor and 22 against. Bloomberg, who introduced the measure, welcomed the council's approval as the "right choice." "Those of us who work on both sides of City Hall must now move forward with the important decisions that face us, particularly finding ways to soften the fallout from the economic downturn and balancing our budget as revenues decline," he said in a statement. "We have a lot of work to do together to get New York through these tough times." The bill allows most elected officials, including the mayor, to serve a third four-year term. Previously, New York mayors had been allowed to serve only two four-year terms, meaning Bloomberg would have been required to leave office at the end of next year. The vote followed two hours of lively debate in a packed room in City Hall, where Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum frequently admonished council members for going over their allotted time to speak. The chatter in the room prompted her to bang her gavel several times to call for order. The vote also came after the council nixed efforts to put the measure to a public referendum. Earlier, the council voted 22 in favor and 28, with one abstention, against an amendment to the bill that would have called for a voter referendum on the issue of term limits. "New Yorkers went to the polls twice and said, 'We want term limits,' " Tony Avella said, referring to a public vote in 1993 that imposed the two-term limit and another vote in 1996 that maintained it. "For us to overturn that legislatively is a disgrace," he said. "You should be all voted out of office for this." Councilman Charles Barron agreed, reminding his colleagues of a proposal put forth to voters in in 2007 in Venezuela that would have allowed President Hugo Chavez to seek re-election indefinitely. The Venezuelan voters narrowly shot it down. "Mayor Bloomberg, be like Hugo and let the people decide," he said. "If we're talking about direct democracy, where the people rule, and a representative democracy, where those who represent the people come to vote -- if you do this, you're undermining the very people that vote you in to represent them," he said earlier Thursday, arguing in favor of the amendment to put the issue to a public referendum. Council Speaker Christine Quinn noted in her opening remarks that the vote was "a very difficult vote in very difficult times." "Our city, already in recession, is headed for a long and deep downturn," she said. "We will need to do more with less to keep our city moving in the right direction." Earlier in the day, Quinn, an elected official, voiced her support for the bill. "At a time like this, we need consistent leadership," she said. "Voters should have the choice to continue their current leadership. They should have the right to vote for the current mayor or a new one." Bloomberg, who was elected as a Republican months after the September 11 attacks, is credited with helping New York recover economically afterward. He was re-elected in 2005 and became an independent in 2007. The billionaire businessman announced in early October his intention to ask the City Council to amend the term limits so he could run for re-election. "If the City Council should vote to amend term limits, I plan to ask New Yorkers to look at my record of independent leadership and then decide if I've earned another term," Bloomberg said at City Hall. "I care deeply about sustaining the progress we made and finishing the job the voters elected me to do." On Wednesday, council members Bill de Blasio and Letitia James filed suit in a state court seeking to block the council's vote, arguing that it would be a conflict of interest for council members to vote on the bill. The city's Conflict of Interest Board determined last week that the council members' vote would not violate conflict of interest rules. De Blasio and James condemned the board's decision, saying it was "so rushed, so results-oriented, so poorly reasoned and so damaging to the high ethical standards the charter's framers intended." However, Judge Jacqueline Silbermann denied de Blasio and James' petition, and their lawyer, Randy Mastro, has said he will not appeal. According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday, 89 percent of New York voters said the issue of term limits should be decided by voters in a referendum, not by the City Council. The poll also found that 51 percent of voters opposed extending the term limits so Bloomberg could run again. Forty-five percent of voters were in favor of extending the term limits for their mayor. CNN's Elise Zeiger contributed to this report.
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NEW: New York City Council votes 29 to 22 in favor of bill to extend term limits . NEW: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who introduced measure, calls vote "right choice" Bill allows Bloomberg, other elected officials to run for third term . Earlier Thursday, council nixed voter referendum on the issue .
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Andy Lipkis was 15 years old on the first Earth Day in 1970 -- the year he says he realized what his calling in life would be. A file photo of the rainwater cistern while it was being constructed at TreePeople's headquarters. Three years later, Lipkis and his teenage friends would found the non-profit, community-based organization known as TreePeople. Based in Los Angeles, California, the environmental organization's primary purpose has been to educate communities on the planting and care of trees and to work with government agencies on issue No. 1 in the West: water. Exploding populations from Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, to suburban Los Angeles have turned the issue of water supply from problem to crisis. "The way we use water is so wasteful and so inappropriate today, according to the California Water Plan, there is already so much demand for water, it already exceeds supply," says Lipkis. And human consumption isn't the only problem, because as cities grow, so does the amount of pavement and concrete that seals the natural watersheds. That in turn prevents rainwater from refreshing underground aquifers, nature's water tanks. And rainwater is exactly what Lipkis is hoping people will start to think about. Right now, building codes in Los Angeles County, as in most parts of the country, require rainwater to be moved from rooftops to the street. As a result, even in mostly sunny southern California, a massive amount of water gets flushed into storm drains every year. "When it rains an inch," Lipkis says, "Los Angeles hemorrhages 7.6 billion gallons of water." Part of the solution to the water crisis, he says, is collecting as much rainwater as possible because "it represents half or more of all the water we need in this big city." Lipkis and the TreePeople imagine a time when as many as a million homes and businesses have rainwater cisterns all electronically networked and ready to provide treated drinking water to the public. Lipkis points out that cisterns are not a new idea. If fact, civilizations throughout history have used cisterns to collect rainwater. Cisterns exist now as part of building codes in places like Bermuda, which lack fresh water resources such as lakes or rivers. Lipkis believes it's an idea whose time has come here in the deserts of the West. Watch how rainwater cisterns work » . TreePeople, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, has built five demonstration sites in Los Angeles, which include a large hilltop cistern at the organization's Coldwater Canyon Park headquarters. "When it rains an inch," Lipkis said, "those five little projects capture 1.25 million gallons." And it is all that free water that has government agencies thinking about rain. In Los Angeles, storm runoff presents many problems. When it rains heavily the water goes from the streets into the canals of the Los Angeles River and straight into the ocean. With that runoff is all the garbage and toxic pollutants picked up along the way. Another problem, Lipkis argues, is the heavy reliance on the almost 100-year-old California Aqueduct, which routes water from the Eastern Sierras. His main concern is the incredible amount of energy that is spent moving water. "We're bringing water in from hundreds of miles away. Moving water and using water," he says, "consumes, overall, 19 percent of all the electricity in the state and one-third of the natural gas." That is the single largest use of electricity in the state, which happens to be the most populous in the country and which, were it an independent nation, would be the eighth-largest economy in the world. That's quite a carbon footprint. Lipkis believes a hybrid water management system is the best solution, one that would include cisterns, natural watershed management and existing water infrastructure, including a less power hungry aqueduct. And perhaps most importantly, it would include the cooperation of water supply agencies, flood control agencies and sanitation agencies, which he believes have done too much conflicting, single-purpose cost-benefit analyses in the past. Lipkis sees only an upside to a large-scale cistern and rainwater infiltration project, and not only because of the environmental benefits. A study in the late 1990s conducted by TreePeople estimated up to 50,000 new jobs that would be created by a sustainable infrastructure system. "Why would we invest billions of dollars on old infrastructure we know doesn't work anymore?" he asks. "It's very important to start putting this new alternative on the table."
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Water supply problem in the West has turned into a crisis . Rainwater represents half of all the water that Los Angeles needs . California Aqueduct is almost a century old and wastes enormous amount of energy .
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(CNN) -- For several months now, Filipinos have been treated to the spectacle of yet another impeachment trial aired on national television. Renato Corona, chief justice of the Supreme Court is in the dock, accused of illegally amassing cash and real estate as well as of "partiality and subservience" to the previous president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In a country where politics has always been about scandal and spectacle, it's showtime once again. In the past weeks, prosecutors at the trial have submitted evidence of posh apartments allegedly purchased by the chief justice as well as substantial amounts in his bank accounts. These, they said, weren't listed on his financial disclosures and their total value far exceed his legitimate earnings. If this sounds like an old script, it's because it is. In 2001, then president Joseph Estrada was impeached -- and later overthrown in a popular uprising -- for much the same reasons. And it all happened on national television. Cheered on by Manila's rambunctious media and chattering classes, coalitions of both reform-minded and opportunistic politicians have since then attempted to restage the triumph by launching impeachment suits against a succession of high officials. These high-profile political dramas capture the public's attention and raise awareness about malfeasance in high places. But are they the best way to fight corruption? Is the "sturm und drang" of political trials the most effective way of cleansing government? The current president, Benigno Aquino III, seems to think so. As a legislator, he had backed Estrada's impeachment and also the failed impeachment of Arroyo, whose family was hounded by accusations of corruption. As president, he vowed to bring Arroyo to trial. He has also supported the impeachment of the anti-corruption ombudsman. Now it's the chief justice's turn. Aquino came to office on an anti-corruption platform. His election slogan was "daang matuwid" -- the straight path -- and his allies believe that powerful officials who obstruct that path must be forced out. In particular, they see the ombudsman and the chief justice, both Arroyo loyalists, as obstacles to the prosecution not only of the former president but of others they want to hold to account. But this strategy is not without political costs. If the chief justice is not impeached, then Aquino will have a sworn enemy in the country's highest court. The Philippine Supreme Court is a powerful institution: it can block the implementation of laws and also obstruct legal action against corrupt officials. The long, drawn-out trial has already taken its toll. Legislation has been stalled as Congress focuses on the impeachment. And the bizarre, and sometimes comic, twists and turns of the chief justice's trial has sucked up the public attention and shifted it away from the systemic reforms that are urgently needed. Meanwhile, largely away from the public gaze, some of Aquino's Cabinet have been cleaning up. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism recently reported that the secretary of public works had overhauled the bidding procedures for road projects and had cut down the costs of some projects by over 30%. In 2009, the World Bank complained about "systemic corruption and bid rigging" in Philippine public works projects. Now it seems that under-the-radar reforms are gaining ground; there are signs that the collusive system that begot the legendary corruption in the country's road projects is being dismantled. Tax revenues are also at a record high, thanks to two reform-minded officials who head the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs, which have traditionally been impregnable fortresses of graft. Tax collection has risen nearly 30%, even without new taxes, the largest ever increase in 20 years. These developments provide reason for hope. They have also largely taken place outside the cockfighting arena of congressional or judicial politics. Political trials can be cathartic. They bring wrongdoers to justice. They also provide opportunities for civic education. But they have proven to be a riskier and less effective path for anti-corruption reform. After all, the ouster of the womanizing and boozing Estrada -- who built palatial mansions for his mistresses and received briefcases stashed with cash from illegal gambling operators -- paved the way for the rise to the presidency of Arroyo, who now stands charged with rigging her election and squandering public funds so she can stay in office. By casting the spotlight on the wrongdoing committed by individuals and focusing on the moral failures of one man or one woman, political trials blind citizens to the terrible truth: corruption is a cancer. Taking out a nasty tumor will not necessarily bring about a cure. Will the Supreme Court, for example, be transformed into an institution that is above reproach once it is purged of its unsympathetic and fallible chief justice? Nearly 10 years ago, I wrote about how the weakness of check-and-balance mechanisms within the high tribunal and the porousness of the structures and procedures that govern the court allowed illicit approaches to justices. I found a network of brokers composed of well-connected individuals who act as intermediaries to some justices and offer to fix cases for a price. I don't know that such porousness has since been plugged or that there will be a radical change if the current chief goes. But there will certainly be a court that's friendlier to the president. Like cancer, corruption thrives on a system's vulnerabilities. For too long, Filipinos have been complicit in corruption because that was the only way to get contracts and other benefits from government. Politicians were allowed to dip their snouts in the public trough as long as they granted favors to their constituents. Aquino was elected to office on the hope that he can change all that. His government is taking two paths to reform. The first is public trials. The second is the less trodden, less showy and less glamorous path of changing systems and procedures and depoliticizing the reform process. In the end, this path will be the more enduring. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Sheila S. Coronel .
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The Philippines is currently gripped by public trial of chief justice of Supreme Court . Country has long been used to scandal and spectacle in political sphere . President Benigno Acquino was elected on an anti-corruption platform . Changing political and legal system and procedures could be most effective way to reform .
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(CNN) -- In this dark and dismal year for college sports, when each scandal seems worse than the next, inspiration arrives in a motorized wheelchair. In a month when Penn State is dealing with child sex abuse charges against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, the fallout bringing down longtime head coach Joe Paterno and the university president, a reason to still believe in what's good about college football will never play another down again. His name is Eric LeGrand, and you'll find him Saturday on the field at Rutgers Stadium in New Jersey. He will be honored at the team's annual Senior Day before a game against Cincinnati, and the expected crowd of more than 50,000 will no doubt save the loudest cheers for him. On October 16, 2010, he collided with Army kick returner Malcolm Brown while making a tackle. The collision left him paralyzed from the neck down, and when he awoke in the hospital, he was connected to a respirator that doctors said he would need for the rest of his life. "I could barely turn my head," LeGrand said. "They had to roll me to change my position. It felt like I was going to die. That's what it felt like." But now, 13 months later, he can move his head and shoulders when he talks, his long braids moving as he does. He has attacked therapy the way he once went after weight-lifting records in the gym, and believes it is only a matter of time before he is walking back on the field at Rutgers. SI: Why LeGrand thinks he will walk again . No one can say for sure if that will happen. But his belief that it someday will not only fuels him, but also has become a rallying cry that has spread from the Piscataway, New Jersey, campus across the country. LeGrand, 21, has a way of touching people he's met, from professional athletes to his teammates to the more than 26,000 fans who follow him on Twitter. "Just right away, he had this positive energy and positive outlook on life," said Alex Morgan, the breakout star for the U.S. women's soccer team who became friends with him at a professional game in July. "That's what inspired me. I feel I'm lucky to get to know him because he's such an inspiring person." He has inspired Bart Scott, the New York Jets linebacker, to support his "Believe Fund" with T-shirt sales. He has spent time with nearly all the professional teams in the New York area, including Yankees stars Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Erin Andrews, the ESPN sideline reporter, reached out to LeGrand a few weeks after the accident. He caught her on a bad day when he called. "Here I am, feeling sorry for myself and this sweet kid calls me," Andrews said. "It really put a new perspective on my life. I get emotional just thinking about it now. I thank him for that." But he hasn't just met celebrities. LeGrand has made inspiring others a goal for his life, regularly speaking to youth and school groups around New Jersey. Last month at a Jersey City middle school, students cheered from classroom windows as his wheelchair motored up to the entrance, waving signs with his name and No. 52, his uniform number. He told the kids that he believes this is only the beginning of his journey, how any time life gets him down, he remembers there is always someone who has it worse than he does. "I take this as a responsibility to get better," he said. "I don't want to let everybody down who's been behind my back. That's what keeps me going every day. Even though I can't control when I'm going to get up, but what I can control I take as a responsibility to do what I've got to do to get better." Near the end of the question and answer period that followed his speech, one shy girl walked to the front of the stage and asked him a blunt question: "Did you ever ask God why this happened to you?" "I don't ask God why, because I truly believe this happened for a reason," he told her. "I believe I've been called upon to help other people out. I don't ask God why this happened to me, because I know that question will be answered down the road when I am walking again, and I've helped a lot more people believe in themselves." That word -- believe -- has become his rallying cry. Spend time with him, and it's easy to see how frustration could take over. LeGrand has no movement below his shoulders. It takes two hours, with his mother, Karen, and a physical therapist, to get him out of bed and dressed in the morning. His rehab sessions at Kessler Institute in West Orange are grueling. His occupational therapist places LeGrand's left arm in a harness that suspends it. The therapist then uses electrodes to stimulate LeGrand's pectoral muscles to move the arm toward his body, then LeGrand must hold it there for 30 seconds. His face will strain from the effort. "This is my workout now," he said. "It's crazy. I go from squatting 605 pounds to just trying to hold my arm up." But LeGrand is smiling even when he makes that observation. The smile is almost always present. He calls 2011 "the fastest year of my life," and he keeps himself as busy as possible. He is back taking two classes at Rutgers, sports labor relations and criminal procedure, and is part of the school's radio broadcast team at home games. LeGrand always thought he would try to get into broadcast after a career in the NFL. Now, he has accelerated that timetable, doing spots on both ESPN and CBS Sports recently in addition to his regular work during the pregame and halftime shows at Rutgers. Exactly one expert picked Rutgers to win the Big East title this year: LeGrand. If the Scarlet Knights, pegged to finish last in the preseason poll, win their final two games against Cincinnati and Connecticut, they'll do just that. If they do, LeGrand will find himself in the national spotlight again. Rutgers finished 4-8 last season, and the devastating injury to LeGrand cast a pall over the entire campus. Now, his presence does the opposite. When he motors around the stadium on game days, fans call out his name and cheer, or stop him to explain how he's touched their lives without knowing it. He is, in a dark time with scandal after scandal in college sports, a ray of light. "It's crazy," said his sister Nicole. "He can't even lift a finger but he's touched an entire world."
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Football collision left Rutgers player Eric LeGrand paralyzed . 13 months later, LeGrand can move his head and shoulders somewhat . He maintains a positive outlook and believes he will walk again . LeGrand: "I believe I've been called upon to help other people out"
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(CNN) -- Sen. Rand Paul, the son of libertarian-leaning Republican Ron Paul, threw some red meat to the Republican National Convention crowd Wednesday night by counting up the increase in the debt under the Obama administration. "President Obama's administration will add nearly $6 trillion to our national debt in just one term," said Paul, whom Kentucky voters sent to the U.S. Senate in 2010. The facts: . The national debt -- the cumulative tab run up by the U.S. government over its lifetime -- stood at $10.6 trillion when Barack Obama took office in January 2009. It's currently running at nearly $16 trillion, according to the Treasury Department. The Congressional Budget Office estimates project another $600 billion budget shortfall for the 2013 fiscal year. That would make a $6 trillion increase in a single term, as Paul says. Fact Check: Paul Ryan misleads on debt panel's spending cut . But there are some catches. First off, Obama governed for much of the first nine months of his administration under the last budget of the Bush administration. But he did push an $800 billion-plus economic stimulus program through Congress early in his term, some of which was spent before that budget year ended in October. Bush's original budget proposal predicted a $407 billion deficit for 2009, but the final figure was $1.4 trillion, according to White House figures. Spending has gone up under the Obama administration: For the 2011 fiscal year, the second full budget of Obama's term, the federal government spent about $3.6 trillion, according to the White House budget office. That's about $600 million more than in 2008, the last full year under the Bush administration. But the budget gap has another element: Tax revenues have dropped during the 2007-2009 recession and remain lower than before. In the 2007 budget year, which ended shortly before the recession began, the federal government brought in nearly $2.6 trillion; that number fell to $2.1 trillion in 2009 and is projected to total $2.4 trillion by the time this budget year ends in September. The verdict: . True, but incomplete. While budget shortfalls have added $6 trillion to the national debt since January 2009, some of that spending was already in the pipeline, and some of it is the result of the economic slump that has cut into tax receipts. Fact Check: Did Ryan get Obama's GM speech right? Matt Smith and Amy Roberts contributed to this report.
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Sen. Rand Paul says Obama administration added to national debt . $6 trillion added "in just one term," Paul says . Spending has gone up during current administration .
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Washington (CNN) -- Finding al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and rolling back a resurgent Taliban are necessary steps toward winning the war in Afghanistan, the top U.S. commander there told a Senate committee Tuesday. Bin Laden remains at large more than eight years after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that triggered the Afghan war, and is widely believed to be hiding along the rugged border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the world's most wanted terrorist is "an iconic figure" whose survival "emboldens al Qaeda as a franchising organization across the world." "It would not defeat al Qaeda to have him captured or killed, but I don't think we can finally defeat al Qaeda until he is finally captured or killed," McChrystal told the Senate Armed Services Committee. But he said if bin Laden is hiding across the border, "It is outside of my mandate." In addition, he said, pushing back the Taliban -- which allowed al Qaeda to operate from Afghanistan before 9/11 -- is a "prerequisite" for destroying the terrorist network. "To pursue our core goal of defeating al Qaeda and preventing their return to Afghanistan, we must disrupt and degrade the Taliban's capacity, deny their access to the Afghan population, and strengthen the Afghan security forces," he said. McChrystal's appearance before senators was his second round of testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, following a session with the House Armed Services Committee earlier in the day. Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, joined him in both hearings. Both men were called to testify about President Obama's new plan for the Afghan war, which involves the deployment of another 30,000 U.S. troops and a July 2011 date for the beginning of an American withdrawal. McChrystal said the next 18 months will be "critical" to the war effort and said U.S. forces must convince Afghans that "we are going to win." The United States and its NATO allies must reverse the Taliban's actual and perceived momentum and establish "contiguous security" around the country rather than the pockets that currently exist, McChrystal said. One advantage U.S. troops have is that the Taliban -- which ruled most of Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks -- remain largely unpopular among Afghans and draw support only through the threat of violence. "I have never seen evidence that the Taliban have popular support like a political liberation movement," he said. In August, the general had cautioned that a failure to reverse Taliban gains within 12 months could make defeating the insurgents impossible. But his testimony Tuesday lengthened that timeline. "The sober fact is that there are no silver bullets," he told the House committee. "Ultimate success will be the cumulative effect of sustained pressure." McChrystal said he "participated fully in the president's assessment and decision-making process" and fully supports Obama's decision. And Eikenberry, whose leaked cables to Washington indicated that he opposed sending large numbers of troops to the conflict, told the Senate he is "100 percent" behind the new strategy "with the refinement of the mission." His initial questions, Eikenberry told the House, were about the number of troops, the timeline for those troops, and the context in which those troops would operate. "The mission was refined, the ways forward were clarified, and the resources now have been committed to allow us to achieve the refined mission," said the ambassador, a retired general who held a senior post in Kabul before retiring from the Army. "With that, at this point in time ... I am unequivocally in support of this mission and I am exactly aligned with Gen. McChrystal in moving forward now to vigorously implement the assigned mission." Both Eikenberry and McChrystal went out of their way to minimize the differences in their views after reports of an Eikenberry cable advising the president that McChrystal's plans to send more troops would be ill advised because of a lack of confidence in the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. In their opening statements, both said they were honored to testify together and each called the other a friend. But more of those differences were seen when the men gave their predictions about the final outcome of the war. "I believe we will absolutely be successful," McChrystal responded when the committee chairman, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Missouri, asked the general point-blank about the chances for success of the U.S. mission. Earlier, in his opening remarks, the general had said, "The mission is not only important, it is also achievable. We can and will accomplish this mission." Eikenberry was more cautious, saying that "success is not guaranteed but it is possible." But McChrystal emphasized that the July 2011 date is only a marker in the broader picture, and not a "major factor" in U.S. military strategy. "I don't view July 2011 as a deadline. I don't believe it is a deadline at all," he told lawmakers, later adding that he assumed a U.S. troop withdrawal will begin at that time. "It is a solid decision the president has made and I operate under the assumption that we will begin to decrease our forces beginning in July 2011," the general said. McChrystal said that the influx of additional troops should bring "significant progress" in the war by next summer, and by next December he should be able to "lay out progress" and show evidence of success in a report he will present. "My expectation is the insurgency will be less robust in the summer of 2011, significantly so, and it is also my expectation that the Afghan security forces will be more robust," McChrystal said. "I see confidently in the summer of 2011 that beginning the reduction of forces will be appropriate, the pace and scope of which needs to be conditions-based on how strong is insurgency at that point." He said the Taliban must not become "an existential threat" to the Afghan government, "and thus to the Afghan people." "So rather than wipe out every Taliban member, what we need to do is lower their capacity to the point where -- within their own means -- Afghanistan can hold them from being a major threat to either their way of life or their government. "I think that, over time, that will cause the Taliban to go away, to become irrelevant, and cease to exist," he explained. At present, 68,000 U.S. troops are operating under both NATO and U.S. commands in Afghanistan, and around 42,000 non-U.S. forces are under NATO. The Pentagon announced 1,500 more Marines would be deploying this month as part of the new strategy. Last week, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Britain, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and non-NATO member Georgia are among at least 25 countries offering to send a total of 7,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. CNN's Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.
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NEW: "I don't think we can finally defeat al Qaeda" without getting bin Laden, McChrystal says . NEW: General, U.S. ambassador testify before House and Senate armed services committees . McChrystal: Perceptions of Afghan people and insurgency will be critical to success . McChrystal: "I don't view July 2011 as a deadline."
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(CNN) -- Tropical Storm Rafael unleashed heavy rain and powerful gusts on the Leeward Islands on Sunday and could turn into a hurricane by Monday, forecasters said. With sustained winds of 60 mph, Rafael could get even stronger as it bears down on several islands popular with tourists. As of 5 p.m. ET, Rafael was centered about 185 miles (298 kilometers) northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm was moving north-northwest at 10 mph (16 kph) and was expected to turn northward by Monday. A projection map shows Rafael headed toward Bermuda later this week. Officials there issued a tropical storm watch Sunday and told residents that they expected the storm to affect the British territory on Tuesday. While the National Hurricane Center predicted Rafael will stay well to the east of the Bahamas through Monday, it did warn of life-threatening surf conditions and rip currents on the eastward-facing beaches of the Bahamas over the next few days. Tropical storm warnings that had been in effect for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, St. Martin, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts and Guadeloupe were discontinued Sunday morning. Forecasters expect Rafael to leave between 4 to 6 inches of rain over the Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands, with some pockets getting as much as 10 inches. "These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially in areas of mountainous terrain," the hurricane center said. The storm could hamper rescue efforts for two men and one woman whose small aircraft crashed Saturday morning about six nautical miles (seven miles) south of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad said. They were aboard a twin-engine Piper PA-23 that left St. Croix destined for St. Thomas, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. Rescue crews from the Coast Guard and U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Natural Resources saved one female passenger, Valerie Jackson, who told them three others were still unaccounted for. A Coast Guard cutter ship, two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft have been dispatched from Puerto Rico for the search, Castrodad said. CNN's Chandler Friedman contributed to this report.
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NEW: Bermudan officials issue a tropical storm watch . Hurricane center: Rainfall could cause "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides" The tropical storm could become a hurricane by Monday . Efforts to find three passengers on a downed plane continue despite the weather .
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Marine Corps knew of the threat posed by roadside bombs before the start of the Iraq war, yet did nothing to buy protective vehicles for troops, according to a report to be released by the Pentagon. Marines' armored Humvees are parked at a miltary camp in Fallujah, Iraq, in May 2007. Additionally, Marine leaders in 2005 decided to buy up-armored, or reinforced, Humvees instead of Mine Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles to shield troops in Iraq from mines and other explosives -- a decision that could have cost lives, according to the report obtained Tuesday by CNN. The report by the Department of Defense inspector general was requested by the Marine Corps in early 2008 after a civilian employee with the service complained that bureaucratic delays undermined the program to develop the armored vehicles. Inspectors found that the decision not to buy MRAP vehicles in 2005 stopped the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, the agency in charge of finding the best protective vehicle from troops in Iraq, from "developing a course of action ... to attempt to obtain funding for [MRAPs]," according to the report. The report found that the Department of Defense knew before the war started in 2003 of the threats of mines and roadside bombs in Iraq but did nothing to acquire "MRAP-type" vehicles ahead of the invasion. "As a result, the department entered into operations in Iraq without having taken available steps to acquire technology to mitigate the known mine and IED risk to soldiers and Marines," the report said. In response to the report, Marine Corps spokesman Maj. David Nevers pointed out the inspector general found no "evidence of criminal negligence" in the Corps' actions. The decision to buy the up-armored Humvee model, he said, was made "consciously by the Marine Corps leadership because of its proven capability to protect and its tactical utility; the survivability and mobility demanded by the Marines in theater; and its availability, based on an active, responsive production line." "The Marine Corps fully cooperated with [inspector general] during this audit," Nevers said. "We are reviewing the report to ensure that our processes best support the war fighter in theater." A civilian whistle-blower working with the Marine Corps on the MRAP program wrote a scathing report about delays in the procurement process in early 2008. "If the mass procurement and fielding of MRAPs had begun in 2005 in response to the known and acknowledged threats at that time, as the USMC is doing today, hundreds of deaths and injuries could have been prevented," Franz Gayl wrote in his January report. He said bureaucratic delays plagued the program at the height of the insurgency, when U.S. troops were regularly being attacked and killed by roadside bombs. Gayl's report prompted the Marine Corps to request the inspector general's audit in 2008. The Gayl report drew attention just months after MRAPs had been pushed into Iraq by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in an effort to protect troops from roadside bombs -- the leading killer of troops at the time.
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Report: Buying reinforced Humvees, not MRAPs, possibly cost lives . Defense Department knew of roadside bomb risk ahead of Iraq war, report says . Report: Department didn't immediately take available steps to get MRAPs . MRAPs are designed to shield troops from mines and other explosives .
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg plans to undergo a "precautionary" course of chemotherapy following her surgery last month for pancreatic cancer, the Supreme Court announced Tuesday. President Obama greets Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on her arrival for his February 24 address to Congress. The treatments will begin later this month at the National Institutes of Health outside Washington, the court said. In a statement, the justice said the treatment is "not expected to affect my schedule at the court. Thereafter, it is anticipated that I will require only routine examinations to assure my continuing health." Ginsburg, who turned 76 on Sunday, has consistently signaled her health outlook is positive. She termed the February 5 removal of her cancer "successful," and was back on the bench 18 days later when the high court resumed oral arguments. Ginsburg's post-op recovery has gone well, and doctors and the family are cautiously optimistic, court sources said. The disease was caught early and had not spread beyond her pancreas, doctors have said. "Cancer patients with no evidence of disease after surgery but who have a statistical chance that there is microscopic spread often get chemotherapy to kill off that disease," explained Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. Getting back into her regular routine was important to the justice, and it would help her cope with future medical treatment, sources close to her said. She successfully fought colorectal cancer a decade ago. Almost 35,000 Americans are estimated to have died from pancreatic cancer in 2008, making it the fourth leading cause of cancer death overall, according to the American Cancer Society. For all ages combined, the one-year survival rate is 24 percent; the five-year survival rate is 5 percent. The low survival rate is a result of the disease commonly going undetected until it has reached an advanced stage. Ginsburg -- the only woman on the Supreme Court -- entered a New York hospital after a CT scan in January "revealed a small tumor, approximately one centimeter across, in the center of the pancreas," a previous news release said. She has kept a busy schedule, on and off the bench. Since her diagnosis, she has released three opinions, attended President Obama's February 24 address to Congress, gone to an opera production in the company of Justice David Souter, and traveled for several speeches. She told an audience last week in Boston, Massachusetts, that she had no plans to retire, but on the subject of court retirements she hinted cryptically, "We haven't had any of those for some time, but surely we will soon." Ginsburg, Souter and Justice John Paul Stevens frequently have been mentioned as likely to step down in the next few years. Ginsburg also said her former colleague, retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor -- herself a cancer survivor -- had offered her some good advice. "She said when you're up to chemotherapy, you do it on Friday, Friday afternoon. You'll get over it over the weekend, and you'll be able to come to the court on Monday," said Ginsburg, who noted O'Connor returned to work nine days after her breast cancer diagnosis. "So I've been following her advice meticulously." Ginsburg has been on the Supreme Court since 1993.
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Supreme Court justice, 76, will receive chemotherapy treatments . Doctors removed small tumor from her pancreas in February . Ruth Bader Ginsburg consistently signals her health outlook is good . Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor gave Ginsburg advice on chemotherapy .
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(CNN) -- While many people still associate Facebook games with casual offerings like Zynga's "FarmVille," the social media giant has expanded its game catalog through titles like KIXEYE's "War Commander" and Kabam's "The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle Earth." Now, Facebook has partnered with start-up U4iA Games (pronounced "euphoria") to launch its first "core" video game, the first-person shooter "Offensive Combat." The game, which had a soft launch three weeks ago, has already attracted over a half-million players with no marketing. The game is playable as a Facebook App and included in the Action games section of the site's App Center. "Facebook wants to bring the next-level gaming consumer to their platform," said Dusty Welch, co-founder and CEO of U4iA Games. "Core games monetize the highest and are the stickiest." Welch and co-founder and CCO Chris Archer have backgrounds that include having overseen huge franchises when they were at Activision like "Call of Duty," "Spider-Man" and "Guitar Hero." Archer said his studio designed "Offensive Combat" for a fast-growing segment of core gamers who want a fine-tuned, shooter game that can be played anywhere, anytime via their Web browser, and not limited by the need for a major software install or dedicated hardware. "Offensive Combat" is a shooter that blends elements from the most popular shooters out there like Microsoft's "Halo 4" and Activision's "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" into a free-to-play experience that's fully customizable. Players can choose from 30 game archetypes like modern soldiers, space marines and robots and engage in a variety of multiplayer modes across nine maps. The online game will expand with new content every two weeks. Players can purchase in-game items, including weapons, to further customize the experience. These micro-transactions will allow players to move through the progressive "grind" of leveling up and unlocking content, but Welch said the battlefield will remain even for all players. "There are millions of consumers around the world who play core games and want to play these types of free-to-play games," said Welch. "First-person shooters have dominated gaming since the early days of 'Doom,' 'Wolfenstein' and 'Quake.' When you look at the success of free-to-play games like Riot Games' 'League of Legends' and Wargaming's 'World of Tanks,' there's room for a first-person shooter like 'Offensive Combat.'" More than 251 million of Facebook's 1 billion-plus members currently play games every month. Even with droves of players leaving Zynga's games, there remain new audiences that haven't yet gravitated to the platform. "Gaming on Facebook is all about connecting with friends," said Welch. "FPS games are the most social of all the core gaming genres. FPS fans want to connect with their friends and clans and do it quickly. What better, simpler way to do that than Facebook where there are a billion gamers? The problem has been that the genre hasn't been represented yet." Michael Pachter, a video game analyst at Wedbush Securities, said the free-to-play business model is popular because it reaches the broadest audience, it's approachable and easy, and there's no barrier to entry. "You can make $100 million off a game that's free to play like Riot Games' 'League of Legends,' said Pachter. "Free-to-play takes away some of the risk." As much money as Activision and Microsoft have generated from billion-dollar shooters like 'Call of Duty,' 'Halo' and 'Gears of War,' Welch believes there's a much larger audience willing to jump into the genre without the requirement of a $60 disc. He also believes there's something to be learned from Zynga's failure to keep its gamers happy. "It's crucial to continually innovate and stay connected with your community," said Welch. "The lather-rinse-and-repeat methodology that Zynga used too many times gets stale fast with your user base and they degrade and move on. We saw that happen in the console space with games like 'Guitar Hero' and 'Wii Fit.' True innovation creates a sticky audience. Zynga games didn't attract mid-core to core gamers and they flooded back out to 'American Idol' or whatever other entertainment is popular today." Facebook has partnered with U4iA Games to develop new social mechanics that are being designed to build engaging gaming communities. These features will eventually debut with "Offensive Combat" before moving on to other Facebook games. In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, violent video games have come under fire in some quarters. Welch believes "Offensive Combat," which was designed as a mash-up of different constructs, offers a more irreverent and light-hearted approach to the genre than more realistic shooters. "I'm a parent with two children and I believe it's the responsibility of parents to monitor and decide what's appropriate for their situation and we take that very seriously," said Welch. "Facebook is for people 13+ so there's age gating for that platform. While the gameplay experience was designed for hardcore gamers, you can run around in a banana suit with futuristic plasma weapons."
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With "Offensive Combat," Facebook moves into core gaming with its first first-person shooter . Traditionally, the site is associated with casual games like FarmVille . Game is free to play, with "micro-transactions" for in-game extras . Creators say it's age-appropriate for the site and more light-hearted than many shooters .
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(CNN) -- In the slums of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, visiting the bathroom usually means one of two things; a trip to the local pit latrine or the 'flying toilet'. The former entails letting nature take its course in a rickety outhouse perched atop a hole in the ground -- a facility also used by hundreds of other people in the neighborhood. The latter meanwhile consists of relieving oneself in a plastic bag before throwing the offending item away in the street. A 2011 report by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found that these arrangements led to environmental contamination and the spread of diseases such as typhoid and tuberculosis. See also: How human waste could power Nigeria's slums . But within this primitive sewage system recent MIT graduate, David Auerbach, has spied an opportunity he believes could one day be worth millions of dollars. Alongside a group of fellow MIT alumni and local Kenyan partners, Auerbach has helped found Sanergy -- a start-up that aims to make a business out of cleaning up Nairobi's sanitary mess. It plans to collect human waste in a series of custom-built toilets before transforming it into compost and fertilizer products that can be sold to the local agriculture industry. "In Kenya alone there are 10 million people who live in the slums and 8 million of them don't have access to a clean toilet," says Auerbach. "By providing this service we believe there is tremendous potential to operate a for-profit social business. In terms of agriculture, Mckinsey puts (fertilizer) at a half trillion dollar business in East Africa alone," he adds. The Sanergy model works by first installing a network of low cost sanitation centers, which provide access to clean toilets, at various locations in the slums. These premises -- that trap the waste in air tight containers -- are then franchised out to local entrepreneurs at a cost of 45,000 shillings (roughly $500) a year, with a renewal fee charged to continue after this period. Franchisees are funded primarily by micro-finance loans, explains Auerbach. They charge residents a small fee, usually 5 Kenyan Shillings ($0.06) to use their facilities in order to make their money back. See also: Mobile solutions for better sanitation . The waste is processed and broken down to be transformed into a variety of organic fertilizer products that are then sold on to commercial farms. "Currently we have 25 facilities up and running... we're collecting about three metric tons of waste per week which can all be converted into fertilizer," says Auerbach. "By the end of this year we want to have 250 franchises. We think by the end of the following year we can safely be at 1,000 toilets," he adds. Creating employment opportunities for local residents can also be a benefit of the project and important to its greater success. "Success of the business model like Sanergy depends on creating viable franchise opportunities for local entrepreneurs and attractive services for slum residents," says Austin Beebe of African Medical and Research Foundation. "Projects such as these should hire locally and this is more than a good development principle. It makes business sense too." See also: Elephant poo power electrifies zoo . As it stands, Sanergy employs 42 people -- in facility design, waste collection, plant operation and management positions -- of which 34 are Kenyan. By the end of 2013 Auerbach says Sanergy plans to collect enough waste to power a bio-generator that can sell electricity back into the Kenyan national grid. "The waste of 100,000 people generates about 1 gigawatt of power. So right now when we have 1,200 users every day we're not at a point where we can produce sufficient amounts of electricity," says Auerbach. "This is something we'll be looking to do later this year or next year," he adds. "But we're not quite there yet."
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The slums of Nairobi lack efficient and clean sanitation systems . A new start-up aims to improve these conditions by installing a series of custom built toilets . Those behind the company believe it could be a multi-million dollar enterprize one day .
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(CNN) -- A Florida judge on Thursday set a $1 million bond with new restrictions on George Zimmerman, saying he believes the suspect may have been planning to flee the country to avoid prosecution in the killing of Trayvon Martin. Judge Kenneth R. Lester Jr. found that Zimmerman's deceit over cash holdings at his first bond hearing in April was not enough to hold him without bail. "This court has, thus far, declined to exercise its contempt powers and the state failed to prove that the defendant may be held without bond," the order said. Zimmerman will have to post 10% of the $1 million -- or $100,000 -- to meet the requirement for bail. Timeline of events in Trayvon Martin case . But an even bigger challenge is finding a bail bond company that will work with the family on the requirement of $1 million in collateral, defense attorney Mark O'Mara said later Thursday. The family does "not have anywhere near" the collateral amount, according to the attorney. "We are encouraged we can work this out," O'Mara said in a statement. Donations to Zimmerman's legal defense fund have dropped significantly while Zimmerman has been jailed, O'Mara said. "Supporters have told us they were concerned that the court would set such a high bond that getting George out of jail could risk wiping out the entire defense account. It appears that they were right. However, George needs an aggressive defense and to help with that he also needs to be out of jail with his wife and family assisting his legal team." The fund has a $211,000 balance, but has $40,000 in payables for defense expenses. "Paying bond and scheduled expenses would effectively wipe out the existing balance," O'Mara said. O'Mara argued that Zimmerman should not be jailed because the state's case is weak and his claim of self-defense is strong. The original bail of $150,000 was revoked last month after Lester learned Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, had failed to disclose more than $150,000 in donations from the public. The judge's order Thursday said that the new $1 million bond was not a punishment but an amount that assured the court that Zimmerman would not abscond. Zimmerman has the money to pay for his release, the court said. In his ruling, Lester wrote about the first bond hearing and noted an undisclosed second passport kept in Zimmerman's safe deposit box. "Notably, together with the passport, the money only had to be hidden for a short time for him to leave the country if the defendant made a quick decision to flee," the judge said. "It is entirely reasonable for this court to find that, but for the requirement that he be placed on electronic monitoring, the defendant and his wife would have fled the United States with at least $130,000 of other people's money." Lester wrote the defendant's plans to flee were "thwarted." Zimmerman, 28, is charged with second-degree murder in Martin's February 26 shooting death. Under Florida law, second-degree murder is a bondable offense. What do you think about the judge's order? Sound off on CNN iReport . Prosecutors had asked for bond to be denied or, if not, for it to be set at $1 million. Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said the parents preferred that Zimmerman remain in jail, but "they respect the ruling of the court and the strong message that the judge sent that deference to judicial integrity is paramount to all court proceedings." "Furthermore, they understand that this is not a sprint to justice, but a long journey to justice that they must bear for their son Trayvon," Crump said. The order said the evidence shows that Zimmerman and his wife acted together to conceal their cash holdings during the original bond hearing. "Under any definition, the defendant has (flouted) the system," the order said. "The defendant has tried to manipulate the system when he has been presented the opportunity to do so." Investigator: Zimmerman missed opportunities to defuse situation . Lester imposed new restrictions on Zimmerman that he did not face when he was out on bond the first time. Zimmerman must report to officials every two days, cannot open or maintain a bank account and cannot be on the property of an airport. He also cannot apply for or obtain a passport. Zimmerman must abide by a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., and like before, will be monitored electronically. Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda argued before the judge last week that Zimmerman should remain in jail without bail because he was complicit in lying to the court and can't be trusted. Forensic accountant Adam Magill testified that thousands of dollars in donated funds flowed into and out of Zimmerman's bank account in the days before the first bail hearing. Magill said it appeared Zimmerman and his wife were speaking in code during recorded jailhouse telephone conversations about the amount of money involved. He also said that transferring funds between accounts could have been done to make it appear that Zimmerman had less money available for bail than he did. De la Rionda reiterated that prosecutors believe Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, was an innocent victim who was confronted by Zimmerman without provocation. Zimmerman, a Sanford neighborhood watch volunteer, acknowledged fatally shooting the unarmed Martin after calling police to report a suspicious person. Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, said Martin attacked him. George Zimmerman: Trayvon Martin threatened my life . CNN's John Couwels and Vivian Kuo contributed to this report.
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NEW: Defense attorney says family faces challenges in arranging bond . A judge orders $1 million bond for George Zimmerman . Prosecutors say Zimmerman can't be trusted . Zimmerman's initial bond was revoked after he and his wife failed to disclose contributions .
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(CNN) -- African football has been left reeling following the tragic deaths of two players in two days over the weekend, both while appearing for their clubs. On Saturday, Nigerian striker Endurance Idahor collapsed on the pitch and died on his way to hospital while playing for Al Merreikh against Al Amal in a Sudanese league match. The 25-year-old fell to the ground after a minor collision with a rival player and local media later reported that the player had suffered a heart attack. Idahor finished as top scorer during his first season in Sudan and scored 118 goals in 176 appearances for Al Merreikh. Meanwhile, on Sunday, teenage central defender Bartholomew Opoku collapsed while playing for Ghanaian side Kessben in their league clash with Liberty. The 19-year-old was rushed to hospital but passed away on Monday, with the cause of death still unknown. "It's a massive tragedy and the whole club is in shock. There was no hint he was unwell," the BBC Web site quoted Kessben spokesman Fred Acheampong.
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African football has been left reeling following the tragic deaths of two players . Nigerian striker Endurance Idahor collapsed on the pitch and died in a match in Sudan . Teenage defender Bartholomew Opoku collapsed while playing for Ghanaian side Kessben .
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(CNN) -- It's one of the top 10 most-visited sites worldwide, with over 2 million articles in its English language edition. But is online encyclopedia Wikipedia's strength -- that anyone can edit it -- also its greatest weakness? Wikipedia: an invaluable repository of global knowledge or a magnet for digital vandals and hoaxers? This June, former president of the American Library Association, Michael Gorman hit out at academics who endorsed the use of Wikipedia to their students, saying in the Encyclopaedia Britannica blog that "a professor who encourages the use of Wikipedia is the intellectual equivalent of a dietician who recommends a steady diet of Big Macs with everything." Gorman added that Google and Wikipedia were creating a generation of "intellectual sluggards incapable of moving beyond the Internet," with no interest in exploring non-digital resources. Gorman's remarks received a mixed response. Some said that students should be taught to discern whether a source was authoritative. Others pointed to academics who cite Wikipedia, saying it was unfair to prevent students from doing the same. Ben Fairweather, research fellow in the center for computing and social responsibility at De Montfort University, England, was quoted in the Times Higher Education Supplement saying that Internet resources had made research more efficient and removed some of the "drudgery out of producing good work." Gorman's position was that he was not taking issue with the technology per se, but was concerned by the lack of peer review based on an intellectual meritocracy, adding, "That meritocracy must be based on respect for expertise and learning." Perhaps surprisingly, this view is shared by Larry Sanger, who was with Wikipedia from the start and is often referred to as a co-founder. (Though that's up for debate on the site, too.) When he parted ways with Wikipedia, Sanger felt that the site's vulnerability to vandalism could undermine its reputation. That spurred him to set up "Citizendium," a rival wiki-based project where articles are vetted by known experts and authors are required to use their real names. Citizendium launched this year with the aim to become "the world's most trusted knowledge base," though with just 3000 articles to hold to Wikipedia's 2 million, some would question whether the site can ever catch up. For the most part, Wikipedia is working. A 2005 study by British journal Nature found that the online encyclopedia was about as accurate as its competitors on science. But a commonly cited peril of Wikipedia's anonymity is vandalism. In one notorious example, journalist John Seigenthaler Sr. was listed as a suspect in both Kennedy assassinations by a prankster: the entry remained up for four months in 2005. Such abuse tends to get quickly swept away by the site's volunteers, especially if an article has been placed on a watch list by editors who are interested in the subject. Still, at any given point, Wikipedia visitors can't be sure of what they're getting. Look no further than the Seigenthaler entry: For 31 hours last September, he was said to have killed and eaten JFK. Seigenthaler slammed the site in an opinion piece in USA Today, berating Wikipedia's "volunteer vandals with poison-pen intellects." Some might say that the edits in Seigenthaler's profile would never have made it into the mainstream media. But those seeking proof of just how much emphasis even professional journalists can place on Wikipedia need look no further than the example of Ronnie Hazlehurst, a British composer of TV theme tunes for shows including "Yes, Minister" and "Last of the Summer Wine," who died this October. According to several high-profile obituaries, including the BBC, Reuters, the London Times and The Guardian, Hazlehurst, at the age of 72, also penned "Reach," a 2000 hit for UK pop combo S Club 7. The unfortunate writers had omitted to double-check his Wikipedia discography, and collectively fell victim to Wiki-hoaxers. Even those who spot errors in their own profiles can be reluctant to address them. In April this year, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and academic Douglas Hofstadter told the New York Times of his Wikipedia entry, "[it] is filled with inaccuracies, and it kind of depresses me." When asked why he didn't fix it, he replied, "The next day someone will fix it back." Wikipedia recognizes that to-and-fro tussling -- or "edit warring" -- is damaging to its reputation, and some of the more controversial topics -- such as those on Islam, Elvis Presley and abortion -- have been locked to limit who can alter them. But as its reputation as an online resource has grown, the encyclopedia has also become a target for corporate spin. In January this year, the Associated Press reported that Microsoft had offered a blogger cash to alter Wikipedia articles. Microsoft claimed that the articles contained inaccuracies on an open-source document standard and a rival format put forward by the software giant. Then, this summer, Virgil Griffith, a 24-year-old Cal Tech graduate student, unearthed some eyebrow-raising data. Wired.com reported in August that Griffith created an application called WikiScanner that tracks edits that have been made to Wikipedia articles and cross-references them against IP addresses, which can be traced back to companies' offices. Griffith proved what many had suspected for some time: that edits on company profiles were often originating from IP addresses owned by those companies and even their competitors. Just a few of the corporations listed included Exxon Mobil, Apple, Microsoft and Wal-Mart, along with several politicians' offices. ""It was dead easy," Griffith told Forbes.com. "I just combined two databases and -- poof -- you have these public relations disasters." Some of those edits, Wired reported, appeared to be "transparently self-interested, either adding positive, press release-like material to entries, or deleting whole swaths of critical material." Wired cited the example of voting-machine company Diebold, "with someone at the company's IP address apparently deleting long paragraphs detailing the security industry's concerns over the integrity of their voting machines, and information about the company's CEO's fund-raising for President Bush." The deleted text was restored by a Wikipedia contributor, who added: "Please stop removing content from Wikipedia. It is considered vandalism." So should we turn our backs on Wikipedia -- scratch it and start again? Absolutely not. As a project -- to gather together our collective knowledge -- Wikipedia is admirable. As a repository for human knowledge, it is invaluable. As an introductory resource on anything from scientific formulae to walk-on characters in TV sitcoms, its breadth is unmatched. Its content is also a priceless reflection of humanity and its concerns. Only a tiny fraction of its vast repository is polluted by vandals, hoaxers and ne'er-do-wells, who in turn are chased down by its dedicated band of editors and administrators. But a resource that can be edited by experts and non-experts alike will always carry risks, and perhaps that's Wikipedia's greatest lesson for us all: that its very existence must force us to question notions of accuracy and reliability, while giving us a means to correct errors and add to the global knowledge pot. Two things are certain: no encyclopedia will ever be perfect, and we will never reach consensus on all Wikipedia articles. And in the meantime, while an invaluable first port of call, those using Wikipedia would be well advised to confirm their facts elsewhere. .............................. Do you take Wikipedia at face value, or with a pinch of salt? Should we learn from the experts, or does each of us have a part to play? Share your views and read others' thoughts in the Just Imagine forum. The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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Free online encyclopedia Wikipedia has fallen victim to hoaxers, vandals . Students and journalists have fallen foul of site's inaccuracies . Cal Tech grad student has uncovered corporate Wikipedia whitewashing . Site is still a valuable resource -- when used with caution .
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(CNN) -- State military forces on Friday retook a key town in northern Mali after intense fighting that included help from French military forces, a defense ministry spokesman said. "Today, we have recaptured Konna," said the spokesman, Diaran Kone, at a briefing played over state radio. The Mali city of Konna had been seized by Islamist forces on Thursday as they pushed southward from their strongholds in the desert of northern Mali. "The fighting lasted for not more than two, maybe three hours; Konna was recaptured with the assistance of French, Nigerian and Senegalese troops this afternoon," said Kone. "All measures were used, including the drones given by France." Earlier, Nigeria's defense minister had denied to CNN that Nigerian troops were involved in Friday's fighting. But France confirmed that its armed forces had taken part in the fighting and launched airstrikes in support of the operation. French President Francois Hollande announced that French ground and air forces were in the country to aid government forces. "French military forces have brought their support to the Malian forces this afternoon to fight against these terrorist elements," said Hollande, speaking from the Elysee Palace in Paris. "This operation will last as long as it is necessary. I will regularly inform the French people about its course." Read more: A ticking time bomb: What's behind the instability in Mali? It was not clear how many French troops were deployed. But French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the French military has also launched airstrikes. Mali's interim president, Dioncounda Traore, declared a state of emergency across the country Friday and called for "a general mobilization" to defend against the advance of radical Islamists. He acknowledged France's military help, including air support. Hollande said Mali "is facing a terrorist aggression in the north," and added that "the whole world is aware" of the terrorists' "brutality and extremism." "Today, it is therefore the very existence of this friendly state that is at stake, as is the security of its population and of our own 6,000 citizens living there," he said. Read more: Troops could be headed to Mali to fight Islamist extremists . France, which has posted troops in many locations in Africa, had said it wouldn't send combat troops to Mali and had pledged to scale back on intervening in local politics and conflicts in Africa. For example, it declined a request to intervene in the Central Africa Republic, where an insurgency flared. So the Mali operation underlines the seriousness of France's concern over its former colony. French hostages have been taken in neighboring Niger by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb; Paris is trying to contain any further militant expansion in the heart of Africa. Read more: International leaders push for military intervention in Mali . Northern Mali has been occupied by radical Islamists, who moved in after fighting broke out in January 2012 between government forces and Tuareg rebels. West African states and international leaders, worried about an al Qaeda foothold, say a rapid military intervention is essential to solving the security crisis in Mali. Hundreds of thousands of Malians have been uprooted because of proliferation of armed groups, drought and political instability after a coup d'etat in March. Hollande said the country is consulting with the United Nations and "intervening within the framework of international law." Parliament will be consulted as soon as Monday on the operation, he said. "The terrorists must know that France will always be there whenever the rights of a country that strives for freedom and democracy are threatened, not just when its core interests are at stake," he said. Europe, Fabius said, "has made some decisions to train and reshape the Malian army." "The terrorists' breakthrough must be stopped," he said. "If not, it's the entire Mali that falls into their hands, with a threat to the whole of Africa and Europe." The U.N. Security Council cited "grave concern over the reported military movements and attacks by terrorist and extremist groups" in northern Mali. "This serious deterioration of the situation threatens even more the stability and integrity of Mali and constitutes a direct threat to international peace and security," the council said. Last month, the council authorized a one-year military peacekeeping mission in Mali. The African-led International Support Mission in Mali aims to help rebuild Mali's security and defense forces and to help Malian authorities recover the areas in the north. Read more: Northern Mali, 'magnet for international jihadis' A regional group, the Economic Community of West African States, has pledged thousands of troops to the mission, and the Security Council has urged other member states to contribute troops. The Malian government and rebel groups are expected to meet January 21 for peace talks in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou. Mali held its first democratic elections in 1992, after decades of military rule. It maintained a strong democracy until March, when a group of soldiers toppled the government, saying it had not provided adequate equipment for them to fight ethnic Tuareg rebels roaming the vast desert in the north. Tuareg rebels, who for decades had staged rebellions seeking independence, took advantage of the power vacuum and seized parts of the north. The rebels had fought alongside Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and returned to Mali -- with their weapons in tow -- after he was killed in October 2011. A power struggle then erupted in the north between the Tuaregs and local al Qaeda-linked radicals, who seized control of large parts of the desert north. The international community voiced concerns about al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its expanding presence in Mali. The al Qaeda wing is linked to the attack last year in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, U.S. officials have said. The militants in the north have applied their strict interpretation of Sharia law by banning music, smoking, drinking and watching sports on television. They also publicly stoned a couple to death in July, reportedly for having an affair. Public executions, amputations, floggings and other inhumane punishments are becoming common, the United Nations says. The militants have attacked Timbuktu's historic tombs and shrines, claiming the relics are idolatrous. The picturesque city was once an important destination for Islamic scholars because of its ancient and prominent burial sites, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tuareg rebels retreated from the well-armed militants but have vowed to fight back and establish in the north their own country, which they call Azawad. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report .
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NEW: Mali's defense ministry says government forces have retaken Konna . Mali is facing a "terrorist aggression" in northern Mali, leader says . An al Qaeda wing has taken root in the north . Interim President Traore calls for a "general mobilization" against radical Islamists .
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THE EVERGLADES, Florida (CNN) -- Joe Wasilewski drives along a narrow stretch of road through Florida's Everglades. The sun is setting, night is coming on quickly, and Wasilewski is on the prowl for snakes -- and one snake in particular. Reptile expert Joe Wasilewski holds a Burmese python he found in the Florida Everglades. "The next 10 miles seem to be the hot spot for Burmese pythons," he said. Wasilewski is a state-sanctioned snake-hunter who regularly scours this area for the reptiles. The Everglades, known as the River of Grass, has the perfect space and climate for pythons to hide and breed. And breed they do: The largest clutches found in the Everglades have contained 83 eggs. They are also speedy travelers, able to move across 1.6 miles of land every day, experts say. The travel lets people like Wasilewski hunt the snakes from the driver's seat of his truck. But it also means that the problems created in the local ecosystem by the non-venomous snakes are spreading. "It's a large predator, and they're eating basically everything in sight. That's the problem," Wasilewski said of the Burmese python. Volunteers like Wasilewski, happy to grasp the problem and the snakes with both hands, are not the only troops in Florida's war on the invading pythons. A "Python Patrol" was launched in the Florida Keys, south of the Everglades, by Alison Higgins of the Nature Conservancy. Her program uses utility workers, wildlife officials, park rangers and police to keep an eye out for snakes and trains them to capture any they find. "The Burmese pythons that are coming out of the Everglades are eating a lot of our endangered species and other creatures, and we want to make sure they don't breed here," said Higgins, the conservation manager for the Keys. It is believed that the problem originated when reptile-breeding facilities near the Everglades were destroyed during Hurricane Andrew. Compounding the problem is the release of these snakes by pet owners. "These pets were released by owners that do not understand the threat to the ecosystem," Everglades National Park spokeswoman Linda Friar said. She said the pets, which can grow to 200 pounds and live for 30 years, often get too big for owners to handle. The state has a pilot program with several volunteer snake hunters such as Wasilewski. Twenty years ago, no Burmese pythons were found in the Everglades, park statistics say. Now, there could be 100,000 snakes in the River of Grass, but no one knows for sure. What Wasilewski, an expert on reptiles, is sure of is that night is the best time for his hunting, as that is when the snakes tend to be on the move. When he finds his prey, he puts the snake in a bag, deposits it in a crate and delivers it to biologists for the Everglades National Park, where the snake can be studied and/or destroyed. On one recent evening, the pickings were slim, and after two hours of driving back and forth along the two-lane Tamiami Trail, Wasilewski's crate was empty. He saw a python on the road, but it was dead, and the other small snakes and a baby alligator in the area did not interest him. Finally, Wasilewski, an environmental and wildlife consultant, spotted something. "Yeah, baby! Hee ha! Look at the size of this one," he exclaimed from the front seat of his truck. He got out and picked up the brownish-green snake, which immediately coiled around his arm. "This isn't a big one," he said, but as he got a closer look, he did not deny that it was a good one: "At least 12 [feet.]" Wasilewski has a soft spot for these species, and one of the reasons he volunteers for the snake hunt is to learn more about them. He says it is not the snakes' fault that they ended up in the Everglades, but he acknowledges the problems they are causing on the Florida ecosystem and the need to do something. "One down, 100,000 to go," he said.
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Florida Everglades are perfect place for Burmese pythons to live and breed . Huge snakes breed quickly and travel quickly . One reptile expert patrols the area for snakes to capture .
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6c377c3b67532b72a36c98d4d7cd5e3822d85d7e
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Washington (CNN) -- A 21-year-old Idaho man charged with trying to assassinate President Obama by firing a rifle at the White House is competent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled Friday. In issuing the ruling, Magistrate Judge John Facciola turned down a request by government prosecutors for Oscar Ortega-Hernandez to undergo more mental evaluation. Dr. Elizabeth Teegarden, a clinical psychologist who interviewed the accused for 50 minutes, told the court she concluded, "he was clearly competent to stand trial." Federal prosecutor George Varghese asked Teegarden if she was aware the defendant had referred to himself as a modern-day Jesus Christ and if she knew he reportedly thought the government had a plan to implant global positioning system chips inside U.S. citizens to be able to track them. She said she had not been given that information before she interviewed Ortega-Hernandez. The psychologist said that during the interview, Ortega-Hernandez answered questions about his background, said he had never been treated for a mental illness, and understood the function of the judges and lawyers involved in his case. Teegarden said that when she asked him about comments he had allegedly made to people he knows in Idaho that indicated he might want to hurt Obama, Ortega-Hernandez didn't want to discuss the subject. "I don't see any delusions in this case that affect competency," Teegarden said. "I saw no delusional thinking, period." Teegarden, who works for the city's Department of Mental Health, said she does more than 400 mental competency evaluations a year. Ortega-Hernandez sat quietly during the hearing and appeared to listen closely to Teegarden's testimony. He wore a dark prison jumpsuit and leg shackles. He is scheduled to appear in court Monday for a probation and preliminary hearing at which the government is expected to provide probable cause evidence that he fired a rifle at the White House on the evening of November 11 in an attempt to assassinate Obama. Obama was traveling in California the night the shots were fired. On Thursday, the government filed a document arguing Ortega-Hernandez should be kept in jail and not be freed on bail. The filing included details on Ortega-Hernandez's actions on the day of the shooting and in the aftermath. After Ortega-Hernandez was captured in Indiana, Pennsylvania, five days after the shooting, he told investigators he had been carjacked by a man with a gun on the day the White House shooting took place, according to the filing. He allegedly said the man who stole his car and his wallet must have been the person who shot at the White House. Prosecutors say there is videotape showing Ortega-Hernandez shopping at a Walmart store in Fairfax, Virginia, two hours after he said he was robbed in Washington. According to the document, Ortega-Hernandez also said he has never owned a gun. Prosecutors say they have two witnesses from Idaho who contradict that and tie him to a rifle found in a car abandoned not far from the White House on the night of the shooting. One witness said he sold the Romanian-made assault rifle to Ortega-Hernandez last March, and the other said he attached a scope to the weapon and saw Ortega-Hernandez practice shooting with it, according to the court filing. "Five confirmed bullet impact points" were found on the south side of the White House, according to the document. Two bullets and one bullet jacket were recovered and prosecutors say preliminary ballistics tests have matched them to the rifle found in a 1998 Honda which is registered to Ortega-Hernandez and another person. Only Ortega-Hernandez's fingerprints were found on some ammunition magazines left in the car and his prints also were found inside the car, according to prosecutors. The government also said a Walmart receipt was found in the car from Ortega-Hernandez's stop there four hours before the shooting. In a criminal complaint issued earlier, several unnamed witnesses were quoted as saying Ortega-Hernandez viewed Obama as "the devil" or the "anti-Christ." The Thursday filing includes a reference to a woman identified only as "Witness 10." She allegedly told investigators that Ortega thought he was "chosen" to "take care of" the president and that she thought that meant he wanted to kill Obama. Investigators previously released little information on Ortega-Hernandez's movement from the night of the shooting at the White House until he was arrested five days later at a hotel in Pennsylvania. But in their Thursday court filing, prosecutors revealed that three days after the shooting, a former FBI photographer who takes pictures of trains as a hobby photographed a stowaway riding on a train near Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia, heading northwest. The photographer-- identified in the document as witness 18 --thought the man looked like Ortega-Hernandez and contacted law enforcement. Witnesses who knew Ortega-Hernandez later identified the man in the picture as him. Prosecutors say the charge of attempting to assassinate the president is one of the most serious in the criminal code. In the Thursday filing, prosecutors say, "Ortega-Hernandez was deadly serious about eliminating the president and took many substantial steps toward achieving his end," including purchasing a rifle in March to making a 2,000-mile drive from Idaho to the East Coast in October. Prosecutors argue that although Obama wasn't in Washington the night of the shooting, Ortega-Hernandez had a specific plan to hurt him. "The tragedy that would have befallen the nation if Ortega-Hernandez had been successful is unspeakable," prosecutors said.
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Judge rules Oscar Ortega-Hernandez is mentally competent . He will appear in court Monday for a preliminary hearing . He is accused of firing a rifle at the White House in November . He faces charges of trying to assassinate President Obama .
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- A six-month trial was launched this week that promises to transform the way luggage is tracked and monitored at London's Heathrow airport. As many as 28 in every 1,000 passengers do not arrive at their destination at the same time as their luggage. The trial -- run by BAA and airline Emirates -- is using RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology to tag baggage. This will allow staff to more accurately track bags passing through the airport. The crucial difference between RFID and the existing barcode system is its scanning accuracy. Barcode tags can be easily damaged in transit and are also at risk of being covered when scanned. If not scanned, details must be entered manually into the system, adding time and error to the process. BAA estimates that Heathrow can read only 60 per cent of labels that pass through. RFID is reported to offer over 99 percent accuracy. The £150,000 trial -- the first of its kind in the UK -- will continue for six months tracking bags for passengers traveling with Emirates to and from Dubai, and transferring through Heathrow. A duplicate of the Heathrow system has been installed at Dubai Airport. During the check-in process at Heathrow Terminal 3, staff apply tags containing RFID chips to bags with information including the passenger's name and route. The chips are then read on entry into the baggage system; they are tracked as they move throughout; and finally on leaving the system. As a result, says Shaun Cowlam, Logistics Director at Heathrow Airport, staff can know where a bag is at "every moment of every day". BAA is also considering introducing a SMS text messaging service to keep passengers informed of where their bags are. When passengers arrive at Heathrow, says Cowlam, the idea will be to send passengers a text informing them what belt and what time their bags will arrive at. Ultimately, the use of RFID could extend services to frequent flyers, and provide the means to added value services such as faster check-in, and even be integrated with secure collection and delivery. The main benefits, however, will be for travelers passing through major hubs such as Heathrow and Dubai, as this system offers better processing of baggage on transfer flights. Emirates and BAA are sharing the costs of the trial. But as Vic Sheppard, Emirates Vice President for UK and Ireland says, "cost is not an issue", especially considering the savings the airline is expected to achieve by reducing loss and repatriation of bags. And as Cowlam adds: "if we can introduce this across the whole network the costs will reduce significantly." Hong Kong International Airport was one of the first to deploy RFID technology in 2005. But as outlined in a recent survey by SITA, RFID is being used in just 6 percent of the airports surveyed. "For this system to really take off we need other airports and other airlines to embrace the technology," says Cowlam. That widespread adoption may not be far off. The SITA survey indicated that RFID tags will be used in 45 percent of airports by the end of 2009. It's still early days, but BAA and Emirates are optimistic for RFID's future in airports. "There have been giant strides in the technology in aviation in recent years. But in the last few decades there hasn't been any advancement in the methods adopted for baggage handling," says Sheppard. "This is a major step forward." E-mail to a friend .
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New trial at Heathrow airport will use RFID to accurately track and monitor luggage . Compared to exsiting bar codes, RFID tags offer 15 percent more reading accuracy . A proposed service will send SMS to passengers informing when bags arrive .
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22f9667453cf7ea8a39080edde645776d5edc6f7
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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Gregory Maguire absently cleans his glasses with his tie as he talks about pushing someone down the stairs. "I use children's stories as kind of a snare and temptation and illusion to draw in readers," Gregory Maguire says. "I wonder if you've ever stood at the top of the stairs behind someone who's really annoying and just imagined putting your foot out and planting your boot in somebody's objectionable behind?" he asks. "You know, I think that thought is a fairly common human thought." Maybe for the author of "Wicked," who looks more like a college English professor than someone who spends his days writing about the world of Oz. Maguire often imagines evil, and how those without self-control respond to it. Maguire's "Wicked" series puts a spin on the classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" tale, bringing in corruption, political prisoners and war. His first book, "Wicked," has sold more than 2.5 million copies, and the musical based on the book reportedly has been seen by more than 3.75 million people in New York alone. National tours have been huge successes. Maguire's newest book in the series, "A Lion Among Men," tells the story of the Cowardly Lion -- the motherless cub defended by Elphaba in "Wicked." Watch Maguire roar about "Lion" » . CNN talked to Maguire about the book's main character, his life before "Wicked" and why he has never written realistic adult fiction. The following is an edited version of that interview: . CNN: To someone who's never read your books before, how would you describe your style? Gregory Maguire: I would describe [my books] as being, not quite allegories, but commentaries on contemporary society -- and indeed politics to some extent -- enshrouded in, and disguised by, the guise of children's stories. In other words, I use children's stories as kind of a snare and temptation and illusion to draw in readers who say this is going to be easy ... and it's going to be fun. And indeed I hope it is fun. But once I get people involved in the plot, I hope to also communicate some of the questions I have about the way we live our lives in the 21st century. CNN: Talk to me about Brrr. What's his personality like? What is he going through? Maguire: Well, Brrr is the name that I've given to the cowardly lion who is the main character -- the protagonist -- in this novel called "A Lion Among Men." And I gave him that name for two reasons: One, because it does sound like a shiver, and he is always slightly spooked by the world; and the second reason, because the two letters in it B-r-r-r are both letters from the name of Bert Lahr, who played the Cowardly Lion so famously in the 1939 MGM film. His character arises in the hollow space in our perceptions between that giant roaring lion at the MGM logo ... the ideal lion, and the kind of sad, sacked, out of work, vaudeville performer in lion pajamas that we see when Dorothy actually runs into the lion on the Yellow Brick Road. In other words, there's a huge disconnect between the image we project of ourselves -- the best we might ever hope to possibly be -- and the way we feel about ourselves at our absolute worst -- when we're the most down in the dumps. There's a huge space in between there. So the novel's really in some ways about character and taking control of the destiny of your own character. CNN: Everyone knows of your success with "Wicked" -- it's huge. But what was your life like before you wrote that book? Maguire: I had written children's books for 14 years before I published "Wicked." And none of them were poorly reviewed, and none of them sold enough for me to be able to buy a bed. I was the traditional artist in the garret, expecting to live that way or maybe to give up writing soon because I would eventually have to get a job that was going to pay me some kind of retirement package. Silly thought, that, these days. CNN: You often take the point of view of the "wicked" or "evil" characters in your books. How do you get inside their heads? Maguire: Well, I like to think I'm a pretty good-natured guy and pretty civil and probably not ever truly guilty in any serious way of any legal infractions. But I do seem to have an unconscionable, easy time of thinking about how people might do wrong, of what they might feel like and how they might behave if they had less self-control than I do. And then also, how they would have to deal with the weight of being called evil. If everyone was always calling you a bad name, how much of that would you internalize? How much of that would you say, all right, go ahead, I'll be everything that you call me because I have no capacity to change your minds anyway so why bother. By whose standards should I live? In a way, all three of my adult books come down to that question -- by whose standards should I live? Can I find my own standards? Can I recognize them? Can I value them if I can name them? And are they good enough, are they strong enough, standards by which to live? CNN: You talked about writing children's books. How is writing for children different than writing for adults? Maguire: Well, for one thing children are intensely more impatient than adults. So you have to start out active, you have to start out strong and you cannot be, for a moment, self-indulgent. Everything has to be a sound bite or something that the children can visualize as if they're running a little Super 8 projector in their mind. Now I date myself with ancient technology, but you know what I mean ... write the scene that you want Steven Spielberg to film, which means every sentence has to give us something to see. Make it intensely visual and this is, I think, the main rule for writing for children. But in no way do I make it less thoughtful. I just actually have to work harder. Writing for children is like the difference between writing a sonnet and writing a gossip column. I mean you have a lot more restrictions so you have to work a lot harder. I'm not saying that a gossip column can't be intensely rewarding, but I dare say it's easier to write. CNN: Have you ever considered writing anything that's not magical, or more real life? Maguire: I have, but I never seem to get very far. In a way, and I don't mean to talk myself down, but sometimes I look at the mysteries of other people and I think, "How do I know if they think anything like I think?" I can only guess who you might be. You might see the world in a whole different range of colors than I do. You might be super sensitive to nuances of body language or music or ... I just don't know. So I always feel when I try to write realistic fiction for adults, that maybe I don't have enough life experience, even though I'm 54. I'm not sure I trust it. But when I write something that has a magic base to it, I put in everything I do know about the infinite varieties and subtleties and ambivalences in adult behavior, but nobody can call me out and say, "You don't even know who human beings are" because I've couched it. I suppose it's a kind of safety net for myself, or a security blanket. If I'm writing magic, nobody can say I got it wrong because we all know magic doesn't exist.
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Gregory Maguire's new book, "A Lion Among Men," is about the Cowardly Lion . Maguire wrote children's books for 14 years before writing "Wicked" "Wicked" has sold more than 2.5 million copies . New novel is about "taking control of the destiny of your own character," Maguire says .
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6decda2aaf04452ef410312d22329ee11fc4aa1c
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