text
listlengths 2
282
| summary
listlengths 1
50
| label
listlengths 1
52
|
|---|---|---|
[
"Editor's note: CNN agreed not to use the full names of the family in this article due to concern for their safety.",
"Youssif is able to smile again, and his scars are healing well.",
"Doctors are monitoring the swelling on his right ear.",
"WOODLAND HILLS, California (CNN) -- Youssif happily pulls off his plastic face mask and pats his cheeks, which were once covered by horrific burns.",
"\"No hurt,\" the 5-year-old Iraqi boy says in English.",
"\"No hurt.\" He then shows off his right hand.",
"It too had been marred by hardened scar tissue after he was attacked by masked men outside his central Baghdad home January 15, 2007.",
"Now, his hand is smooth.",
"Youssif flashes a proud grin.",
"A few moments later, he darts off and comes back toting his kindergarten portfolio.",
"In less than a month of schooling, he's now writing the alphabet in upper- and lowercase.",
"See photos of a transformed Youssif » .",
"He reads a book, repeating each word after the narrator.",
"When he gets to the word \"you,\" he gets tickled.",
"He points at the name \"Youssif\" and then covers the final four letters.",
"\"You,\" he says. Youssif began attending an American school just last month, one year to the day after he was so savagely attacked in Baghdad.",
"In a recent letter to those who have helped his son, Youssif's father described the anniversary as a \"very hard day\" to endure but one that also brought joy.",
"\"But this year, it was the day for another miracle, Youssif's first day of kindergarten.",
"It was a very happy day,\" Youssif's father said.",
"Youssif begins each day with his father strapping him into a bike trailer.",
"Dad then pedals him to school.",
"On one recent outing, his dad's mobile phone blared Arabic music as Youssif quietly sat in the back, a helmet securely strapped to his head, the wind whirling past.",
"As soon as they reached the school, Youssif's slow walk away from his father, his head held down, quickly changed into a sprint toward his classroom, and all you could see was the big red \"S\" on his Superman backpack flying away.",
"\"Harry,\" Youssif says in a small, muffled tone, reading the writing on the dry-erase board after receiving a little help from some classmates seated on the rug.",
"Watch Youssif-inspired music video » .",
"He then receives a congratulatory high-five from one of his kindergarten teachers.",
"Youssif is adjusting well to school, able to write out the alphabet and count to 12 without hesitation.",
"He always finishes with an accomplished sigh, wide eyes and a smile so big, it's as if he is making up for the 10 months he was not able to smile.",
"He is quick to show the pencil box on his desk, pointing to his name written on it and then pointing to himself with the same tiny finger and nodding his head, letting you know that it is his.",
"\"The kids love Youssif.",
"They get more excited than he does when he learns a new word in English, and they brag about it for hours,\" the mother of a classmate says.",
"Youssif is attending the school thanks to help from the Children's Burn Foundation, the Grossman Burn Center and hundreds of thousands of dollars donated by you, the CNN.com user, to help bring him and his family to the United States for treatment.",
"Youssif has undergone more than half a dozen surgeries.",
"One removed the most massive scarring, which stretched about half a foot, from one of his ears to below his chin.",
"See how doctors removed Youssif's scars » .",
"He could undergo as many as 12 more procedures, his doctors say, mostly to tweak scars.",
"His right ear has swelled, and doctors are monitoring it to figure out the best way to keep it in check.",
"He wears a clear plastic face mask for much of the day to keep his skin tight and to allow it to heal correctly.",
"But the young boy's transformation -- both in looks and in spirit -- is nothing short of remarkable.",
"Back at his apartment, Youssif peels a clementine.",
"He uses exaggerated motions as he plops each section in his mouth.",
"At one point, he places his hand on his hip and taps his foot, waiting for an acknowledgment of this feat.",
"When he came to America in September, he couldn't eat -- or at least not like this.",
"He smiles again. \"Now, Youssif eats anything he wants, because he can open and close his mouth,\" his father said in the letter.",
"\"I have begun to see my son's lively spirit return.",
"The surgeries have removed more than just external scars, they are also beginning to remove his internal scars.",
"\"A few weeks ago we went to the park and Youssif rode on the merry-go-round.",
"Every time he passed by, he shrieked and laughed and waved wildly to me.",
"I thought my heart would burst with happiness.\"",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"Youssif began attending school in metro LA one year to the day of his attack .",
"Boy burned in Iraq is already writing the alphabet and counting .",
"Dad says, \"I have begun to see my son's lively spirit return\""
] |
[
15,
38,
44
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- Despite the rain, \"Slumdog Millionaire\" shone brightly at the British Academy Awards Sunday, scooping a clutch of honors.",
"\"Slumdog Millionaire\" director Danny Boyle shields composer A.R.",
"Rahman from the rain as they arrive Sunday at the BAFTA awards in London.",
"Not even the drizzle could dampen Danny Boyle's spirits as \"Slumdog,\" his Mumbai-set rags to riches movie phenomenon won a remarkable seven awards at the glitziest night in the UK film calendar.",
"\"You make a film like this and you just hope and pray it will be seen by a few people,\" the British director told CNN.",
"\"And the journey it's been on, the reception it's had around the world, has just been extraordinary.\"",
"Watch Danny Boyle, Dev Patel and Freida Pinto talking about \"Slumdog\" on the red carpet.",
"As was widely expected, following its haul of four Golden Globes last month including Best Motion Picture, \"Slumdog\" took the Best Film award.",
"\"I'd like to acknowledge the blood, sweat and tears of our cast,\" said the film's producer, Christian Colson who accepted the award.",
"\"The film you saw is the film Danny Boyle imagined and it's very rare you can say that.",
"He dreamed the dream, 24-hours a day, seven days a week for two and a half years.\"",
"Boyle's labors were recognized by the Academy, handing him the Director award, which he can add to the BAFTA he won for debut feature \"Shallow Grave\" in 1995.",
"\"Slumdog\" has touched audiences and critics alike.",
"Boyle thinks the film's extraordinary effect is down to its universal message of hope.",
"\"It's the contrast I think between where the kid comes from and what he achieves,\" said Boyle.",
"\"And he achieves everything on his own terms, and that gives you a kind of hope, really, which we all, no matter how romantic it is, we all need that.\"",
"Watch Bollywood legend and \"Slumdog\" star Anil Kapoor talking about the \"Slumdog\" phenomenon.",
"\"Slumdog\" also won the Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay, Music, Sound and Editing awards.",
"Closest rival David Fincher's \"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,\" which was up for 11 awards, bagged only three.",
"These included a richly-deserved Make Up & Hair award for the feat of transforming Brad Pitt into an octogenarian baby to tell the curious story of a man who is born old and gets younger as he ages.",
"Actress Kate Winslet also continued her success streak, scoring the Leading Actress honor for her powerful portrayal of a former-Nazi concentration camp guard in Stephen Daldry's \"The Reader.\"",
"Conversely, Winslet both won and lost the award having been nominated twice in the same category, which included Meryl Streep for \"Doubt,\" and Kristin Scott Thomas for \"I've Loved You So Long.\"",
"But most eyes were on the actress to see if there would be a repeat performance of the breathlessly incoherent acceptance speech she made at the Golden Globes last month after winning two awards.",
"\"These are really special moments.",
"And I don't want to waste them,\" Winslet told CNN on the red carpet before going on to accept her award with no tears or obvious emotion.",
"Instead she simply thanked her parents and the late Anthony Minghella and the late Sydney Pollack, two of the film's producers.",
"Watch Kate Winslet talking about her \"amazing year\" on the red carpet.",
"Reformed Hollywood badboy Mickey Rourke provided the only mild controversy of the night with a few expletives in his acceptance speech for the Best Actor award.",
"\"Thank you Darren Aronofsky who gave me a second chance after I'd f***ed up my career for 15 years.",
"Such a pleasure to be here, and be out of the darkness,\" he told the audience.",
"Earlier, the actor told CNN how things have changed for him since the accolades started pouring in for his extraordinary performance in Aronofsky's \"The Wrestler.\"",
"\"I got a whole bunchy of new friends that I don't need,\" Rourke said.",
"\"But I've also heard from some people that I'd worked with years ago that I'd burned bridges with that have come around.",
"\"It's taken me a long time to change and come back and do things the right way.",
"I'm just grateful for the second chance.\"",
"There were also gongs for Spain's Penelope Cruz, who took home Supporting Actress for her fiery scene-stealing performance as an unhinged artist in Woody Allen's \"Vicky Cristina Barcelona,\" and the late Heath Ledger whose chilling reinvention of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's \"The Dark Knight\" was recognized with the Supporting Actor award.",
"Now, as attention turns to the upcoming Oscars, \"Slumdog's\" BAFTA wins will only increase the momentum behind the Best Picture nominee.",
"After success at both the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, Kate Winslet could also be justified in looking forward to the Oscars with confidence."
] |
[
"\"Slumdog Millionaire\" wins seven prizes at British film awards .",
"Mickey Rourke named best actor; Kate Winslet named best actress .",
"Penelope Cruz, late Heath Ledger win supporting actor awards ."
] |
[
0,
7,
26,
35
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Former Dutch international Clarence Seedorf has revealed he is flattered to be linked with a move to Premier League Chelsea but insists he will still be an AC Milan player next season.",
"Clarence Seedorf wants to remain with AC Milan, despite Carlo Ancelotti's recent switch to Chelsea.",
"There has been speculation that the 33-year-old midfielder could move to Stamford Bridge to link up with his former Rossoneri coach Carlo Ancelotti, who was confirmed as Blues manager on June 1.",
"But the player is not interested in moving to the English Premier League and has told his own official Web site: \"It's beautiful news, that Ancelotti wants me in London, but next year I will still be playing for Milan.",
"\"I have a contract with Milan and I am a player of Milan.",
"I hope to still play for at the San Siro for at least three or four more years.",
"After that I have a whole lifetime ahead of me to do good.\"",
"Seedorf played for six-and-a half years under Ancelotti at Milan.",
"Together they won two Champions League titles, the Club World Cup, two European Super Cups, the Coppa Italia and Italian Supercoppa.",
"His comments will come as a welcome boost to Milan following the sale of Seedorf's fellow-midfielder Kaka to Real Madrid."
] |
[
"Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf says that he has no plans to quit AC Milan .",
"Seedorf was replying to rumors linking him with Premier League side Chelsea .",
"Seedorf's former coach Carlo Ancelotti recently left San Siro to coach Chelsea ."
] |
[
0,
1
] |
[
"CAMEMBERT, France (CNN) -- We're up in the north central part of France -- Normandy -- to see what's happening with French cheese.",
"Cheese lovers will be happy to know, just about nothing, at least as far as the traditional cheeses are concerned.",
"Cheese from the Camembert region now carries the same cachet as a chateau label for wine.",
"But for the milk industry in general, it's another story.",
"It has now a larger annual turnover than the steel industry in France (which admittedly is in decline.)",
"Somehow the French have figured a way to export dairy products to people who already have cows and their own dairy industries-- to the tune of nearly €4 billion ($6 billion) per year.",
"CNN spoke to a few of the people who do just that everyday and who are part of the changing face of France.",
"Philippe Meslon, the mayor of Saint-Loup de Fribois and the administrator of the Saint-Loup cheese works says: \"A camembert not made out of raw milk is like making love without sex.",
"\"A Frenchman is someone who cultivates with modern evolution his past.",
"It's someone who protects moral values, cultural values and artistic values, and when I say cultural values I would include camembert.\"",
"Meslon and small cheese makers like Francois Durand, who has 40 cows, have struggled and won the right to an Appelation d'Origine Controllee -- the mark AOC for their \"Camembert de Normandie\" which carries the same cachet as a chateau label for wine.",
"For Durand making cheese is about not cutting corners.",
"\"You have to have the passion,\" he says.",
"\"Yes it's difficult because it means a lot of work.",
"We make it all by hand. I do believe it is important because the cheese is an emblem of France.",
"It is a gastronomic emblem.\"",
"Still some small cheesemakers have been driven out of business and the taste and smell of their particular cheeses are lost to the world forever.",
"For Michel Delorme it was a combination of new, more stringent rules and his age that led him to quit producing his handmade Camemberts.",
"Michel Delorme: \"It's more and more complicated for those who stay in the business.",
"They must hold out! Yes I miss the cheese a little.",
"That's true. But I've kept my souvenirs, you see I've kept my old milk cans so I can stay in the spirit of Camembert!\"",
"Despite those who've quit, the actual number of the variety of cheeses in France is growing.",
"At the last cheese census more than 1,000 different kinds of cheeses were made here.",
"The milk industry is no small cheese in France, thanks to the efforts of people like Philippe Jachnik who travels the world endlessly promoting milk products, which these days include protein supplements and milk derivatives that can go into all sorts of processed food.",
"Jachnik, who works for the milk marketing consortium, says: \"I really would say I am selling the French approach to milk.",
"We EAT a lot of milk.",
"We DRINK a lot of water, wine, beer and coffee.",
"But drinking milk is not a big business here.",
"\"France has developed technological and marketing knowledge about adding value to a raw material-- milk.",
"I have been traveling for 40 years all around the world and I feel so welcome.",
"When you are French and you demonstrate that being French you can listen to others, people are interested in knowing about this country, about its people, about the way of life here.\"",
"Jachnik must be doing a good job as it's not just abroad that the French are selling more milk products-- cheese consumption in France has doubled from 12 to 24 kilos per person per year.",
"It seems there's no curding their enthusiasm ... E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"Milk industry is booming in France, now has larger turnover than steel industry .",
"Dairy industry worth $6 billion, French eat 24 kilos of dairy per person a year .",
"Cheesemaker: Cheese is gastronomic emblem of France .",
"Last cheese census found around 1,000 different kinds of cheeses in France ."
] |
[
4,
15,
22,
25
] |
[
"LONDON, England -- A yellow smiley-face badge, smeared with blood, has become the trademark for \"Watchmen,\" the most critically revered of all comic-books -- but it could also represent its troubled journey from page to big screen.",
"\"Watchmen\" opens with the unexplained murder of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).",
"Note smiley badge.",
"The subject of fervent debate in the geekosphere for more than two decades, \"Watchmen,\" finally rolls out in the U.S. and other territories from the first week of March onward.",
"But it's not as well known to wider audiences, who may puzzle at all this heat about a superhero movie with no A-list star attached.",
"Instead, they may simply ask: \"Watch-what?\"",
"Are you looking forward to \"Watchmen?\"",
"Or think it's just hype?",
"Tell us your views .",
"\"Watchmen,\" created by the UK comic-book team of writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, surfaced in 1986 as a monthly 12-issue series published by DC Comics (part of Time-Warner, which owns CNN parent company Turner Broadcasting).",
"It was a defining year for the medium: aside from \"Watchmen,\" '86 also saw Pulitzer-prize winning holocaust drama \"Maus,\" from The New Yorker contributor Art Spielgeman; and Frank Miller's hyperviolent Batman reworking \"The Dark Knight Returns.\"",
"\"Watchmen,\" set in 1985, sets up a parallel world in which America never lost Vietnam, Russia is about to invade Afghanistan and Nixon still holds power (Bernstein and Woodward were murdered).",
"Meanwhile a superhero team -- only one of whom has special powers -- reforms after a fellow operative is mysteriously slain.",
"So far, so what. But what lifts \"Watchmen\" is a complex, multi-layered narrative and depth of characterization that ensured it was the only comic-book to make Time's 100 best novels since 1923.",
"A dark, downbeat work with a heady 11th-hour twist, it puts as much store on subsidiary characters like a newspaper seller as its does blue-skinned man-god Dr Manhattan.",
"Watch \"Watchmen\" trailer. ...",
"Perfect fodder, one might think, for the multiplex -- but \"Watchmen\" has been lodged in Development Hell for the best part of two decades.",
"At various times Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vin Diesel were mooted to play Manhattan; Mickey Rourke and Ed Norton suggested for right-wing vigilante Rorschach.",
"Directors set to shoot have included Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass and David Hayter (whose script has been retained for much of the final film).",
"Several planned shoots failed to materialize due to studio fears about the budget (locations include Antarctica and Mars as well as New York) and how the ending might be perceived in a post-9/11 world.",
"But film-makers such as Gilliam and Guillermo del Toro also believed that the complex material would be better treated as a TV mini-series (as the \"Pan's Labyrinth\" film-maker told IGN: \"I just couldn't get my head around 'Watchmen' being two or three hours long.\")",
"Whoever made \"Watchmen\" would also do so without Moore's blessing.",
"Still resident in his hometown of Northampton, central England, Moore cuts an imposing figure.",
"At least six-and-a-half feet tall, with chest-length beard and hair, talon-like rings on his fingers and the skull of a centuries-old Buddhist monk in his study, he resembles Doctor Who as reimagined by Edgar Allan Poe.",
"(In person he's gracious and affable, as this writer will attest from a few years back).",
"Moore has had a mixed relationship with both the mainstream comic-book industry (which he accuses of over-commercialization and exploiting creators' rights) and Hollywood.",
"The comic-book series \"From Hell,\" in which Moore uses the Jack the Ripper killings as a precursor to 20th-century violence, runs to about 500 pages, including 40-plus pages of footnotes.",
"On film it became a melodramatic pad around Victorian London, gamely carried by a pre-\"Pirates\" Johnny Depp.",
"Two other Moore adaptations also failed to translate.",
"Stephen Norrington's \"The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen\" (2003) was widely derided and the subject of a court case into which Moore was dragged; by the time of James McTeigue's better judged \"V For Vendetta\" (2005), Moore had asked his name be taken off any movie adaptations and refused to take royalties.",
"Enter Zack Snyder.",
"In 2004, Snyder came to the attention of mainstream cinemagoers with his well-regarded remake of George A Romero's zombie flick \"Dawn of The Dead.\"",
"Following the $450m-plus taken worldwide by Snyder's \"300\" (2006) -- a hyper-stylized take on Frank Miller's ancient Greek suicide-mission -- it was announced that \"Watchmen\" would be his next project with Warner Bros. Paramount, which abandoned plans for the movie in 2005, took international rights.",
"The $150-million feature went into production in Vancouver in mid-2007, wrapping in early 2008, and with a cast including Billy Crudup and Jackie Earle Haley.",
"Snyder has retained \"Watchmen's\" 1980s setting and also recruited original artist Gibbons -- who still retains friendship with Moore -- to advise on production design.",
"Mindful that a narrative so complex could never work as a movie, Snyder has jettisoned several parallel subplots, which will surface as DVD extras and in director's cuts.",
"Word is that the ending has also been changed.",
"But wary of over-tweaking, Snyder told Entertainment Weekly last year: \"You can't make it into something else, you really can't.",
"It's not 'Fantastic Four,' it's got to be hard R [cinema rating], it's got to challenge everyone's ideas.\"",
"Meanwhile Moore, who sometimes mentions that he worships a Roman snake-god, hinted in the LA Times that he had cursed the feature.",
"\"I can tell you that I will also be spitting venom all over it for months to come,\" he added.",
"So was it Moore who saw \"Watchmen\" end up in the courts for a case that risked scuppering its release?",
"Last year Twentieth Century Fox claimed it still retained rights through an earlier deal with producer Lawrence Gordon in the 1980s; Warners Bros disagreed but a judge decided there was a case to answer.",
"A settlement was eventually thrashed out last month, only weeks ahead of release.",
"And so \"Watchmen\" ticks toward early March and a rollout in spring, the now-traditional season for edgier comic-book adaptations like \"300\" and \"Sin City.\"",
"Trailers and early footage have drawn praise, with several scenes playing like detailed frames from the original artwork.",
"But key will be whether Snyder can match \"Watchmen's\" dramatic beats against its green-screen chicanery for more than two hours (IMDB lists the running time at 163 minutes).",
"After all, successfully mixing pyrotechnics and narrative is how the most satisfying genre features of recent years -- such as Peter Jackson's \"Lord Of The Rings\" trilogy and Christopher Nolan's \"The Dark Knight\" -- have found artistic, as well as commercial, favor.",
"Should Snyder pull it off then will he earn the gratitude of fan boys everywhere, as well as no small thanks from a fair few movie executives.",
"What Alan Moore might think is another issue."
] |
[
"Comic-book movie, directed by Zack Snyder, took two decades to reach cinemas .",
"Directors Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass, previously attached .",
"Source material regarded by many as the best comic-book ever written .",
"Co-creator Alan Moore has objected to the idea of story being made into movie ."
] |
[
18,
26,
30
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- The designers behind a \"thinking\" yacht are hoping to break a world record by sending it across the Atlantic Ocean without any human assistance.",
"The autonomous yacht Avalon is hoisted to have her keel put in place before launching .",
"The four-meter boat, \"Avalon\", was designed and built by an eight-strong team of third-year engineering students at Swiss science university ETH Zurich.",
"The students are planning to take the boat to a robotic sailing regatta in July, before launching it into the Microtransat Transatlantic challenge in early September.",
"Using sensors to detect the speed and direction of the wind, the boat is programmed to reach a given co-ordinate and will attain it by automatically adapting to the changing conditions.",
"One of the \"Students Sailing Autonomously\" (SSA) team's project managers, Hendrik Erckens, told CNN that if the Atlantic crossing succeeds it will be a world record as an unmanned boat has not previously made the voyage.",
"It is planned the crossing will begin from the west coast of Ireland and finish in the Caribbean.",
"\"For us the Microtransat challenge is the big goal.",
"I'm pretty confident we can do it.",
"This week in testing it is pretty much doing what it's supposed to do.",
"And it is water tight.",
"\"Over the last couple of days we tried some autonomous tacks and jibes and now we are testing the navigation,\" he said.",
"See photos of the autonomous yacht from construction to launch » .",
"The team has been working on the project since September 2008, and are currently at the on-water testing stage, having designed and built the boat.",
"While the team will be able to track the boat through an onboard global positioning system (GPS) during the transatlantic voyage, Erckens said as long as the challenge is active they won't have any control over the vessel.",
"\"We will set it out and it will be completely autonomous.",
"There are solar cells on the back for power and extra power supplies on board.",
"\"There is a satellite communication system on board and the boat can download weather information by itself so it can calculate the best route to travel,\" he said.",
"Erckens said the team is positive that the carbon-fibre boat will survive the rough Atlantic seas -- an issue that has stopped many manned crossings before -- including Richard Branson's attempt at the fastest transatlantic crossing aboard the 99-foot Virgin Money last fall.",
"\"We feel our advantage over other teams is that we are mechanical engineers.",
"We have designed this boat ourselves and exactly for this purpose.\"",
"Erckens said the idea could one day offer a new autopilot option for large yachts.",
"\"The idea came as there are autopilots for boats out there, but currently the commercially available autopilots only steer the rudder.",
"We are looking to control the sails as well.\""
] |
[
"University students at ETH Zurich have designed and built a robotic boat .",
"The boat needs no sailors and uses sensors to sail in changing conditions .",
"It is hoped the yacht will sail autonomously across the Atlantic Ocean .",
"If it succeeds it would be the first Atlantic crossing by an unmanned boat ."
] |
[
2,
4,
5
] |
[
"(CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama won a battle against Somali pirates.",
"But does he really want to go to war?",
"The USS Bainbridge tows a lifeboat in which the captain of the Maersk Alabama was held hostage.",
"You may have seen the headlines in the last few days: a Somali pirate attack and hostage-taking ended with a precision operation by U.S. snipers and a successful rescue.",
"Somali pirates have been the scourge of the Horn of Africa for years.",
"They've attacked dozens of ships and taken hundreds of hostages from several countries.",
"The attack on the Maersk Alabama was the first on an American ship.",
"But when it was over, Obama made a particularly broad pledge.",
"\"We are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region,\" Obama said.",
"\"We're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks.",
"We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise.\"",
"See an interactive map of 2009 pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa » .",
"Experts say that means addressing the anarchy ashore which allows the pirates to operate.",
"Somalia is a failed state, where lawlessness is a license for every kind of criminal enterprise.",
"James Christodoulou of Industrial Shipping Enterprises Corporation told CNN that if the US wants to do something about piracy, it has to \"go to Somalia and deal with the cause there.",
"Whether it's with bullets or butter, the solution lies on land not at sea.\"",
"The U.S. tried once before to impose order in Somalia, with disastrous results.",
"It led a humanitarian mission to oversee the delivery of food aid that turned into an armed operation against local warlords.",
"More than 40 U.S. personnel were killed before U.S. forces withdrew.",
"That's the challenge facing the leader of every nation whose ships have fallen prey to the pirates.",
"An international effort has been underway to patrol the troubled waters.",
"The French navy has been particularly active.",
"But no one has rushed onto Somali soil.",
"The Obama administration is already managing wars in two countries.",
"Wait and see whether it's really willing to risk a third."
] |
[
"President Barack Obama says U.S. is committed to tackling piracy off Somalia .",
"Hostage captain of U.S. cargo ship rescued in U.S. Navy operation this week .",
"But experts say tackling piracy on seas means tackling failed state of Somalia .",
"With wars in two countries, is Obama willing to risk getting involved in another?"
] |
[
0,
8,
13,
16,
23,
24
] |
[
"LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Natalie Cole's search for a new kidney ended this week when someone with a compatible organ died and their family asked that it be given to the singer, according to the organ procurement group that handled the donation.",
"Natalie Cole received a kidney transplant Tuesday in Los Angeles.",
"Cole, who underwent a successful kidney transplant at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles Tuesday, was \"responding well and recuperating\" Thursday, her publicist said.",
"Cole had been on what she called \"a very long list\" of people waiting for an organ donation when she got word recently that OneLegacy, an organ procurement agency in Southern California, had a kidney that was a biological match.",
"It was a \"directed donation\" from a deceased organ donor, according to OneLegacy CEO Tom Mone.",
"\"Having heard of Ms. Cole's need for a kidney, the family asked that one of their loved one's kidneys be transplanted to Ms. Cole if they were a match,\" Mone said.",
"Directed organ donations are rare, and rarer still are those directed to someone not related to or known personally by the deceased, he said.",
"The donor will remain anonymous until the family gives permission for the name to be made public, he said.",
"Cole's need for a kidney donation was highly publicized, including with an appearance on CNN's \"Larry King Live\" on March 31.",
"\"I'm on a very long list, which is why we are looking to donors,\" said Cole, the daughter of legendary crooner Nat King Cole.",
"Cole said her kidney troubles date to February 2008 when she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Cole said she attributes the Hepatitis C to her well-publicized struggles to stop using cocaine and heroin.",
"Cole said she has been sober for some time now after two stints in a rehabilitation clinic.",
"Cole said she underwent chemotherapy in an aggressive way to fight the virus.",
"Within four months of getting chemotherapy, both of Cole's kidneys failed.",
"\"I couldn't breathe. I -- I went into -- literally, my kidneys stopped functioning.",
"They stopped, you know, processing the fluid that was starting to build up in my body.\"",
"Since then Cole has been on dialysis three days a week and has been searching for a kidney, she told King in one of the first public interviews about the issue.",
"Cole won six Grammys for her 1991 critically acclaimed album \"Unforgettable: With Love,\" a jazzy tribute to her father.",
"She won a Grammy this year for her new album \"Still Unforgettable\" and another Grammy for her work on another album.",
"Cole was still able to tour this year even with her kidney ailment.",
"She canceled a planned show last week in South Korea because of her illness, which meant she was in Los Angeles when the organ became available.",
"\"I have been on dialysis in Istanbul, Milan, Indonesia, Manila, London.",
"It's -- it's amazing,\" Cole said.",
"During King's show, dozens of people sent e-mails to CNN telling Cole that they would get tested to see if their kidney could be donated.",
"King handed a thick stack of paper to Cole.",
"\"These are all e-mails from dozens -- dozens of people offering to be tested to see if they can match, who want to give you a kidney,\" King said.",
"Cole stared at the papers for a moment.",
"\"There are some great human beings out there.",
"That's all I can say,\" Cole said.",
"Cole is expected to return to the tour after three to four months of recovery.",
"CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report."
] |
[
"Natalie Cole's new kidney came from deceased fan; fan's family asked for Cole .",
"Natalie Cole underwent kidney transplant surgery Tuesday .",
"Singer received supportive e-mails when on CNN's \"Larry King Live\" in March ."
] |
[
1,
8,
22
] |
[
"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A process that started months ago among White House lawyers to compile a list of possible Supreme Court picks has accelerated with word Justice David Souter plans to step down from the bench in June.",
"Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the only female high court justice.",
"Women likely will be high on the Souter successor list.",
"The nominee would give President Obama an immediate opportunity to place his stamp on the nation's highest court, and perhaps to begin cementing his legacy with a lifetime appointment to that bench.",
"Obama on Friday said he will seek \"somebody with a sharp, independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity.\"",
"That person must honor traditions, respect the judicial process and share Obama's grasp of constitutional values, he said.",
"The president said he intends to consult with people in both political parties as he makes his choice to replace Souter.",
"Legal sources say Obama's legal team will begin refocusing what had been an aggressive effort to fill federal vacancies on lower federal court seats.",
"Now their attention will be directed into a search for Souter's replacement.",
"Administration officials have been working closely with key senators and Democratic legal advisers on possible choices.",
"\"The [Obama] White House and the Justice Department certainly have people there already thinking about the issues, compiling lists, starting to vet the backgrounds of those candidates,\" said Edward Lazarus, a Supreme Court legal expert and a legal adviser during the Obama transition.",
"A mix of federal judges and political allies are among the names the administration is said to be informally considering, said legal and political sources.",
"Among them are federal appeals court judges Sonia Sotomayor, 55, of New York; Diane Wood, 59, of Chicago; and Solicitor General Elena Kagan.",
"Those sources say women candidates will be at or near the top of the list of finalists.",
"\"The president has long recognized the need for more gender diversity on the high court,\" said one source who asked not to be identified.",
"Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 76, is the only woman on the high court.",
"Sotomayor is near the top of the list of many sources consulted by CNN.",
"She is a Hispanic-American named a federal trial judge by President Bush in 1992 and elevated to her seat in 1996.",
"Her supporters call her a moderate who would enjoy bipartisan support in the Senate.",
"But conservative legal blogs in recent weeks have been sharply questioning her judicial philosophy, perhaps anticipating a high court vacancy.",
"Fights over judicial nominees have grown increasingly partisan and nasty in recent years, sparked by the confirmation fights over Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court.",
"Bork was rejected by lawmakers, while Thomas sits on the high court.",
"Many of President George W. Bush's judicial choices were blocked by Democratic senators, and his two Supreme Court picks were the subject of massive ad campaigns launched by advocacy groups on both sides of the political debate.",
"Conservatives have vowed to give Obama the same treatment over his choices.",
"Most of Bush's lower court choices were not named until August 2001, seven months into his first term.",
"The political and practical stakes are high.",
"Sources have said privately the president is not interested in choosing \"extreme\" liberals to the bench, an idea echoed by some legal analysts.",
"Watch CNN's Bill Schneider examine Obama's options » .",
"\"I don't expect to see President Obama naming some real firebrands, the kind that might be real lightning-rods for controversial confirmation hearings,\" said Lazarus.",
"Conservatives \"are assuming that in his heart of hearts, Obama is an activist, old-fashioned, liberal firebrand on judicial issues, and, at least if one goes by what President Obama has written on the subject, he's not.\"",
"Obama, a Harvard Law School graduate, has taught constitutional law in Chicago.",
"Republicans have warned the White House not to shut them out of the overall judicial selection process.",
"In a March 2 letter, 41 GOP senators urged Obama \"to consult with us as it considers possible nominations to the federal courts from our states.\"",
"If not consulted, they said, \"The Republican Conference will be unable to support moving forward on that nominee.\"",
"Watch CNN's Dana Bash report on how Republicans might respond » .",
"Translation, say liberal groups: filibusters and obstructionist tactics.",
"\"Republican senators fought hard against some of President Clinton's candidates,\" said Nan Aron, who heads the the Alliance for Justice.",
"\"I think we saw it during Eric Holder's hearing [for attorney general].",
"Republican senators were testing out messages, not designed to deny confirmation to Eric Holder but to test them to see whether those tactics would work with some of Obama's judicial nominees,\" Aron said.",
"\"That's going to happen.",
"There's no question about it.\" The fight over Souter's seat could be just the opening act to perhaps two more high court vacancies under Obama.",
"Bush burnished his conservative credentials by naming Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the high court, and helped increase the overall conservative bent of most federal courts.",
"Republicans have controlled the White House -- and thereby court nominations -- in 28 of the last 40 years.",
"Seven of the nine high court members were named by GOP presidents.",
"Obama has said Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- liberals named by President Clinton -- are his kind of judges, but Obama has spoken only in general terms about the type of person he would nominate.",
"\"I will look for those judges who have an outstanding judicial record, who have the intellect, and who hopefully have a sense of what real-world folks are going through,\" he said at the October 15 presidential debate."
] |
[
"President Obama has chance to place his stamp on the Supreme Court .",
"Sources: Women candidates to be at or near the top of the list .",
"Republicans hint at confirmation confrontation if they are ignored .",
"Seven of the nine high court members were named by GOP presidents ."
] |
[
13,
23,
43
] |
[
"(CNN) -- The question is starting to feel a little old: Whom will Barack Obama pick as his vice president?",
"Sen. Barack Obama has a big event scheduled Saturday.",
"Will his No. 2 man (or woman) be by his side?",
"With the clock ticking (the Democratic VP candidate delivers a big speech next Wednesday) the announcement is at most days and at least a few hours away.",
"Everyday seems to be \"the day,\" the day the guessing game will finally end.",
"In a poke at all of the VP buzz, the Obama campaign sent an e-mail to reporters Wednesday with the subject line \"Vice presidential ...\" The first line of the e-mail: \"Just kidding.\"",
"The e-mail contained details about Obama's schedule with no mention of any of the potential vice presidential candidates.",
"But if the top contenders have any inside information, they're doing a good job of keeping quiet.",
"Sen. Joe Biden told reporters camped outside his Delaware home Tuesday that it's not him.",
"\"You got better things to do, guys; I'm not the guy,\" he said.",
"Asked where he would be Saturday -- when Obama is reportedly scheduled to hold a campaign event in Springfield, Illinois, that may feature his new running mate -- Biden replied, \"here,\" pointing to his driveway.",
"He softened up a little later that night, telling reporters, \"I promise you, I don't know anything.\"",
"Along with Biden, Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and Virginia Gov.",
"Tim Kaine are considered to be among the top tier of VP contenders.",
"Watch the latest on Obama's VP selection » .",
"Bayh has managed to stay out of the spotlight this week.",
"Does that mean he's dodging the question?",
"He hit the Sunday talk show circuit this weekend and tried out the attack dog role, criticizing Republican John McCain for his stance on Georgia, Iraq and national security.",
"When asked about the veepstakes, the former governor said he had \"nothing to report today.\"",
"Kaine, on the other hand, seems to have no qualms about taking the main stage this week.",
"A relative newcomer to national politics, Kaine is scheduled to appear alongside Obama on Thursday as the presumptive Democratic nominee campaigns in central Virginia.",
"Could he be introduced as Obama's No.",
"2 man? The pair will host an invitation-only town hall meeting Thursday in Chesterfield County, a suburb of Richmond.",
"Kaine's sturdy performance in the traditionally conservative Richmond suburbs helped vault him to the governorship in 2005.",
"Obama has stops scheduled in Virginia on Wednesday and Thursday before returning home to Illinois for the Springfield event, which takes place where he first kicked off his presidential run.",
"The event marks the beginning of a tour of battleground states leading into next week's convention in Denver, Colorado.",
"The Obama campaign has kept the details on both the timing and selection of the running mate under wraps.",
"They would neither confirm or deny whether Obama would appear with his VP candidate this weekend.",
"iReport.com: Whom do you think Obama should pick?",
"Although the focus in recent days has been on Bayh, Biden and Kaine, there are quite a few other serious contenders, and a curveball pick could always be in the works.",
"Other big names thought to be in the running include retired Gen. Wesley Clark, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, Texas Rep. Chet Edwards, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, Virginia Gov.",
"Tim Kaine, former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, New Mexico Gov.",
"Bill Richardson and Kansas Gov.",
"Kathleen Sebelius.",
"Obama's campaign says that when he makes up his mind, he'll send a text message and e-mail to his supporters to let them know who his sidekick will be."
] |
[
"Democratic VP candidate gives big speech next Wednesday at convention .",
"Barack Obama's campaign sends e-mail with subject: \"Vice presidential ...\"\nEvan Bayh, Joe Biden, Tim Kaine considered top tier contenders .",
"Obama has big campaign event Saturday; VP pick could join him ."
] |
[
1,
3,
5,
12,
13,
21
] |
[
"BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Walking through a maze of narrow streets south of Tiananmen Square, Nick Frisch appeared unfazed by the sight of drastic changes -- traditional courtyard houses that once lined up these hutongs, or alleys, now in different stages of being knocked down.",
"Nick Frisch's underground exploration in Beijing has attracted the attention of a Singapore TV crew.",
"While the Qianmen area is going through an extreme makeover -- a restoration of its Qing dynasty flavor ahead of the Olympics -- Frisch's destination is safe from the city's ubiquitous wrecking balls.",
"Upon reaching the entrance to the Underground City, however, he was told it was closed for \"renovation,\" just like the surrounding neighborhood.",
"\"It's like they're trying to literally bury this place before the Games,\" said Frisch, a recent graduate of Columbia University in the United States, with a major in history and Chinese language.",
"This place is a vast network of tunnels built beneath Beijing's city center during the 1970s in anticipation of a nuclear war with the Soviets.",
"Covering an area of 85 square kilometers and containing 1,000 anti-air raid structures, the subterranean complex was said to have been mostly hand-dug by 300,000 local residents.",
"\"The plan was to move half of Beijing's population underground and the other half to western hills in the event of a nuclear attack,\" Frisch explained.",
"The 22-year-old New York native has lived in China on and off for a year and is fascinated by the bomb shelter and its history.",
"After the authorities opened part of the Underground City as a tourist attraction to woo foreigners, he turned a routine visit to an adventure in 2006.",
"Armed with a flashlight, Frisch veered off from the mandatory guided tour.",
"Moving sandbags and unchaining doors, he explored the off-limit area and found rooms with bunk beds and decayed cardboard boxes of water purifiers.",
"\"It's more than just propaganda posters down there -- it really is a parallel universe, with street signs stenciled on the wall,\" Frisch said.",
"Since then, Frisch has discovered other shelters linked to the network -- many of them turned to cheap hostels -- on busy streets.",
"Not surprisingly, the time-warped part of the Underground City remains his favorite.",
"\"I sometimes wish I was born earlier to witness the Cold War unfold -- and the tunnels have given me a unique vantage point to look into that period of history,\" Frisch said.",
"\"While Beijing is transforming itself for the Olympics, it's just amazing to see this space in such a sharp contrast to the city aboveground.\"",
"E-mail to a friend .",
"Steven Jiang is a Beijing-based freelance writer and former CNN producer."
] |
[
"American university student exploring Beijing's underground tunnels .",
"Part of capital's \"Underground City\" now open to tourists .",
"Beijing's underground tunnel network was built in 1970s as giant bomb shelter ."
] |
[
1,
5,
9
] |
[
"(CNN) -- This month, Just Imagine has looked at the future of space, and the potential it holds for humanity.",
"Should humanity aim for the stars ...",
"The proponents of the NewSpace movement, like our featured commentator Bob Richards, hold that humanity must expand into space if we are to survive.",
"They say that the limitless resources held by the stars will help humanity seek a bold new future.",
"But some say that we should fix Earth's problems, especially the challenge of global warming, before we set our eyes on the stars.",
"They say space travel is too expensive, and its carbon footprint too great, to be a priority for us right now.",
"We want to hear your views.",
"Should space be our next frontier?",
"Or should we focus on fixing things here on Earth first?",
"Post your comments in the Sound Off box below, and we'll publish the best."
] |
[
"We ask, should humanity expand into space?",
"Those in the NewSpace movement say space is humanity's future .",
"But others say we should focus on fixing issues on Earth first .",
"What do you think?",
"Post your views and we'll publish the best."
] |
[
2,
4,
8,
9
] |
[
"COPENHAGEN, Denamrk (CNN) -- Actress Connie Nielsen hit the big time when she starred in \"Gladiator\" as Lucilla, sister of the deranged Emperor Commodus.",
"Since then she has appeared in hit movies including \"One Hour Photo\" and \"The Hunted\".",
"Connie Nielsen has always refused to play the Hollywood fame game.",
"But Nielsen has refused to play the Hollywood fame game and seems drawn to challenging roles in controversial movies, including \"The Situation\", about the current Iraq war, and \"Battle in Seattle\", about the anti-globalization riots that took place in Seattle in 1999.",
"Nielsen now lives in the US and returns to Copenhagen every year.",
"She talks to My City, My Life about what makes the city, and its people, so special.",
"CNN: How do you define yourself?",
"Connie Nielsen: I absolutely refuse the fame part of my business.",
"I refuse even the money side of my business.",
"I try to do as good work as I can do, I try to grow in my art and reach for truth.",
"That's what I want from my art, that's what I aspire to.",
"I try to combine my work with my family, that's what I aspire to.",
"I don't say that's the only thing. It's not all work and family, because otherwise you would be saying no to the many other things in life and there are many other things.",
"CNN: The people here are supposed to be incredibly happy -- what do you think?",
"Connie Nielsen: I think it's funny in a way because when I grew up here it was very unusual to hear the word \"happiness\".",
"If you asked somebody, \"what do you wish for in life?\"",
"they wouldn't say \"happiness.\"",
"I would have answered \"excitement, knowledge,\" God knows -- I mean, many, many different things, but certainly not \"happiness\".",
"It seemed like a foreign concept to wish for something that specific and that singular.",
"And I think that a lot of Danes kind of feel like that about being the happiest people in the world.",
"CNN: Is there anything you'd like to change about the city?",
"Connie Nielsen: Anywhere there are social buildings that stuff people into boxes, concentrate poor people there.",
"It's specific to any big city.",
"There was an effort to create buildings that concentrate these people very closely, and their social problems.",
"They are still around in New York, Paris, London and here too.",
"So if I could change anything about Copenhagen, or any other major big city, I would change the way we build buildings or housing for lower income people.",
"I don't think people who are already burdened with social, economic, psychological situations, dysfunctional families, need to be burdened with other people with the same problems.",
"CNN: Is the city politically driven?",
"Connie Nielsen: I don't think I can remember a moment in my life where people didn't discuss politics.",
"People discuss politics at the table.",
"I think some of the first information I received was politically charged (laughs).",
"It was at a time when girls were being told, \"Why don't you go and learn how to repair machines rather than learn to repair your jumper?",
"Why don't you learn to cut wood rather than learn to keep a house clean?\"",
"in school. It was to make us conscious of what we were, how we defined ourselves and why you would accept one concept of yourself rather than another.",
"Have you searched through the truth of that concept?",
"Have you deconstructed? Have you made sure that its foundations are valid?",
"That's how I grew up and I think it was wonderful.",
"CNN: How would you describe the city architecturally?",
"Connie Nielsen: It's everything here from very late renaissance to this 19th century golden age we had here.",
"It's that, intermixed with pure Danish modernism.",
"I love the juxtaposition of it all.",
"I love when we bring in metaphors for our past as well.",
"CNN: A lot of the places you have taken us to have been very romantic, do you think there is a fairy tale quality to Copenhagen?",
"Connie Nielsen: An alternative society ... yes I do, I do feel that.",
"I do feel that most things are possible here.",
"I can dream here. I can imagine. CNN: What is it about the city that makes people creative?",
"Connie Nielsen: Well, we have a very, very long winter and it gets a little boring, so you better think of something to do!",
"It can get deathly boring, so you start using your imagination.",
"Sometimes it's necessity that produces it, because you need to do something.",
"CNN: Is there something about the people here that want to change things for the better?",
"Connie Nielsen: I think so -- I think we're an idealistic people.",
"I think there are disillusioned people everywhere, there are doubters everywhere, but I do think there are constructive people here; I do think that people believe in people.",
"CNN: Do you take any inspiration from the city?",
"Connie Nielsen: Yes, yes I do.",
"Whenever I come back here I remember that I want to write poetry (laughs).",
"I want to take more time to sit and paint some more.",
"I want to do so many more things whenever I come back -- I'm always reminded of that when I come here.",
"CNN: You've lived in lots of cities all over the world and still do.",
"Why is Copenhagen special to you?",
"Connie Nielsen: I was born here and it's the capital of my home country.",
"It's also immensely beautiful.",
"Many of my friends live here and much of my partner's family lives here too and so we bring our kids back here every year.",
"It holds all the museums that hold our history, our culture, and I take our children there and I go there for my own pleasure all the time.",
"I love going to museums.",
"I love this city and I love cities that are on the water.",
"I love the water element, specifically the sea.",
"I grew up on the sea and I grew up sailing -- I love sailing -- and the presence of the sea gives the air and the light a very special quality that I absolutely adore.",
"CNN: It seems that for a small place it has a lot of cultural influence.",
"Connie Nielsen: Yes, it's sort of a little pearl in the middle of the seas.",
"There's a lot of traffic through this place, from the east, west, north and south.",
"And we are the southern part of the north, so everything from the south comes up here on its way towards the north, and the opposite.",
"And it has left its mark. We are definitely some kind of place where culture is being deposited over and over and over again, but it also springs from here.",
"It's the kind of place that attracts creative people and so it springs from here too.",
"CNN: If Copenhagen was a person, how would you describe it?",
"Connie Nielsen: If Copenhagen were a person, that person would be generous, beautiful, elderly, but with a flair.",
"A human being that has certain propensities for quarrelling, filled with imagination and with appetite for the new and with respect for the old -- somebody who takes good care of things and of people."
] |
[
"Connie Nielsen says she refuses the fame and money side of acting .",
"She says the long winters mean the residents have to be creative .",
"Copenhagen is full of history and culture, and Nielsen loves its museums .",
"The city is very beautiful and the light has \"a very special quality,\" she says ."
] |
[
2,
8,
27,
46,
58,
66
] |
[
"NEW YORK (CNN) -- A construction company and three supervisors were indicted Monday on manslaughter and related charges in the deaths of two firefighters battling a 2007 blaze at the Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan.",
"Firefighters Joseph Graffagnino, left, and Robert Beddia died in the Deutsche Bank building blaze.",
"Prosecutors also reached an agreement with the city of New York requiring the implementation of new fire safety measures.",
"\"Our goal is to put in place procedures which will prevent a disaster of the magnitude of the Deutsche Bank fire and to make sure that firefighters are never again exposed to the risks they faced in that fire,\" Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said.",
"The indictments against the John Galt Corp., Jeffrey Melofchik, Mitchel Alvo and Salvatore DePaola also allege negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.",
"The indictment is the result of an investigation into an August 18, 2007, blaze that consumed nine floors of the Deutsche Bank building.",
"The building had been scheduled for demolition after being contaminated by debris, asbestos and other hazardous substances after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings.",
"The two firefighters killed in the blaze -- Robert Beddia, 53, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33 -- were caught in a smoke-filled stairwell that prosecutors say was improperly blocked off by barriers erected to seal off floors being stripped of contaminants.",
"In addition to the deaths of Beddia and Graffagnino, 105 other firefighters were injured combating the blaze.",
"The agreement with the city of New York mandates the creation of a new civilian inspection unit at the city's fire department, the sole purpose of which will be to perform inspections at construction sites throughout the city.",
"\"The regulatory measures we have put in place and the additional reforms set out today are designed to prevent any firefighter again confronting the conditions that firefighters faced at the Deutsche Bank building that tragic day,\" New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a written statement.",
"The father of one of the firefighters killed in the blaze, Joseph Graffagnino Sr., said the indictments did not go far enough.",
"\"I don't understand if the [city] agency can't be indicted, why can't individuals be indicted who we already know should have been responsible for doing their jobs and did not do their jobs,\" he said to reporters.",
"Graffagnino was referencing the lack of criminal charges brought against employees of the city fire department, the city's department of buildings and the building's landlord, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp."
] |
[
"John Galt Corp., three supervisors indicted; city to change procedures .",
"Firefighters died when caught in smoke-filled stairwell .",
"Prosecutors allege doorway was improperly sealed .",
"105 other firefighters were injured fighting blaze ."
] |
[
4,
7,
8
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- \"Doing it nature's way has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business.\"",
"Janine Benyus .",
"When self-confessed \"nature nerd\" Janine Benyus coined the term \"biomimicry\" in a book she published a decade ago, little did she know it would make her into an household name, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars.",
"Janine is a champion of the biomimicry movement and helps companies to improve designs by turning to Nature.",
"The natural sciences writer now gives talks on the subject to riveted crowds and is a consultant to some of world's biggest companies.",
"In her capacity as \"biologist at the design table,\" Janine helps companies like Nike and Hewlett Packard to innovate and improve their designs by using what already exists in nature.",
"She also appeared as a consultant in the apocalyptic environmental documentary \"11th Hour,\" produced by Leonardo DiCaprio last year.",
"Janine coined the term \"biomimicry\" from the Greek \"bios,\" meaning \"life,\" and \"mimesis,\" meaning \"imitate.\"",
"\"It was a surprise to me when the phone started ringing after my book came out in 1997,\" she told CNN.",
"\"It was companies and individual inventors, companies that were inventing everyday and they had problems to solve.",
"They said, 'gee the book is fabulous, it's about all this science that's happening in early stage research.",
"But we're doing innovation in real time.",
"Can you come and be a biologist at the design table?\"",
"So far, using nature's design genius has led to the creation of bat-inspired ultrasonic canes for the blind, synthetic sheets that collect water from mist and fog as desert beetles do, and paint that self-cleans like a lotus leaf.",
"Scientists are also working on making solar cells like leaves and supertough ceramics that resemble the inner shells of abalone, which is twice as durable as the ceramics used in jet engines.",
"Before Janine wrote her book, there wasn't even a word to describe the work of a few scattered scientists looking for inspiration through nature in different corners of the world.",
"History is, of course, littered with examples of humans copying nature's design.",
"One of the most notable was invented by the Swiss engineer George de Mestral.",
"Whilst out walking his dog one day de Mestral became annoyed by the burrs catching and sticking to his clothes and in his dog's fur.",
"He decided to study them under a microscope.",
"The magnification revealed a network of tiny hooks.",
"The product of his labors was Velcro, which was patented in 1951.",
"At the core of Janine's beliefs is that nature has already spent 3.8 billion years on research and development.",
"Its failures are now fossils.",
"She believes its successes contain strategies the human race can copy in its quest for a sustainable future.",
"Janine has cultivated a deep knowledge of the natural world, beginning with direct observation in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, continuing in habitats from Maine to West Virginia where she worked as a backcountry guide, and now, in her home wilds of Montana.",
"She graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University, New Jersey, with two degrees in Natural Resource Management and English Literature/Writing.",
"Named by Time magazine as an environmental hero of 2007, she's now writing the sequel book, \"Nature's 100 Best Technologies,\" and also consults through her firm The Biomimicry Guild, which came about following the massive demand for her knowledge.",
"\"From interiors, manufacturing everything from apparel to transportation to bath and kitchen and carpets and furniture and sneakers, and even cities,\" she told CNN.",
"\"I'd be talking to groups of mayors and talking to the European parliament, policy makers and they all wanted to know how can we learn from nature how to design a more sustainable world.\"",
"\"They want to know if there are blue prints, and of course there are.",
"And they said 'great, bring over your biologists.\"",
"One of the companies that Janine has worked with is Interface, Inc, the world's largest commercial carpet manufacturer .",
"The process is particularly hard on the environment as it uses petrochemicals in every step and consumes vast amounts of energy, and produces tons of waste.",
"But after working with Janine and the Guild, Interface introduced Entropy, a carpet inspired by random pattern formation in nature.",
"It was a greener product that gave customers more flexibility as they could replace individual tiles instead of the whole carpet.",
"Entropy quickly rose to become Interface's top-selling line of carpet and still represents 40 percent of their carpet tile sales.",
"With results like that, it seems, you can't argue with Mother Nature."
] |
[
"Janine Benyus coined the term \"biomimicry\" in her influential 1997 book .",
"Biomimicry is the concept of looking for inspiration for design through nature .",
"She was named by Time magazine as an environmental hero of 2007 ."
] |
[
1,
15,
27
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Deepa, 40, was born in Mumbai, where she is now a banking technology consultant, as well as running a company that offers \"offbeat sightseeing tours\" of six Indian cities, including Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur.",
"Deepa Krishnan: \"When you live in Mumbai you feel like you're in the nerve center of the country.\"",
"Deepa's Mumbai tours take in the city's bazaars, backstreets and culture and her blog, Mumbai Magic, is a personal view of life in the city.",
"CNN: How does Mumbai compare to those other cities your company offers tour of?",
"Deepa: Mumbai is a very young city by Indian standards, only 500 years old, whereas a city like Delhi is really ancient.",
"Mumbai used to be a fishing hamlet and it grew after the British arrived.",
"So it's a young city and one that has been formed by migrants.",
"Almost everyone in Mumbai has arrived here in the course of the last few generations, and so the city has a vibrancy and cosmopolitanism that is different from other cities.",
"CNN: What makes Mumbai special to you?",
"Deepa: The fact that I am so grounded here -- I was born here and four generations of my family live here.",
"But also, Mumbai is on the move, it's vibrant, it's accepting of change and it's got a very active citizenry.",
"It's the one place where you can make a mark, where you can make a difference.",
"When you live in Mumbai you feel like you're in the nerve center of the country.",
"You feel like all the big events are near you and you're connected to everything.",
"In other cities I tend to feel more remote.",
"If there's a new play it premieres in Mumbai, if there's a new band they play in Mumbai -- everything happens here.",
"We're close to the center of commerce and I would rather be close to the center of commerce than the center of politics!",
"What makes Mumbai special to you?",
"Let us know .",
"CNN: What are your favorite parts of the city?",
"Deepa: I think my favorite is a place called Bhuleshwar.",
"It's the \"native\" bazaar area that sprang up outside the old British fort.",
"It's got a certain colorful energy and retains its 18th Century-feel to some extent.",
"Everything under the sun can be bought there; it's got a spice market, a jewelry market.",
"It's a busy, bustling area where a lot of trade happens, so I love it.",
"CNN: Where do people go if they want to escape Mumbai's bustle?",
"Deepa: We head out of the city -- we run for the hills!",
"We go to the Western Ghats, which is a mountain range that runs parallel to the coast, barely a two-hour drive from where I live.",
"\"There's climbing and a whole bunch of very interesting mountain forts to explore; there's whitewater rafting, paragliding, cycling.",
"Ecologically, it's a very bio-diverse area so it attracts photography enthusiasts and bird watchers.",
"We're very lucky that we're so close to it.",
"We also have a lot of beaches just outside the city and they are popular as well.",
"Within the city there are little enclaves of peace -- even in Bhuleshwar market there are temple complexes where there's a surprising silence compared to the bustle of the streets.",
"We also have our seaside promenades where we love to hang out.",
"The young, who have no other place to go, find romance on Marine Drive and Bandra Bandstand.",
"It's Mumbai's version of Lovers Lane -- except the lane is wide open!",
"CNN: What's a typical weekend in Mumbai?",
"Deepa: We party quite hard, so Saturday and Sunday evenings are days when you go out with friends and family.",
"There are a huge number of restaurants with all sorts of cuisines on offer.",
"There are some great clubs -- my favorite right now is a place called The Blue Frog -- and there's an active cultural scene.",
"Alongside all the partying we're all in a mad race to lose weight and look good.",
"Bollywood is helping men wake up to the fact that there's nothing wrong with a well-toned physique.",
"In all the suburbs of Mumbai there's a mushrooming of places where young guys are pumping iron and trying to be 'he-men.'",
"CNN: Do you think the city's changed since the terrorist attacks last November?",
"Deepa: Yes, I think there's a hardening of stances and an unwillingness to accept platitudes.",
"I also think there is increased uneasiness between communities.",
"CNN: Has tourism been affected by the attacks?",
"Deepa: My own business went bust for two weeks.",
"For two weeks I had nothing but cancellations in Mumbai and I was only saved by the fact that I was doing business in other cities.",
"But then business picked up again.",
"My first clients after the attacks were a Jewish American couple and I was heartened by the faith and support they showed for Mumbai.",
"Mumbai also gets big tour groups that arrive by bus and I think that kind of group tour has lessened, but my business gets more independent travelers and they are still coming.",
"People choose to respond to crises more positively than we think they will and I'm seeing very strong individual responses.",
"CNN: If Mumbai was a person what would he or she be like?",
"Deepa: This is a city which is strangely beautiful and strangely warty.",
"At its heart this city is about money, it's a city of exchange and commerce, so it would be a trader or a wheeler dealer -- someone who's on the move, making deals and making money!"
] |
[
"Deepa lives in Mumbai, where her company runs \"offbeat sightseeing tours\"\nShe says Mumbai is younger and more cosmopolitan than most Indian cities .",
"People in the city party hard, she says -- and there's an active cultural scene .",
"Last November's terrorist attacks have increased tension in the city, she says ."
] |
[
0,
2,
43,
45
] |
[
"NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three Staten Island men are charged with violating voting rights, accused of assaulting African-Americans after Barack Obama's win in the November presidential election, authorities said Wednesday.",
"A grand jury indicted Ralph Nicoletti, 18, Michael Contreras, 18, and Brian Carranza, 21, on charges of conspiracy to interfere with voting rights.",
"All three pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday afternoon.",
"According to the indictment, the three \"knowingly and intentionally\" conspired to intimidate African-Americans \"in the free exercise and enjoyment of a right ... and because of having so exercised that right, to wit, the right to vote.\"",
"Nicoletti and Carranza are white, and Contreras is Latino.",
"They face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.",
"At the arraignment, Nicoletti and Contreras were ordered held without bail, while Carranza was released on a $200,000 bond but ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device.",
"Contreras' attorney, public defender Len Kamdang, could not be reached for comment.",
"Nicoletti's attorney, Bob LaRusso, had no comment.",
"Prosecutors said in court filings that on the night of November 4, the defendants were at a \"makeshift outdoor clubhouse\" in the Rosebank section of Staten Island when they learned of Obama's victory.",
"At that point, prosecutors said, Nicoletti drove Contreras, Carranza and another friend to the predominantly African-American Park Hill neighborhood in Staten Island.",
"Their purpose, prosecutors said, was to assault African-Americans because of Obama's win.",
"Their first victim, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, was 17-year-old Ali Kamara, whom they beat with a metal pipe and a collapsible police baton.",
"Kamara escaped after suffering a concussion and injuries to his legs.",
"\"The first swing that swung -- it hit my head.",
"It cut my head,\" Kamara told CNN affiliate WABC.",
"\"I got staples on my head now.\"",
"Kamara said he hid in a neighbor's backyard until the boys moved on.",
"Continuing to the Port Richmond section of Staten Island, the group assaulted a second African-American man, pushing him down, the federal prosecutors alleged.",
"They then allegedly accosted a Latino man, demanding to know how he voted, and shouted profanities about Obama at a group of African-Americans at a hair salon.",
"Next, prosecutors said, the group targeted Ronald Forte, a man they mistakenly believed to be African-American who was walking along Blackford Avenue in predominantly African-American Port Richmond.",
"Forte is white, but because he was wearing a hoodie, the men were unable to identify his race and assumed that he was African-American.",
"According to the indictment, the men decided to assault Forte with the police baton as they drove by, but at the last moment, Nicoletti swerved the vehicle directly into the 38-year-old man instead.",
"Forte was thrown onto the hood of the car, shattering the front windshield.",
"According to Staten Island Real Time News (silive.com), Forte was in a coma for 45 days, returning to his family's home in New Jersey in mid-December, said his mother, Eileen.",
"She added that her son now has serious brain damage and motor control problems.",
"\"He's not good. He's never going to be good,\" she said.",
"\"Every day, I just see something different, and it's so scary.\"",
"U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell decried the attacks.",
"\"Violence and intimidation aimed at interfering with the constitutional rights of every citizen, including the right to vote, will not be tolerated,\" he said in a written statement.",
"According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Nicoletti has an extensive history of violent criminal activity including burglary, car break-ins, firebombing, assault, and marijuana and cocaine distribution.",
"He is also a member of the \"Rosebank Crew\" (RBK) founded by his now-incarcerated younger brother, Anthony Nicoletti.",
"Investigators found a cache of weapons and police batons stolen from vehicles owned by police, as well as letters from Nicoletti's brother urging Ralph to maintain RBK loyalty and not cooperate with authorities.",
"Nicoletti and three others approached Contreras three weeks ago at his house, believing he was cooperating with authorities, according to a filing with the U.S. Attorney's Office.",
"They allegedly attacked him and called him a snitch, according to a letter from Assistant U.S.",
"Attorneys Pamela Chen and Margo Brodie to the judge in the case.",
"The letter petitions for home confinement, drug testing and other pretrial release conditions for Nicoletti and Carranza.",
"The judge has not responded to the request.",
"CNN's Mythili Rao and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report."
] |
[
"Indictment says three men conspired to intimidate African-Americans .",
"They've pleaded not guilty of conspiracy to interfere with voting rights .",
"Two held without bail; other out on bail with monitoring device .",
"Prosecutors: Men went to African-American neighborhoods, assaulted 3 people ."
] |
[
1,
2,
3,
6,
18
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- In 1981, Dr Mohga Kamal-Yanni was preparing to leave Egypt for a clinical attachment in England when her father had a heart attack.",
"He fell in the street, and was taken to a public hospital, where Dr Kamal-Yanni kept vigil at his bedside until he regained his strength.",
"A doctor at a hospital in India where health indicators have showed no significant improvement in seven years.",
"During his stay in the hospital, she was appalled at the low level of healthcare available to him.",
"\"It was awful. There was no medicine,\" she told CNN.",
"As a doctor, Kamal-Yanni was able to watch over her father's progress.",
"Her professional opinion on his recovery was striking.",
"\"My father survived that heart attack for two reasons,\" she said.",
"\"One, because of God's will, and two, because he had a strong will.",
"It was nothing to do with the health service.\"",
"The following year, Kamal-Yanni came to England to do a clinical attachment.",
"She found herself deeply affected by the stark contrast between the healthcare available in Britain, on the publicly funded National Health Service, and the healthcare available at home in Egypt.",
"She found herself slipping into depression.",
"\"I couldn't talk to the patients; I couldn't talk to the doctors.",
"I just couldn't cope with it,\" she revealed to CNN.",
"\"I couldn't understand why every time I saw a monitor next to a patient I was so upset.\"",
"It dawned on her that the gulf in care was troubling her.",
"\"I kept thinking why on earth my dad didn't have that.",
"The only reason was that he happened to be born in Egypt and these people had the luck to be born [in England].\"",
"Kamal-Yanni is now a senior health & HIV policy advisor at third-world charity Oxfam.",
"Her first-hand experience of the divide between the healthcare available in richer countries, and that on offer in poorer ones, has given her the impetus to try and narrow the gap.",
"While Western countries are pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge, discovering the potential of nanotechnology and other high-tech solutions to the developed world's diseases, like diabetes, cancer and obesity, poor countries are struggling to combat health problems such as HIV, malaria and TB.",
"Lack of infrastructure .",
"And it's not as simple as shipping medicines and supplies in bulk quantities.",
"Oxfam's \"Paying for People\" report, published in February this year, said that poor countries are suffering because they lack the infrastructure of a health service.",
"The WHO's 2006 \"World Health Report\" also indicates that 4.25 million doctors, nurses and health workers are needed across 57 countries.",
"Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, has 600,000 health workers: one million more are required.",
"Without these key workers, it is questionable whether healthcare in poor countries can be improved.",
"Nicky Wimble, a spokesperson for Oxfam, told CNN, \"There is money coming in for drugs now, but there's no commitment to long-term aid.\"",
"Governments are unable to give healthcare workers with job security and doctors and nurses, where they do exist, are largely poorly paid: so people choose other careers.",
"\"They're either becoming taxi drivers, or working for private businesses,\" Wimble says.",
"This double brain-drain (one internal, one external as those who do train are tempted away by higher salaries and brighter futures in developed countries) means that even if drugs make it to poorer areas, there can be no one to administer them.",
"\"Drugs are sitting in cupboards,\" Wimble told CNN.",
"\"Or they're available in cities but people in rural areas don't have the bus fares to get to them.\"",
"Vulnerable to disease .",
"Dr Kamal-Yanni backs this up.",
"She told CNN, \"There is no public investment in health systems so people have to pay for it.",
"If you're poor you can't buy your healthcare and if you're a woman who happens to be poor you might as well forget it.\"",
"And in countries where no healthcare system exists, people are extremely vulnerable to diseases, which can spread rampantly and unchecked through communities.",
"Dr Kamal-Yanni paints a worrying picture.",
"\"Particularly in Africa, they're not equipped to face anything -- not HIV, let alone avian flu.",
"If something like avian flu hit Africa with no health system, no health workers and no money, it would spread.",
"We can't contain it in Africa.",
"The world would wake up and realize that, but in the meantime, it would have wiped out goodness knows how many millions of people.\"",
"It's not just in Africa. HIV is a known crisis there, but it is anticipated that more people will be infected in India than anywhere else, as the disease spreads quickly through its billion-strong population.",
"Increasingly, countries like these are having to deal with a boom in incommunicable diseases, like diabetes and cancer.",
"Chronic diseases like diabetes have the additional problem that they require long-term care, and therefore long-term funding.",
"Dr Kamal-Yanni explained the difficulties of that situation.",
"\"You buy the pills today, but maybe tomorrow you don't have enough money so you're never cured and develop complications.\"",
"What lies ahead?",
"Dr Kamal-Yanni sees three possible outcomes for health in poor countries.",
"The first, as she explained, is bleak.",
"She told CNN, \"If things continue as they are, with rising infection, increasing resistance to drugs, HIV and malaria run unchecked, chronic and non-communicable diseases are ignored and no money is spent on a health system, then the gap will just increase and the situation will get worse and worse.\"",
"Dr Kamal-Yanni is hopeful, however, that the situation will improve somewhat.",
"She explained a second scenario, the one she feels is most likely to happen.",
"\"If the international community invests a little bit, things will be slightly better,\" she told CNN.",
"\"More people with HIV will get treatment, as will people with TB and malaria.",
"But non-communicable chronic diseases [like diabetes] will be ignored.\"",
"But large-scale epidemics like avian flu or SARS would still remain a huge threat in this scenario, as would diseases like cancer.",
"\"Who's going to pay for medicine for cancer, which is increasing like anything in developing countries?\"",
"asks Dr Kamal-Yanni.",
"\"Nobody.\" Hope for the future .",
"But there is a third scenario, which holds out more hope for people in developing countries.",
"Dr Kamal-Yanni says, \"If public pressure is high, southern governments, donors and the international community will decide that health is really a priority.",
"We'll put our money where our mouth is and we'll fulfil the commitments that we've made before.\"",
"She says that in the first instance, African countries need to be encouraged to divert 16 percent of their budget to health.",
"(Currently, nearly a third allocate less than five percent.)",
"\"Then they will realize that this is not enough, so they'll put in more,\" she continues.",
"If this money were to be added to the $50 billion promised by G8, the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations, in Gleneagles in 2005, it would have a huge impact on health and education, particularly in Africa.",
"And education is the key, Dr Kamal-Yanni believes.",
"She explained, \"You can't separate health and education because unless you educate doctors and nurses, and midwives and pharmacists, you can't run a health service.\"",
"Working together .",
"It's also important for donors and governments to work together to provide a cohesive service, she says.",
"\"They really need to start coordinating their work so it's not a series of vertical programs that don't relate to each other and waste resources.\"",
"Oxfam's Nicky Wimble agrees.",
"She told CNN, \"Over the last 100 years, countries like France, Britain and America have developed by giving their people free education and healthcare.",
"It's a major way to bring people out of poverty.\"",
"Wimble cites the example of education, where the number of children not in school worldwide has fallen from around 120 million to around 80 million.",
"\"The key is getting governments to commit to it as a part of their aid package, and monitoring the aid package so that the money is tracked to ensure that it gets to where it's intended,\" she said.",
"\"It's working for education, and they think it'll work for healthcare too, but it needs committed investment.\"",
"And in the meantime, people like Mohga Kamal-Yanni will continue their work to pressure governments to encourage positive change.",
"She says, \"That's my motivation to do this work.",
"It's not for me; it's a life thing.",
"My dream in life is for everybody in Africa to have access to a publicly financed, publicly run healthcare service with strong regulation, quality, care and equity.\"",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"Oxfam: Lack of infrastructure is the greatest danger to health in poor countries .",
"WHO: 4.25 million more doctors and nurses needed worldwide .",
"Poor countries won't cope with SARS, avian flu .",
"Positive policy changes have seen number of children not in school fall by a third ."
] |
[
14,
24,
25,
77
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Botswana has been hailed as one of Africa's success stories and a beacon for democracy on the continent.",
"It's home to Africa's longest continuous multi-party democracy and has remained politically stable since gaining independence in 1966.",
"President Ian Khama took office in April 2008 promising steady progress.",
"At its helm is President Ian Khama, the country's former vice president and son of Botswana's founding president.",
"The diamond trade and disciplined government have helped to transform Botswana from one of the world's poorest nations to a middle-income country.",
"But there are still large problem facing the country, including the world's second high level of HIV infections, according to the World Bank, and a slowing of the countries economic growth.",
"The 56-year-old Khama took over office in April 2008, succeeding Festus Mogae who had been in power for 10 years, promising no radical departure from his predecessor's policies.",
"Khama was born in southern England and trained at the UK's Sandhurst Military Academy before returning to Botswana and later becoming the commander of the Botswana Defence Force.",
"He left the military in 1998 to take up the position of vice president.",
"As the son of Botswana's most popular former president, political analysts inside the country have expected Khama to unite the factions in the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and continue steady economic and political progress.",
"While Khama has only been in power for 11 months, there has been some criticism that his style is too authoritarian.",
"Citing Afrobarometer, an independent research group, Botswana's newspaper Sunday Standard recently wrote that there was a growing public perception that Khama has issued more directives compared to his predecessors.",
"One area in which he has taken a definite line is on his policy towards neighboring Zimbabwe, publicly opposing the government of President Robert Mugabe and declaring it illegitimate.",
"A general election is set for October 2009, with the BDP expected to win.",
"No other political party has held power in Botswana and some commentators fear the emergence of a political dynasty that would affect Botswana's democracy."
] |
[
"Botswana's President Ian Khama talks to CNN on 'African Voices'\nFormer military general and son of Botswana's first president .",
"Botswana is one of Africa's success stories although HIV and Aids are rife ."
] |
[
0,
3
] |
[
"LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Police raided an Islamic school and arrested seven students hours after a blast in a mosque in northern Pakistan left at least 50 dead and dozens injured, according to an Associated Press report.",
"A man, right, mourns the death of his two sons in a suicide attack near Peshawar that killed at least 50.",
"A bomb, packed with ball-bearings and nails, tore through Eid prayers at a mosque packed with hundreds of worshippers northeast of Peshawar on Friday, targeting Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, former Pakistani interior minister, local police told CNN.",
"The blast left blood-stained clothes, hats and shoes as well as body parts and pieces of flesh scattered across the mosque, according to reports.",
"The attack is the most recent in a series of attacks in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province and occurred near Sherpao's residence in Charsadda -- an area approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) northeast of the city of Peshawar.",
"Watch what's known about the blast » .",
"Police investigators say Taliban or al Qaeda elements could have been involved and they believe the former minister was targeted over his supervision of operations against militants in Pakistan's tribal areas including the restive NWFP.",
"This attack is the deadliest in Pakistan since 136 people were killed in the southern port city of Karachi on October 18 in a suicide bombing targeting the convoy of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former prime minister.",
"See photos from the blast's aftermath » .",
"Bhutto returned to the country after eight years in self-imposed exile ahead of January parliamentary elections.",
"The attack comes in the midst of continued operations by the Pakistani army to rout out militants in the swat valley in the north of the country, an area the government considers a front-line in the so-called global war on terror.",
"A former tourist destination about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Islamabad, The Swat Valley has been plagued by violence and has become a hotbed for militants.",
"Earlier this month, the army said it has retaken towns seized by militants over the summer, killing 290 and capturing 140.",
"The attack also comes less than a week after President Pervez Musharraf lifted a six-week-old state of emergency he said was necessary to ensure the country's stability but that critics said was a move to stifle the country's judiciary, curb the media and secure more power.",
"While Musharraf has promised free and fair parliamentary elections, continued instability in the tribal areas and the threat of attack on large crowds has kept people from attending political rallies and dampened the country's political process.",
"Campaigners from various political parties say fewer people are coming out to show their support.",
"The president -- who survived two assassination attempts in December 2003 -- denounced Friday's attack, speaking out against what he said was a small number of Muslim extremists who would carry out such an act, according to a report from the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.",
"He ordered security and intelligence agencies to find those responsible.",
"A spokesperson for the U.N. said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemns the attack and he \"urges all political forces in Pakistan to unite against the scourge of terrorism and to act together to create a peaceful environment ahead of the Parliamentary elections.\"",
"This is the second attempt on Sherpao's life since April, when a suicide bomber blew himself up just a few feet from Sherpao during a political rally, injuring him and killing at least 28 people.",
"The APP reported that the blast was caused by a suicide bomber inside the mosque, as people were gathering for religious observances of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim celebration of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.",
"\"We were saying prayers when this huge explosion occurred,\" said Shaukat Ali, a 26-year-old survivor of the blast whose white cloak and pants were torn and spattered with blood, an AP report said.",
"Despite security measures at the mosque, the bomber was praying in a row of worshippers when he detonated the explosive, provincial police chief Sharif Virk said, the report added.",
"A Peshawar hospital was wracked with chaos as the injured arrived in pickup trucks, ambulance sirens wailed and the wounded screamed for help, the report said.",
"The bomb contained between 13-17 pounds of explosives and was filled with nails and ball bearings to maximize casualties, said the head of the bomb unit at the scene, who declined to give his name.",
"Sherpao and his two sons were in the first row of the mosque, the APP report said.",
"Mustafa Khan Sherpao had leg injuries while Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao \"escaped unhurt.\"",
"Sherpao was Pakistan's interior minister -- the country's top civilian security official -- before Musharraf announced a caretaker government in November ahead of elections.",
"He heads the breakaway political group Pakistan People's Party-Sherpao, is a vocal critic of religious extremism, pro-Musharraf and a candidate in upcoming elections.",
"E-mail to a friend .",
"CNN's Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report."
] |
[
"Bomb detonated at mosque northeast of Peshawar, Pakistan .",
"Local police: At least 50 dead in attack on Eid prayers .",
"Reports: Former interior minister was target, escapes blast, one son injured .",
"Minister supervised military operations in tribal areas against militants ."
] |
[
1,
2,
6
] |
[
"(CNN) -- A former prison secretary has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for having sex with an inmate she was supposed to be supervising, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Colorado said Friday.",
"Janine Sligar, 47, of Wray, Colorado, was sentenced Thursday for sexual abuse of a ward.",
"After serving her sentence, she will serve five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender, spokesman Jeff Dorschner said in a news release.",
"Sligar, who must surrender to a facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons on March 2, did not respond to a telephone call to her home for comment.",
"She was indicted in July by a federal grand jury in Denver and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in October.",
"According to the plea agreement, Sligar, a 14-year Bureau of Prisons veteran, said she and inmate Eric McClain met in February 2007, when he was assigned to clean her office.",
"\"They began to have conversations and realized they had similar interests,\" the plea agreement said.",
"That summer, they initiated a sexual relationship that included 10 to 20 sessions of oral sex and sexual intercourse, ending in October 2007, it said.",
"The liaisons primarily occurred in a staff restroom in the housing unit at the Federal Prison Camp in Florence, Colorado, according to the agreement.",
"Sligar, who acknowledged having detailed her activities in a journal, said she obtained a cell phone with a non-local phone number so McClain could call her without raising suspicion and admitted she gave him contraband that included photographs with explicit sexual poses, the plea agreement added.",
"\"Defendant also admitted using her cell phone camera to take graphic pictures of a sexual nature which depict defendant and this inmate,\" it said.",
"Authorities began investigating the incident after receiving a tip about the inappropriate relationship.",
"They then learned that Sligar had changed the primary beneficiary on an insurance policy from her children to McClain.",
"A subsequent search of her home turned up the journal and photographs."
] |
[
"Former prison secretary Janine Sligar had sex with inmate .",
"Sligar sentenced to six months on charge of sexual abuse of a ward .",
"Documents: Sligar, inmate had 10 to 20 sexual encounters .",
"Sligar detailed liaisons in journal, admitted taking and giving inmate graphic photos ."
] |
[
0,
1,
10
] |
[
"NEW YORK (CNN) -- At 80, Maya Angelou says her \"knees are not all that swift and my lungs need some extra help but other than that, my desire to learn and to share, that has not abated.\"",
"Maya Angelou urges politicians to \"aim for the high ground\" in her new book, \"Letter to My Daughter.\"",
"She shares what she's learned in an eventful life in her best-selling new book, \"Letter to My Daughter.\"",
"Angelou achieved fame for her autobiographical writing, including \"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\" and her poetry.",
"She read her poem \"On the Pulse of Morning\" at President Clinton's first inauguration.",
"She was only the second poet invited to read at the swearing in of a new president.",
"But her career has had many facets -- Angelou has been a singer, dancer, playwright, director and teacher.",
"In 166 pages, \"Letter to My Daughter\" distills stories from Angelou's life into universal lessons.",
"She writes about birth, life and death, about the ways people misunderstand each other and then transcend their conflict.",
"She calls on national leaders to raise the country's spirit and on Americans to remember that this is the nation that defeated the Nazis and expanded people's freedom through the civil rights movement.",
"\"Politicians must set their aims for the high ground and according to our various leanings, Democratic, Republican, Independent, we will follow,\" she writes.",
"\"Politicians must be told if they continue to sink into the mud of obscenity, they will proceed alone.\"",
"In an interview last week in her 1881 brownstone in Harlem, decorated in vibrant, bright colors, Angelou sat at the round table in her dining room, sipping coffee, as she talked about the election and her work.",
"She supported Sen. Hillary Clinton's bid for the Democratic nomination and then backed Sen. Barack Obama once the primaries were over.",
"CNN: In the chapter called \"National Spirit,\" you call on political leaders to raise the level of discussion.",
"Could you elaborate on that?",
"Maya Angelou: What I've encouraged voters to do is to vote for the person I am extolling, and also don't expect that if your man or woman gets in, that all things will be rectified immediately.",
"It's taken us a long time to come to this place of weariness and almost hopelessness.",
"So because Obama gets in or McCain gets in, it's not going to be repaired overnight.",
"The economy is not going to be repaired, the schools -- the disaster in our schools -- will not be repaired overnight.",
"Nor will the social conversation be repaired overnight.",
"However, I would encourage every voter to say to his or her candidate, go in and do it, and you will not do it alone.",
"I will help. You have to get up off that sofa or off that couch and give something to the country -- even if it's one hour every other week to an old people's home -- I will read, go into the children's ward and read, or give to your church or your synagogue or your mosque.",
"... Offer something to the country.",
"So you don't just sit there. CNN: What does it say about the country that Barack Obama is a candidate to be president?",
"Angelou: The country is growing up and confessing to something we've known all along.",
"What prevented us from admitting that we knew that?",
"And I was taken back to slavery.",
"If you will have a person enslaved, the first thing you must do is convince yourself that the person is subhuman.",
"The second thing you have to do is convince your allies so you'll have some help, and the third and probably unkindest cut of all is to convince that person that he or she is subhuman and deserves it.",
"Well, such a job has been done on all of us that people found it very difficult to admit that human beings are more alike than we are unalike.",
"We've known it. But to admit it, you have to stop saying because this guy speaks another language, because their eyes are shaped differently from mine, because they're first-generation Americans from Eastern Europe, then they don't count, I don't have to consider them.",
"With this, the country is finally able to see through complexion and see community.",
"CNN: You've known and worked with people like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Could you imagine what their reaction would be to this?",
"Angelou: I think everybody would be weeping tears of joy really.",
"I think of my grandmother who raised me.",
"She was a daughter of a former slave.",
"She knew this was going to happen.",
"You know that when I was young, I was physically abused and so I stopped talking.",
"I thought that my voice had killed the criminal. ...",
"The man had been found dead.",
"Police said he had been beaten to death.",
"So I knew, because I told [people] that he did it, that my voice could just go out and kill people.",
"So after a few months, my mother's people sent me and my brother back to this little village in Arkansas to my grandmother, my father's mother who was raising me, and she used to braid my hair.",
"My hair was huge and very curly, black.",
"And my grandmother put her hand behind my neck and held it so she wouldn't break my neck by accident.",
"And she would start to brush my hair and she would say, \"Sister, Mama don't care what these people say about you, that you must be an idiot, you must be a moron because you can't talk.",
"Mama know when you and the good Lord get ready, you're going to teach all over this world.",
"You're going to be a mighty teacher.\"",
"I didn't speak for six years.",
"She said that to me all the time, in this little village in Arkansas.",
"[Now] I teach all over the world, I teach in French and Spanish, so when I stand up on a stage or see a book of mine gets accolades or a piece of music I've written, I think about my Mama, and she died before I really came of age, and I just think she knew it.",
"CNN: She was prophetic about you, but beyond that?",
"Angelou: Yes, [she believed] it will get better.",
"And you have to continue to prepare yourself, continue to build yourself, continue to elevate yourself and be a benefit, be a blessing rather than a curse, and things will get better.",
"And they have, so when I think of Dr. King and Malcolm, Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, I also think of Chief Albert Luthuli, one of the first Africans to earn the Nobel Prize.",
"I mean that after Chief Luthuli, apartheid was so rigid, unbreakable that men had to carry their IDs on plastic cards that were too large for any suit, so they flapped, reminding them constantly who they were.",
"It was my blessing to meet Nelson Mandela before he went into prison and I've seen him many times since.",
"He knew this day would come, and to be able to stay in prison for 27 years, knowing that the day would come.",
"CNN: What gave you the inspiration to call the book, \"Letter to My Daughter,\" even though you don't have a daughter?",
"[Angelou has a son, the writer Guy Johnson.] ...",
"Angelou: There was an African-American poet, her name was Anne Spencer; she wrote a poem called \"Letter to My Sister,\" around the turn of the 20th Century. ...",
"I started making notes to Oprah [Winfrey] about 20 years ago.",
"She really became a daughter to me.",
"So there were things I wanted to talk to her about; I made notes, copious notes, and about a year and a half ago, I got out that box called WIP, works in progress, and I started going through two or three lines and I said, \"Hmmm, there's an essay in here.\"",
"So it is a letter to all my daughters, to those who don't know they are.",
"It is my intent to say you may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.",
"You will be changed, events will change you, but you have to decide not to be reduced.",
"CNN: Have you been in touch with Oprah lately about the election?",
"Angelou: I spoke to her about a week ago ... [During the primaries], a newspaper reporter said this proves that Oprah Winfrey doesn't listen to everything Maya Angelou says, because she was supporting Sen. Obama and I was supporting Sen. Clinton.",
"And when I was asked by the reporter, \"What do you say to Oprah?\"",
"my answer was, \"I say nothing, she's a woman who thinks carefully and profoundly and she has courage.",
"So she's chosen the person she thinks would be the best person for our country.",
"I do the same.\" The primaries proved that Oprah had selected the one that most people wanted, so I went to Sen. Obama right after that.",
"Hillary Clinton ... telephoned me and thanked me for my unwavering support, and then asked me to please put that same energy behind Mr. Obama.",
"CNN: Another theme in the book is to believe in yourself, to have faith in yourself.",
"Why is that important? Angelou: You need to know that you can go somewhere.",
"You're not just like grass growing on the street.",
"You're like trees, you have roots, and they've done wonderful things, and you need to know that, and by knowing that, you see how outfitted you are for these times.",
"And that you really owe it to those who went before so that you can add to them for those who are yet to come.",
"You need to know that you are in a continuum, and if you understand that, you realize that you are worthwhile.",
"This continuum would be broken without me."
] |
[
"Maya Angelou: No matter who wins, don't expect an overnight turnaround .",
"Angelou says politicians should raise the level of discussion .",
"She says voting is not enough, people need to volunteer to help others .",
"Angelou: You will encounter defeats, but don't be defeated ."
] |
[
14,
16,
53,
66
] |
[
"CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- Mike Mette has been a Chicago police officer for almost four years.",
"But now, as a result of a fistfight one night in Dubuque, Iowa, he is a convicted felon.",
"Mike Mette, a Chicago police officer, says he acted in self-defense when he punched Jake Gotthard, a student at the University of Dubuque.",
"Mette has been sentenced to almost five years in prison after Dubuque County Judge Monica Ackley found him guilty of assault causing serious injury.",
"Mette says he's been wronged.",
"\"I was arrested for self-defense ...",
"I was defending myself,\" he said.",
"Mette's saga started in October 2005 after a night of drinking in Dubuque, where he was visiting his brother Mark.",
"After the bars closed, Mette and his crew made their way to an after-hours party thrown by Jake Gotthard, a student at the University of Dubuque.",
"According to court documents, Mette and his friends entered the house party, but decided to leave without paying the required $5 entry fee when they saw the room was mostly empty.",
"Gotthard became angry, and with the help of his roommate, began chasing Mette down the street.",
"Gotthard claims someone in Mette's group had stolen his cell phone and he wanted it back.",
"Exactly what happened to the cell phone is still unclear.",
"The altercation continued a block and a half down the street and eventually ended up in front of the house of Mette's brother.",
"Fight could land cop in prison » .",
"\"That's when Mr. Gotthard hit me.",
"He hit me with two fists like this, straight into the chest,\" Mette said.",
"\"He was yelling about his cell phone, telling me if he didn't get his cell phone back he was going to beat the crap out of me.",
"He hit me several more times and then I pushed him away from me.",
"It wasn't until after the third time is when he came back at me again and that is when I struck him.\"",
"When police arrived, they found Gotthard lying on the ground with bruises and lacerations on his face, cheek, nose, chin and forehead.",
"Mette, who had blood on his shirt and whose knuckle was bruised and cut, was arrested and charged with a felony.",
"\"[Gotthard] had bruises on the side of his neck, his arms, his elbow, his shoulders, on his back, that were simply not consistent with Mr. Mette's version that he only struck him once,\" said Assistant County Attorney Tim Gallagher.",
"Dubuque doctors testified the injuries were consistent with someone who had been stomped and kicked.",
"But a doctor testifying for Mette's defense rejected the Dubuque findings.",
"He said all those injuries could have come from Mette's single punch and the impact from falling on the sidewalk.",
"Gallagher said the decision to prosecute Mette was a tough one.",
"\"It's never an easy situation when someone is sentenced to prison, particularly when it's a police officer that we have to rely on,\" he said.",
"\"But we can't allow individuals to be given certain privileges because of their occupation.\"",
"The case spawned a battle between newspaper columnists in Chicago and Dubuque.",
"\"Mette played baseball in college.",
"But what's happening to him isn't about Iowa baseball mythology.",
"It doesn't smell of corn.",
"It stinks of the pig barn,\" wrote Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass.",
"He chalks the judge's decision up to small town politics.",
"In a reply, a columnist for the Dubuque Telegraph Herald wrote that Kass is a \"legendary muckraker\" who is \"training his scorn\" on Ackley, the judge.",
"Mette is currently on unpaid leave from the Chicago Police Department and is appealing his case.",
"He will begin serving his five-year sentence in November.",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"Mike Mette, a Chicago police officer, is heading to prison this November .",
"He says he was acting in self-defense when he punched Jake Gotthard .",
"Doctors testified Gotthard appeared as though he had been stomped, kicked .",
"Mette, currently on unpaid leave, is appealing the court's decision ."
] |
[
2,
4,
6,
23,
36
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain has inched ahead of Sen. Barack Obama in national polls, but the Democratic candidate holds a steady lead in the most recent Electoral College estimates.",
"John McCain and Sarah Palin are campaigning hard in battleground states.",
"In national surveys, McCain leads by 2 points, 47 percent to 45 percent, according to CNN's poll of polls released Monday night.",
"In the Electoral College standings, the most recent survey shows 243 electoral votes either safely in Obama's column or leaning his way.",
"At this point, McCain can claim only 189.",
"Many of the state polls used to determine the Electoral College standings, however, were conducted before the conventions.",
"Monday marked the first time McCain passed Obama in CNN's poll of polls.",
"Watch how the race has tightened » .",
"On Saturday, Obama was up by 3 in the poll of polls.",
"That lead shrank to just 1 point Sunday before disappearing Monday.",
"In the most recent survey, 8 percent of respondents said they were still unsure about who they were going to vote for.",
"The poll of polls is an average of five surveys: CNN (September 5-7), ABC/Washington Post (September 5-7), CBS (September 5-7), Gallup (September 5-7) and Diageo/Hotline (September 5-7).",
"The poll of polls does not have a sampling error.",
"The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Monday shows McCain and Obama tied at 48 percent.",
"The poll, which was conducted Friday through Sunday, carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.",
"It was based on 1,022 telephone interviews.",
"Republicans are hoping that if McCain can close the popular vote gap, he can also make gains in the electoral gap.",
"The Electoral College will ultimately decide who takes over the White House.",
"Watch what the different standings mean » .",
"Although polls across the country are open on one day, the election is not a national poll but a series of 51 state-level elections that decide the members of the Electoral College.",
"Technically, voters aren't choosing a candidate but a slate of electors who have pledged to vote for that candidate when the Electoral College meets.",
"With 538 electors up for grabs, the candidate with more than half -- 270 -- wins the presidency.",
"The number of electors from each state equals the number of senators and representatives the state sends to Congress .",
"Both candidates are turning their focus to battleground areas as they try to stack the states in their column.",
"According to CNN's electoral map, the states that could go either way are Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia.",
"McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov.",
"Sarah Palin, are campaigning Tuesday in Lebanon, Ohio, just 30 miles from Obama, who is in Riverside.",
"No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio.",
"Obama's running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, is campaigning in Missouri.",
"Both parties are putting a lot of emphasis on Missouri.",
"For the past century, the state has voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election except one.",
"(Missouri picked Adlai Stevenson over Dwight Eisenhower in 1956.)",
"McCain and Palin campaigned there Monday.",
"They're hoping the state's landscape will help them take its 11 electoral votes.",
"The state has the 13th oldest population in the country, and Obama has struggled with older voters.",
"Also, 37 percent of Missourians are evangelical Christians, according to the Pew Forum.",
"That's substantially higher than the 26 percent nationally.",
"If McCain can take Missouri and tilt the toss-up states of Florida and Ohio, which also have older populations, he will pull ahead of Obama.",
"CNN's Tom Foreman contributed to this report."
] |
[
"CNN's poll of polls shows John McCain leading Barack Obama, 47-45 percent .",
"Obama ahead in Electoral College count, but some polls taken before convention .",
"Candidates focusing on battleground states like Missouri, Ohio .",
"Candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the election ."
] |
[
0,
2
] |
[
"YUSUFIYAH, Iraq (CNN) -- Until recently, Yusufiyah was among the most dangerous places in Iraq.",
"U.S. Col. Michael Kershaw meets with Sunni leaders in Yusufiyah, formerly a hot spot for insurgent activity.",
"Located in the so-called \"triangle of death,\" a violent area south of Baghdad, it was the site of frequent clashes between coalition forces and Sunni fighters.",
"In May, two U.S. soldiers went missing in Yusufiyah and were never found, despite a massive search.",
"But today, Sunni tribal leaders in this town cooperate with U.S. forces in their battle against foreign fighters and al Qaeda in Iraq.",
"\"It's all the roll of the dice. It's people and politics all intertwined down here,\" said Col. Michael Kershaw, commander of the Second Brigade, 10th Mountain Division.",
"Kershaw now greets his former enemies with kisses, hears their grievances, spends time in their homes and even shares meals with them.",
"He is surprised at how far relations have progressed.",
"\"Our hope a year ago was to establish very basic inroads down here,\" Kershaw said.",
"\"We thought the insurgency was far too deep for us to be able to effectively root it out and develop the relationship with the locals.\"",
"As happened in Anbar province to the west, local Sunni leaders from this town south of Baghdad finally turned on the al Qaeda extremists in their midst when the death and destruction became too much to bear.",
"\"Killing people, stealing goats, everything, you name it,\" said Sheik Hamid Karbouli, when asked why he and his men now oppose al Qaeda.",
"Karbouli has recruited some 150 volunteers to man checkpoints and carry guns.",
"Sunni sheik lists grievances against al Qaeda » .",
"The U.S. military calls the men concerned local citizens.",
"\"I haven't had more than one IED destroy a vehicle in an area where concerned citizens were located ... in the past two months,\" Kershaw said.",
"To further encourage local tribesmen to turn against al Qaeda, the U.S. military pays local sheiks to provide security in their area; they receive up to $10 per man.",
"It's a controversial policy, but one that has helped the U.S. military identify and stop insurgents, Kershaw said.",
"\"In the three months since this has started, we have gathered more insurgents up, more terrorists, than we did in the preceding nine months.",
"And that's because they have pointed out to us these people within their own ranks,\" Kershaw said.",
"The next step is to have these young Sunnis join the Iraqi police.",
"For that to happen, the U.S. military needs the cooperation of the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad.",
"Cooperation, however, is slow in coming.",
"Iraq's central government is concerned these gunmen might turn into armed militias if the U.S. pulls out and civil war erupts.",
"To assuage these concerns, Kershaw is registering as many of the local volunteers as possible, taking photographs and retinal scans, hoping leaders in Baghdad will agree to hire them as Iraqi police.",
"\"What we see as being the end state down here is these tribes being brought back full into the government process,\" Kershaw said.",
"The Second Brigade has lost 53 men in Iraq.",
"Their photos are proudly displayed in the brigade's headquarters.",
"Some of the U.S. soldiers here have a hard time forgiving the Sunnis for what they might have done in the insurgency.",
"\"Were some of these people part of the insurgency?",
"Sure they were,\" Kershaw said.",
"\"Our job over here isn't to do what's comfortable for us, and it isn't to do what we want,\" he said.",
"\"Our job is to do the nation's bidding.",
"If this gets our nation closer to a solution for this country ... then that's what we're gonna do.\"",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"Yusufiyah, south of Baghdad, was among the most dangerous places in Iraq .",
"Local Sunnis tired of the destruction wrought by al Qaeda in Iraq .",
"They partnered with U.S. forces to keep their town safe .",
"Iraq's Shiite-dominated central government remains wary of such partnerships ."
] |
[
0,
10,
21
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's rundown housing estates and deprived inner cities will be the setting for a new project that aims to use classical music to lift children out of the poverty trap.",
"Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony Orchestra rehearse ahead of a performance at New York's Carnegie Hall in November last year.",
"Organizers are modeling the plan on a hugely successful scheme already in place in Venezuela that gives free instruments and training to children from poor and vulnerable backgrounds.",
"They are hoping that lessons learned in the slums of Caracas can be made to work in Britain.",
"Internationally renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber is spearheading the initiative he hopes will give \"a sense of purpose\" to the lives of the most in need.",
"Under the government-backed project, children as young as three will be taught to play classical instruments by trained musicians.",
"\"We're really trying to go to the most deprived children, to the most poor areas,\" Lloyd Webber told CNN.",
"\"You're talking about children from a background where classical music has almost certainly played no part.\"",
"The inspiration behind the scheme is the El Sistema social program in Venezuela, which has helped improve the lives of thousands of young people since it began over 30 years ago.",
"Many of those youths have gone on to be part of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, which was created as a result of the program and has performed around the world to rave reviews.",
"The scheme has launched the musical careers of several of its members.",
"One graduate, Gustavo Dudamel, currently conducts the orchestra but has been signed up to take over as musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic next year.",
"The 27-year-old prodigy described by the New York Times as \"classical music's hottest young podium property\" was born to a poor family in the Venezuelan interior and took up the violin aged 10.",
"However for Lloyd Webber, who has worked with a range of top musicians from Yehudi Menuhin to Elton John, the purpose of the UK project is not to create a new batch of professional musicians.",
"\"That's not the way we're looking at it.",
"It's very likely most of those involved will not turn professional but they will hopefully be empowered to make something more of their lives.\"",
"The Venezuelan project has grown from around 100 or so members when it started to involve 250,000 children and young people today.",
"In the 1970s, Venezuela had only two professional orchestras mainly composed of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Italy.",
"Thanks to El Sistema that number has expanded to over 110.",
"But will the British version be able to match this astonishing success, given the very different social conditions that exist in the two countries?",
"After all, though there are deprived areas in the UK they can't be compared with the grinding poverty of Venezuela's slums where the incentive to escape to a better life is surely much greater.",
"Lloyd Webber disagrees, insisting that levels of poverty in Britain are far worse than many realize.",
"\"We have many of the same problems here that they've encountered there.",
"We have drug issues, prostitution issues, gang warfare issues.",
"\"The Venezuelan project has been hugely helpful in reducing those kind of problems, and save children who would have possibly died without it.\"",
"What about the wide array of distractions on offer in the West such as video games and television, not to mention the low regard many young people have for the world of classical music, which is still considered stuffy and uncool?",
"Again he disagrees, claiming that children in poor areas of Britain often have nothing to distract them, which he says leads to anti-social behavior.",
"\"There are very poor areas in England and for the children who live there, there is often very little to do.",
"That's why you see them out on the streets drinking, bored out of their heads.\"",
"Lloyd Webber is charged with chairing the steering group set up to organize the project, which is initially funded to run for the next three years.",
"He says the scheme will focus on three or four specific areas of the country considered to be especially deprived.",
"Charismatic teachers will be recruited to inspire the children.",
"Although the cellist says the experience of performing in an orchestra should serve as a powerful inspiration on its own.",
"\"I grew up performing in youth orchestras,\" says Lloyd Webber, who is the son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and younger brother of Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has written and produced several major West End and Broadway musicals including Phantom of the Opera and Evita.",
"\"It will give them a sense of purpose and a sense of togetherness.",
"It's a wonderful feeling when you've a group of a hundred players wanting to produce something bigger and better than they are.",
"\"It could be that through this some of those involved feel self-worth for the first time in their lives.\""
] |
[
"UK project to provide musical instruments and training to children in poor areas .",
"The scheme is modelled on a successful program in Venezuela .",
"El Sistema has helped lift many youths out of the slums through music .",
"The UK scheme is being led by famous cellist Julian Lloyd Webber ."
] |
[
2,
4,
8
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- She is one of the world's most likeable and photogenic leaders, has her own YouTube channel, and is determined to change the face of learning in the Middle East.",
"Queen Rania's down-to-earth personality has won hearts and minds all over the world.",
"She is also, according to you, the most inspirational leader featured on CNN's \"The Spirit of...\" in 2008.",
"Thousands of CNN Web site users voted to award her the honor for her matchless energy working with Jordan's young people, ahead of luminaries such as peace advocate Kofi Annan, activist Wangari Maathai and environmentalist James Lovelock.",
"This is Queen Rania's second award in as many months.",
"In November, she was presented with the first ever YouTube Visionary Award for her bold use of the video-sharing network to discuss stereotypes about Islam and the Arab world.",
"The channel fielded questions from young people about all aspects of Islamic culture.",
"She could not be present to personally receive the honour at YouTube's Live event in San Francisco, but her pop-culture-savvy pre-recorded acceptance speech showed her to be possibly the coolest queen alive.",
"She delighted viewers with a lighthearted top-ten list of reasons for registering her own YouTube channel, which included, \"Because I didn't have enough friends on Facebook,\" and \"Because anything Queen Elizabeth can do I can do better.\"",
"The experimental venture gained her a faithful online following, and since then the channel has become a platform for entertaining, non-hostile debate.",
"It is exactly this willingness to set aside her royal image and interact with the public that her fans say has shown Queen Rania's dedication to bringing about change.",
"She first entered the international spotlight 15 years ago after marrying Abdullah II bin al-Hussein, the then future king of Jordan.",
"In 1999, she was proclaimed Queen, the world's youngest at age 28.",
"She wasted little time in applying herself to various causes, and soon made her name as an engaging advocate for women's rights and moderate Islam, and as a heavy investor in youth.",
"The 38-year-old mother of four has said that she cares about her people as if they were her own children, and wants to ensure as many of them as possible get the most out of school.",
"Queen Rania may be light-hearted in some of her approaches, but she is very serious when it comes to revitalizing education in the Middle East.",
"She has made closing the Middle East's \"knowledge divide\" -- the gap in knowledge that has grown as a result of people in richer countries having more access to computers, the Internet and education than those in poorer countries -- a top priority over the next few years in the hope that it will unlock the economic potential of the region's population.",
"Queen Rania certainly has a challenge on her hands.",
"Earlier this year, the Arab League Educational Cultural and Scientific Organisation revealed that nearly one in three between the ages of 15 and 45 is illiterate.",
"Alongside promoting equal rights for men and women and the importance of literacy, Queen Rania has strived to convince both the education and private sectors that existing education systems need reinvigoration.",
"She has repeatedly called for creative instruction and explorative learning to be embraced in the classroom.",
"In April of this year, Queen Rania launched the Madrasati (\"My School\") project, which encourages Jordanians to get their neediest schools back on their feet.",
"Under the program, communities are working with the public and private sectors to raise funds and recruit volunteers to renovate school facilities and provide school supplies and equipment.",
"This is expected to improve the learning environment for children, and ultimately have a ripple effect on the neighborhoods where the schools are located.",
"Queen Rania's campaigns in various areas have helped to inspire other Middle Eastern policy-makers to see globalization in a more positive light -- a truly inspiring leader."
] |
[
"Queen Rania voted \"The Spirit of...\" most inspirational leader of 2008 .",
"Online readers acknowledge her work with education, women's rights and Islam .",
"Queen Rania personally encourages open dialogue through her YouTube channel ."
] |
[
0,
2,
17,
19
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- In sport, being the best is not just about the having the greatest players.",
"Here are five teams that have gone from zeroes to heroes, and in the process left their mark on sporting history.",
"1. The European Ryder Cup team .",
"The 1980 U.S. hockey team's 'Miracle on Ice' against the Soviet Union.",
"Europe's Ryder Cup team has become renowned for upsetting the form book, frequently triumphing against higher ranked American opposition.",
"Since European players were first allowed to join the British and Irish team for the famous golf tournament (to improve the level of competition) in 1979, the U.S. has won six times; Europe seven; and the teams have tied once.",
"The slight edge enjoyed by Europe, however, belies the lowly status of their players in world golf.",
"For the last tournament two years ago in Ireland, for example, the Americans boasted 68.4 world-ranking points and the top three players, including world number one, Tiger Woods.",
"Compare this with just 47.8 ranking points for the Europeans.",
"Even so Europe went on to achieve a record third consecutive win.",
"The key to this success has been the camaraderie and teamwork exhibited by the Europeans.",
"Their players have consistently rallied around their position as underdog, managing to achieve a level of togetherness made all the more surprising since the team is made up of a collection of nationalities that are better known for falling out with each other.",
"2. The 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team .",
"A famous victory against a seemingly invincible Soviet Union side propelled this team of college players and amateurs to the level of national heroes.",
"Although the U.S. team went on to win the gold medal by defeating Finland at the Winter Olympics, it was the earlier match against the Soviets that captured the popular imagination.",
"Classed as amateurs, the Soviet players were essentially professional, and were provided with different job titles by the communist government to allow them to compete.",
"Many of their players were considered legends of world ice hockey at the time.",
"The U.S. team coached by Herb Brooks was, by contrast, genuinely amateur and came into the tournament in Lake Placid, New York, as rank outsiders.",
"Their youthfulness and tenacity combined with patriotic home support saw them upset predictions, defeating the Soviets 4-3 in a match that became known as the \"Miracle on Ice.\"",
"The win over their Cold War enemies seized the imagination of the U.S. public -- it inspired two films and was voted the greatest sporting moment of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated.",
"Dave Ogrean, former executive director of USA Hockey, called the victory \"the most transcending moment in the history of our sport in this country.\"",
"3. The 'Crazy Gang' defeat Liverpool in the FA Cup .",
"Nobody expected lowly Wimbledon Football Club to do anything other than turn up when they played Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.",
"Dubbed the 'Crazy Gang' by British media because of the eccentric antics of their players and staff, who included future film actor Vinnie Jones, the team was outclassed on every front.",
"At the time Liverpool were the dominant force in English football, having won the league title that year for the seventh time in a decade.",
"Managed by former player Kenny Dalglish and boasting a host of stars, the team was expected to cruise past Wimbledon, who had little resources and were considered something of a joke.",
"Under the chairmanship of Lebanese businessman Samir \"Sam\" Hammam, Wimbledon earned a reputation for bizarre behaviour, with players setting fire to new signings football kits, and Hammam once offering to buy a camel for the team's striker if he scored 20 goals in a season.",
"The practical jokes helped to foster an extraordinarily strong team spirit, however, which saw them topple Liverpool 1-0, with Wimbledon captain Dave Beasant the hero of the hour after he saved a penalty.",
"4. Joe's Jets win the Superbowl .",
"When the New York Jets took on the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Superbowl, it was the team from Baltimore that was strong favorites.",
"The Colts had stormed the National Football League (NFL) championship, considered at the time a much stronger competition than the American Football League (AFL), headed that year by the Jets.",
"This news, however, seemed to have escaped Joe Namath, the Jets' charismatic quarterback, who gave a \"guarantee\" a few days earlier at a news conference in Miami -- where the Superbowl was being staged -- that his team would win.",
"True to his predictions, the Jets came out on top with Namath taking all the plaudits (Sports Illustrated described him as a \"folk hero of the new generation\") after a blistering performance that saw his team triumph 16-7.",
"5. The Magical Magyars .",
"The legendary Hungarian national football team of the 1950s is still considered one of the greatest teams in the history of sport.",
"Although many of its players -- most notably striker Ferenc Puskas, who eventually moved to Real Madrid -- went on to play in the West, during its heyday the majority of the team was drawn from the Honved club in Budapest.",
"The Magyars remained unbeaten for an unprecedented 33 consecutive matches (a record that still stands today) finally losing out in the 1954 World Cup Final to Germany.",
"This golden age of Hungarian football was brought to an abrupt end in 1956 by the events of the Hungarian Revolution.",
"Puskas and some of his team mates opted to defect to Western Europe, and never played for their country again."
] |
[
"Europe's Ryder Cup team has often beaten the U.S. despite lower profile players .",
"America's ice hockey win against the Soviets is known as the \"Miracle on Ice\"\nWimbledon's defeat of Liverpool in the FA Cup was considered a major upset .",
"New York Jets Superbowl win in 1969 was inspired by quarterback Joe Namath ."
] |
[
3,
4,
18,
21,
28,
29
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- Is it possible to have a building that can make you happy, sad, or even angry?",
"The Experience Music Project in Seattle has appeared in the Forbes list of ugly buildings.",
"Does it affect your mood?",
"Alain de Botton thinks it is.",
"The Swiss-born British writer, modern-day philosopher, and author of international bestseller \"The Architecture of Happiness\", believes there is more to buildings and architecture than we may think.",
"Taking on 19th Century French writer Stendhal's motto that \"beauty is the promise of happiness,\" de Botton analyzes human surroundings and considers how our needs and desires are transferred into architecture.",
"He also discusses the amount to which architecture can affect our personal happiness.",
"De Botton told CNN he felt that a beautiful building, or likewise, an ugly structure, could affect how we feel.",
"\"Beauty has a huge role to play in altering our mood.",
"When we call a chair or a house beautiful, really what we're saying is that we like the way of life it's suggesting to us.",
"It has an attitude we're attracted to: if it was magically turned into a person, we'd like who it was.",
"\"It would be convenient if we could remain in much the same mood wherever we happened to be ...but unfortunately we're highly vulnerable to the coded messages that emanate from our surroundings,\" he said.",
"But, how do buildings manage to cast their bricks and mortar over our emotions?",
"\"One might say that architecture suggests a mood to us, which we may be too internally troubled to be able to take up.",
"Its effectiveness could be compared to the weather: a fine day can substantially change our state of mind -- and people may be willing to make great sacrifices to be nearer a sunny climate,\" de Botton said.",
"De Botton believed that structures communicate with us in various ways.",
"\"This book focuses our minds on the idea that buildings speak -- and on topics which can readily be discerned.",
"They speak of democracy or aristocracy, openness or arrogance, welcome or threat, a sympathy for the future or a hankering for the past.\"",
"So, indeed your own house could be making you happy or sad, de Botton suggests.",
"\"They (houses) tell us of certain moods that they seek to encourage and sustain in their inhabitants.",
"While keeping us warm and helping us in mechanical ways, they simultaneously hold out an invitation for us to be specific sorts of people.",
"They speak of particular visions of happiness,\" he said.",
"De Botton said there are \"thousands\" of public buildings which are ugly and could possibly force a negative, saddening, or even potential anger-producing mood upon us.",
"What are some examples? De Botton is quick to mention the new Westfield mall opening in Shepherd's Bush, London, which he describes as a \"monument to human idiocy\" which represents a \"large, confused shed, which offers the wider community nothing but a windowless façade clad in nauseating green paneling, with an utter indifference to symmetry, proportion or beauty\".",
"And what other buildings could be considered a structure of sadness?",
"Certainly, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Experience Music Project building in Seattle has to be a nominee -- featuring in the Forbes list of the top ten ugliest buildings in the world.",
"Elsewhere, London's Millennium Dome (or 02 Arena) and Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, are other well-known candidates for buildings that could destroy one's day, after featuring in various \"ugly\" lists.",
"At the other end of the scale, de Botton has some ideas about structures we should cast our eyes upon to make us happy.",
"While all of this is rather subjective, de Botton said there were some aesthetic values that were universally appreciated.",
"He was particularly fond of the highly-detailed yet serene Senate House in Bloomsbury, London, and also the Georgian-style architecture of Bedford Square, also in London.",
"It's fair to say though, that not everyone in the architectural world is as optimistic about the power of architecture over people.",
"In a debate with architect Robert Adam organized by building.co.uk, Adam attacked de Botton's ideas.",
"After questioning de Botton's use of the word \"us\" when presenting some opinions, Adam said he did not believe that people were culturally aware enough to take notice of such details.",
"\"I wouldn't call myself a pessimist because it would mean I feel bad about popular culture, which I don't.",
"What I think we have at the moment is people who are unprepared to take on the language of the greater part of the population,\" he said.",
"We want to know what you think.",
"Do you believe buildings can influence the way we feel?",
"Give us your examples of buildings that make you happy or sad in the Sound Off box below and we'll publish the best."
] |
[
"Alain de Botton authored The Architecture of Happiness .",
"He believes emotions are shown in, and can be deduced from architecture .",
"Architect Robert Adam disagrees with many of de Botton's ideas ."
] |
[
5,
6,
31
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Myanmar is facing a food shortage largely due to last year's deadly Cyclone Nargis, which destroyed nearly all the rice crops in the fertile Ayeyarwaddy delta, the United Nations said Wednesday.",
"A young farmer ploughs a field in preparation to grow rice in Dalla, about 20 kms south of Yangon on July 9, 2008.",
"Rice production in the cyclone-affected areas of Ayeyarwaddy and Yangon, the largest city and former capital of Myanmar, is expected to be 50 percent of last year's, according to the report issued by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP).",
"Rat infestation in western's Myanmar's Chin State has also contributed to the food shortage, the report says.",
"\"Access to food remains the critical challenge for the poorest people and for vulnerable populations in remote areas of Myanmar,\" Chris Kaye, WFP's representative for Myanmar, said in a written statement.",
"\"And for many of those affected by Cyclone Nargis, who are engaged in rebuilding their lives and livelihoods, the limited delta harvest means they will continue to rely on assistance to meet their food needs.\"",
"Watch Paul Risley of the WFP discuss the food crisis » .",
"Although rice production is expected to be adequate this year because of strong crops in other areas of the country, access to food remains a serious challenge to Myanmar's poor, especially in the delta region, the report said.",
"More than 5 million people fall below the food poverty line and emergency food aid is still needed in cyclone-affected areas, the report said.",
"The cyclone also hurt the cattle and fishing industries, contributing to the food crisis.",
"\"Humanitarian assistance has not restored the production capacity of small to medium-sized farms,\" He Changchui, FAO's Asia-Pacific regional chief, said in a written statement.",
"\"Farmers and fishers are unlikely to self-finance their needs this year, thus entering into a spiral of pauperization of the delta.\""
] |
[
"Myanmar is facing a food shortage largely due to last year's deadly Cyclone Nargis .",
"Cyclone destroyed nearly all the rice crops in the fertile Ayeyarwaddy delta .",
"Rice production in the cyclone-affected areas expected to be half of last year's .",
"Despite adequate crops this year, food access remains a problem for the poor ."
] |
[
0,
7
] |
[
"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If one hardened cockpit door is good, would two barriers be even better?",
"Many airline pilots believe the answer is \"yes,\" and are hoping to reinvigorate efforts to require so-called \"secondary barriers\" on every commercial plane in the country.",
"Pilots praise the hardened cockpit doors mandated after 9/11, saying they have done as much as anything to protect aircraft from terrorist assaults.",
"But planes remain vulnerable for short periods of time during some flights when pilots go to the lavatory, get meals or, on long flights, change out crews.",
"Currently, flight attendants sometimes block the aisle with beverage carts to prevent possible terrorists from rushing the cockpit.",
"But pilots believe the barriers -- relatively inexpensive gates that would be deployed before pilots come out of the cockpit -- would solve that vulnerability.",
"\"This is an absolute no-brainer,\" Capt.",
"Bob Hesselbein of the Air Line Pilots Association said.",
"\"Of all the things we could do, the most cost-effective thing we could do right now is put the device in.\"",
"ALPA this summer published a position paper calling on the U.S. and Canadian governments to require secondary flight deck barriers on all airliners by January 1, 2010.",
"The barriers would be designed to delay anyone trying to attack the cockpit by at least five seconds, giving pilots time to retreat to the cockpit, ALPA said.",
"Hijackers have attempted to gain access to flight decks on planes overseas four times in the past year, according to ALPA.",
"The airline industry has fought efforts to require the barriers, saying airlines should be allowed to decide for themselves if the barriers would improve security.",
"The barriers would not be useful on short hauls where pilots don't ordinarily leave the cockpit, and the airline industry claims other layers of protection are sufficient on longer flights.",
"Hesselbein disagrees.",
"\"You can never guarantee that you're going to have an armed pilot protecting that cockpit from inside that cockpit.",
"You can never guarantee that you're going to have a federal air marshal, or federal air marshal team, in the cabin to defend that cockpit.",
"\"But the secondary barrier, once installed, will always be there,\" Hesselbein said.",
"The government has classified the number of federal air marshals and armed pilots, but it is widely known that they cover a small percentage of flights in the U.S.",
"In a June 2005 report to Congress, the Transportation Security Administration said the barrier \"appears to be a simple solution that offers greater security at a relatively low cost.\"",
"\"Valuable time is gained in deterring the movement of an unauthorized individual towards the flight deck,\" the report said.",
"But the TSA recommended against mandating secondary barriers, citing \"the costs of engineering and installation that would be incurred by the [airlines] to retrofit\" aircraft.",
"\"The economic fragility of the industry due to increasing costs, including persistently rising fuel prices, makes this a decisive recommendation.\"",
"The Air Transport Association, which represents the nation's major airlines, said hardened cockpit doors and other measures provide effective security and that mandating other measures should not be done \"in the absence of appropriate risk analysis.\"",
"Rep. Steve Israel, D-New York, said he is again introducing a bill to require barriers on passenger planes.",
"\"Everybody recognizes the vulnerability,\" he said.",
"\"The airline industry recognizes the vulnerability and thinks that the federal government ought to pay for the secondary barriers.",
"The federal government recognizes the vulnerability and thinks that the airline industry should pay.",
"\"Meanwhile, for as long as the debate continues, the flying public is less safe.\"",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"Pilots praise the hardened cockpit doors mandated after 9/11 .",
"Many pilots support efforts to mandate secondary cockpit barriers .",
"The airline industry has fought efforts to require the barriers .",
"The TSA recommended against mandating secondary barriers ."
] |
[
2,
12
] |
[
"KHARTOUM, Sudan (CNN) -- (CNN) -- Fighting resumed Tuesday in a disputed oil-rich town in Sudan, threatening to reignite a calamitous civil war which ended three years ago.",
"Fresh fighting in Sudan over an oil-rich town has raised fears civil war could again erupt.",
"UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon deplored the fighting between the Sudanese military and troops with the Sudan People's Liberation Army.",
"The SPLA fought a rebellion against the government for more than 20 years until both sides signed a peace deal in 2005.",
"The deal's Comprehensive Peace Agreement ended a north-south civil war that killed about 2 million people and displaced more than 4 million others.",
"An impasse over the boundaries of the town of Abyei is a major reason the peace agreement has not been fully implemented.",
"Fighting erupted in Abyei on May 13.",
"It resumed Tuesday despite a cease-fire and has \"resulted in the destruction\" of the town \"and the displacement of between 30,000 and 50,000 people,\" the secretary general said in a statement.",
"Don't Miss Sudanese opposition leader arrested Sudan cuts ties with Chad after attack Darfur rebels advance on Sudan capital, their leader says \"If the situation is not urgently addressed, the achievements thus far of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement could be placed at serious risk,\" he said.",
"The civil war in Sudan, which started in 1983, pitted a northern government dominated by Arab Muslims against black Christians and animists in southern Sudan.",
"That conflict was not directly related to ongoing violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan.",
"Human rights groups and United Nations say the Sudanese military armed and trained Arab militias in Darfur after a rebellion erupted in 2003.",
"They say the military and militias have engaged in widespread killing, rape and forced displacements in Darfur as they battle about rebels who have splintered into roughly a dozen groups.",
"One of those groups staged a daring attack this month near the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.",
"The government said it quashed the attack.",
"Nearly 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in Darfur in the last five years, the UN says."
] |
[
"Fighting in disputed oil-rich Sudan town raises fears of return to civil war .",
"Up to 50,000 people displaced by latest outbreak of fighting .",
"Despite cease-fire agreement Abyei has been destroyed and deal is at risk ."
] |
[
1,
6,
7
] |
[
"NEW YORK (CNN) -- The New York State Assembly passed a same-sex marriage bill Tuesday evening, bringing New York one step closer to legalizing such marriages.",
"Gov. David Paterson has said he'd sign a same-sex if it's passed by the New York Senate.",
"The bill, which passed 89-52, will now go on to the state Senate for a vote.",
"If it is passed there, it will go to Gov.",
"David Paterson, who has made it clear he will sign the bill.",
"\"I applaud ... members of both parties for moving this historic legislation forward,\" New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement released by the mayor's office.",
"\"I hope New York will soon become the latest state to adopt a law whose time has come.\"",
"State Sen. Thomas K. Duane, a Democrat, said in a statement, \"I am confident that this year my Senate will uphold this fundamental legal principle and vote for my right, our right, to be married this year.\"",
"This is the second time New York's Marriage Equality Legislation has been approved by the State Assembly -- it passed in 2007, but subsequently stalled in the then Republican-controlled Senate."
] |
[
"New York State Assembly passes bill by vote of 89 to 52 .",
"Same-sex marriage bill will go to the state Senate .",
"Gov.",
"David Paterson has said he would sign a same-sex marriage bill .",
"New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg applauds legislators for vote ."
] |
[
0,
1,
2
] |
[
"(CNN) -- First it was instant messaging during office hours that gave us the thrill of passing notes in class.",
"Then it was ogling ourselves on Web cams, ranting our minds on blogs, uploading our baby photos on Flickr and poking each other on Facebook.",
"These days, as corporate records show, we choose to spend our lunch breaks watching YouTube, if not chatting over Skype.",
"CSL's flagship One2Free shop stands at the corner of Hong Kong's trendy Causeway Bay district.",
"The bad news is the Web 2.0 revolution is over.",
"The good news is now we can take it with us.",
"Over the past two years, well over a dozen startups have sprung into action, bringing everything from IM to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) to our mobile phones, in a quest to conquer the cellular fourth screen.",
"Winner of Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal's 2007 Emerging Technologies Awards in the category of Social Networking, Mig33 is confident about the viability of its future: \"The next wave of Internet growth is mobile.",
"The number of mobile devices worldwide has exceeded three billion, and the next billion subscribers will have their first Internet experience using a mobile phone.\"",
"Like the Rotterdam-based Nimbuzz, Mig33 also offers instant messaging, photo sharing and VoIP for cheaper telephony, in addition to social networking via profiles, chatrooms and, of course, friends.",
"Applications are free to download and communities are free to join, while members are charged only for SMS and VoIP calls, bridging communications between mobile devices and desktop computers.",
"The softwares are fully functional on both 3G and any smart (Internet-enabled) 2.5G phones running such platforms as Java, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, S60 and the iPhone OS.",
"Nimbuzz in particular boasts compatibility with Skype, Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo!",
"Live Messenger, Jabber, MySpace and Facebook.",
"But it is hardly alone in partnering with traditional desktop live chat sites, as well as industry partners around the world.",
"Playfully packaged, internationally-based Fring works with WiFi providers in Europe and Australia as well as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) providers based in both North and South America, Western and Eastern Europe, South Africa and China, also consolidating all chat buddies into a single mobile contact list.",
"In this context, one way to stand out from the all-encompassing bunch with the global reach is through niche audience focus.",
"MyHappyPlanet, a free online language-exchange network that allows members to create profiles and chat with language partners in real time (text, voice, video), will go mobile in the near future.",
"A2Aworld, an upcoming mobile social networking startup, will focus on connecting social networkers between the world's two largest online communities -- America and Asia -- in terms of communication, information, culture and e-commerce.",
"Furthermore, its business model is based on revenue from emerging online advertising, VoIP calls and premium membership fees, without the mobile ads and viral marketing.",
"Fierce competition .",
"Meanwhile in the mobile marketplace, VoIP competition is getting fierce.",
"While SIPphone's open-source Gizmo Project was heralded by early beta testers as \"the first viable Skype alternative\" in July 2005, it's clear today that Skype itself is the big winner in the VoIP game.",
"Most recently, iSkoot has extended its partnership with Skype, following its collaboration with mobile operator 3 for the global launch of the 3 Skypephone in October 2007, which was the first mass-market Skype-enabled handset as a carrier-integrated solution for mobile-VoIP IM services.",
"But mobile VoIP itself still faces multiple challenges, including fragmented access and distribution.",
"While some applications choose to collaborate with mobile network carriers, others choose to compete with them by using data networks such as WiFi.",
"\"In the near future, there will be a hyper-convergence solution,\" predicts A2Aworld's Michael Liu.",
"\"However, WiFi/WiMax to cell/IMS will be playing a bigger and bigger role.",
"In the long run, there will be all-in-IP IMS solutions.\"",
"Insecure communications also pose a new threat to VoIP, as Liu points out: \"In the early days of VoIP, people were mostly concerned with its cost, functionality and reliability.",
"Now that VoIP is gaining wide acceptance and becoming one of the mainstream communication technologies, security has become a major issue.\"",
"And to satisfy the YouTube generation, applications such as myZen Mobile encourage the circulation of photos and viral videos optimized for mobile viewing in real time, with an all-in-one interface featuring YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, Yahoo podcast, etc, with the possibility to add other community sites such as ifilm and blogger.",
"Going mobile .",
"Simon Newstead, founder and CEO of Frenzoo, a social-networking site specialized in 3D fashion avatars, is enthusiastic about going mobile.",
"\"We have a roadmap to implement our service on mobile platforms such as iPhone,\" he says.",
"\"Today users are already using 3D in gaming platforms like the wildly successful Nintendo DS Lite, so the logical integration of 3D avatars into the mobile platform will certainly present a great opportunity.",
"\"Technically, new handsets already integrate hardware acceleration for 3G, and battery life is increasing rapidly.",
"Now the only remaining factor is availability or higher-speed affordable mobile bandwidth, which is already emerging in advanced mobile markets such as South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan.\"",
"Indeed in Hong Kong, where the mobile-phone penetration rate hovers around 150 percent, mastering the mobile market is becoming increasingly lucrative.",
"Hong Kong's largest mobile network carrier CSL introduced Asia's first 3G video-sharing service in 2005, launched Hong Kong's first 3G interactive mobile TV in 2006, and partnered with blogging site Xanga in early 2008.",
"From the carrier's point of view, people's choice of mobile communication is a question of coverage and user-friendliness -- of \"price, packaging, usability,\" according to CSL's (\"Create a Simple Life\") chief marketing officer Christina Teo.",
"\"We try to 'replicate' any desktop experience to the mobile phone.",
"You can call it replicating, extending, adding value,\" continues Teo.",
"\"And with every new partnership, we need to make sure that the application works on each new handset we launch... With mobile phones [as opposed to desktop computers] there is still some concern, stigma, so we need to educate people to get over that hurdle.",
"It's the faster we can get it at the click of a button.\"",
"More and more, the mission of the mobile industry is to make seamless that virtual space between desktop and handset.",
"\"It's where we want people to embrace life,\" says Teo.",
"\"It's what we all aim to do. No downtime, no downspace... Over time Xanga will add more features, and we will mobilize as much as possible.\"",
"The good news is the Web 3.0 revolution is only beginning.",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"Startups offer applications to bring social networking sites to mobile platforms .",
"VoIP faces challenges on mobile market: competition, distribution, access .",
"Mobile mission to make seamless space between desktop and handset ."
] |
[
20,
24,
41,
45
] |
[
"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pakistan is optimistic about the Obama administration's commitment to its region and will work with the United States on trying to root out extremism within its borders, Pakistan's foreign minister said.",
"Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi meets U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.",
"Following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi cited a \"convergence of interests\" between Washington and Islamabad and a \"willingness to work together.\"",
"\"I see a lot of hope in the new administration, the new leadership, and Pakistan is willing to work with the American administration to fight extremism and terrorism,\" he said Tuesday.",
"\"We are determined to defeat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.\"",
"Qureshi is in Washington to take part in strategic review of U.S. policy to stabilize Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.",
"The effort is being led by South Asian security expert Bruce Reidel and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy.",
"Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin D. Spanta also was leading a delegation from his country to take part in the review.",
"He and Qureshi will meet with both Clinton and Holbrooke this week.",
"U.S. President Barack Obama and Clinton tapped Holbrooke as special representative for the two countries, a signal of how the new administration considers Afghanistan and Pakistan intertwined in any solution to the war in Afghanistan and the terrorist threat along their shared border.",
"\"We are consulting very closely with the government of Pakistan on our strategic review of our way forward and I'm very grateful for the minister's advice and counsel,\" Clinton said after meeting with Qureshi.",
"Last week Obama announced he is sending another 17,000 troops to Afghanistan to fight a strengthening insurgency, which Obama has called the \"central front in our enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism.\"",
"The troops will be sent to southern Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan and is a haven for Taliban insurgents.",
"Pakistani officials have expressed concern the deployment will push the Taliban across the border into Pakistan and further destabilize their country.",
"The Obama administration is conducting several reviews of U.S. policy in Afghanistan, including a review by Gen. David Petraeus, the commander in the region.",
"Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said the original mission in Afghanistan was \"too broad\" and needs to be more \"realistic and focused\" for the United States to succeed.",
"Pakistan is engaged in its own effort against Taliban militants in its Northwest Frontier Provence.",
"The militants, who effectively control the country's Swat Valley, extended a cease-fire Tuesday as part of an agreement with the government, a deal the U.S. and NATO warn risks granting a safe haven to extremists near the Afghan border.",
"Watch why the deal is being viewed as a capitulation » .",
"Swat Valley was once one of Pakistan's biggest tourist destinations.",
"It is situated near the Afghanistan border and about 186 miles (300 kilometers) from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.",
"In recent months, militants have unleashed a wave of violence that has claimed hundreds of lives across the province.",
"The militants want to require veils for women and beards for men and to ban music and television.",
"The fighting has displaced nearly half of Swat's population, officials said.",
"The central government has long exerted little control in the area, but it launched an intense military offensive in late July to flush out militants.",
"As retaliation for the military presence, the Taliban carried out a series of deadly bombings, beheadings and kidnappings -- and said the attacks will continue until the troops pull out.",
"The Taliban said Tuesday it was indefinitely extending a cease-fire Taliban leaders declared eight days ago after signing a controversial deal with the government to impose Islamic law, or Sharia, in the region.",
"The Pakistani government's decision now to negotiate with Pakistan has been met with international criticism.",
"Holbrooke has said the Obama administration was \"troubled and confused\" by the truce in Swat.",
"Holbrooke and NATO officials have expressed concerns that such an accord could cede effective control of the Swat Valley to extremists."
] |
[
"Qureshi: \"I see a lot of hope in the new administration, the new leadership\"\nHe and Afghan foreign minister will meet with Clinton, Holbrooke this week .",
"U.S. troops will be sent to southern Afghanistan .",
"Taliban militants extend cease-fire as part of deal with Pakistan ."
] |
[
1,
3,
8,
12
] |
[
"PARIS, France (CNN) -- In a city famous for being the birthplace of the avant-garde, it can be hard to keep up with the latest trends.",
"Here's a rough guide to what's hot right now in the French capital.",
"This beat is Tecktonik: The latest dance craze to hit the Parisian streets.",
"Tecktonik Parisian youths love their trends.",
"The latest dance craze sweeping the city is Tecktonik, a fusion dance style usually accessorized with spiked hair and neon accessories.",
"Look out for kids dancing in packs outside the Trocadero.",
"You might even be lucky enough to spot a Tecktonik/breakdance dance-off.",
"Le Scrapbooking Scrapbooking is the current craze amongst Paris' more sedate residents.",
"Head to Le Temple Du Scrap (13 Rue Ernest Cresson) for pretty paper supplies, trimmings, ribbons and associated frippery.",
"Bike around town Much of Paris is walkable, but the city's cheap bike-hire scheme, Velib, which launched in 2007, makes dashing around the city even easier.",
"There are thousands of bikes stashed across the city at bike stations around 300m apart.",
"The first 30 minutes of any trip is free; you'll need a credit card to register with the scheme.",
"Once you've got your bike, you're ready to career around the cobbled streets of Montmartre and rattle along the Seine.",
"Café hotspots The classic Parisian image of smoky cafes is now banished to the pavements, thanks to a smoking ban in bars and restaurants that came in at the end of 2007.",
"Quel dommage!",
"In the winter, café culture's hotspots are those with heated terraces.",
"You'll still be able to light up while you sip a petit café crème, but only if you sit outside -- bring a turtleneck and a beret to keep you warm as well as stylish.",
"Massages at the Mosque Paris is home to a large Muslim population, and La Grande Mosquée de Paris (rue Geoffroy St.",
"Hilaire.) reflects that. From the outside, the building is absolutely stunning; it's even more spectacular inside.",
"Treat yourself to a massage at the hammam (Turkish bath) and you could easily think you are in Morocco.",
"Relax post-massage by sipping a mint tea in the courtyard.",
"Check in advance which days are for men and which are for women.",
"Subway style Taking the subway in Paris can be a drag.",
"Striking drivers and filthy platforms can make the Metro a misery.",
"But the light at the end of this often dark and dingy tunnel is the Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre stop, or namely the Palais Royal entrance.",
"Like a lot of things in Paris, it's an artwork in its own right, by French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel.",
"His design of brightly colored class beads is a delight, and nearby Place Colette is a great spot for people watching: pull up a pew and enjoy."
] |
[
"Watch out for spikey-haired Parisians getting all Tecktonik -- the latest dance style .",
"Get ahead, get a bike: the city's cheap bike-hire scheme has proved a success .",
"Marvel at the Musée du Louvre's sumptuous metro stop .",
"Get a taste of the exotic with a massage at the La Grande Mosquée's own hammam ."
] |
[
1,
4,
5,
9,
17,
24
] |
[
"(CNN) -- An audio message reportedly from al Qaeda's deputy chief vows revenge for Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza and calls the Jewish state's actions against Hamas militants \"a gift\" from U.S. President-elect Barack Obama.",
"Al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri is said to address Muslims in Gaza in an audio message released Tuesday.",
"The speaker, identified as Ayman al-Zawahiri, addresses Muslims in Gaza.",
"He said the violence \"is one part of a series of a crusade war against Islam and these air strikes are a gift from Obama before he takes office, and (Egyptian President) Hosni Mubarak, that traitor, is the main partner in your siege and killing.\"",
"The message, posted Tuesday on various Islamist Web sites with a picture of al-Zawahiri next to an image of a wounded child, urges militants to rally against Israel.",
"\"My Muslim brothers and mujahedeens in Gaza and all over Palestine, with the help of God we are with you in the battle, we will direct our strikes against the crusader Jewish coalition wherever we can.\"",
"The 10-minute message also address Muslims worldwide, claiming that Obama was portrayed as \"the savior who will come and change American policy\" during the U.S. election but is now \"killing your brothers and sisters in Gaza without mercy or even pity.\"",
"Obama's transition team did not immediately respond to the message.",
"Earlier Tuesday, the president-elect said he was \"deeply concerned\" about the loss of life in Gaza and Israel, and he promised to make the issue a top priority in his administration.",
"It was Obama's first public reaction to the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, which began with Israeli air strikes 11 days ago.",
"He reiterated that only one president can speak for the United States at a time.",
"\"Starting at the beginning of our administration, we are going to engage effectively and consistently to try to resolve the conflicts that exist in the Middle East,\" Obama said.",
"CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson said the al Qaeda message speaks to al-Zawahiri's cause in two ways: It bashes the new U.S. president before he takes office and it criticizes Mubarak, who has drawn al-Zawahiri's ire for not allowing goods and aid through Egypt's border with Gaza.",
"Al-Zawahiri is a native of Egypt who has served jail time there.",
"Robertson, who is reporting from the Israeli-Gaza border, noted on CNN's \"Situation Room\" that al-Zawahiri got the message out quickly -- \"within 12 days, that's very fast.\"",
"He said that indicated \"there's many issues there that are dear to him.\""
] |
[
"Ten-minute message delivered by Ayman al-Zawahiri, a native of Egypt .",
"In address, al-Zawahiri says violence a \"gift\" from Obama before he takes office .",
"The message, on various Islamist Web sites, urges militants to rally against Israel .",
"In Obama's first public reaction to the violence, he says he is \"deeply concerned\""
] |
[
1,
3,
4
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of crimes against humanity, visited Zimbabwe on Sunday for a regional trade meeting.",
"Sudan president Omar al-Bashir is the first head of state ever indicted by the ICC.",
"Al-Bashir landed Saturday in the capital, Harare, for the two-day African leaders' summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).",
"The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir on March 4, accusing him of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in his government's campaign against rebels in Darfur in western Sudan.",
"It was the first arrest warrant for a sitting head of state by the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal, based at The Hague in the Netherlands.",
"Sudan expelled 13 international aid agencies from the Darfur region after the warrant was issued.",
"Al-Bashir has denied the charges, calling them an attempt by Western powers to recolonize Sudan.",
"The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 after rebels in the western region of Sudan began attacking government positions.",
"The government responded with a fierce military campaign that has left about 300,000 dead and more than 2.5 million displaced, the United Nations estimates.",
"The International Criminal Court has no arrest powers and depends on its 106-member states to take suspects into custody.",
"Al-Bashir has visited other counties, including Qatar and Ethiopia, since the warrant was issued.",
"In Zimbabwe, the summit will be at the Victoria Falls, a popular tourism spot on the Zambezi River.",
"Sudan is a member of the trade group, which consists of 19 African nations."
] |
[
"Sudan president Omar al-Bashir visits Zimbabwe despite arrest warrant .",
"ICC accused al-Bashir of alleged war crime against rebels in Darfur .",
"Al-Bashir has denied charges against him ."
] |
[
0,
3,
6
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- It takes a savvy film star to invest in the only business that's keeping audiences away from cinemas.",
"In the case of India's biggest Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan that's cricket.",
"Photographers mob Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri as they arrive for the inaugural Indian Premier League players' auction, February 20, 2008.",
"Over 45 days from April to June, India's newest big money cricket competition -- the DLF Indian Premier League -- infected the country with the kind of excitement usually reserved for the item number in the latest Bollywood blockbuster.",
"Off the pitch, among the cheerleaders and dancing girls, was actor Shah Rukh Khan, the proud new co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, a cricket team whose name was said to be inspired by David Hasselhoff's 1980s television hit.",
"The team, captained by Indian cricketing hero Sourav Ganguly, took to the field in black and gold uniforms created by Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra; black for the color of goddess Kali and gold, because as Khan said, \"We aim for gold.\"",
"In fact, the Knight Riders were knocked out of the competition before the semi-finals, with Khan announcing to fans via SMS:\"Al of us have become part of a failed script, a bad IPL script.",
"Let's try and keep our chin up.\"",
"Shah Rukh Khan, one of the few people in the world also known by his initials, has every reason to keep his own chin up.",
"Twenty years after his first onscreen role in the Indian television series \"Fauji,\" SRK -- the man and the brand -- is more popular than ever.",
"On Sunday night, he won the Best Actor award in Bollywood's version of the Oscars -- the International Indian Film Academy Awards -- for his role as coach of the Indian national women's field hockey team in \"Chak De!",
"India.\" The film took nine awards in all, including Best Film and Best Director.",
"Shah Rukh Khan's previous box-office outing, \"Om Shanti Om,\" scooped five awards, adding icing to its title of Bollywood's highest-ever grossing film.",
"In India, you don't have to go to the cinema to see Shah Rukh Khan.",
"He has returned to the small screen, this time as a television quizmaster.",
"After fronting the Indian version of \"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,\" he's back with a new series, the local take on the U.S. hit \"Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader.\"",
"If there's any proof of Shah Rukh Khan's global appeal, it comes in the form of 15 year old Shabana Shaheen who lives in Virginia in the U.S.",
"The high school student created her own Shah Rukh Khan Fansite last year -- www.freewebs.com/srkplace.",
"All that and she's never been to India.",
"\"The thing he's like a normal person.",
"He's down to earth and humble,\" she says.",
"\"He values his family -- his parents who have passed away, his wife and children.",
"He's so normal; he just behaves like a normal human being.\"",
"Shabana inherited her love of Shah Rukh Khan from her mother who moved to the U.S. from Pakistan.",
"In Virginia, it's not hard to keep up with the latest Bollywood action.",
"A cinema close to Shabana's home shows the most popular productions.",
"And then there's the internet. Shabana's website gets as many as 1000 hits a day, mainly from fans in the United Kingdom and India.",
"\"It's amazing -- so many people are crazy about him, even in Germany,\" she says.",
"\"A lot of people in Mexico are also apparently very big fans of his films.\"",
"In part, Shah Rukh Khan's fame can be put down to expert merchandising.",
"He's the consummate salesman, charming and keenly aware there's a huge market for his product.",
"The Kolkata Knight Riders may be one of the newest sporting teams in the world, but within months, Khan and Co. has turned them into a lucrative brand.",
"While they didn't win the IPL on-pitch title, they took away the prize as the team who made the most money.",
"Jerseys, t-shirts, sneakers, caps, key chains, coasters, mugs, bandanas, sippers and posters all came with KKR branding through a merchandising deal with Reebok and Indian music group Planet M. Fans could even buy the CD, featuring the KKR theme song, 'Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo,' which means \"We will do it, fight it and win it.\"",
"Shah Rukh Khan made the most of his iconic status by writing a blog on the team website under the title of \"12th man\".",
"Fans were encouraged to become a 12th man as well.",
"So far there are more than 46,000.",
"Another wave of SRK mania is set to sweep through cinemas in December 2008 with the release of \"Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi,\" translated as \"A Couple Made by God.\"",
"It's a love story directed by Aditya Chopra, the man behind Shah Rukh Khan's enduring hit, \"Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.\"",
"DDLJ, as it's known, has been playing to packed cinemas for the past 13 years.",
"With Shah Rukh Khan topping the bill, it's likely to be there a lot longer."
] |
[
"Bollywood superstar makes sporting debut as owner of Kolkata Knight Riders .",
"Shah Rukh Khan still wildly popular 20 years after his television debut .",
"Now presents India's version of \"Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader\"\nFilming \"Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi,\" a Bollywood love story to be released late 2008 ."
] |
[
4,
15,
37
] |
[
"LA PAZ, Bolivia (CNN) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalized the Chaco petroleum company Friday, taking over the BP subsidiary with the military on standby.",
"Bolivian leader Evo Morales speaks before parliament Thursday in the capital, La Paz.",
"\"With this decree,\" Morales said in a nationally televised address from an oil field in Cochabamba, \"we nationalize all the petroleum business in Chaco for all Bolivians.\"",
"Chaco is jointly owned by Pan American Energy and the Bolivian Pension Fund, each with a 50 percent stake, BP spokesman David Nicholas said from Great Britain.",
"BP owns 60 percent of Pan American Energy, and Bridas Corp. owns the other 40 percent, Nicholas said .",
"Nicholas declined comment on the nationalization.",
"\"We are aware of the presidential decree but cannot comment,\" he said.",
"\"We support Pan America's energies with any discussions they have with the Bolivian government.\"",
"Morales wore a white safety helmet with the words \"Chaco nationalized\" printed on the front when he made his announcement.",
"The Bolivian president guaranteed the petroleum workers that their jobs will be safe.",
"Formed in 1997, Chaco employs about 90 Bolivians, the company says on its Web site.",
"Chaco is dedicated to the exploration and production of hydrocarbons, BP says.",
"Morales decreed in 2007 and 2008 that the government should nationalize various petroleum companies.",
"His actions Friday came less than 48 hours before Bolivians vote Sunday on a new constitution that would give the central government more power and control."
] |
[
"Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalizes Chaco petroleum company .",
"Morales guarantees petroleum workers that their jobs will be safe .",
"Military on standby in nationalization of BP subsidiary .",
"Move comes 48 hours before Bolivian vote on new constitution ."
] |
[
0,
5,
9
] |
[
"BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Colombian officials are blaming the FARC guerrilla group for an explosion in an upscale Bogota neighborhood Tuesday night that killed two people and wounded 20.",
"Police inspect one of two dead bodies after an explosion Tuesday night in Bogota, Colombia.",
"President Alvaro Uribe, who is in France, issued a statement expressing sorrow for \"the new terrorist attempt against Bogota\" and accusing FARC of hypocrisy for talking about human rights while setting off lethal bombs.",
"FARC, the Spanish acronym for Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, is the largest and oldest revolutionary group in Colombia.",
"\"Let us always remember that Bogota cries but will never give up,\" Uribe's statement said.",
"The blast occurred around 9 p.m. at a Blockbuster video rental store in an exclusive neighborhood in northern Bogota, causing major damage to the building, most notably the parking lot.",
"Debris was scattered for more than a block, and nearby buildings and cars also were damaged.",
"Senior presidential aide Fabio Valencia Cossio said 11 pounds of explosives were used, El Espactador newspaper reported.",
"A female passer-by and the store's parking lot attendant were killed in the blast, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos told the newspaper.",
"Another newspaper, El Tiempo, said the woman was about 25 years old and was carrying notebooks and books, so authorities believe she was a university student.",
"Police said they were looking into a tip that the bombing might have been part of a FARC extortion attempt, said Radio Caracol, citing presidential aide Valencia.",
"Blockbuster has been complaining to authorities for months that criminals who said they were associated with FARC had been demanding money, news reports said.",
"In his statement from France, Uribe referred to FARC \"combining extortion with terror.\"",
"There was an explosion at another Blockbuster store in the Colombian capital a year ago.",
"Authorities are offering the equivalent of $50,000 for information that would lead to an arrest.",
"The explosion occurred in an neighborhood known for posh restaurants and nightclubs.",
"Ricardo Serrano described to El Tiempo how he felt a loud explosion and the immediate confusion that ensued.",
"\"People were running from one place to another,\" he told the newspaper.",
"\"There were a lot of sirens and police.\"",
"Angel Alberto Arias, a doorman at a nearby building, told El Tiempo, \"I felt like the whole building was going to come down on top of me.\"",
"FARC has about 9,000 to 12,000 armed guerillas and several thousand supporters, mostly in rural areas, according to security analysts.",
"The guerrilla group was established in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party.",
"The guerrillas operate mostly in Colombia but have carried out extortion, kidnappings and other activities in Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador, according to the Federation of American Scientists Intelligence Resource Program.",
"Fernando Ramos and Toby Muse contributed to this report for CNN."
] |
[
"Explosion in upscale Bogota neighborhood kills two people and wounds 20 .",
"Colombian President Alvaro Uribe condemns FARC rebel group for blast .",
"Eleven pounds of explosives reportedly used in front of Blockbuster video store ."
] |
[
0,
7
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- \"No matter what I do in life I think I will always be remembered as the wrap dress\" -- (Diane von Furstenberg, CNN 2008) Calling the shots: Diane von Furstenberg oversees a meeting to discuss handbags in New York.",
"Belgian-born, New York-living, ex-member of the German royal family, daughter of a holocaust survivor, socialite and business-woman, Diane von Furstenberg is famous for one thing: a single item of clothing.",
"Her wrap dress -- a patterned piece of jersey tied around the body like a kimono -- sold in the millions.",
"In the 70s, when Von Furstenberg launched her dress business, the wrap's simplicity became synonymous with feminism and the sexual revolution.",
"\"I was selling clothes that would make other women feel confident,\" (Von Furstenberg, CNN, 2008).",
"And the designer herself came to become the face of the brand.",
"Photographed modeling her own clothes, launched a face that became so iconic that Andy Warhol painted her.",
"But with success came boom then bust -- the 80s saw a dramatic nose-dive in the quality and distribution of the DVF brand.",
"\"I became successful very quickly, a lot of people wanted my name and I licensed a lot of things .. the spirit of the brand disappeared\", (Von Furstenberg, CNN, 2008).",
"In the late 90s, wrap dresses came back in to fashion, and DVF returned to the fashion pages, and subsequently fashion shows, of the age.",
"The comeback is recorded as one of the most successful business stories of the decade.",
"Her 30 stores and countless concessions in department stores make the DVF brand a multi-million dollar fashion empire.",
"She dresses celebrities from Madonna to Sharon Stone, but keeps her products affordable and maintains an ethos of \"easy to wear\" \"When a woman goes in to a DVF shop and tries something on, it's like a light turns on\", (Von Furstenberg, CNN, 2008).",
"Celebrities are often snapped wearing Von Furstenberg's designs.",
"DVF often clings to Eva Longoria Parker's silhouette who declares to Revealed \"She is one of my favorite people -- not just a designer!\"",
"Honored by the Council of Fashion of Designers of America (CFDA) by inviting Von Furstenberg to act as President -- she is now seen as the Grand Dame of New York fashion.",
"CNN gains access to her as she prepares for the 2008 CFDA Awards -- deciding at the last moment to ditch one of her own designs and wear an Yves St Laurent tuxedo in a tribute to her friend, the designer who died a few days before the ceremony.",
"Clearly moved, Revealed includes footage of her rehearsing the changes to her speech to include a touching farewell to YSL: \"He brought art into fashion, and fashion into art.",
"He used to joke that he always wanted to be Matisse.",
"But I think if we could have asked Matisse, he would have wanted to be Yves St Laurent\" she tells CNN.",
"Revealed follows Diane von Furstenberg at an exciting moment in her catwalk history.",
"For the first time she is showing outside of the United States, and the setting for her European debut is a romantic private Florentine garden, under the full moon.",
"The Tuscan capital is a special place for her, as it was half an hour down the road that her first wrap dress was produced in a local textile factory.",
"We document the magnificent event from a behind-the-scenes perspective.",
"Interviewing Von Furstenberg herself, along with supermodel Natalia Vodianova, and DVF Creative Director Nathan Jenden; we get a sense of the unfolding of a magical star-lit event.",
"From fittings and dress rehearsals, to visits from the 9-year-old granddaughter Von Furstenberg lovingly calls 'her assistant,' we experience the excitement of the designer returning home to Europe and putting on a magnificent show to herald her arrival.",
"The theme of the collection is \"Le Petit Valise\" -- a group of outfits that can be easily packed and will not crumple; a notion in keeping with the spirit of the DVF brand.",
"Inspired by the Talented Mr Ripley, 600 guests including Lapo Elkan (heir to the Fiat empire) witness the 50 wardrobe changes of a young American traveling abroad.",
"To experience the elegant, informal, party-loving spirit of DVF and her team of designers and models, tune in to \"Revealed\" on CNN International in November.",
"ALL TIMES GMT Wednesday, November 19 0930 1830 Saturday, November 22 0830 1900 Sunday, November 23 0530 1830 Monday, November 24 0400 ."
] |
[
"In November, CNN's Revealed explores the life of Diane von Furstenberg .",
"The Belgian designer wowed the fashion world with her simple wrap dress .",
"DVF became familiar initials used to sell anything from homeware to lipstick .",
"CNN's Revealed follows the designer backstage at a fashion show in Florence ."
] |
[
3,
9,
20
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Two people were found dead and a third person is still believed missing in a North Carolina food plant heavily damaged in a morning explosion, police said Tuesday night.",
"Part of a collapsed ConAgra Foods plant lies atop parked cars Tuesday in Garner, North Carolina.",
"Four people were in critical condition after the explosion at the ConAgra Foods plant in the town of Garner, CNN affiliate WRAL-TV reported.",
"The explosion, reported about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, caused sections of the roof to collapse.",
"Search efforts for those missing were slowed by ammonia leaks and a fire that was not extinguished until afternoon.",
"\"There was no warnings, no signs,\" Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams said.",
"\"It all happened very abruptly.\"",
"At least 38 people were transported to area hospitals, said Jeff Hammerstein, district chief for Wake County Emergency Medical Services.",
"Four burn victims -- two males and two females -- were undergoing critical care at the North Carolina Jaycees Burn Center, said Dr. Charles Cairns, director of emergency medicine for UNC Hospitals.",
"The patients suffered burns that covered from 40 to 60 percent of their bodies, Cairns said.",
"Police said recovery workers still were trying to get the two bodies out of the plant, which makes Slim Jim food products.",
"The victims' names weren't immediately available.",
"More than 300 people were in the plant when the explosion happened, authorities said.",
"The cause of the blast was unknown, according to Garner police spokesman Joe Binns.",
"Rescuers were crawling into the rubble -- sometimes in pockets of space less than 30 inches tall -- in attempts to access the two bodies and find the missing person, officials said at a news conference Tuesday night.",
"The search crews were moving slowly in part because the building is very unstable, officials said.",
"Video from the scene showed holes in sections of the roof of the 425,000 square-foot plant.",
"First responders set up a makeshift triage area near the building.",
"A section of the roof was collapsed, and pipes could be seen spewing liquid believed to be ammonia.",
"Watch liquid spew from building » .",
"ConAgra Foods' brands include Healthy Choice, Chef Boyardee and Orville Redenbacher, among others.",
"The Garner plant is known for producing Slim Jim beef jerky products.",
"The company was \"working with authorities on the ground to ensure that their employees are getting all of the support that they need,\" said Stephanie Childs, ConAgra director of corporate communication.",
"\"The employees' health is their only real concern at this time.\"",
"Gail Ruffin, a ConAgra worker who was in the plant when the explosion happened, told WRAL she heard a boom.",
"\"The ceiling start coming down, and we all start running,\" Ruffin, who wasn't injured, told WRAL.",
"\"Everyone was trying to get to the exit door. ...",
"I was just trying to get out, and then we just [saw] people that [were] burned -- blood all over them.\"",
"Garner is seven miles south of Raleigh."
] |
[
"NEW: Police: Teams looking for missing person, trying to recover two bodies .",
"Part of roof collapses in explosion at ConAgra Foods plant in North Carolina .",
"At least 38 taken to hospitals; four said to be in critical condition .",
"Officials don't know cause of blast ."
] |
[
0,
2,
7,
13,
26
] |
[
"(CNN) -- A Democratic congressman from Mississippi plans to hold a hearing into how millions of dollars worth of supplies meant for Gulf Coast hurricane survivors ended up being given away as surplus property.",
"Rep. Bennie Thompson says he'll hold a hearing into how supplies for Katrina victims were diverted.",
"Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, called the situation \"a debacle.\"",
"In June, CNN revealed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had warehoused $85 million worth of household goods for two years before giving them away to federal agencies and 16 states.",
"But Thompson said there is still a great need for basic supplies in Mississippi.",
"\"We just think that FEMA needs to come and tell the committee how such a debacle could occur, and in the process, what are they going to do to assure Congress and the taxpaying public that it will never happen again,\" Thompson said.",
"The household goods were meant to help Gulf Coast households rebuild.",
"But they sat in FEMA warehouses for two years before the agency declared them surplus property and gave them away in February.",
"The state of Louisiana had not asked for any of the supplies, prompting outrage there after the original CNN report.",
"Since then, the state has taken steps to claim some of the stockpiles and distribute them to groups working to resettle victims of Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 storm that flooded New Orleans and ravaged the Mississippi Gulf Coast.",
"Mississippi took the supplies it was offered but did not give them to Katrina victims.",
"Instead, as CNN reported this week, the state distributed them to prisons, volunteer fire departments, colleges and other state agencies.",
"Thompson said he was stunned at how Mississippi officials made \"a mockery of the whole process.\"",
"\"I'm disappointed that my state decided that prisoners had a higher priority than Katrina victims and has made no effort to correct it even when this mistake was made,\" he said.",
"\"Any time items intended for victims of Katrina end up in the hands of the Department of Corrections or state employees, then clearly, Mississippi dropped the ball.\"",
"Watch victims tell why they need the items » .",
"Thompson said his committee would \"ask all the tough questions\" and demand any documents associated with the matter.",
"\"So we are prepared, if necessary, to put those officials under oath,\" he said.",
"\"We are prepared if necessary to subpoena any and all documents relative to this situation.\"",
"FEMA spokesman Marty Bahamonde said the agency welcomed any congressional hearing.",
"\"We always make ourselves available to answer the questions.",
"That's something we are always ready to do,\" he said.",
"FEMA said it was costing more than $1 million a year to store the supplies, but officials have not been able to answer why the agency didn't get the supplies to Katrina victims.",
"FEMA said the agency has launched an internal probe into the issue.",
"Jim Marler, director of Mississippi's surplus agency, failed to return repeated phone calls over several months to explain what happened there.",
"But spokeswoman Kym Wiggins said the agency was not told the items were still needed -- a statement that didn't sit well with groups working to rebuild the stricken coast.",
"Bill Stallworth, executive director of the Hope Coordination Center in Biloxi, said he and other community leaders would have begged for the FEMA stockpiles had they known they were available.",
"\"When I hear people stand up and just beat their chest and say we've got everything under control, that's when I just want to slap them upside the head and say, 'Get a grip, get a life,' \" said Stallworth, also a Biloxi city councilman.",
"If you have a story tip, e-mail SIU.TIPS@CNN.com ."
] |
[
"Rep. Bennie Thompson wants FEMA to explain giveaway of hurricane supplies .",
"FEMA held $85 million worth of supplies meant for Katrina victims for two years .",
"Goods later given to federal agencies and states, CNN revealed .",
"Thompson's state, Mississippi, didn't give the goods it received to hurricane victims ."
] |
[
1,
3,
22
] |
[
"(CNN) -- The alleged leader of a firearms trafficking network believed to be smuggling guns into Mexico -- where police say they are used against law enforcement officers by members of Mexican drug cartels -- was arrested Thursday in Arizona, authorities said.",
"Victor Varela was arrested by the ATF as part of the agency's ongoing Project Gunrunner.",
"Victor Varela was arrested by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as part of the agency's ongoing Project Gunrunner, according to an ATF release.",
"He was in the custody of the Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff.",
"\"Law enforcement officers disrupted a group of gun traffickers and recovered several weapons, including .50-caliber semiautomatic rifles and several handguns, allegedly intended to supply drug traffic organization members of the Juarez Cartel in Palomas, Mexico,\" the statement said.",
"In state charges, prosecutors allege Varela and his co-defendants bought a number of guns in Arizona intending to supply the Mexican cartel members.",
"The group allegedly transported the illegally purchased guns to New Mexico, and then into Mexico.",
"A .50-caliber weapon is the largest that can legally be bought in the United States, and is illegal in Mexico.",
"Authorities believe a .50-caliber weapon was used in recent months to kill Francisco Ledesma Salazar, a police commander in Juarez, Mexico.",
"He is among five high-ranking Mexican police officials killed this year in what Mexico authorities describe as an escalating war between police and drug cartels.",
"Last week, 2,000 troops were sent to Juarez by the Mexican government in an effort to quell the violence there, which has claimed some 200 lives since January.",
"Guns are difficult to buy legally in Mexico, but can be obtained just north of the border at gun shows and gun shops.",
"Project Gunrunner was launched as an effort to help Mexican police by cracking down on illegal smuggling of guns and ammunition, and has led to several arrests and seizures.",
"Watch how the weapons fuel a little-known war » .",
"\"This case was made one of our highest priorities because of the nature of the crime alleged to be committed by Varela,\" U.S.",
"Marshal David Gonzales said in the ATF release.",
"Guns featured in a CNN Special Investigations Unit report last week, confiscated by Juarez police, are believed to have been smuggled into Mexico by Varela, according to an ATF spokesman.",
"Authorities said one recent discovery, in a storage locker in Yuma, Arizona, yielded 42 weapons and hundreds of rounds of .50-caliber bullets already belted to be fed into a machine gun-style weapon, as well as Fabrique Nationale pistols, semiautomatic handguns that fire a 5.7-by-28-millimeter round.",
"\"What's interesting about this gun, why it's in high demand, is the nickname that it has in Mexico,\" said William Newell, ATF special agent in charge, about the Fabrique National pistol.",
"\"It's called 'mata policias,' or 'cop killer.'",
"\" Charging documents allege that Varela was attempting to buy a fully automatic M-60 machine gun for a drug cartel associate in Palomas, authorities said.",
"\"Additionally, a number of firearms recovered by Mexico law enforcement ... allegedly were trafficked by Varela's gun smuggling network,\" the ATF statement said.",
"U.S. authorities are sharing intelligence with their Mexican counterparts to assist in ongoing investigations, the ATF said.",
"E-mail to a friend .",
"CNN's John Murgatroyd and Drew Griffin contributed to this report."
] |
[
"Suspect is alleged leader network believed to be smuggling guns into Mexico .",
"Last week, 2,000 Mexican troops were sent to Juarez, Mexico, to quell violence .",
"Mexican drug cartels blamed for killings of police officers .",
"ATF: U.S. authorities sharing intelligence with their Mexican counterparts ."
] |
[
0,
10,
22
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Singapore's Gross Domestic Product is expected to shrink as much as 5 percent in 2009, far more than the 1 to 2 percent contraction predicted earlier this month, the government said.",
"People walk out for their lunch break in the financial district of Singapore on Wednesday.",
"The Ministry of Trade and Industry said it expected a GDP reduction of between 2 and 5 percent this year.",
"Singapore's economy grew by 1.2 percent in 2008, the government said, far lower than its 7.7 percent growth in 2007.",
"Slowdowns in manufacturing, trade, transport and storage, information and communications and the financial services sectors contributed to the decline, the government said.",
"The global financial crisis led to a \"significant decline in fund management and stock broking activities in the second half of 2008,\" and a sharper downturn was expected in 2009, the ministry said.",
"The ministry cited data on retail sales and unemployment in the United States, industrial production in Europe and on Asian exports for the weaker outlook.",
"Inflation was expected to ease slightly, however.",
"The finance minister is expected to deliver the 2009 budget statement on Thursday."
] |
[
"Gross Domestic Product reduction between 2 and 5 percent expected .",
"Ministry cites data on U.S. retail sales and unemployment, Asian exports .",
"Finance minister expected to deliver the 2009 budget statement Thursday ."
] |
[
2,
6,
8
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Rapper T.I., who was sentenced to a 366-day prison sentence in March, reported Tuesday to a federal prison complex in Forrest City, Arkansas, according to CNN affiliate WSB-TV.",
"T.I., left, performed to a packed crowd Sunday, days before he was to start a prison term.",
"The rapper -- whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr. -- was required to be at the prison before noon local time to begin serving his sentence on federal weapons charges.",
"According to news reports, officers from Forrest City and the prison set up a roadblock along Arkansas Highway 1 about one-tenth of a mile from the complex.",
"Reporters were not allowed any closer to the prison.",
"T.I. threw himself a going-away party Sunday night at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, before a packed house.",
"During Sunday's concert -- called \"T.I.",
"'s Final Goodbye Bash\" -- the 28-year-old Grammy winner reiterated a message that's become familiar in recent weeks: He wants others to learn from his mistakes.",
"\"I'm doing the best I can to get out there, man, and put something positive on these young kids, man,\" T.I.",
"said during the show. \"I try my best. I need y'all help, though.\"",
"The rapper played to a sell-out crowd of 16,000 people, said Kenan Woods, a spokesman for the arena.",
"T.I. played through much of his catalog, including the hits \"Whatever You Like,\" \"Live Your Life\" and the Grammy-winning \"Swagga Like Us,\" Woods said.",
"At times in the show, Harris was joined on stage by fellow rapper Soulja Boy and by his five children and mother, Woods said.",
"T.I. was sentenced in March on weapons charges related to purchasing machine guns and silencers.",
"In addition to serving prison time, T.I.",
"was placed on house arrest, was given community service and was ordered to pay a $100,300 fine.",
"Though he had been in legal trouble before, Harris' current situation began when he was arrested just hours before he was to perform at the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta.",
"The rapper had provided a bodyguard with $12,000 to buy weapons.",
"Harris was not permitted to own any guns, however, because he was convicted in 1998 on felony drug charges -- possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute -- in Cobb County, in suburban Atlanta.",
"After his arrest, he entered a plea agreement, which federal authorities called unique because it allowed the rapper to remain out of prison for a year while he performed community service.",
"Harris has already left a strong mark on the hip-hop genre, music experts told CNN, which should position his career well when he is released.",
"Harris had been named to the Forbes list of top-earning rappers, making an estimated $16 million in 2006.",
"Some music industry observers have said T.I.",
"'s prison term will only make him more popular.",
"\"I think that if anything, it will gain him more fans and actually support his fan base, because he's talked about making a mistake,\" Emil Wilbekin, editor in chief of Giant Magazine, told CNN.",
"\"He's talked about taking care of the error of his ways.\"",
"The Atlanta rapper has expressed remorse for the situation.",
"\"I would like to say thank you to some and apologize to others,\" he said at his sentencing in March.",
"\"In my life, I have been placed in the worst-case scenario and had to make the best of it.\"",
"In a March interview with CNN's T.J. Holmes, Harris said he no longer felt like he needed to carry weapons to protect himself.",
"He said people should not idolize him for what he's gone through, but should take note of the fact that he has taken responsibility for his actions.",
"\"You shouldn't take the things that I've gone through, and the negative parts of my life, and admire me for that.",
"If anything, admire me for how I've accepted responsibility for the part I played in placing myself in these situations, and what I've done to recover from it,\" Harris said.",
"Harris has been the subject of an MTV reality show, \"T.I.",
"'s Road to Redemption,\" in the lead-up to the prison term."
] |
[
"T.I.",
"performed Sunday, less than two days before his prison term was to start .",
"The rapper has been sentenced in connection with federal weapons charges .",
"His prison term of one year and one day starts Tuesday ."
] |
[
0,
1,
33
] |
[
"(CNN) -- The 5-year-old girl found the note tucked inside a plastic bag and left in a basket used as a flower pot.",
"April Tinsley, 8, abducted in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was raped and killed 21 years ago.",
"The case was not solved.",
"\"Hi Honey I Been watching you,\" it said.",
"\"I am the same person that kidnapped an Rape an kill Aproil tinsely here is a present foR yo you are my next vitem.\"",
"A used condom was stuffed in the bag alongside the note.",
"It was March 2004 -- nearly 16 years after 8-year-old April Tinsley was abducted from a Fort Wayne, Indiana, neighborhood, raped and killed.",
"Her killer remains at large, and police believe he has surfaced several times, scrawling a message in crayon on a barn in 1990, then leaving four chilling notes for children in the Fort Wayne area years later.",
"Indiana authorities are now asking an FBI task force -- the Child Abduction Response Deployment (CARD) team -- to help take a fresh look at the case.",
"\"Investigators believe the case is 'highly solvable,' and after 21 years, their desire to bring April Tinsley's killer to justice is stronger than ever,\" the FBI said.",
"CARD teams were created three years ago, aimed at bringing together \"a variety of experts in child abduction cases who could quickly respond on the ground to help local authorities with time-sensitive investigations,\" the FBI said.",
"While CARD responds to abductions and disappearances, the team also works cold cases, like April's, the agency said.",
"\"As team members discovered, there is enough evidence -- including notes, pictures, and DNA left by the killer years after the murder -- to make investigators hopeful they can break the case.\"",
"The team includes behavioral profilers, agents and analysts from the FBI's Crimes Against Children Unit and coordinators and representatives from the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime and the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program.",
"April Marie Tinsley was playing outside with friends on Good Friday, April 1, 1988.",
"As the three girls were moving from one friend's home to another's, the first-grader realized she had left her umbrella behind and went back to get it.",
"She never returned.",
"Her body was found three days later, in a ditch some 20 miles northeast of the Tinsley home.",
"April's body was clothed, but an autopsy showed she had been raped and suffocated.",
"Two years later, a teenage boy called police to report a message scrawled in crayon and black marker on the front doors of a barn about 10 miles from April's home.",
"He never saw the writer, according to the TV program \"America's Most Wanted,\" which profiled the case in May, but each day noticed the print was getting darker and more pronounced.",
"Although the message was hard to read, the person wrote he had killed April, and that he would kill again.",
"Crayons were left behind at the scene, \"America's Most Wanted\" said on its Web site.",
"Police attempted to conduct forensic analysis on them, but came up empty.",
"Then, in spring 2004, the four notes appeared at various Fort Wayne homes, several of them placed on bicycles that young girls had left in their yards.",
"All the notes were written on lined yellow paper and placed inside plastic bags along with used condoms or Polaroids of the killer's body, the FBI said.",
"Several notes referred to April.",
"Authorities have reason to believe the writer of the 1990 note also left the notes 14 years later, Fort Wayne police said.",
"\"That tells us that the person's still around, still out there,\" said Fort Wayne police Capt.",
"Paul Shrawder.",
"\"It's definitely very odd,\" he added.",
"\"Even the FBI is puzzled by the behavior, that the letters would come out so many years later and then nothing again.\"",
"DNA evidence was recovered from April's body and from the condoms, Shrawder said.",
"While police have no one to match it with at this point, \"things have been resubmitted and retested\" as technological advances have been made, he said.",
"The advantage of the CARD team, from a local police standpoint, is that members only work such cases, while \"we're local -- we work on whatever happens here,\" Shrawder said.",
"The team has experience in such matters, and might look at new aspects, angles and possibilities that local authorities haven't thought of, he said.",
"Federal investigators were deployed to Fort Wayne to work the Tinsley case earlier this month.",
"After the \"America's Most Wanted\" profile and the renewed push, authorities received between 400 and 500 tips, Shrawder said.",
"Some could be ruled out right away -- someone who had died between the murder and the 2004 notes, for instance, he said.",
"DNA samples were taken on about 150 people.",
"Police are still trying to run down about 50 or 75 tips, he said.",
"\"That was the purpose, was to go out and run down every single one of these, no matter how vague it was.\"",
"Some of the authorities' leads, according to the FBI, include identifying Fort Wayne residents who used Polaroids as late as 2004; tracking down a green paisley bedspread similar to that seen in one Polaroid; and looking at misdemeanor offenses in the area near the time of April's death and the 2004 note spree, as offenses like indecent exposure could indicate more serious sex crimes.",
"In addition, the FBI has released a behavioral profile of Tinsley's killer.",
"Police believe he is a white male currently in his 40s or 50s who prefers and desires sexual contact with children, particularly little girls.",
"\"This offender has demonstrated that he has strong ties to northeast Fort Wayne and Allen County,\" the profile said.",
"\"This is where he likely lives, works and/or shops.",
"You may be standing next to him in line at the grocery store, sitting beside him in the pew at church, or working beside him on the production line.\"",
"Such profiles can be helpful in that they might spur local residents to tell police, \"You know, I always wondered about this one guy,\" Shrawder said.",
"To offer information on the Tinsley case, contact your local FBI office or Fort Wayne police at (866) 602-7745."
] |
[
"FBI task force considers girl's slaying \"highly solvable\"\nApril Tinsley, 8, was abducted in 1988 while walking home from a friend's house .",
"Writer claimed responsibility for slaying in barn-door message in 1990 .",
"Four more notes, believed to have been written by the killer, surfaced in 2004 ."
] |
[
6,
7,
9,
19
] |
[
"LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Those extra service fees tacked on to concert ticket prices -- long a source of grumbling by ticket buyers -- will disappear for millions of seats sold by the largest U.S. concert promoter this summer.",
"Live Nation is awaiting government approval of a merger with giant Ticketmaster.",
"Live Nation launches \"No Service Fee Wednesdays\" this week for lawn seats at amphitheaters, removing extra fees from 5 million lawn seats for shows at amphitheaters across the United States.",
"Live Nation insisted that the promotion was about selling more tickets and helping music fans hit by hard times, not improving public relations while it waits for government approval of its merger with Ticketmaster.",
"But the promotion could soothe some bad feelings.",
"\"People get a little ticked off when they think they're paying $20 for a ticket and as they progress along the various pages of the electronic transaction, they see more fees added a long the way,\" said Ray Waddell, who writes about live music tours for Billboard magazine.",
"Live Nation will waive fees on lawn seats for 24 hours, beginning at midnight Tuesday local time and lasting through Wednesday.",
"Lawn seat tickets available this week include concerts by Aerosmith, Blink-182, Coldplay, No Doubt, Nickelback, Depeche Mode, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley and many others, Live Nation said.",
"Other shows coming later in the summer include Crosby Stills & Nash, Crue Fest 2, Def Leppard with Poison and Cheap Trick, Jason Mraz, Kid Rock & Lynyrd Skynyrd, Incubus, New Kids on the Block, Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction, Phish, the Dead, Rascall Flats with Darius Rucker, the Allman Brothers Band, the Fray and the Killers.",
"\"They're sacrificing quite a lot of revenue here,\" Waddell said .",
"He estimated that fees add up to about a third of the average price for lawn seats.",
"The economic recession has not seemed to slow the live concert business, which \"considering everything else, is going like gangbusters,\" he said.",
"\"It looks like it could be a really strong year,\" he said.",
"\"People want to go to shows.",
"They want to hear music.\"",
"Every tour offers some type of promotion, he said, including a lot of $10 lawn seats.",
"\"This is a business that's pretty flexible when it needs to be,\" he said.",
"Live Nation began selling tickets to its own concerts only last year, just months before announcing plans to merge with Ticketmaster, the world's largest ticket-seller.",
"Before that, Live Nation promoted shows but had no infrastructure to sell tickets, and it contracted out to Ticketmaster or others to sell them.",
"The Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger plan has drawn criticism.",
"The Justice Department launched an investigation of the proposed merger in February.",
"Neither Live Nation nor Ticketmaster executives would respond to questions about the merger.",
"However, Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff did talk about it before a U.S. Senate subcommittee earlier this year.",
"The merger \"will give us greater flexibility in how we promote, market and sell tickets to events,\" he said.",
"\"It will give us a pathway to alternative pricing and fee structures.",
"And we will be better able to develop new and innovative products and services that enhance the fan experience and make all forms of entertainment more accessible to everyone.\"",
"CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report."
] |
[
"Live Nation's \"No Service Fee Wednesdays\" applies to 5 million seats .",
"Promotion could soothe feathers ruffled by Ticketmaster merger .",
"It applies to shows such as No Doubt, the Dead, Jason Mraz, Nine Inch Nails ."
] |
[
2,
4,
18
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Turkey's military said it killed at least 15 rebels in operations in northern Iraq earlier this week, but a spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Security Forces denied the report, saying Turkey has not conducted any military operation or air assault there in the past two weeks.",
"Turkish troops patrol near the border with Iraq during an offensive in February.",
"A statement posted on the Turkish armed forces' official Web site said a group of PKK, or members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, was identified in northern Iraq, and said the group was believed to be planning an attack and trying to leak through the border into Turkey.",
"The PKK, labeled a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, is comprised of militants who have been launching attacks against Turkey from bases in northern Iraq.",
"The Turkish military said the PKK group \"came under fire by long-range weapons\" on Thursday, and 15 terrorists were killed.",
"The same region was targeted by a Turkish air assault on Friday, the military said, adding that the number of casualties was not yet available.",
"\"In the missions, only the places that were confirmed to belong to the terrorist group were targeted,\" the military statement said.",
"\"Turkish armed forces acted with utmost sensitivity in order to avoid any negative impact of the strikes on the civilians in the region.\"",
"However, Jabbar Yawer, a spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Forces, said no air assault was conducted Thursday or Friday, and added that no operations have been conducted in northern Iraq for the past two weeks.",
"The PKK has spent two decades fighting for autonomy for Kurds in southeastern Turkey, with some of its attacks launched from inside Iraq ».",
"The Iraqi government opposes the PKK's presence, but views a Turkish military incursion as a violation of its sovereignty.",
"E-mail to a friend .",
"CNN Turk's Begum Donmez and CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report."
] |
[
"Turkey: At least 15 rebels in operations in northern Iraq earlier this week .",
"Says Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members trying to get into Turkey .",
"Iraqi Kurdish Regional Security Forces denies the report, says no operation .",
"PKK, labeled a terrorist group by U.S., EU, has attacked Turkey from N Iraq ."
] |
[
0,
3
] |
[
"Editor's note: A nationally syndicated columnist, Roland S. Martin is the author of \"Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith\" and \"Speak, Brother!",
"A Black Man's View of America.\"",
"Visit his Web site for more information.",
"Roland Martin says men are harming their health by their reluctance to go to the doctor.",
"(CNN) -- A couple of years ago, my dad told me that he had a cataract in his eye and could barely see out of it and that he needed to get it fixed.",
"\"Cool. Go to the doctor and get it taken care of,\" I said.",
"\"I will,\" he replied. One month became three; three months turned into six months; and a year later and numerous calls later by a ticked-off son, he still had not gone to the doctor.",
"So one morning, when I was hosting the 6 to 9 a.m. talk show shift on WVON-AM in Chicago, Illinois, I told my producer, Geneen Harston, to call my dad, but don't tell him he'll be on the air.",
"When the commercials ended, I pulled him up on the air and asked, \"So, dad, have you made that doctor's appointment?\"",
"He started to laugh and said that he had done so the day before and that he was seeing the doctor later in the week.",
"Luckily, he followed through, and they discovered that he had another one growing in the other eye.",
"Both eyes were taken care of, and all has been well since.",
"Yet what ticked me off was that here was a guy with insurance, a son who could pay for the bill even if he didn't, but he still refused to go to the doctor!",
"Watch Roland's commentary segment » .",
"My dad's story is all too common to a lot of you who must deal with fathers, brothers, uncles, husbands and male cousins, church members and co-workers, who are obstinate and absolutely refuse to go to the doctor.",
"\"Oh, I'll be fine.\" \"I can handle the pain.\"",
"\"I don't want a doctor poking on me.\"",
"\"If it's bad, I'm sure it would hurt worse.\"",
"All typical responses, and all pretty dumb.",
"Yes, it's true that women all around the globe have outlived men for years.",
"In the United States, the life expectancy for men is 74 and for women is 80.",
"Yet when that is broken down racially, there is a huge gap between whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians.",
"Men are dying earlier due to prostate cancer, heart disease, stroke and other maladies, and their actions play a large role in it.",
"Black men in particular drive me nuts.",
"I've heard several mention that their aversion to doctors stems from the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, the study conducted between 1932 and 1972 that monitored black sharecroppers who were infected with the disease but didn't treat them, much less inform them that they had it.",
"That program by the U.S. Public Health Service was hideous but shouldn't be used as an excuse today.",
"Men can no longer be so hard-headed about their health.",
"I've given speeches on this issue and told married women that they should say, \"no doctor's visit, no sex.\"",
"That'll get his attention!",
"We all love the men in our lives.",
"But being silent means we are aiding them in their health dilemma, and that's wrong.",
"If it means lovingly reminding, fine.",
"If you have to badger them, whatever.",
"Just like Dad told us to eat our vegetables when were kids, saying we'll be better off as adults because of it, we should tell Dad or any other man to stop acting like a child and go see the doc.",
"It really could save their life.",
"The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of Roland Martin."
] |
[
"Roland Martin: Men are foolishly reluctant to go to the doctor .",
"He says some black men cite the infamous Tuskegee Experiment .",
"Martin: Men already have a shorter life expectancy than women .",
"He says that failing to detect and treat illness makes no sense ."
] |
[
3,
12,
20,
23
] |
[
"LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Elizabeth Taylor went to the Hollywood Bowl to hear Andrea Bocelli in concert, the first night out in months for the big-screen legend.",
"Elizabeth Taylor went to see Andrea Bocelli at the Hollywood Bowl, a rare outing for the film legend.",
"Taylor, bound to a wheelchair by scoliosis, said her mind and soul \"were transported by his beauty, his voice, his inner being.\"",
"The 77-year-old actress posted online messages through the Twitter social network after the Italian tenor's concert Monday night.",
"\"I went to see Andrea Bocelli last night.",
"The first time I've been out in months.",
"The Hollywood Bowl allowed me to use my wheelchair,\" Taylor's first tweet said.",
"\"My mind, my soul were transported by his beauty, his voice, his inner being.",
"God has kissed this man and I thank God for it,\" she wrote in a second message.",
"Taylor opened her Twitter account this year as \"DameElizabeth\" at the suggestion of her close friend, model-actress-author-businesswoman Kathy Ireland, her publicist Dick Guttman said.",
"Taylor is \"very adventurous\" and \"exceedingly active\" despite health problems that sent her to a hospital for a week last month, Guttman said.",
"She is working on a new perfume to follow up on her popular White Diamonds, he said."
] |
[
"Elizabeth Taylor attended Andrea Bocelli concert at Hollywood Bowl .",
"\"The first time I've been out in months,\" Taylor wrote on Twitter .",
"Taylor was in hospital last month but still \"exceedingly active,\" says spokesman ."
] |
[
0,
5,
10
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- A U.S. company is offering a rare chance to holiday on a mega-yacht once used by a Hollywood star and her husband -- and thanks to the recession it's actually affordable.",
"The 100 foot Katania was chartered by Hollywood star Hilary Swank and her husband Chad Lowe.",
"Seattle-based mega-yacht rental business CEO Expeditions usually charges around $100,000 a week to charter their 100+ foot yachts, however, they have introduced a deal waiving the charter fees -- so guests will only need to pay for the running of the vessel.",
"The move to make such vessels more affordable comes as the recession continues to put pressure on the luxury holiday and mega-yacht industries.",
"Although the costs of crew and luxury food aren't extremely cheap, it is expected this move will open up the recession-hit market to many more potential holiday-makers.",
"One of the company's mega-yachts, Katania -- a 100 foot vessel which Hollywood actress Hilary Swank once chartered, now costs less than $3000 per day.",
"Normally it would attract an additional $49,500 charter fee for a week's use.",
"At the $2950 per day special rate four people can stay on the Katania -- but with the maximum six on board ($450 extra per person), the cost per person is a slightly more achievable $642.",
"The price includes full crew, premium wines, gourmet food prepared by a private chef, amenities such as kayaks, hot tub, fishing/crabbing/shrimping equipment, and even a 30' Whaler for guest use.",
"According to the company, Swank said of her charter holiday: \"We had an absolutely enchanted time aboard the Katania.",
"A more beautiful yacht does not exist.\"",
"There is one small catch with the deal -- the boat is based in the San Juan islands, and any cruises to other destinations will attract an additional charge to cover fuel costs.",
"The company's owner, Bruce Milne, said in a statement that the deal was largely due to the impact of the recession.",
"\"Travel is down, agents and brokers need deals, so rather than just a few full price charters, we decided to stay busy, put more people to work, and help island tourism by doing charters at cost.",
"\"Since we started chartering 10 years ago, we have been looking for a chance to provide our 'Expeditions to the Extraordinary' in the San Juan Islands at a price any luxury traveler can afford - this recession provides that opportunity,\" he said.",
"Tim Wiltshire, director and sales broker at international yacht company Burgess Yachts, said the charter market wasn't a complete disaster, so he was surprised to see such a discount.",
"\"I wouldn't have expected to see that.",
"We are seeing discounts on average of about 25 percent.",
"Although, some people are trying interesting gimmicks to inspire new business,\" he said .",
"Wiltshire said that CEO Expedition's fleet isn't among the biggest or most luxurious on the market, and that this deal appeared to be clever marketing stunt.",
"He felt that other larger vessels still warranted their greater price tags."
] |
[
"U.S. mega-yacht charter company waives massive $50,000 charter fees .",
"The impact of the recession is reason given for the discounted deal .",
"A yacht chartered by Hilary Swank can now be rented for under $3000 a day ."
] |
[
2,
5
] |
[
"HERMOSILLO, Mexico (CNN) -- Thirty-one children were killed and more than 100 others were injured Friday when their day-care center caught fire in the northwestern state of Sonora, a spokesman for the state's governor said.",
"A crib and baby seats lie outside a day-care center where the deadly fire broke out Friday.",
"The victims were from 1 to 5 years old, said Jose Larrinaga, the spokesman.",
"The fire appeared to have started at 3 p.m. in a warehouse next door to the one-story concrete building that housed the state-run ABC Daycare and spread to the state-run institution, news reports said.",
"By then, many children had already been picked up by their parents from the one-story building.",
"But others came after the blaze had been put out, with parents screaming their children's names as others fainted.",
"In a message of condolence, President Felipe Calderon wished a quick recovery for the injured, who were taken to several area hospitals.",
"He also called on the nation's attorney general to investigate the fire.",
"Authorities dispatched 15 specialists in reconstruction and three air ambulances to the area along with respirators and specialized medicines, and a U.S. hospital will help treat some of the victims.",
"Watch chaos in aftermath of tragedy » .",
"Admissions will begin Saturday, said Catherine Curran, a spokeswoman for Shriners Hospitals for Children in Sacramento, California.",
"Shriners Hospitals is a health care system that gives children free treatment for burns, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic conditions, and cleft lip and palate, according to its Web site.",
"It admits children under 18.",
"The first hospital opened in 1922.",
"The system has burn units in Boston, Massachusetts; Cincinnati Ohio; and Sacramento, California.",
"Journalist Guadelupe Gutierrez contributed to this story."
] |
[
"NEW: Hospital in California to treat some of the victims .",
"The victims were from 1 to 5 years old, official says .",
"The fire appears to have started in a warehouse next door to the state-run day care .",
"President Felipe Calderon orders investigation, sends condolences ."
] |
[
2,
3,
13
] |
[
"(OPRAH.com) -- One portion of macaroni and cheese.",
"One slice of chocolate cake.",
"One pair of svelte black pants.",
"Do some very simple, if highly emotional, addition and subtraction, and you arrive at a whole new way to see yourself.",
"The first documented instance of my distorted body image is an entry in my fourth-grade journal.",
"\"I just ate three cookies,\" it says.",
"\"I feel fat.\" There is no way that I actually was; my jeans, although dorky, fit just fine.",
"Nevertheless, the disconnect grew worse as puberty approached -- especially in eighth grade, when the body mass index (BMI) entered my life.",
"This is a formula that tells you whether you need to drop pounds -- and while it's generally reliable, it doesn't take body composition into account.",
"At 5'4\" and 140 pounds, I'm close to the overweight category, but that's only because I've got heavy bones and a sprinter's thighs.",
"Every time I calculate my BMI, I get angry at myself, even though I'm aware that I am in good shape.",
"But what do feelings have to do with numbers?",
"Most women know that it is possible to immediately gain 15 pounds by eating one pint of Ben & Jerry's.",
"And when it comes to your butt (which can enlarge six sizes in the wrong pair of jeans), the rules of physics no longer apply.",
"Oprah.com: Start loving the way you look .",
"We need a better way to quantify these fluctuations -- a formula that goes beyond your BMI and calculates the feel of overweight.",
"So I propose the personal body image index (PBII).",
"The general idea is as follows: .",
"• Start with your weight.",
"• Subtract seven pounds if you have just worked out.",
"• Add five if you've single-handedly finished a plate of guacamole and chips; four for macaroni and cheese; six for death-by-chocolate cake.",
"• Subtract 10 pounds if people nearby are fatter than you.",
"• If you're wearing black pants, subtract two; if in a bathing suit, add eight.",
"• If you are more than seven years older than the group average or are surrounded by bikini-clad undergraduates with toned stomachs and cellulite-free thighs, add 20. iReport.com: What kinds of things do you do you stay fit?",
"I don't advocate letting the PBII dictate how you live your life; it could turn you into one of those people who spend their beach time camouflaging their lower halves with sarongs.",
"But once you acknowledge that the PBII exists, you can take steps to improve your score.",
"Some suggestions: . Hang out with people older than you, preferably much older.",
"This has three benefits: .",
"(a) You probably have fewer varicose veins than they do.",
"(b) Truly old people are inspiring; they tend not to give a damn about what they look like in bathing suits.",
"(c) Except for my elderly neighbor, who once greeted me by announcing that I'd gained weight in my face, older people are usually effusive with compliments.",
"My friend Luba, who lived to 99, used to tell me how beautiful I was every time I saw her, even though she was blind.",
"Watch those college girls on the beach.",
"Notice how often they adjust their bikinis and glance at themselves in other people's sunglasses.",
"They are totally insecure.",
"Granted, they are probably also judging you, but still -- I find their self-doubt liberating.",
"Isn't there some cosmic limit on how much body insecurity the universe can handle?",
"Embrace the bikini now: \"Look how skinny I was!\"",
"my mother says every time she sees a picture of herself from the 1970s.",
"\"I thought I was so fat.",
"I was 130 pounds.\"",
"My mother, now 66, is living proof that you should do everything in your power to enjoy your body as it is right now so you never have to look at an old photograph of yourself and wish you'd spent more time in a two-piece bathing suit.",
"When it comes to my own PBII, I still have a way to go.",
"It doesn't take too much extra chocolate to convince me that I should never be allowed to wear shorts.",
"But recognizing the illogical logic behind my self-image helps me to control it better.",
"And by my calculations, that's worth subtracting at least five pounds.",
"By Catherine Price from \"O, The Oprah Magazine,\" July 2008 .",
"Subscribe to O, The Oprah Magazine for up to 75% off the newsstand price.",
"That's like getting 18 issues FREE.",
"Subscribe now! TM & © 2009 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved."
] |
[
"Calculating your body mass index (BMI) does not take feelings into account .",
"The personal body image index uses other things besides height and weight .",
"Standing next to fat people, wearing black pants lowers your score .",
"Standing next to young, toned, bikini-clad women -- adds 20 points ."
] |
[
8,
16,
18,
22,
25,
39
] |
[
"BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Lebanese voters were heading to the polls on Sunday with their main choices to lead the next government a Hezbollah-backed alliance or a U.S.-backed coalition.",
"Hezbollah party workers in the southern town of Nabatiyah hope for an election victory.",
"Analysts say the race will be tight, with the Hezbollah-dominated \"March 8 alliance\" possibly winning a majority of seats in parliament.",
"The polls opened at 1200 GMT and will close 12 hours later.",
"Turnout is expected to be high among the country's 3 million registered voters.",
"About 50,000 troops were on the streets, but the run-up to the balloting had been free of violence.",
"The vote comes at a critical time for Lebanon as it sits amid a power struggle between a weakened pro-Western government and a stronger pro-Syrian Hezbollah political bloc that has gained political momentum in recent years.",
"The United States considers Hezbollah -- which is supported by both Syria and Iran -- to be a terrorist organization.",
"The group grew in popularity after its militant wing claimed victory over Israel after a 34-day military conflict in 2006.",
"Since then, it has been more widely perceived by its supporters to be the \"defenders\" of Lebanon.",
"Though U.S. President Barack Obama didn't mention the Lebanese general election in his address on Thursday, he did call for religious tolerance in the Muslim world, noting sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shiites and the struggles faced by religious minorities.",
"\"The richness of religious diversity must be upheld -- whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt,\" he said, referring to Christian groups in those countries.",
"\"And if we are being honest, fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.\"",
"In Lebanon's unique power-sharing government, the presidency is reserved for Maronite Christians, the speaker of parliament is always a Shia Muslim, and the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim.",
"The law was created to balance power among Lebanon's three main religious groups.",
"Analysts say the Hezbollah-dominated \"March 8 alliance\" may win a parliamentary majority with the support of Christian opposition leader Gen. Michel Aoun -- the only prominent Christian politician to back the bloc.",
"\"They keep trying to scare the Christian voters with their stories about Hezbollah's weapons, so to all of those who complain about Hezbollah, can they tell us how they will disarm the party,\" Aoun told supporters Friday.",
"\"Hezbollah's weapons will no longer be a problem when the causes behind its existence disappear, including the borders' issues.\"",
"A close look at Lebanon's political landscape reveals that the country's Christian voters are split on how they will cast their ballots.",
"Some Christian voters want their representatives to step out of the shadows of Hezbollah and Saad Hariri, who leads the Sunni-dominated \"March 14 coalition.\"",
"Christian voters are divided between supporting Aoun and other Christian leaders who want Hezbollah to disarm.",
"\"In these elections, Christians look more divided than ever while others seem more unified than ever,\" said Shibley Telhami, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.",
"For the Obama administration, the elections could be indicative of the president's odds of pushing stability in the region.",
"Former U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Jimmy Carter said the United States should work with whichever coalition wins.",
"Carter was in Beirut as part of more than 200 international observers monitoring the election.",
"He also oversaw balloting in Gaza during the elections in the Palestinian territory in January 2006.",
"The Palestinian militant group Hamas won that race \"fairly and squarely\" by a huge margin, Carter said.",
"The United States and Israel later refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Hamas win.",
"\"And it's resulted in a split in the Palestinians and a very difficult situation there,\" Carter added.",
"\"I think they (the United States) learned a hard lesson that they should accept the results of an election.\"",
"Two senior Obama administration officials -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden -- have visited Lebanon in recent months, signaling concerns with a possible Hezbollah victory.",
"During his trip to Beirut two weeks ago, Biden warned the country that while the United States supports Lebanon's democratic process, it will reconsider its assistance to the country if its next government strays from certain \"fundamental principles.\"",
"Biden's visit followed Clinton's April trip to Beirut in which she called for an \"open and free\" election without outside interference -- a veiled reference to Iran and Syria.",
"Such rhetoric has been dismissed by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as \"meddling.\"",
"The Hezbollah leader has been increasingly vocal in the lead-up to the election, blasting the current government as powerless.",
"However, part of the reason Lebanon's government is crippled is that it made concessions to Hezbollah -- including giving them veto power -- in order to end a political stalemate that boiled over into violence of historic proportions last year.",
"While some analysts are concerned Hezbollah could gain more control over Lebanon's government after Sunday's vote, a key Lebanese politician, Dori Chamoun, warned that assessment may be misleading.",
"Chamoun, who opposes the March 8 alliance, said talk of Hezbollah's possible victory may be based on \"rumors\" and propaganda being spread by the Shiite militia and their political allies.",
"\"They (Hezbollah) think they can scare many but no one is scared,\" Chamoun told CNN.",
"\"They can spread all kinds of rumors on their four TV stations saying that they will win this upcoming elections.\"",
"Chamoun, whose father, Camille Chamoun, was Lebanon's president in the 1950s, is running for a seat in parliament.",
"Even if a Hezbollah-dominated government does move in, it could have trouble working with Christian and Sunni Muslim politicians who -- under Lebanese law -- must participate in the government.",
"It would also be difficult to find a Sunni political figure willing to serve as prime minister in a Hezbollah-led government since the majority of Lebanon's prominent Sunni politicians are aligned with Hariri's March 14 coalition, which has declared it will not participate in any government if Hezbollah wins.",
"Lebanon's political landscape could be shifting after a similar shift in neighboring Israel.",
"Voters in the Jewish state overwhelmingly supported conservative parties over more moderate groups, bringing into power Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year.",
"Netanyahu is viewed in the Arab world as more hawkish than his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, who ordered the war against Hezbollah in 2006.",
"A Hezbollah victory in Lebanon could further inflame tensions with Israel, particularly with an estimated 30,000 rockets pointed at Israel from southern Lebanon -- all under the control of Hezbollah.",
"CNN's Cal Perry, Octavia Nasr and Saad Abedine contributed to this report."
] |
[
"Analysts say the race will be tight .",
"Some say the Hezbollah-dominated alliance may win a parliamentary majority .",
"Turnout is expected to be high among the country's 3 million registered voters .",
"About 50,000 troops deploy to the streets ."
] |
[
2,
4
] |
[
"(Mental Floss) -- While the horse racing world is all abuzz over Rachel Alexandra, the amazing three-year-old filly who recently beat Kentucky Derby winner Mine that Bird (along with a field full of other colts) in the Preakness Stakes, we're reminded of some other female athletes of the two-legged variety who also beat the boys at their own game.",
"Danica Patrick finished third at the 2009 Indianapolis 500 on Saturday.",
"1. Billie Jean King -- tennis .",
"In 1973, Billie Jean King was 29 years old and the reigning queen of women's tennis.",
"In an era when female athletes were paid significantly less than their male counterparts, King still managed to earn $100,000 in 1971.",
"Bobby Riggs had won Wimbledon back in 1939, but by the 1970s his star was fading.",
"He kept his name in the press by proclaiming himself a male chauvinist pig and declaring that women athletes could never be as good as men.",
"After defeating Margaret Court in May, he proclaimed \"I want King!\"",
"The much-hyped \"Battle of the Sexes\" was held at the Houston Astrodome on September 20, 1973.",
"The idea of a woman beating a man in any sport was so unbelievable at the time that Las Vegas oddsmakers heavily favored the 55-year-old Riggs.",
"A worldwide television audience watched via satellite as King neatly thrashed Riggs 6-4, 6-3 and 6-3.",
"Billie Jean King not only took home the prize money and several endorsement deals, she also opened up a new playing field for professional sportswomen.",
"Mental Floss: Song Elton John wrote for Billie Jean King .",
"2. Margaret Murdock --shooting .",
"Margaret Murdock's father was a Kansas state rifle champion, so it was logical that both she and her sister took up the sport as children.",
"When Murdock attended Kansas State in the early 1960s, she won her varsity letter by competing on the men's rifle team.",
"In 1976 she became the first woman to represent the U.S. on its Olympic shooting team.",
"The small-bore three position competition calls for the shooter to fire off 40 shots each in the standing, kneeling and prone position.",
"The competitors fire from 50 meters away at a target that is a little smaller than a dime.",
"At the end of the competition, Murdock was tied with Lanny Bassham, the team captain.",
"Bassham requested a tie-breaking shoot-off, but Olympic rules forbade it; instead, Bassham was awarded the gold medal because he had scored three \"100s\" to Murdock's two.",
"During the medal ceremony, Lanny pulled Margaret up from the silver pedestal to stand with him during the national anthem to indicate that she deserved the gold as much as he.",
"3. Jackie Mitchell -- baseball .",
"Virne Beatrice Mitchell, known to her family as \"Jackie,\" entered the world ahead of schedule and weighed only a little over three pounds at birth.",
"As soon as she learned to walk, her father took her to the ballpark.",
"The Mitchell's next door neighbor in Memphis was future Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance, who was still playing in the minors at the time.",
"He coached Jackie in the art of pitching when she was eight years old and even showed her his trademark \"drop pitch,\" a dazzling throw in which the ball swooped down just before crossing the plate.",
"When Mitchell was 17 she was offered a contract with the Chattanooga Lookouts, today the AA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.",
"On April 1, 1931, the New York Yankees were in town to play an exhibition game against the Lookouts.",
"The game was postponed a day due to rain, and there was a crowd of 4,000 on hand when Mitchell finally took the mound.",
"Babe Ruth stepped up to the plate and southpaw Jackie threw her special pitch.",
"Ruth took the first pitch for a ball, but the next three were strikes.",
"Lou Gehrig, baseball's Iron Man, was up next and similarly struck out.",
"The crowd was on its feet, but some skeptical reporters wrote that the whole thing had been staged, since the game was originally scheduled for April Fool's Day.",
"Nevertheless, Commissioner Kennesaw Landis was sufficiently threatened by the tiny female dynamo that he had her contract voided, stating that baseball was \"too strenuous\" for women.",
"Mental Floss: 7 silly products licensed by Major League Baseball .",
"4. Seana Hogan --cycling .",
"To Ultra Cyclists, 100-mile events are kid stuff.",
"Ultra Cyclists consider events like the Race Across America (RAAM) -- a 2,950 mile cross-country jaunt -- to be a real competition.",
"Seana Hogan of San Jose, California, has won the female division of RAAM an amazing six times, and her finish times in each case usually placed her in the top 15 finishers overall.",
"Ultra Cycling requires about 20 hours of continuous pedaling per day, up hills (a combined total of about 82,000 feet of climbing), down dales and in all weather.",
"Hogan holds the record for the San Francisco to Los Angeles race (beating even the best men's time) and was the overall winner of the 1995 Furnace Creek 508, which runs from Valencia through Death Valley to Twentynine Palms.",
"5. Danica Patrick -- auto racing .",
"Danica Patrick's parents met on a blind date at an auto race, so she felt that racing was her destiny.",
"Patrick started competing on the go-kart circuit at age 10, and moved to England at 16 to participate in various racing events and advance her career.",
"In 2000, she finished second in the Formula Ford Festival, the highest finish by an American in that event.",
"She moved back to the States where she competed in the Toyota Atlantic series for Rahal Letterman Racing and won her first pole position.",
"Patrick started her Indy career in 2005, making her only the fourth woman to compete in the 500.",
"Three years later she won the Twin Ring Motegi in the Indy Japan 300, the first female driver to win an IndyCar race.",
"6. Sonya Thomas -- competitive eating .",
"At five feet, five inches tall and just under 100 lbs., Sonya Thomas gives the impression that the slightest breeze could blow her away.",
"But despite her wispy stature, Thomas is known in competitive eating circles for blowing away the competition, including male contestants three times her size.",
"Thomas remembers being inspired to enter the world of competitive eating after watching Takeru Kobayashi munching his way to the championship at the Nathan's Coney Island hot dog contest in 2002.",
"In 2005 she set a record for female frankfurter consumption in Nathan's annual contest.",
"That wasn't quite good enough for Sonya, however, and she began a training regimen that included walking two hours per day on an inclined treadmill and eating only one large meal per day.",
"Scientific-types hypothesize that Sonya's slim physique gives her an advantage over her more zaftig competitors -- she lacks a layer of fat around her abdomen, which gives it more room to expand.",
"Whatever the explanation, Thomas has defeated all-comers in various International Federation of Competitive Eating contests, including \"the most\" oysters, chicken wings and Krystal hamburgers downed in a prescribed amount of time.",
"Mental Floss: Food challenges for the super competitive .",
"For more mental_floss articles, visit mentalfloss.com .",
"Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC.",
"All rights reserved."
] |
[
"Female pitcher Virne Beatrice Mitchell struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig .",
"Seana Hogan holds the record for the San Francisco to Los Angeles cycling race .",
"Sonya Thomas wins eating contests of oysters, chicken wings, Krystal hamburgers ."
] |
[
22,
32,
36,
41,
56
] |
[
"BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Thailand's military has denied abusing refugee boat-people from Myanmar after claims some were whipped on a tourist beach and hundreds more left dead or missing after being towed at to sea without food and water.",
"Photograph released by Thai navy showing a group of illegal immigrants captured on December 12.",
"Photos showing refugees being made to lie face down on a popular beach and media reports claiming refugees been deliberately lost at sea have sparked concerns for their safety.",
"The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says it is \"concerned\" about the fate of the Muslim ethnic minority Rohingya people, who have fled from Myanmar's border with Bangladesh.",
"The agency says it has written a formal note to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for clarification of what is happening.",
"CNN spoke to one Australian tourist, who declined to be named for fear of being barred from Thailand, who says boat-people were \"whipped\" by Thai guards on popular diving resort island in the Similan Archipelago last month.",
"Local media also report claims by Rohingya survivors that the Thai military have been detaining hundreds of them an island called Koh Sai Daeng before towing them back out into open water without supplies.",
"The survivors say hundreds of them drowned and only the lucky ones made it to the Indian Andaman Islands or Indonesia's Aceh province.",
"The Thai Navy denies knowledge of the incident.",
"Rear Admiral Naris Pratumsuwan told CNN \"as a normal practice, if Navy finds illegal immigrants, we will hand them over to related authorities, e.g.",
"police or immigration police.\"",
"He said he had not received any information on an island where migrants are being detained.",
"There were reports of another boatload of 46 Rohingya detained by the Thai military Friday, but there was no official confirmation.",
"The Rohingya have been fleeing persecution of the hard-line military regime in Myanmar, formerly Burma, for years and often seek refuge in Malaysia.",
"Boat loads of Rohingya arriving in Thailand is nothing new, but non-governmental organizations are increasingly worried about what they say is an apparent change of government policy.",
"They say the army's Internal Security Operations Command is forcing the Rohingya out to sea rather than deporting them overland back to Myanmar.",
"\"The Thai government is taking highly vulnerable people and risking their lives for political gain,\" says Refugee International's Sean Garcia says.",
"\"It should be engaging the Burmese government on improving conditions at home for the Rohingya if it wants to stem these flows.",
"\"The Rohingya will continue to make the journey because they have no hope for a better life in Burma.",
"Pushing them back out to sea is not an effective deterrent it just jeopardizes lives.\""
] |
[
"Thai military denies abusing refugees from Myanmar .",
"Witnesses say ethnic Rohingya whipped face down on tourist beach .",
"Reports say hundreds missing after being towed back out to sea ."
] |
[
0,
8
] |
[
"(CNN) -- With 17 Grammys, five gold records and -- by his count -- almost 130 albums, polka superstar Jimmy Sturr might just be the most successful musician you've never heard of.",
"Polka artist Jimmy Sturr is up for a possible 18th Grammy Award at the upcoming ceremony.",
"Sturr and his orchestra, superstars in the polka world, are one of a multitude of musical acts nominated this year in some of the lesser-known Grammy categories.",
"When there are 110 categories, \"lesser-known\" might be putting it lightly.",
"\"I try not to get too worked up over it,\" said Sturr, who is once again nominated this year in the best polka album category.",
"\"But when the [awards] season comes along I am right there saying 'I hope I win.",
"I hope I win.' It just never gets old.\"",
"Sturr is among the unsung artists whose statuette presentation doesn't make it to the prime-time televised broadcast, which will air 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS.",
"While categories like best Hawaiian music album, best traditional world music album and best historical album may linger in the shadows of the big Grammy show, they are no less important to the performers and fans who love them.",
"See some of the lesser-known categories » .",
"The Grammy Awards are trumpeted as \"music's biggest night,\" and Grammy officials there are cognizant of the heavy competition to appear on the broadcast.",
"There just isn't enough time to honor everyone on the televised presentation, said Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy, which presents the Grammy Awards.",
"He said about a dozen awards, including album of the year and best new artist, are given out during the live show.",
"\"Every Grammy is of equal value and importance in our minds,\" Portnow said.",
"\"That said, with 110 categories and 3½ hours of television, physics dictate the reality that we can't do everything on the national broadcast.\"",
"Instead, the other nominees are feted at an event held earlier in the day, Portnow said.",
"\"We created a very significant and somewhat extravagant pre-telecast, which is conducted in a separate facility right across from the Staples Center the afternoon of the show,\" Portnow explained.",
"\"We build a substantial stage, we have co-hosts, we have music performances and we have presenters,\" he said.",
"\"Many, many of our nominees come to that event to pick up their Grammys.\"",
"This year, fans of the best contemporary folk/Americana album or best engineered album (nonclassical) categories -- among others -- will be able to see their favorites on the Web, because this year's pre-telecast will be streamed live on Grammy.com and available for viewing for 30 days after the ceremony.",
"Singer Wayna, who is nominated for best urban/alternative performance for her song \"Lovin You (Music)\" featuring Kokayi, said she feels honored simply to have been chosen.",
"\"I'm not sure if I've taken it all in yet,\" the Bowie, Maryland, singer said.",
"\"I'm really proud of this category.\"",
"The increase in independent artists shows a trend Portnow said \"speaks to the importance of what we do to a very broad segment of the music community.\"",
"No doubt that community includes at least a few admirers of the vivacious dance music that is polka.",
"Sturr may not be burning up the charts or even generating the heat of fellow Grammy nominees Lil Wayne and Radiohead, but he gets his fair share of love from those who follow his genre.",
"Some admirers have gone on to become collaborators.",
"Sturr's recording partners have included Willie Nelson, the Oak Ridge Boys and Charlie Daniels.",
"He's often surprised by who is a fan, he said.",
"\"I was in Jupiter, Florida, a few years ago and the manager of a restaurant I knew came up to me and said there's a fan of yours that would like to meet you,\" recalled Sturr.",
"\"I went over and it was Burt Reynolds.\"",
"Sturr and his orchestra's popularity have been bolstered by appearances on \"Saturday Night Live\" and at the Grand Ole Opry, as well as his own variety show, which airs twice a week on Direct TV.",
"Polka's partisans are well aware that the music is often mocked, and believe an appearance on the Grammys would go a long way toward widening the genre's audience.",
"\"To get a legitimate, great sounding orchestra on national television would certainly help,\" said Ray Zalokar, director of 247Polkaheaven.com.",
"Zalokar added that younger fans are discovering the music thanks in part to newer bands, such as one that covers Pink Floyd tunes as polkas.",
"The genre might also take heart from what happened to rock 'n' roll.",
"The Academy, Portnow said, is careful to implement a category only after it has been established as viable, but it also doesn't want to miss the boat when it comes to new music.",
"Such was the case with rock 'n' roll in the 1960s.",
"\"Years ago the Academy was, not a secret, late in recognizing particularly the rock area coming out of the middle of the road times,\" he said.",
"\"[In the] Rolling Stones versus Andy Williams scenario, the Rolling Stones were not in the mix,\" he said.",
"\"I think that as an organization we may have fallen behind, but that really hasn't happened in the recent past because we have a fantastic process here.\"",
"While honored to have his first clarinet featured in the new Grammy Museum, Sturr said he'd relish a chance to perform on the show and give a wider audience a taste of what his fans know from albums like \"Polkapalooza\" and \"Sturr-It-Up.\"",
"\"I'd love to have just 30 seconds on that show,\" he said.",
"\"Just to play so people can see that this is not your grandmother's kind of music.\""
] |
[
"Polka is among several of the lesser known Grammy categories .",
"Artist Jimmy Sturr up to possibly win Grammy number 18 .",
"Academy exec: \"Every Grammy is of equal value and importance in our minds\"\nPre-telecast for those not included in live show growing in popularity ."
] |
[
1,
2,
13
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Jero is making old, new again in Japan.",
"African-American Jero is famous for singing Japanese enka.",
"The 27-year-old American has made a name for himself singing enka, a traditional form of lounge music that flourished in 1940's Japan.",
"It seems an unlikely musical style for the Pittsburgh native to pursue.",
"Enka's fan based comes generally from an older generation and is practically unknown outside of Japan, with simple song themes about love and loss.",
"But Jero, real name Jerome White, with his youth, hip-hop look and fine singing voice has propelled enka into the 21st century and captured a new audience.",
"It was the influence of his Japanese grandmother that first led him on the path to enka.",
"She ensured that Jero was aware of his connection to the culture of Japan and sang enka songs in Japanese with him when he was young.",
"He went on to study Japanese at high school and spent time in Japan while on an exchange with the University of Pittsburgh.",
"After he graduated he moved to Japan, working as a computer scientist and teaching English.",
"His big break came when he appeared on an amateur singer TV show.",
"On the back of that success he released his first single in early 2008, promoting it with live appearances in record stores and the odd impromptu street performances.",
"It shot up the Japanese singles chart, reaching No 4, the highest ever position for a first time enka release.",
"Watch the show on CNN as we spend time with him in a karaoke spot in Tokyo and find out how he's dealing with sudden fame in a foreign country."
] |
[
"Jero has made traditional Japanese enka songs hip and found new audience .",
"He sang enka with his Japanese grandmother when he was a young boy .",
"Found success on talent show and first single made No.4 in charts ."
] |
[
5,
6,
7
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton met her match while appearing on NBC's \"Saturday Night Live\" to deliver the show's trademark opening line and provide an \"editorial response\" to a mock presidential debate.",
"During the opening sketch -- which featured SNL actors playing Clinton, rival candidate Barack Obama and the debate moderators -- Clinton complimented the performance of Amy Poehler, who regularly lampoons Clinton with her impersonation of the senator from New York.",
"\"I simply adore Amy's impression of me,\" Clinton said, providing the cue for Poehler to enter the stage, wearing the same two-button brown jacket and sporting Clinton's medium-length, layered hairstyle.",
"Poehler giddily thanked Clinton for appearing.",
"\"I love your outfit,\" the identically dressed Poehler told Clinton.",
"\"Well, I love your outfit,\" Clinton responded, putting her hand on Poehler's shoulder, \"but I do want the earrings back.\"",
"The quip sparked a hyperbolic cackle from Poehler.",
"Clinton asked, \"Do I really laugh like that?\"",
"The two jokingly agreed she did.",
"Clinton appeared on the show ahead of several do-or-die primaries that will determine the fate of her campaign.",
"During the segment, Poehler -- who also does impersonations of talk show host Kelly Ripa, \"American Idol\" judge Paula Abdul and pop star Michael Jackson -- asked Clinton, who trails Obama in the Democratic race, how her campaign was going.",
"\"The campaign is going very well.",
"Very, very well,\" the former first lady responded before earning some laughs with a deadpan: \"Why?",
"What have you heard?\" Clinton said she appeared on the show to \"just relax, have fun\" without politics, but she didn't miss her chance to address voters in delivering the opening line.",
"Saying she was appealing to all Americans -- whether they're from Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island, Vermont, Pennsylvania \"or any of the other states\" -- Clinton opened the show with \"Live from New York, it is Saturday night!\"",
"Watch Clinton open the show » .",
"Pennsylvania's primary is slated for next month, while the other four states Clinton mentioned are holding primaries Tuesday.",
"Clinton's appearance was a poorly kept secret.",
"The media were tipped off when she failed to arrive for a campaign charter flight from Dallas, Texas, to Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.",
"Her campaign would not say where she was, but an entertainment industry source confirmed she was set to appear on SNL.",
"The late-night skit show has been a popular spot on the campaign trail.",
"Obama appeared unannounced in October, and GOP candidate Mike Huckabee did a bit on the show's \"Weekend Update\" last week.",
"Also, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who dropped out of the GOP presidential race this year, appeared later in the show that Clinton opened.",
"During an MSNBC debate in Ohio on Tuesday, Clinton referenced an SNL skit in which the comedy troupe satirized the media for being too friendly with Obama.",
"\"Maybe we should ask [Obama] if he's comfortable and needs another pillow,\" she said during the debate.",
"Clinton is scheduled to appear on Jon Stewart's \"Daily Show\" Monday.",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"Clinton appears during the opening segment with impersonator Amy Poehler .",
"Clinton mentions upcoming primary states in opening line, \"It is Saturday night!\"",
"Her rival Sen. Barack Obama appeared on the show last year .",
"Clinton referenced a recent SNL skit during a debate in Ohio on Tuesday ."
] |
[
1,
21,
23
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- As the saying goes, \"Pain is temporary, film is forever\" and noone in the movie business knows this better than stuntmen.",
"Stunt double Terry Leonard performs a hazardous jump from horseback to a truck as Indiana Jones in \"Raiders of the Lost Ark.\"",
"Hollywood's athletes regularly defy death in pursuit of ever more extreme spectacles to keep us on the edge our cinema seats.",
"\"The Screening Room\" takes a look at some of the best stunts ever pulled off -- and a few that didn't end so well.",
"Don't agree with the list?",
"Think we've missed one?",
"Tell us in the SoundOff box below.",
"1. \"Steamboat Bill, Jr.\" (Charles Reisner, 1928) Stunt: Building falls down Stuntman: Buster Keaton .",
"Charlie Chaplin may be better remembered, but no early stuntman was more willing to risk eternal oblivion for a great stunt than Keaton.",
"In perhaps his most perfect stunt, the side of a building crashes down on top of him and Keaton is saved only by an open window that fits neatly around him.",
"The window was built to have clearance of two inches around each shoulder and on the top of his head.",
"As Keaton himself said, \"You don't do these things twice.\"",
"2. \"Stagecoach\" (John Ford, 1939) Stunt: High speed stagecoach jump Stuntman: Yakima Canutt .",
"Ex-rodeo cowboy Yakima Canutt was probably the first celebrity stuntman, best known as a stunt double for John Wayne.",
"In this stunt -- which has since become a Western classic -- he portrays a galloping warrior during an Indian attack on a stagecoach.",
"He jumps from his own horse to the six-horse team pulling the stagecoach, is shot, falls, and is dragged underneath the fast-moving team and stagecoach.",
"3. \"Ben Hur\" (William Wyler, 1959) Stunt: Chariot race Stuntman: Joe Canutt .",
"Canutt (son of Yakima) doubles for Charlton Heston in the famous chariot race.",
"Half way through, things veer off plan and he is forced down the inside part of the track straight towards a wrecked chariot.",
"When his charito hits, Canutt is flung over the front of the chariot, where he clings before clambering back on.",
"The sequence was completely unplanned but made it into the film because Canutt kept a cool head even though he was injured.",
"4. \"Raiders of the Lost Ark\" (Stephen Spielberg, 1981) Stunt: Truck drag Stuntman: Terry Leonard .",
"This intense stunt sequence was so hazardous to perform that veteran stuntman Terry Leonard only agreed to do it if his friend and fellow stuntman Glenn H. Randall Jr. was driving the truck.",
"A ditch was dug underneath the path of the truck to give Leonard enough room to manoeuver.",
"Harrison Ford, an accomplished stuntman in his own right, performed an earlier portion of the sequence, where Indy hung onto the bonnet of the truck only by a bending hood ornament.",
"5. \"GoldenEye\" (Martin Campbell, 1995) Stunt: 750 foot bungee jump Stuntman: Wayne Michaels .",
"This breathtaking Bond stunt was performed at the Verzasca hydro-electric dam in Switzerland and done in one take.",
"Michaels jumped from a specially-constructed platform built to jut out from the dam to prevent him making contact with the front of the dam, which was studded with steel pegs.",
"This, combined with his high falling velocity, could have proved fatal.",
"6. \"Who am I?\" (Wo shi shei) (Jackie Chan, 1998) Stunt: 21-storey slide Stuntman: Jackie Chan .",
"It's almost impossible to choose just one of Chan's stunts, but his faintly slapstick 21-storey slide down the side of a skyscraper is pretty impressive -- even more so when you find out he did it without a harness.",
"He never uses stunt doubles or special effects and as a result has broken just about every bone in his body over the years.",
"Now that's commitment. 7. \"Sharky's Machine\" (Burt Reynolds, 1981) Stunt: Free-fall jump Stuntman: Dar Robinson .",
"At 220 feet, legendary stuntman Dar Robinson's jump from Atlanta's Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel remains the highest free-fall stunt ever performed from a building for a commercially-released film.",
"Ironically, despite it being a record-breaking fall, moviegoers only see the briefest moment of the actual stunt in the film.",
"The rest of the fall from the skyscraper is disappointingly a dummy.",
"8. \"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid\" (George Roy Hill, 1969) Stunt: Cliff Leap Stuntmen: Mickey Gilbert/Howard Curtis .",
"Trapped by the Superposse, Butch and Sundance leap from the top of a cliff into the boiling waters of a river below.",
"It's set up nicely with some humorous dialogue: \"I can't swim.\"",
"\"Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you!\"",
"Robert Redford and Paul Newman did jump off the cliff, but landed on a ledge with a mattress about six feet below.",
"The stuntmen jumped off a construction crane at a studio lot obscured by a painting of the cliffs.",
"9. \"Terminator 2: Judgment Day\" (James Cameron, 1991) Stunt: Motorcycle jump Stuntman: Peter Kent .",
"Stuntman Peter Kent's resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger was the basis of a 14-year association with the ex-action hero.",
"As Schwarzenegger's stunt double he performed the T-101's famous motorbike jump into a massive storm drain.",
"To get the effect, his motorbike was rigged up to a web of one-inch cables, to cut the impact when the bike and rider hit the ground.",
"The cables were later digitally erased.",
"10. \"Deathproof\" (Quentin Tarantino, 2007) Stunt: Car chase on bonnet Stuntwoman: Zoë Bell .",
"Bell won an award at the Oscars of the stunt world, the Taurus stunt awards, for this daredevil action piece.",
"She clings precariously to the bonnet of a car going at 85 miles per hour while receiving hits from a second car in a long, climactic chase scene.",
"Bell is a stuntwoman by trade but it's easy to see why Tarantino flouted the unspoken Hollywood convention that stuntmen stay out of the limelight and cast her as the film's lead.",
"And five tragic stunts that didn't come off ... Stunts are a dangerous business, and it doesn't always work out.",
"We pay tribute to five brave stunt men and women who fell in the line of duty.",
"1. \"Top Gun\" (Tony Scott,1986) Renowned aerobatic pilot Art Scholl died during the making of \"Top Gun\" in 1985 after his plane never recovered from a flat spin and plunged into the Pacific Ocean.",
"2. \"The Crow\" (Alex Proyas,1994) Martial arts legend Bruce Lee's son Brandon was shot and killed during a stunt shooting sequence, when the cap of a blank accidentally penetrated his abdomen and lodged in his spine.",
"3. \"Twilight Zone: The Movie\" (Joe Dante/John Landis, 1983) Actor Vic Morrow and child actors Renee Chen and My-ca Dinh Le were instantly killed when a special-effects explosion caused a helicopter to spin out of control and crash down on top of them.",
"4. \"Cannonball Run\" (Hal Needham, 1981) Stuntwoman Heidi Von Beltz was paralysed from the neck down when her sports car crashed head on into a van during a stunt on the set of the film.",
"5. \"Armour of God\" (Jackie Chan, 1987) Chan fell 15 feet while jumping from a wall to a tree branch.",
"He landed hard on his head, causing part of his skull to crack and lodge in his brain.",
"He required major surgery and now has a permanent hole in his head which is filled by a plastic plug."
] |
[
"The Screening Room chooses the some of the best stunts ever filmed .",
"Buster Keaton is saved by an open window in \"Steamboat Bill Jr.\"\nJames Bond turns bungee jumping into an art form in \"GoldenEye\"\nWe want to hear from you: what is your favorite movie stunt?"
] |
[
3,
5,
7,
9
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- Think of a bullwhip and fedora and one man immediately springs to mind: Indiana Jones, the sardonic archeologist played by Harrison Ford in Steven Spielberg's '80s trilogy which started with \"Raiders of the Lost Ark.\"",
"\"If you learn how to talk I'm in deep trouble,\" quips Harrison Ford (right) to Vic Armstrong (left) on this photo which shows how similar the pair look.",
"But if you were to venture on set during the filming of \"Raiders\" hoping to catch a few moments with the star you might have had a surprise.",
"The tall, rangy man in the dented hat signing autographs could just as easily have been Ford's stunt double, Vic Armstrong.",
"Back then, in the right light Armstrong could easily be mistaken for Ford -- both of them over six feet tall and bronzed with crinkly eyes.",
"And it's this that is at the root of his success as Indy's \"fall guy.\"",
"In fact, Ford is a talented stuntman in his own right and Armstrong says that his biggest headache on set was trying to stop Ford from getting involved in action that was too risky.",
"\"The biggest stunt I always say on the Indiana Jones films was stopping Harrison doing the stunts because I had to fight nearly every time to stop him,\" Armstrong chuckles.",
"An accomplished horseman (his first career choice was steeplechase jockey), it's Armstrong's Indy you see galloping along in the stained khaki shirt and jumping from his horse onto a tank in \"The Last Crusade.\"",
"\"Technically very difficult,\" Armstrong says, \"I had to rely on a horse, and horses have a sense of survival and they don't actually do what you tell them to do as they haven't read the script.\"",
"It may have been his close resemblance to Ford that clinched the \"Raiders\" job but the pair developed a rapport that led Armstrong to work on the other two installments of the trilogy, \"Temple of Doom\" and \"The Last Crusade.\"",
"\"It always works better if you do have a relationship with [the actor].",
"You can mimic how they move, how they work when you coordinate fights for them like I did with Harrison,\" Armstrong tells CNN.",
"Armstrong was just 16 years old when he started in the stunt industry in 1965.",
"He utilised his horseriding skills to double as Gregory Peck in spy movie \"Arabesque.\"",
"He had to jump a huge moat and then fall off his mount but it was the simple lifestyle and travel that hooked young Armstrong -- \"Forty dollars a day and all you can eat.",
"Fantastic living.\"",
"After over 40 years and countless movies, his filmography reads like a who's who of Hollywood: he has doubled for Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, John Voight and collaborated with directors like Ridley Scott, Paul Verhoeven, Michael Cimino and Sir Richard Attenborough.",
"His work for three decades on classic Bond films like \"You Only Live Twice\" and \"Live and Let Die\" cemented his reputation as a stuntman who could pull off complicated of stunts with precision.",
"\"The films I've done I've been very lucky to have been very prolific in an area and a time when iconic films were being made.",
"\"My first stunt on a Bond film was in 1966 in the winter of \"You Only Live Twice\".",
"I was one of the ninjas coming down firing guns into the volcano, which for me was sensational.\"",
"He doubled for Roger Moore in \"Live and Let Die\" for a short while and was then propelled into working as a stunt coordinator and director of action units.",
"Armstrong then added a superhero to his already impressive roster of action idols, standing in for Christopher Reeve in \"Superman.\"",
"Despite this, his allegiances lie solidly with cinema's 'real' heroes.",
"\"If you look at \"Spiderman\" and movies like that, or the \"Incredible Hulk,\" they are far more computer-generated and so therefore slightly more cartoonish or video game-ish.",
"\"My personal preference is for real action just enhanced or maybe helped by computers.",
"We use computers to take away fall pads or wires if you're getting snatched or thrown in the air.\"",
"And in the spirit of keeping it real, Armstrong has gone to great lengths to help stuntmen achieve their crazy feats as safely as possible.",
"In the 1980s he modified a tool known as the \"fan descender\" for the film \"Green Ice.\"",
"It would allow stuntmen to safely slow down when performing high freefalls.",
"It revolutionized the stunt industry and in 2002 he was awarded a Science and Technology Academy Award for his invention -- the only one ever handed out to a stunt man.",
"Earlier this year, he was honored by the Screen Actors Guild for his work on 2007 action horror \"I am Legend.\"",
"He has just finished work on \"The Mummy 3\" -- it was his prior commitment to this movie that stopped him working on the fourth Indy film \"Kingdom of the Crystal Skull\" -- and is now stunt coordinating on the Weinstein production \"Shanghai.\"",
"Even after all this time, Armstrong, the authority on how to create a death defying stunt, still reckons Ford is the best stuntman actor he has ever worked with -- \"Harrison has to be the ultimate.\"",
"So why bother with a stunt double?",
"\"I was cheaper and it didn't matter if I got hurt.\""
] |
[
"Vic Armstrong was Harrison Ford's stunt double in the Indiana Jones movies .",
"His physical similarity to Ford is at the root of his success as Indy's \"fall guy\"\nAfter 40 years in the business, Armstrong is the authority on death defying stunts .",
"Armstrong on Ford as a stuntman actor: \"Harrison has to be the ultimate\""
] |
[
3,
5,
34
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Flamboyant and fearless, Roberto Cavalli is the peacock of the fashion world; with his body-hugging clothes, he woos women the world over.",
"Fashion designer Roberto Cavalli .",
"But his clients are no dainty damsels: Cavalli's women are Amazonian warriors and Grecian goddesses, whose armor is fashion and whose weapon is sex.",
"His colorful creations are unabashed celebrations of the female form: dresses slashed to the hip or barely skimming the buttocks, necklines that plunge where no other designer dares.",
"Cavalli's woman knows she looks fabulous, and isn't afraid to show it: to her, it's not just clothing, it's an announcement that she's arrived.",
"Born in Florence in 1940, Cavalli was immersed in an intensely creative environment from childhood.",
"That influence came from his father, a tailor, and his artist grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, whose work is shown in the famous Uffizi Galleries.",
"Following in his father's footsteps, Cavalli studied textile design at the local art institute.",
"By the early 70s, he had developed an innovative technique for printing on lightweight leather, and his Florentine flair had led to commissions with Hermes and Pierre Cardin.",
"In 1970, he presented his first namesake collection at the Salon for Prêt-à-Porter in Paris.",
"His trademark work with unconventional fabrics like embellished denim and leather, mixed with wild animal prints and exotic patterns, was embraced by the jet set and Cavalli opened his first boutique in Saint Tropez in 1972.",
"Cavalli married his wife, Eva Duringer, a former Miss Universe, in 1980; she is now his business partner and right-hand woman.",
"His fondness for bright color, exotics, fur and bold prints -- which he designs in his factory on the outskirts of Florence -- have won him a name as the king of fashion excess.",
"Beloved by A-listers and pop princesses, these are not clothes for the shy: this is old-school glamour, infused with power, wielded by women who have flounced and shimmied their way to the top.",
"See Cavalli's designs on the catwalk » .",
"His main line is sold in over 50 countries worldwide, along with his diffusion lines RC Menswear and Just Cavalli, plus a children's line, knitwear, accessories, eyewear, watches, perfumes, underwear and beachwear.",
"He's even ventured into Cavalli-branded vodka and wine.",
"His collaboration with high-street fashion store H&M in November 2007 caused stampedes as his fans flocked to get their hands on his creations, desperate to capture some of that Cavalli magic at tiny prices.",
"Some have asked whether his latest collections have taken a more gentle direction -- but the tiger's inner fire still burns bright.",
"Spring/Summer 2008's bold flower prints and flirty feathered dresses were followed by Autumn/Winter 2008's flowered dresses that at first glance appear dewy and fresh -- but look closer, and the hip-hugging cut belies their innocence.",
"Cavalli is adored by his celebrity clientele, who flaunt his show-stopping creations on red carpets from Los Angeles to Sydney.",
"Fans of his work include Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncè Knowles, Charlize Theron and Victoria Beckham.",
"If anyone sums up the glamour and glitz of show business, it's Cavalli: fashion as theatre, shameless decadence where the whole world is a stage.",
"That's underlined by his eponymous 133'9\" long yacht, built 2004, and color-coordinated, naturally, with his helicopter and fleet of cars."
] |
[
"Florence-born fashion designer Roberto Cavalli is known for his bright, sexy clothes .",
"He is the grandson of Impressionist painter Giuseppe Rossi and the son of a tailor .",
"His clothes are adored by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham .",
"Cavalli's extravagant lifestyle includes color-coordinated yacht, cars and helicopter ."
] |
[
1,
12,
23
] |
[
"For a city of its size, Copenhagen has a remarkable range of shops that ooze class and individuality.",
"The Georg Jensen store has some exquisite silver jewelry.",
"The city's main shopping hub is Strøget, a collection of pedestrianized streets that lead from Rådhuspladsen to Kongens Nytorv; you can easily spend hours, and a small fortune, browsing its boutiques and chain stores.",
"Don't miss Illums Bolighus (Amagertorv 10), with its four floors of contemporary Scandinavian design.",
"Once you've got a taste for stylish home accessories, make your way to Normann Copenhagen (Strandboulevarden 98) or Hay Cph (Pilestraede 29-31) for a masterclass in simplicity and elegance.",
"When you've finished kitting out the house you might want to work on your wardrobe.",
"Kronprinsensgade is full of hip boutiques, among them Bruuns Bazaar (Kronprinsensgade 8-9), with its collection from the ever-so-trendy, and suitably pricey, Bruuns label.",
"Nearby, Designers Remix (Pilestraede 8) offers sophisticated styles for women, while Könrøg (Hyskenstræde 11) has cutting-edge fashions from a collective of Danish designers.",
"For something more traditional, but no less beautiful, head to the Georg Jensen store in Amagertorv, for silverware that ranges from intricate jewelry to timeless tableware.",
"If that's not exclusive enough for you, Peter Hertz in Købmagergade is jeweler to Danish royalty.",
"Pick up something for the kids at Aniel (Frederiksberg Allé 70), which has too-cute baby grows, children's clothes and wooden toys made from organic and natural materials.",
"Frydendahl (Store Regnegade 1) has some unusual hand-knitted toys among the selection of homeware strewn along the pavement outside.",
"If your eyes are bigger than your wallet, then you might be interested in the flea market held on Saturdays in Israels Plads, where high-street stores are said to unload the goodies they can't sell in their shops.",
"If it's raining you might prefer Det Blå Pakhus (113 Holmbladsgade), the city's biggest indoor flea market and a treasure trove of bargains begging to be hunted.",
"...................... Copenhagen city guide: .",
"Where to stay | What to see | Where to be seen | Where to eat | Where to shop .",
"...................... Do you agree with our Copenhagen picks?",
"Send us your comments and suggestions in the \"Sound Off\" box below and we'll print the best."
] |
[
"Strøget, a collection of pedestrianized streets, is the city's shopping hub .",
"Illums Bolighus has four floors of modern Scandinavian design .",
"Bruuns Bazaar sells clothing from the popular and stylish Bruuns label .",
"Det Blå Pakhus is an indoor flea market and has some great bargains ."
] |
[
2,
3,
13
] |
[
"CHENNAI, India (CNN) -- At 68, Christian Fabre, CEO of Fashions International, might be expected to be thinking about retiring.",
"Christian Fabre, or Swami Pranavananda Brahmendra Avadutha, or just Swamiji for short .",
"But Fabre, or Swami Pranavananda Brahmendra Avadutha as he is also called, is a practicing Hindu monk as well as a businessman, and retirement doesn't really enter his thoughts.",
"\"I'm having too much fun,\" he says with a chuckle.",
"Hardly a gnomic mysticist, Fabre comes across as a jolly old soul, and greets me wearing saffron robes, sandals and sporting the most stylish pair of rimless glasses ever worn by a monk of any denomination.",
"As we chat in his light, open office on a sunny morning in Chennai, his BlackBerry beeps with new e-mails.",
"Tools of the trade, or at least business, are allowed then?",
"\"How can a man who is supposed to be meditating in a cave do this, you may say.",
"But there is no dichotomy between this and my spiritual beliefs,\" he says.",
"A MacBook on his desk and a picture of his guru on the wall, plus the company's 25 percent growth last year, Fabre life seems to be in balance.",
"However, he admits that reaching the place he's in today, both spiritually and physically, \"was no pleasure cruise.\"",
"Instead of a backpack and a pocket full of marijuana, he arrived in Chennai in 1971 with a job in the textile-buying business, a wife and a young son.",
"Three years later the job had gone, so too his wife, taking their son with her.",
"Rather than return to France, he stayed, having been seduced by the richness of Indian culture, but struggled to find more work.",
"He met his current business partner in Fashions International, A. Jayapalana, when embarking on an ill-fated and short-lived venture with a fashion designer.",
"However his rag-trade to rags to saffron robes existence only developed when he was introduced to the guru of his yoga teacher.",
"\"He'd suffered from leprosy, but radiated happiness and energy.",
"It dried my tears; I had no right to cry over myself.",
"I also wanted to know his secret, and after meeting regularly for six months, he told me I was right to become a swami.\"",
"As a child, Fabre had wanted to become a priest, something his communist railway-worker father completely rejected.",
"\"Who knows how he would take it, but I'm sure if I was telling him about my spirituality, he would agree.",
"Communism and Hinduism go well together in some Indian states, although I'm sure Karl Marx would wonder what it's doing here,\" he says.",
"Depending on how much work he has to do, every month Fabre spends around a week at his ashram, where he has some disciples.",
"It's an eight-hour drive from Chennai and two miles from the nearest village, where he has more time and space -- and less clothing -- in which to further his spiritual practices.",
"His personal life is more ascetic than his BlackBerry-bleeping office existence.",
"He does however have satellite TV at home and the Internet at his hermitage, plus a personal driver, but one thing he always carries with him is a spiritual self-awareness.",
"\"Everything is the ultimate.",
"It is a very leveling spirituality, is it not?\"",
"he says, the French accent slipping into an Indian lilt.",
"\"I can be a businessman and a swami without losing that awareness.",
"It's within and it's without.",
"It's the ultimate and the universal and beyond the universal.",
"It makes you understand a lot in a split second, and you can see things from many angles.\"",
"Watch financial advice from Fabre » .",
"Business karma .",
"One thing he clearly understands is the fashion business.",
"As an outsourcing supply company, Fabre's company is indirectly responsible for employing around 80,000 people in 200 factories around Tamil Nadu, and his clients include labels such as Kenzo, Lee Cooper and Oxbow.",
"Fabre himself is given a modest monthly salary of around $400 (kept in a safe, bank accounts aren't allowed), most of which goes on food, bill and petrol.",
"His spirituality and belief in karma informs the way he lives as well as his business ethics, but don't affect his business decisions.",
"There would be no problem with dismissing a staff member if the need arose, he tells me.",
"However being a swami, he can't sign contracts either with his staff or Fashions International's clients, which he says has only caused a problem once.",
"Much of that he owes to the open-minded people who work in fashion.",
"\"They tell me I am well integrated,\" he says with a laugh.",
"\"They also feel that you are an honest person, although I don't agree with that reasoning.",
"You could be a monk and a bad one.\"",
"If there's no contradiction between being a Hindu monk and running a successful company, there's a certain irony about Fashions International's new venture: their own line of clothing named after their CEO, whose wardrobe consists of four yellow pieces of cloth and is more taken to being naked.",
"Not quite the emperor's new clothes, Fabre business acumen tells him they're getting in on selling their own range of clothing at the right time.",
"\"Going into the domestic market is a wise choice.",
"If the American market, or circus, I might call it, goes wrong, we'll have something to fall back on.",
"Also we are taking the brand to South Africa, which is also booming.\"",
"Openness and change .",
"Walking around his office, he appears more like a favorite teacher than a boss with his staff of young designers and sales and marketing employees, but he admits that he's not always easy to work with.",
"\"My guru said: 'Never prevent anyone from coming and seeing you.'",
"But sometimes its strenuous when someone is boring, but then you keep it short and they leave feeling positive,\" he says with a smile.",
"As his personal assistant of 13 years, Pinky Lahiri knows as much about the swami formerly known as Christian Fabre as well as any.",
"\"He is strict and he has his principles,\" she says, while Fabre takes a break for lunch.",
"\"He used to get angry quite easily, he's much calmer now than when I first met him.",
"It could be his age,\" she jokes, \"but it's probably his spirituality.\"",
"Switching from caffeine and a 60-cigarette-a-day habit to a strict vegetarian diet no doubt helped reduce stress levels.",
"He's been to parties with designers and fashionistas including Jean-Paul Gaultier -- \"a lot of fun\" -- and is regularly feted by the French chamber of commerce, but that's not the reason he's spent so much of his life in the fashion industry.",
"As well as the jobs he's helped to create, he sees fashion as something that gives people the chance to express themselves, present an image and change it if they want.",
"More significant transformations though are harder to come by.",
"Gandhi's famous quote: \"For things to change, first I must change\" appears on signs on desks throughout his office.",
"\"People don't like to change.",
"They're ensconced in their traditions, their habits, my god!",
"You have to have tradition in society, but some are no longer valid.",
"You have to be able to balance that correctly.",
"\"It's not a question of faith; it's not an intellectual thing, either.",
"It comes from the intellect and the heart, and usually this distance is not far away, but for some it takes a long time,\" he says.",
"A businessman, a swami, and now a brand, Fabre is clearly enjoying himself and prepared for any more changes.",
"\"I'm having a hell of a good time, but it would very boring if everyone was like me.\""
] |
[
"Frenchman Christian Fabre is CEO of fashion company and also a Hindu monk .",
"Splits time between his office in Chennai and ashram in the hills of Tamil Nadu .",
"Has been in India for 37 years; clients include Kenzo and Lee Cooper .",
"Recently launched own clothing label, despite not wearing clothes himself ."
] |
[
36,
45,
46
] |
[
"(CNN) -- What does it take to become the CEO of India's biggest biotech company and the richest woman in India?",
"Mazumdar Shaw with Shah Rukh Khan.",
"India's richest woman is ready to answer your questions.",
"Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder of biotech pharaceutical company Biotech answers your questions, below.",
"Yours is a very inspiring story.",
"Could you tell us more about what challenges you had to overcome to bring Biocon to a global level?",
"Vishala Vasandani .",
"Mazumdar Shaw: My journey started 30 years ago at a time when I had to face credibility challenges that pertained to my gender, my inexperience as a business entrepreneur and my unfamiliar biotechnology-based business model.",
"My business evolved in tandem with challenges.",
"Once I overcame these credibility challenges, I faced technological challenges of trying to build a Biotech business in a country that had infrastructure that was too primitive to support a high tech industry that demanded uninterrupted power supply, high quality water, sterile labs, imported research equipment, advanced scientific skills etc.",
"Over the next 10 years, we systematically addressed these challenges and built a self contained enterprise that had captive power and water supply, state of the art labs and facilities and a team of highly experienced scientists and engineers capable of delivering world class research and technologies.",
"Today, our challenges address those posed by new medical wisdom: addressing unmet medical needs, researching new drugs, new drug delivery systems and new therapies.",
"Overcoming each of these phases has been a rich learning experience that has helped us to develop world class expertise in biotechnology.",
"Innovation and quality have been integral to our business ethos.",
"Can Biocon's oral insulin IN-105 replace traditional and painful needle based insulin delivery system for type1 diabetics?",
"Can a diabetic who is taking insulin by needle based delivery system hope for change in near future?",
"Ajay Kumar Singh .",
"Mazumdar-Shaw: Oral Insulin is not just about delivering Insulin in a tablet.",
"It is about delivering Insulin very rapidly to the liver (hepato-delivery) which is the main organ responsible for glycemic control in our body.",
"Injectable Insulin takes approximately 30 minutes to act.",
"Oral Insulin takes approximately 5 minutes to act which mimics how non-diabetics respond to glucose uptake when food is consumed.",
"This will help both Type I and Type II diabetics to manage their diabetes better.",
"We hope that early intervention with Oral Insulin will help to manage Diabetes especially in Type II diabetics much more effectively than is being done by oral diabetic agents like Metformin, Sulphonyl Ureas and Glitazones which stimulate the pancreas to produce Insulin.",
"This is unlike oral Insulin which will allow a poorly functioning pancreas to rest and hopefully help to revive Insulin secreting beta cells.",
"Should our Oral Insulin program succeed, this will revolutionize Diabetes therapy in the future.",
"If you had to do the IPO again what would you do differently and when can we see Biocon listed in NASDAQ?",
"Harish Swaminathan .",
"Mazumdar-Shaw: I don't believe so.",
"I think we got the valuation we were expecting through an Indian listing.",
"A NASDAQ listing is only something we will address when one of our branded drugs are close to commercialization in either the U.S. or European markets.",
"Today NASDAQ is risk averse and not valuing biotech companies any better than the BSE or NSE.",
"I am so humbled by your story.",
"What does it take as a woman to get to where you are today?",
"What obstacles did you have to overcome, especially in an industry that is deemed to be a \"man's world\"?",
"Would women setting up business in India today find it easier than you did?",
"Irene Gonza, Uganda .",
"Mazumdar-Shaw: I believe that women need to believe in themselves.",
"I set up Biocon with a spirit of challenge and a deep sense of purpose.",
"The challenge was to break the gender bias in the business world.",
"My sense of purpose was to create a Biotech business in a country like India which had a very poor research culture with limited opportunities for scientists and engineers to pursue a career.",
"It was about stopping the \"brain drain\" from India.",
"It was about providing exciting career opportunities to young scientists and engineers.",
"It was about encouraging young women to pursue careers.",
"When one is passionate about a mission that is about change, it enables you to persevere and endure.",
"I do believe that if I could achieve success, any woman can overcome obstacles with a sense of determination!",
"When you set up Biocon did you aim to make it one of the biggest and most successful in the world?",
"Do you need ambition like that be a success in any kind of business or does it take luck, too?",
"David James, London .",
"Mazumdar-Shaw: When I set up Biocon, I certainly did not have such a big ambition!",
"I basically wanted to run a successful and profitable business to start with.",
"Ambition is evolutionary and one does not see the big picture until you reach a certain critical mass.",
"It was only a few years ago that we developed a global ambition and built global scale in our operations.",
"Whilst luck can be described as \"being at the right place at the right time\" or \"being prepared to address an opportunity,\" I personally believe that it is about being able to seize opportunities by leveraging existing capabilities to reach new levels.",
"In our case, we leveraged our enzyme capabilities to pursue bio-pharmaceuticals; it was also about picking the right products (statins & Insulin) that had large markets.",
"We chose to partner with innovative companies and in-license innovative technologies which spearheaded our new drug development programs.",
"We have always chosen to differentiate ourselves from the market and this has allowed us to \"think out of the box\" and stand apart.",
"How do you think the global economic downturn will affect Biocon and Indian companies in general?",
"Alicia van Waveren, The Hague .",
"Mazumdar-Shaw: The economic meltdown will certainly bring tremendous pricing pressure and we expect to see our margins shrink.",
"We also expect payment terms that involve extended credits.",
"However, we also see a silver lining amidst this gloomy scenario as R&D and manufacturing are likely to shift to countries like India in order to bring down costs.",
"We have two subsidiaries that offer research and clinical services, Syngene and Clinigene that are likely to see their businesses increase.",
"We also expect generic drugs to become a larger part of healthcare budgets in western economies.",
"Finally, new drug development costs are under tremendous pressure both in terms of funding and development.",
"India and companies like Biocon provide very effective co-development partnership opportunities to bring these costs down.",
"The differences between wealth and poverty in India are starker than anywhere else in the world.",
"Do you think the poverty gap will ever be closed?",
"Richard Ng, Hong Kong .",
"Mazumdar-Shaw: Poverty poses a huge challenge.",
"Education and employment are the only answers.",
"India is striving to address these two areas through various education and vocational training initiatives.",
"What we also need is employment generation through a myriad of projects that span infrastructure development, co-operative agriculture to entrepreneurship.",
"India needs to provide rural connectivity both in terms of roads and tale/IT connectivity.",
"This will unleash inclusive growth in a huge way.",
"Today we are caught between a political ethos that finds it convenient to keep its vote bank ignorant and unemployed and a civic India that wants to educate and harness the potential of its human capital.",
"It seems that Indian biotech and pharmaceutical industry is relying more on being the outsourced resource of the U.S. and EU companies rather than creating their own intellectual property.Do you think this a culture in India to not be active in creating IP or is it related to the inadequacies in the patent law?",
"Dipanjan Nag .",
"Mazumdar-Shaw: A very correct observation.",
"The risks associated with proprietary products are high and Indian businesses and more importantly Indian investors and banks are extremely risk averse.",
"Hopefully, the rapid commoditization of generics and services will force companies to differentiate on the basis of IP.",
"At Biocon we strongly believe that our proprietary programs will help us sustain growth in the future.",
"It is a challenge to convince our investors of this but we think they will understand this in the near future.",
"In hindsight, what is the one piece of advice you wish you'd been given when you were starting out in business?",
"Karl Malone, Winchester .",
"Risk is not about taking but about managing.",
"I took a huge risk when I started a Biotech company in 1978 and I soon realized that I had to manage the risk by addressing very serious challenges of a very primitive infrastructure at the time.",
"It took me a lot longer than I thought to build the company but in hindsight it was still worth the effort!",
"What drives you to achieve what you have and to keep going when times are tough?",
"Melinda Cook, Melbourne .",
"The belief that we can deliver the world's first Oral Insulin and other life saving drugs for cancer and auto-immune diseases.",
"I am driven by my desire to see novel drugs being developed by Biocon for global markets with a \"Made in India\" label.",
"I am determined to see India earn a strong reputation in innovation.",
"At a time when most Biotech companies in the western world are challenged with funding, I believe we can forge ahead and succeed.",
"About Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw .",
"Mazumdar-Shaw is founder of Biocon, the biotech and pharmaceutical company that made her India's richest self-made businesswoman.",
"She was named as one of Fortune magazine's 50 Most Powerful Women in 2007 and was instrumental in forging India's biotechnology industry.",
"Living and working in Bangalore, she set up Biocon in 1978 and has developed it into a global biopharmaceutical player with highly developed research and development facilities focusing on cancer and diabetes treatments.",
"Biocon was bought first by Unilever in 1989 and then sold to ICI in 1997, but Mazumdar-Shaw remains the company's Chair and Managing Director and has been part of the Indian government's Council on Trade & Industry."
] |
[
"India's richest woman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is founder and CEO of Biocon .",
"Email her your questions on business and secrets of her success .",
"Her answers will appear here on Friday, November 28 ."
] |
[
3,
94
] |
[
"PARIS, France (CNN) -- No matter when you go, Paris has that certain 'je ne sais quoi' that makes it special.",
"But time your visit right and you could find yourself taking part in one of the city's signature events.",
"Ice skating in front of the grand facade of the Hotel de Ville on a crisp winter day.",
"Fashion Weeks Paris is eponymous with style, and fashionistas will be in seventh heaven during the city's haute couture fashion weeks, in January and June/July each year.",
"Celeb-spotting, cooing over clothes and scrambling for a seat at Galliano are par for the course: just make sure your image is up to it.",
"Bastille Day If freedom and fireworks are your thing, what better time to be in Paris than 14 July, or Bastille Day, when you can celebrate the storming of the hated prison, symbol of repression and aristocratic excess.",
"Watch the military parade down the Champs Elysees, enjoy the Eiffel Tower fireworks from the Champ de Mars, and raise a glass to liberte, egalite and fraternite.",
"No guillotines allowed -- and most of the metros are closed, so be prepared to walk home.",
"Paris Plages It's still true that many of Paris' residents leave the city in August, shutting up shop and heading to the beach, but for the past few years the Paris Plages have brought that holiday feel to the city.",
"Sand dunes, swimming pools and petanque are all things you might associate with France's south coast resorts, but all can be found on the riverbank from late July until late August each year.",
"The FIAC (International Fair of Contemporary Art) October's Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain (FIAC) sees gallery-owners and collectors of contemporary art descend on the Louvre and the Grand Palais for one of the art world's major dates.",
"There's an emphasis on up-and-coming artists and newer galleries from across Europe.",
"Works of art in all media -- painting, drawing, prints, photography, sculpture and more -- are on display and available to purchase.",
"Ice skating in front of Hotel de Ville If you like your outdoor pursuits to be frosty and free, you'll love the ice rink that's outside the Hotel de Ville every December until March.",
"Rent your skates or bring your own and glide around the rink, hand in hand with a loved one, gazing at the beautiful buildings that surround the square, then warm up with a chocolat chaud at a nearby cafe.",
"Could Paris be any more romantic?"
] |
[
"The biggest date in the calendar is 14 July, which celebrates the French revolution .",
"From July to August, sun worshippers can bathe on beaches on the riverbank .",
"Style gurus migrate to the city twice a year to take part in fashion week .",
"In Winter, ice skate in front of the Hotel de Ville for the ultimate romantic moment ."
] |
[
2,
3,
8
] |
[
"(CNN) -- To the litany of challenges that confront India's path to a better life, we can now add subdued economic growth as a result of the global financial crisis.",
"A banana vendor stands on a flooded street as he waits for customers in Amritsar, India, on August 13.",
"After three spectacular years of 9 percent-plus annual growth, India will reach just 6.3 percent next year, according to the latest forecast by the International Monetary Fund in early November.",
"The Reserve Bank of India is forecasting a more optimistic 7.5 to 8 percent.",
"While 7.5 percent may still sound a good result, it is barely enough for the economy to keep pace with the 10 million-plus young people who will join the Indian job market in 2009.",
"India's major shortcomings in infrastructure, education, health care and environmental protection are well known, as are the constant problems of corruption, poor governance, rural poverty, communalism, domestic terrorism, child labor, discrimination against women and natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes.",
"But at least in recent years India could point to a strong economy as the platform on which it was making its push for higher living standards, social modernization and economic reform.",
"Since May 2004, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram took on the reins of government, India's economy has had a charmed run.",
"Strong growth in business sectors such asinformation technology, pharmaceuticals, automotive, financial services and retail have coincided with a better performing agricultural sector, and a housing and consumption boom driven by easier credit.",
"India's young working men and women -- more than half the country's 1.15 billion people are aged 25 or less -- have shown a much greater propensity to spend, compared to their thrifty, risk-averse parents and grandparents.",
"This willingness to go into debt rather than save has seen a massive rise in sales of consumer goods such as mobile phones, flat screen TVs, refrigerators, household utensils, motorcycles and cars.",
"The same goes for spending on services, from tourism to healthcare to self-improvement.",
"Now the halcyon days appear to be over, as the international credit crunch flattens demand everywhere.",
"Already the downturn is seeing job losses in sectors such as aviation, financial services, retailing and export industries, as companies tighten their belts and put expansion plans on hold.",
"The government admits things will get tougher, with Singh telling the nation on October 20 that \"we must be prepared for a temporary slowdown in the Indian economy.\"",
"Earlier that day, the Reserve Bank of India cut its key repurchase (short-term lending) rate by 100 basis points to 8 percent, saying it needed to ease the pressure on India's credit markets and maintain financial stability.",
"It followed that with another cut to 7.5 percent on November 1.",
"RBI Governor Dr. D. Subbarao noted the global downturn could be deeper and the recovery might take longer than earlier expected.",
"\"Consequently, the adverse implications through trade and financial channels for emerging economies, including India, have amplified,\" he said.",
"Economists and analysts have welcomed the central bank's moves, which have included a 350-basis point reduction in the cash reserve ratio -- the amount of money Indian banks must keep on hand -- between July and November.",
"Tushar Poddar, head of Asian economic research at investment bank Goldman Sachs, said the RBI's October 20 action was \"well ahead of market expectations\" and showed a bias towards growth and financial stability, against inflation.",
"Goldman Sachs had earlier cut its growth outlook for the 2009-10FY to 7 percent and has warned the figure could go lower if the international financial turmoil continues over the next few months.",
"But Poddar believes that India's export drive -- which has seen exports triple since 2003 to about $163 billion in 2007-08FY -- may not suffer too greatly.",
"In a recent study, he found that about two-thirds of India's exports go outside the United States and the European Union (the two trade areas most affected by the downturn) to China, Southeast Asia, West Asia and Africa.",
"While Indian exports would slow, \"the downside is limited,\" he said.",
"A lower Indian rupee would also help.",
"Foreign investment is slowing in line with the downturn.",
"Morgan Stanley's India economist Chetan Ahya noted recently that \"adverse global circumstances\" are weighing on India's ability to attract overseas money.",
"Unless there is a dramatic turnaround in the global credit markets, Ahya believes capital inflows could slow to $40-50 billion in the year ahead, compared with $110 billion in 2008.",
"On the broader political front, India has to deal with a range of internal and external risks that include domestic communalism-cum-terrorism and the constant threat of conflict with Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir territory.",
"Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka all add to a difficult neighborhood, while India's relations with China are cool at best, even as trade ties grow.",
"Territorial disputes linger from the 1962 border war between the two.",
"That helps explain why India was named recently by Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) as the Asia-Pacific country with the highest political and social risk for 2009.",
"A report by PERC in late October assessed 16 countries in the Asia Pacific region, and assigned India the highest risk rating of 6.87, ahead of Thailand with 6.28.",
"China was seventh with 5.33, behind Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia.",
"PERC cited uncertainties surrounding India's coming general election -- due to be held by May 2009 -- along with rising communal violence and incidents of terrorism.",
"\"The biggest risk is that a deterioration in political and economic conditions in neighboring Pakistan could aggravate social unrest in India further, and hurt national security,\" it noted.",
"But it said India's underlying attractions to foreign investors should remain, \"no matter who wins the next election.",
"Prime Minister Singh, with six months of his government to run, is putting on a brave face.",
"\"It is when India is challenged that the Indian people rise to the occasion and convert the challenge into an opportunity.",
"There is no place for fear,\" he told the nation late last month.",
"Geoff Hiscock writes on Indian business and is the author of \"India's Global Wealth Club\" (2007) and \"India's Store Wars\" (2008), both published by John Wiley & Sons."
] |
[
"India's economic growth will slow in 2009, most economists project .",
"Nation's young population has shown willingness to go into accrue debt to spend .",
"Infrastructure, corruption, health and education worries remain economic hurdles .",
"India faces political, social risk in 2009, according to Hong Kong-based group ."
] |
[
9,
10,
32
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- In November we step inside the world of design as show host Becky Anderson searches for the Spirit of Architecture.",
"The \"Gherkin\" designed by Norman Foster is one of the most familiar features on London's skyline.",
"In late October, Barcelona hosts the World Architecture Festival during which the great and good will attempt to choose the best building in the world.",
"CNN will get exclusive access to the event, the nominations, and the jury which includes some of the world's greatest architects.",
"The program will start with an explanation of Barcelona's unique architectural heritage.",
"It will then feature short pieces on six of the architects and the buildings that have been nominated for awards.",
"These profiles have been filmed in Mumbai, Tokyo, Pretoria, Munich, London and Maryland.",
"The program will also feature interviews with some of the world's leading architects including Lord Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and Wolf D Prix.",
"Foster is the founder of the London-based Foster and Partners architecture company which has recently won a competition to build Virgin Galactic's New Mexico Spaceport Authority Building for space tourism.",
"In September 2007, Foster was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, for his efforts on the Petronas University of Technology, Bandar Seri Iskandar, Malaysia.",
"Hadid meanwhile has won numerous international architecture awards and is currently involved in the construction of a 17,500-seat aquatics centre for London -- one of the venues being built for the 2012 Olympics.",
"Finally, the Austrian-born Prix, who founded top company Coop Himmelb(l)au is a legend of the architecture world.",
"Prix has scooped many of the top international architectural awards over the last quarter century, and today continues his active involvement in the world of design.",
"Once we have taken you through the festival highlights, at the end of the program the best building in the world will be chosen and we will interview the winning architect."
] |
[
"November's show comes from the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona .",
"Interviewees include Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and Wolf D Prix .",
"The best building in the world will be chosen at the end of the show ."
] |
[
2,
7,
13
] |
[
"Editor's note: Peter Bergen is a fellow at the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think tank that promotes innovative thought from across the ideological spectrum and at New York University's Center on Law and Security.",
"He's the author of \"The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader.\"",
"Peter Bergen says deals with the Taliban could further destabilize the situation in Afghanistan.",
"(CNN) -- It is a longstanding cliché that there is no military solution in Afghanistan, only a political one.",
"Linked to this is the newer, related notion, rapidly becoming a cliché, that the United States should start making deals with elements of the \"reconcilable\" Taliban.",
"As with many clichés, there is some truth to both these notions, but neither of these comforting ideas are a substitute for a strategy that is connected to what is happening on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan.",
"Sunday's New York Times ran an interview with President Obama in which he said that, just as the U.S. had made peace agreements with Sunni militias in Iraq, \"There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region.\"",
"He also cautioned that this could be \"more complex\" than was the case in Iraq.",
"It's not only going to be more complex, but doing deals with the Taliban today could further destabilize Afghanistan.",
"Before getting to why that is the case, let's stipulate first that there are always going to be some local commanders of the Taliban who can be bribed, coerced or otherwise persuaded to lay down their arms.",
"In fact, the Afghan government already has had an amnesty program in place for Taliban fighters for four years.",
"Thousands of the Taliban already have taken advantage of the amnesty, a fact that tends to be glossed over in most of the recent discussions of the issue.",
"That being said, there are nine reasons why doing deals with most of the various factions of the insurgencies in Afghanistan and Pakistan that are labeled \"the Taliban\" are more in the realm of fantasy than a sustainable policy.",
"First, the Afghan government is a sovereign entity and any agreements with the Taliban must be made by it.",
"Right now the weak and ineffectual Afghan government is in no position to negotiate with the Taliban, other than to make significant concessions of either territory or principle, or both.",
"Second, while Obama didn't talk about dealing with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, it is worth pointing out the Taliban leadership, including Mullah Omar, has in the past several months taken every opportunity to say that it has no interest in a deal with the Afghan government.",
"And just last week, Mullah Omar urged the Pakistani Taliban to refocus their efforts on attacking U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.",
"Those statements should be taken at face value.",
"Third, Mullah Omar's intransigence is utterly predictable.",
"He was prepared to sacrifice his regime on the point of principle that he would not hand over Osama bin Laden after 9/11.",
"And he did. This does not suggest a Kissingerian realism about negotiations, but rather a fanatical devotion to his cause.",
"Fourth, the Taliban believe they may be winning in Afghanistan, and they also are confident that they are not losing, which for an insurgent movement amounts to the same thing.",
"They see no need to negotiate today when they can get a better deal down the road.",
"Fifth, the Taliban leadership is largely in Pakistan.",
"Side deals done with the Afghan Taliban will have little or no effect on the fact that the command and control of the insurgency is in another country.",
"Sixth, when Pakistan's government has done \"peace\" deals with the Taliban in the Pakistani tribal regions in 2005 and 2006 and in the northern region of Swat earlier this year, they were made following military setbacks by Pakistan's army.",
"Those deals then allowed the militants to regroup and extend their control over greater swaths of Pakistani territory.",
"Why would new agreements with the Taliban on either side of the Afghan-Pakistan border yield different results?",
"Seventh, \"reconcilable\" Afghan Taliban leaders have already reconciled to the government.",
"Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, the former foreign minister who met with Afghan government officials in Saudi Arabia in September, to discuss some kind of agreement with the Harmid Karzai administration, was a foe of bin Laden's long before 9/11 and was never a hard-liner.",
"Muttawakil has no standing today with Taliban leaders, who have been waging war now for 7½ years against Karzai, and who quickly denied they were in any negotiations with his government.",
"Eighth, while the Taliban was never a monolithic movement, it is much closer to al Qaeda today than it was before 9/11.",
"Yes, there are local groups of the Taliban operating for purely local reasons, but the upper levels of the Taliban have morphed together ideologically and tactically with al Qaeda.",
"Baitullah Mehsud, for instance, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, sent suicide attackers to Spain in January 2008, according to Spanish counterterrorism officials, and sees himself as part of the global jihad.",
"The Haqqani family, arguably the most important component of the insurgency on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border, has ties with bin Laden that date back to at least 1985, according to the Palestinian journalist Jamal Ismail, who has known the al Qaeda leader for more than two decades.",
"Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a commander allied to the Taliban, has been close to bin Laden since at least 1989, according to militants who know both men.",
"Al Qaeda was founded in Pakistan two decades ago, and bin Laden has been fighting alongside Afghan mujahedeen groups since the mid-1980s.",
"Al Qaeda Central on the Afghan/Pakistan border is much less of a \"foreign\" group with far deeper and older roots in the region than Al Qaeda ever was in Iraq.",
"The Taliban's rhetoric is now filled with references to Iraq and Palestine in a manner that mirrors bin Laden's public statements.",
"The use of suicide attacks, improvised explosive devices and the beheadings of hostages -- all techniques that al Qaeda perfected in Iraq -- are methods that the Taliban have increasingly adopted in Afghanistan and have grown exponentially there since 2005. iReport.com: Should there be a deal with the Taliban?",
"One could go on listing examples of the Taliban's ideological and tactical collaboration with al Qaeda, but the larger point is that separating al Qaeda and the Taliban is not going to be as relatively simple as splintering Iraqi insurgent groups from al Qaeda in Iraq.",
"And ninth, unlike Al Qaeda in Iraq, which was a foreign-led group that sought to impose, unpopular Taliban-style rule on Sunni areas of Iraq, the Taliban in Pashtun areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan are not outsiders, but are often neighborhood people whose views about religion and society are rooted in the values of the Pashtun countryside.",
"While, of course, the U.S. should be splintering, buying off and co-opting as many elements of the Taliban as possible, American officials also need to be realistic about how much closer Al Qaeda and the Taliban have grown together in recent years, and the fact that the insurgency has mushroomed in size on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border.",
"Winston Churchill once observed that \"it's better to jaw-jaw than to war-war.\"",
"True enough.",
"But \"jaw-jaw\" with the Taliban won't work if they think they are winning as they do right now.",
"The Obama administration has ordered 17,000 additional American soldiers to go to Afghanistan this year.",
"As a result, two Marine brigades and a mobile, well-armored Stryker brigade will deploy into the heart of the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan.",
"Marine and Stryker brigades are not the kind of units you send in to play nice.",
"Those deployments strongly suggest that for all the public discussion of negotiations with the Taliban the decision already has been made that any such negotiations should precede from a position of strength rather than weakness.",
"These comments are, in part, based on Peter Bergen's testimonybefore the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs on March 4.",
"The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Peter Bergen."
] |
[
"Peter Bergen: Idea of dealing with moderate Taliban is gaining more support .",
"Bergen says it's not likely to be a strategy for success in the Aghanistan war .",
"Taliban leadership thinks it's winning the war and won't cut a deal, he says .",
"Bergen: Afghan government too weak to engage in meaningful talks ."
] |
[
2,
8,
14,
15,
43
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- If your neighbor mentions their green roof you might think they have a moss problem.",
"Maybe they are simply referring to the color.",
"But you're unlikely to think that they have just had a mini ecosystem installed.",
"Majora Carter says green roofs can help alleviate the problems caused by storm water .",
"Simply put, green roofs are gardens on your roof.",
"They come in all shapes and sizes and range from a simple layer of turf to bite-sized hanging gardens of Babylon.",
"But green roofs are not just aesthetic.",
"They have important environmental benefits: they absorb storm water, reduce noise pollution, absorb heat (thus lessening the urban heat-island effect) and add an extra layer of insulation to buildings.",
"That's why they are increasingly being used on new builds as the construction industry looks to make use of greener technologies..",
"The concept of a green roof goes back centuries: The turf roofed dwellings of the Vikings are early examples, but the modern green roof we know today was developed in Germany 50 years ago.",
"Since then, they have become increasingly popular, yet the industry still struggles against skeptics, who believe green roofs to be expensive and liable to leaking.",
"The exception to the rule has been Germany, where the industry is now annually worth $77 million.",
"Even by the end of the 1990s, 50 million square meters of German roofs, the equivalent of 10 percent of flat roofs, were recorded to be green.",
"The industry is not faring so well in other parts of the world.",
"While the UK has seen a steady increase in interest since the 1960s, a lack of input from the industry and policy-makers has left Britain far behind Germany's booming market.",
"In North America, green roofs have taken even longer to catch on.",
"Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a Canadian non-profit industry association, conducted a survey in 2005 which indicated that only 233,000 square meters of green roofs existed in North America.",
"But this was up 80 percent from the previous year, and the market continues to grow.",
"Majora Carter, who set up Sustainable South Bronx to help lift the area out of poverty by creating green-collar jobs, is frustrated by this difference between the European and American industries.",
"\"In Germany they are down to $20 per square meter, which is way cheaper than a regular roof here,\" she told CNN.",
"\"There are mandates over there because of the storm water they retain,\" she continued, \"Which is a huge drain on their resources, as it is on ours.",
"What we are trying to do is champion the policies behind storm water.\"",
"Storm water is a growing problem in cities.",
"The lack of permeable surfaces are loading drainage systems and increasing the risk of flooding.",
"It's green roofs' ability to retain high levels of precipitation that are seen as way to control and slow the water run-off.",
"The mandates Carter refers to are part of Germany's Green Area and Biotope Area Federal Law.",
"They are not a legal requirement, but through incentives set up at a city level, the mandates have helped to encourage cheaper prices.",
"Dusty Gedge, co-founder of Livingroof.org, a UK Web site promoting the green roof industry, believes it is the government's responsibility to help the industry grow.",
"\"We need government bodies to accept certain civil engineering benefits, such as storm water amelioration, like the Germans, Austrians and Swiss do,\" he told CNN.",
"\"This will encourage uptake.\"",
"In many countries, the green roof industry is vulnerable to non-acceptance and a lack of understanding.",
"Gedge says, \"There are problems with the construction industry viewing vegetation as a problem and not a benefit.\"",
"Green roofs also struggle against better-known technologies such as solar panels, but Gedge points out, \"Solar panels can work better on green roofs than on gray roofs.\"",
"Despite this lack of support, the green roof industry is growing.",
"In London alone, there are approximately 1 million square meters of green roofs planned, with about 200,000 square meters already installed.",
"And as climate change stays in the headlines, the popularity of green roofs is growing.",
"According to Gedge, \"Over the last eight years, green roofs [in the UK] have gone from being a very marginal approach to a mainstream approach.",
"Cities such as London and Sheffield are now asking for them as part of planning applications.\"",
"But Gedge also believes that support from local government, as opposed to a centrally driven policy, is key to the industry's growth.",
"\"In Switzerland, green roofs are federal law, but again this is interpreted at a cantonal and city level,\" he told CNN.",
"\"This is a much better approach than driven by the center.\"",
"Managing the industry through federal laws offers a general framework which can then be interpreted as needed.",
"In an industry that varies from project to project, this flexibility is a valuable asset.",
"So the green roof industry continues to grow -- but there's a feeling that government support could be better.",
"With a little more encouragement, what once was an eccentric way to roof your home could soon become the universal standard, turning our cities into lush, green metropolises.",
"But then, it's not easy being green.",
"................................... Would you put a green roof on your home?",
"Do green roofs really help the environment -- or are they an expensive indulgence?",
"Share your views in the Sound Off box below."
] |
[
"Green roofs date back to before the time of the Vikings .",
"Not just aesthetic, they help fight against climate change, especially in cities .",
"Germany's green roof market is the biggest, making up 10 percent of all flat roofs .",
"Supporters say government support is need to spur growth elsewhere ."
] |
[
6,
9,
12,
27,
35
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- The apocalyptic tales of nature's impending demise are as well worn as they are numerous.",
"Dr. Joseph Adelegan has pioneered new energy sources, including using cow waste to create cooking gas.",
"But while our leaders wrangle over quotas for greenhouse emissions over banquets at lavish summits, there are remarkable individuals who are doing their small bit to prevent our planet from peril.",
"Take Nigerian civil engineer, Dr Joseph Adelegan for instance.",
"He firmly believes that the world's future fuel demands can be met through renewable energy.",
"And he is using increasingly innovative methods to achieve these results.",
"Three years ago Adelegan won plaudits for his \"Cows to Kilowatts\" project, which used effluents and waste products from abattoirs to produce cooking gas.",
"The project was a winner of the prestigious 2005 Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development (SEED) International Awards.",
"It is still going strong and being used to provide cooking fuel for nearly 6000 homes in Ibadan, southern Nigeria.",
"Adelegan tells CNN there are now plans to roll it out across most of Africa, including Zimbabwe, Kenya and Egypt.",
"This time he's back with another groundbreaking idea to use waste from the cassava plant, a staple food of Nigeria, to generate electricity.",
"His project \"Power to the Poor: Off-Grid Lighting from Cassava Waste in Nigeria,\" was awarded a $250,000 grant in May from the World Bank after being named one of the best projects in Africa.",
"According to Adelegan, Nigeria produces over 20 percent of the world's output of cassava, it is a $5 billion industry and provides the third largest source of carbohydrates for human food.",
"However, waste from cassava refining is a major public health problem in Nigeria, causing water pollution and emitting noxious greenhouse gases.",
"Through innovative biogas technology, zero emission bioreactors at specially constructed plants treat the cassava waste and produce biogas which drives microturbines for low cost, safe and reliable off-grid efficient lighting to thousands of rural homes.",
"Using this method, Adelegan says he hopes to generate 200kw daily, which will provide basic electricity for more than 2000 households initially.",
"He told CNN: \"There will be four lighting points in their homes.",
"We're thinking in terms of basic lighting, they will be able to use their TV, cassette player, that sort of thing, but it will not be able to power a refrigerator.",
"\"These people currently rely on kerosene lamps that are very bad for emissions and pollution.",
"We also plan to provide them with low wattage lamps that use just 5kw to bring down usage.\"",
"Through his not-for-profit organization-- Global Network for Environment and Economic Development Research)-- Adelegan has achieved the impressive feat of galvanizing the notoriously bureaucratic Nigerian government into action.",
"He told CNN that the governor of Kwara State, in northern Nigeria has donated a plot of land for the launch of the project, scheduled to start next month.",
"The scheme will cost $310,000 and will become profitable in little over three years, Adelegan says.",
"\"This can never replace fossil fuels because of the huge demand we have for them, but we can help to reduce greenhouse emissions by creating alternative sources of energy,\" he said.",
"The Ice Man Cometh .",
"In the furthest reaches of northern India, glaciers once stretched far down the mountains, now they are all but gone as global warming takes its devastating toll.",
"Hardworking but impoverished farmers in the Ladakh region have watched as their sole source of fresh water slowly melts away.",
"But one man is taking matters into his own hands.",
"Enter Chewang Norphel, a softly-spoken but sprightly 72-year-old has created artificial glaciers and managed to generate water and greenery in this barren landscape.",
"Perched high up in the remote cold deserts of the Himalayas, Norphel has mastered the art of harvesting water by using just a few hundred meters of iron pipes and stone embankments.",
"\"Fifty to sixty years ago, we used to have huge glaciers here, the retired civil engineer, told CNN.",
"\"They have been reduced now because of global warming and now they are on high peaks.\"",
"The idea of the 'artificial glacier' was born after he noticed that taps were left running in winter to stop the water from freezing in the pipes.",
"The water then flowed into the drains surrounding the taps and froze.",
"\"And it then occurred to me: 'why not try and make artificial glaciers in the winter?'",
"So that local farmers get a real headstart when they need it most,\" Norphel says.",
"The result was a device which traps the waters which melt down the high mountains by turning them into chunks of ice.",
"The largest artificial glacier Norphel has built so far is near the village of Phuktsey.",
"About 1,000 feet (300 meters) long, 150 feet (45 meters) wide, and four feet (1 meter) deep, it supplies irrigation water to the entire village of around 700 people.",
"For Norphel, there are several advantages of an artificial glacier over a natural one.",
"Firstly, it is closer to the village and at a comparatively lower altitude.",
"Natural glaciers, on the other hand, are located way up in the mountains and they melt slowly in summer, releasing water to the villages quite late.",
"Now engineers from other mountainous regions in India and Afghanistan have visited to learn his methods.",
"One artificial glacier costs just $7,000, compared to $34,000 for a dam.",
"Only local materials are needed, and the villagers themselves can build and maintain them.",
"For his efforts, Norphel has been awarded the Far Eastern Economic Review's 1999 Gold Asian Innovation Award, twelve years after he created the first one.",
"However, he is frustrated at the lack of investment and funding to help modernize the design.",
"\"The funding is not sufficient,\" he said.",
"\"We are getting very little amounts and we need a lot more.",
"I hope to get more as this year I want to make two or three more glaciers, with a new design to improve the efficiency.\"",
"In 1996, one year after he had retired, Norphel joined the Leh Nutrition Project, a non-governmental organization, as project manager for watershed development.",
"\"Watershed development is the only solution for Ladakh's rural economy.",
"Otherwise, you will have rural folk flocking the city in search of jobs.",
"And there are not many to go around,\" he says.",
"Do you have other examples of how people are using innovative ways to create renewable energy sources?",
"Share your views and experiences in our sound-off box below."
] |
[
"Individuals around the world are devising innovative ways to save the planet .",
"Joseph Adelegan has created fuels using cow waste and cassava plant .",
"Chewang Norphel is known as the \"Ice Man\" after creating artificial glaciers ."
] |
[
1,
24,
28,
37,
54
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Of course the TV series Miami Vice seems dated now, but it's not just because Don Johnson's white Armani suits and slip-on shoes belong to a mercifully bygone era.",
"The fact is, Miami is no longer the same city as the one portrayed in the 1980s cop show.",
"Party time in Little Havana.",
"The expansive sandy beaches are still there, as is the surfeit of sunshine, the hint of the exotic and the hordes of sun-hungry tourists who have flocked to this holiday hotspot for the last 80 years.",
"But Miami has shed much of its unwanted baggage from the 80s and has grown beyond a resort town into something more substantial.",
"Still barely 100 years old, Miami was a tourist destination almost from its inception.",
"The offshore sandbar called Miami Beach was quickly recognized as having all the ingredients of a world-class holiday resort and the hotel-building spree that took place in the 1920s and 30s has left Miami Beach with hundreds of stunning Art Deco structures that give the area its distinctive look .",
"By the 1980s, as well as being the destination of choice for holiday makers, retirees and 'snowbirds' (Canadians and northern Americans wintering in Florida), Miami had attracted an uninvited guest -- the 'cocaine cowboy.'",
"Miami's proximity to South America made it a key point of entry for Colombian cocaine smugglers and the city became a battleground for ruthless drug barons intent on grabbing their piece of the American Dream.",
"The mid 80s was the Miami Vice era, when the city's reputation for glamour and hedonism came with a side order of carjackings and gangland shootouts.",
"But by the mid 90s, Miami had largely driven the cocaine cowboys out of town and hoteliers like Ian Schrager began converting some of those Art Deco classics into sophisticated boutique hotels fit for the international jet set.",
"The guns may have gone but the glitz was never far away.",
"Now that Miami's been to rehab and come out cleaned up and healthy, it turns out there's more to the city than glitzy nightclubs and the surgically enhanced bodies of the beautiful people.",
"Miami has acquired a reputation as the new kid on the block in the modern art scene, a reputation that was cemented when the world's most prestigious modern art fair, Art Basel, arrived in the city in 2002.",
"Just like the snowbirds, Art Basel returns to Miami each winter and the Wynwood neighborhood has now become a bona fide art district, with exclusive galleries showcasing cutting-edge art all year round.",
"Nearby, the Design District is full of studios and workshops producing contemporary furniture and art.",
"Then there's the fact that Miami is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, with some 60% of the population born outside the U.S.",
"The food, music, culture and language of Latin America have all become part of modern Miami, giving the city a cultural heritage that belies its youth.",
"But don't think Miami's reinvention as a cultural destination has done anything to dent it's appetite for the good times.",
"When it comes to partying, there's not many places that can keep up with Miami, and even fewer that can do it with as much style.",
"In truth, there's still a touch of the old Vice about Miami, and who knows, with the 80s revival, we may not have seen the last of those white suits."
] |
[
"Miami has shed its 80s reputation for carjackings and 'cocaine cowboys'\nWynwood and the Design District are up-and-coming arts neighborhoods .",
"The language and culture of Latin America are part of modern Miami .",
"Miami still attracts the international jet set and is a party city like no other ."
] |
[
9,
15,
17
] |
[
"(CNN) -- The discovery of HIV, a breakthrough in the treatment of bipolar disorder, the advent of the contraceptive pill ... CNN looks at some of the scientific discoveries that changed the world.",
"HIV was isolated by scientists in 1983 and named in 1986 by an international committee .",
"THE DISCOVERY OF HIV/ AIDS .",
"Originally called slimmer's disease, as sufferers lost a lot of weight, the first recorded case of HIV occurred in the Congo in 1977.",
"After several infections, a Danish doctor died of pneumonia, which normally doesn't break through the body's immune system.",
"The components of her disease had not yet been placed together, indicating that this was a new form of illness.",
"Other cases spread in following years around Africa and in homosexual men in New York and San Francisco.",
"By 1980, 55 American men had been diagnosed with the disease.",
"Research began in Europe, the U.S. and Africa to ascertain what this new disease could be.",
"The Centers for Disease Control found that the disease was caused by a virus being passed around by bodily fluids such as semen or blood.",
"In 1981 it published its findings, saying the disease attacked T-cells, which help the body fight infection.",
"By 1983 the disease was isolated by teams of American and French researchers.",
"In 1986 an international committee decided the virus should be called human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).",
"Education campaigns were unrolled around the world, advising people to avoid risky sexual behavior or sharing needles.",
"By June 1990, 139,765 people had the disease, with a 60 per cent mortality rate.",
"The progress of the disease slowed down in the West with education campaigns and the development of protease inhibitors, which provided sufferers with almost complete remission.",
"But in Africa, the spread and treatment of HIV remains a global concern.",
"THE DISCOVERY OF LITHIUM TO TREAT MOOD DISORDERS .",
"Australian psychiatrist John Frederick Joseph Cade once said, \"I believe the brain, like any other organ, can get sick and it can also heal.\"",
"He made huge gains in healing the brain through his work with sufferers of bipolar disorder by discovering that lithium salts -- a naturally occurring chemical - could be used to treat the illness.",
"Previously, electro-convulsive therapy and lobotomies had been the major treatments for bipolar disorder.",
"After having been a prisoner of war in World War II, Dr. Cade served as the head of the Bundoora Repatriation Hospital in Melbourne Australia.",
"It was at an unused kitchen in Bundoora where he conducted crude experiments that led to the discovery of lithium as a treatment of bipolar disorder.",
"After trials on humans, Dr. Cade speculated that bipolar disorder was a \"lithium deficiency disease\" and that a dose of lithium had a calming effect.",
"Dr. Cade published findings in the Medical Journal of Australia in 1949 entitled \"Lithium salts in the treatment of psychotic excitement.\"",
"He died in 1980. Lithium is still used successfully in the treatment of mental illness to this day.",
"THE DISCOVERY OF BACTERIA .",
"Dutchman Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was known as the \"father of micro-biology.\"",
"He drew scientific attention to the many bacteria that he discovered.",
"His research was helped by the different types of microscopes that he developed over his lifetime.",
"From his powerful lenses he was able to ascertain many different types of lifeforms too small for the human eye to see.",
"It was by observing the build-up of plaque on teeth that the Dutch scientist discovered what we now know to be bacteria.",
"His initial observations on bacteria make for amusing reading.",
"On September 17, 1683, Leeuwenhoek wrote to the Royal Society about the plaque between his own teeth, \"a little white matter, which is as thick as if 'twere batter.\"",
"He then observed two women and two old men who had never cleaned their teeth in their lives.",
"Looking at these samples with his microscope, Leeuwenhoek wrote of \"an unbelievably great company of living animalcules, a-swimming more nimbly than any I had ever seen up to this time.",
"The biggest sort ... bent their body into curves in going forwards ...",
"Moreover, the other animalcules were in such enormous numbers, that all the water ... seemed to be alive.\"",
"He also observed algae on water surfaces and the furry coating on human and animal tongues during illness, bringing his theories to the attention of the Royal Society.",
"Most bacteria are harmless, although some bacterial diseases are fatal: tuberculosis kills about 2 million people a year.",
"Bacteria are important in the production of cheese and yogurt, in processing wastewater and in manufacturing antibiotics.",
"THE CONTRACEPTIVE PILL .",
"The oral contraceptive commonly known as \"the pill\" was invented during the 1950s in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.",
"It contains hormone-like substances, usually estrogen and progestin, that enter the blood stream and disrupt the production of ova and ovulation, with the aim of preventing pregnancy.",
"It originated after an unexpected discovery made in a jungle in Mexico in the 1930s.",
"While Professor Russell Marker was experimenting with plant steroids, he discovered a chemical process that transformed these steroids into the female sex hormone, progesterone.",
"Researchers in the late 1940s began to explore the possibility of an inexpensive oral contraceptive.",
"Chemist Gregory Pincus tested a derivative from Marker's findings on 1,308 volunteers in Puerto Rico in 1958 and Searle Pharmaceuticals applied for US Food and Drug Administration approval to market the drug.",
"The pill came on to the market in the U.S. in 1960 and is still widely used today.",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"HIV was isolated in 1983 and can be controlled with protease inhibitors .",
"Psychiatrist John Cade pioneered lithium as a treatment for bipolar disorder .",
"Dutchman Antonie van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria as a build-up on teeth .",
"Professor Russell Marker's experiments with plant steroids led to the Pill ."
] |
[
1,
22,
27,
31,
41,
45
] |
[
"NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Officials found 13 bodies in the rubble of a scorched supermarket in downtown Nairobi Friday and are investigating a tip that security guards locked people in the burning building, a police spokesman said.",
"Members of the public helped to fight the fire which left at least 47 people missing.",
"The blaze started on Wednesday afternoon in the Nakumatt supermarket.",
"The Standard Newspaper reported harrowing tales of families trying to find their missing loved ones, at times making the job of firefighters more difficult.",
"So many people crowded the scene that police on foot and on horseback periodically chased them away.",
"Riot police with tear gas and batons stood nervously around the edge of the scene -- where a barricade has been erected.",
"Joseph Mwangi waited among the crowd, hoping for news of his cousin Daniel.",
"On Wednesday, Mwangi sent 16-year-old Daniel Njoge with 6,000 shillings (about $75) to the market.",
"\"He was coming to shop for school,\" said Mwangi, a waiter at a nearby restaurant.",
"\"I sent him to the store to get stationery supplies.\"",
"\"On Wednesday night, I got so worried.",
"Now I think he is just in there,\" Mwangi said, pointing at the burned-out store.",
"\"The response was not good,\" he said.",
"\"A person who fights a fire must go into the building, but they just stayed outside.\"",
"Mwangi registered with the Kenya Red Cross on the scene, as scores of others did, and now he waits.",
"Justin Mule, who works at the Stanley Bookstore across the road from the supermarket, described the start of the fire to CNN: \"I saw smoke coming up from the building on Wednesday afternoon.",
"In a few minutes, there were explosions.",
"I saw some guys jumping from the burning roof.",
"Soon after the fire, I saw the store security guards closing the doors because they feared looting.",
"The doors were locked.",
"That was a mistake. They shouldn't have locked the doors.\"",
"Other witness corroborated his account.",
"Police launched a criminal investigation to look into that allegation, said Eric Kiraithe, a police spokesman .",
"Employees of the supermarket refused to comment on the allegations.",
"The fire has angered Kenyans for what they perceive is a lack of disaster preparedness.",
"Local newspaper editorials slammed the government's response to the tragedy.",
"\"Disaster preparedness is still a challenge, and the operation was hampered by the Nairobi city layout,\" said Kenya Red Cross spokesman Titus Mung'ou said.",
"Emergency numbers failed to work and water ran out during attempts to put out the fire, he said.",
"According to local news reports, the fire ignited Wednesday afternoon during a busy hour in the 24-hour supermarket.",
"Hundreds of people crowded around the scene and tourists peered through their hotel windows as firefighters, security guards and civilians struggled to get the fire under control.",
"Periodic explosions rocked the city and debris fell around the building.",
"The crowd cheered each incoming fire truck, and water had to be brought to the scene from a nearby soccer stadium."
] |
[
"Rescuers find 13 bodies in scorched rubble of Kenyan supermarket .",
"Massive fire engulfed the building in downtown Nairobi on Wednesday .",
"Incident angers Kenyans for what they perceive is a lack of disaster preparedness ."
] |
[
0,
24
] |
[
"BLACKSBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- Erin Sheehan is one of the almost 28,000 students making the bittersweet return to the Virginia Tech campus for fall classes, a journey she was afforded only because of some quick thinking in April.",
"Students return to the Virginia Tech campus Monday for the first day of fall classes.",
"When Seung-Hui Cho stormed into Sheehan's German class that horrifying Monday morning -- firing off indiscriminate rounds of gunfire that killed the German teacher and four of Sheehan's classmates -- Sheehan hit the deck and played dead.",
"\"He went around the room shooting everyone,\" she said.",
"Cho's April 16 rampage through Norris Hall left 29 students and faculty dead.",
"The mentally disturbed Cho also killed two others and himself in the mass shooting, the worst in modern U.S. history.",
"Though she is heading back to class, Sheehan is admittedly still shaken.",
"Four months after the tragedy, Sheehan is haunted by memories of the massacre, and she still jumps when she hears a loud noise in her Virginia Tech dorm room.",
"Regardless, she is prepared to move on.",
"\"When classes started again in the spring I didn't come back,\" Sheehan said.",
"\"It was just too hard to do then, but now I'm ready.\"",
"The campus was buzzing over the weekend.",
"Parents and students crowded the sidewalks, toting boxes and furniture into the dorms, including West Ambler Johnston, where the first two victims were killed.",
"Norris Hall, meanwhile, has been refurbished and will no longer host classes.",
"Virginia Tech has discreetly beefed up security since the tragedy.",
"Locks that operate from the inside have been placed on classroom doors.",
"Dormitory entrances are secured 24 hours a day.",
"Students can sign up for emergency text messages from the university.",
"Despite the precautions, not everything has gone as smoothly as planned.",
"On the eve of the students' return to classes, 23 people fell ill from a carbon monoxide leak in an apartment building near campus.",
"Five Virginia Tech students were hospitalized, police and hospital officials said.",
"Blacksburg Police said a valve on a water heater that was malfunctioning is believed to be the cause of the incident.",
"Police said the valve was stuck in the open position, causing a constant burn-off of fuel and creating carbon monoxide that was not ventilating.",
"Kirsten Halik and Kristin Julia, both 19, were upgraded from critical to serious condition Monday and Elizabeth Burgin, Carolyn Dorman, and Nichole Howarth, all 19 -- are conscious and alert, according to hospital officials.",
"Burgin, Dorman, and Howarth were upgraded from serious to good condition, hospital officials said, after they received treatment in a hyperbaric chamber on Sunday and Monday.",
"The chamber pushes pressurized oxygen into the tissues and blood.",
"Meanwhile, the university dedicated a permanent memorial to the victims and their families -- a semicircle of 32 engraved stones bearing each victim's name.",
"One student said she wanted to attend the ceremony until she woke up at the Collegiate Suites apartment building feeling nauseous, The Washington Post reported.",
"Spirits are high, however, said professor Nikki Giovanni, and students and faculty are ready to move past the tragedy.",
"Watch Giovanni applaud the university's new security measures » .",
"\"The Hokies' spirit is alive and well.",
"I think that we're very excited that classes are starting -- that we're moving into a new year,\" she said.",
"Perhaps indicative of that resilience is the size of the incoming freshman class.",
"According to a university news release, the university accepted deposits from 5,215 freshmen this year.",
"That is more than its enrollment target of 5,000 and about 30 more deposits than the university received from incoming freshmen last year, the news release said.",
"\"Virginia Tech took a big hit, but I think that we have embraced each other.",
"We have been embraced on this planet,\" Giovanni said, explaining that the Virginia Tech community has received greetings \"from every country on Earth and it's been a wonderful thing.\"",
"Students concur they are ready for the new school year.",
"Playing Frisbee with friends at a drill field near the newly christened memorial, Aaron Friedman said the summer break was a welcome reprieve, but he was ready to return to Blacksburg.",
"\"It was good to get away.",
"Being back with everybody at home really helped,\" Friedman said.",
"Fellow sophomore Mike Giancola said he, too, is ready to move on, even if he is still disturbed by memories of the shootings.",
"\"I still think about it every day, but I'm ready to get my life going.\"",
"Sheehan echoes the sentiment of Giovanni and her fellow students but noted that she made some changes in her life, and she still battles post-traumatic stress symptoms every day.",
"\"Even being in my new dorm, when I hear a loud noise or something unexpected, I'll peer out through the little hole in my door to make sure everything is OK,\" she said.",
"E-mail to a friend .",
"CNN's Reggie Aqui, Brianna Keilar, and Gary Nurenberg contributed to this report."
] |
[
"Student says she avoided being shot during massacre by playing dead .",
"No classes will be held in Norris Hall, where 29 of the victims were killed .",
"Professor: \"I think that we're very excited that classes are starting\"\nCarbon monoxide leak leaves 23 sick but some students getting better ."
] |
[
13,
19,
31
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- As the lights went down in the theater the low murmur built to a thunderous ovation as the odd-looking man in the crumpled suit and bowler hat took to the stage.",
"Tom Waits in Paris on the European leg of his tour.",
"The excitement that greeted the eccentric American singer songwriter Tom Waits' appearance in Edinburgh last month may come as a surprise to the many, who have never heard of him.",
"The 58-year-old has stayed for most of his four-decade career on the edge of the music mainstream.",
"This is despite a showering of critical acclaim and a host of high-profile fans including the movie star Scarlett Johansson, who recently recorded an album of Waits covers.",
"Waits' position on the periphery of pop music (he admits that the 60s scene largely passed him by), may be because he belongs to a bigger historical tradition -- that of the singer-storyteller that has its origin in folk music.",
"His music comes from a different place from most artists.",
"A laconic, bar room philosopher with a wry sense of humor, Waits is an avowed fan of the Beat generation writer Jack Kerouac and the author and poet Charles Bukowski.",
"Many of his songs are stories containing a cast of characters from America's underbelly: the drunks and disenfranchised, the lost souls hiding out from life in seedy night spots.",
"It is the same world that Kerouac chronicled in his writings, including his most famous work \"On the Road,\" which describes a journey across America in the late fifties.",
"Waits, who is notoriously interview-shy, acknowledged his debt to the author in a promotional interview to accompany the release of his 1974 album \"The Heart of Saturday Night.\"",
"He said the record was a search for the \"center of Saturday night,\" a quest he said that Kerouac himself had \"relentlessly chased from one end of this country to the other, and I've attempted to scoop up a few diamonds of this magic that I see.\"",
"Waits' place in the folk tradition is something he has acknowledged, consciously or otherwise, in his music.",
"In 1990, he wrote the music and lyrics for \"The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets,\" a theatrical collaboration with the American writer William Burroughs based on a German folktale.",
"Like all great writers, Waits is a conscientious observer of people and their strange foibles.",
"Born in Pomona, CA.",
"he moved to Los Angeles in the late sixties to pursue his music career, finding work as a doorman at an LA nightspot.",
"It was at this time that he honed his skills as a storyteller, eavesdropping on the lives of others.",
"\"I was picking up people's conversations in all-night coffee shops - ambulance drivers, cabdrivers, street sweepers,\" he said in an interview with The New Yorker.",
"\"I did research there as an evening curator, and I started writing gingerly.",
"I thought at some point I'd like to forge it all into something meaningful, and give it dignity.\"",
"The results of this labor are songs like \"Frank's Wild Years,\" a hilarious and sinister tale of a man -- Frank -- trapped in suburbia with a wife and pet dog that has a skin disease.",
"The song is spoken in a lounge room style over a soft jazz accompaniment, and like much of Waits' work it drips irony: \"They had a thoroughly modern kitchen/ Self-cleaning oven (the whole bit)/ Frank drove a little sedan/ They were so happy.\"",
"In a 1983 promotional interview published by his then record company Island, Waits credits a short story by Bukowski with giving him some of the inspiration for the song.",
"\"Bukowski had a story that essentially was saying that it's the little things that drive men mad,\" Waits said.",
"\"It's not World War II.",
"It's the broken shoe lace when there is no time left that sends men completely out of their minds.",
"\"I think there is a little bit of Frank in everybody.\"",
"In the song, Frank eventually runs amok, setting fire to the family home and blazing a trail up the Hollywood freeway because, as Waits quips in the pay-off \"he never could stand that dog.\"",
"This taste for the absurd carried into his recent live show with the set for the \"Glitter and Doom\" tour decked in a bizarre array of old speaker cones.",
"Waits took to the stage dressed in a Chaplinesque suit, delivering his set from a slightly raised platform that gave up a cloud of dust each time he bashed his feet into it.",
"In spite of the entreaties from the crowd he kept quiet between songs at first.",
"Eventually after a few numbers he broke his silence.",
"\"This is a lopsided love song,\" he rasped, introducing the next track.",
"\"By that I mean the person doing it is lopsided, not the song itself.\"",
"Lopsided or not, it's an authentic voice we could surely do with hearing more from."
] |
[
"Singer songwriter Tom Waits has won critical acclaim for his music .",
"His strange tales of the seedy side of America have attracted a cult following .",
"The actress Scarlett Johansson is a fan and recorded a recent tribute album .",
"Waits counts U.S. writers Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski as influences ."
] |
[
4,
7
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Pirates have hijacked two European-owned chemical tankers off the coast of Somalia in the past 24 hours, the European Union Maritime Security Center said Thursday.",
"The 23,000-ton Norwegian-owned and Bahamian-registered M/V Bow-Asir was captured 250 miles east of the southern Somali city Kismayo on Thursday morning, the security center said in a release.",
"The M/V Nipayia, a 9,000-ton Greek-owned and Panamanian-registered vessel with 19 crew members, was attacked approximately 450 miles east of Kismayo on Wednesday afternoon, the security center said.",
"Officials have issued an alert site notifying all vessels in the area to be aware of the increase in pirate activity."
] |
[
"Pirates hijack two European-owned chemical tankers off the coast of Somalia .",
"23,000-ton Norwegian-owned M/V Bow-Asir captured .",
"M/V Nipayia, a 9,000-ton Greek-owned vessel also seized ."
] |
[
0,
1,
2
] |
[
"Remember the days when a washing machine lasted for decades?",
"If it broke down it could be fixed.",
"But now it seems it is cheaper to discard our broken products and buy new ones.",
"The side effects of our throwaway society are ever-larger waste mountains festering with toxic chemicals and the depletion of natural resources such as rare metals.",
"Europe produced 8.3 to 9.1 millions tons of waste from electrical projects in 2005.",
"Product makers are responding by designing goods that have a reduced carbon footprint at their point of manufacture, but leading thinkers in the field of sustainable design believe that a radical re-think in the way we consume products is required if we want to halt the growing mountain of toxic waste piling up on the world's rubbish dumps.",
"Figures recently announced by the U.N. University suggest the production of electronic and electrical products is running neck-and-neck with their disposal: An estimated 10.3 million tons of electronic products were put on the market in the European Union in 2005, while 8.3 to 9.1 million tons of waste from electrical products found their way into Europe's rubbish bins.",
"Electronic and electrical products account for four percent of Europe's waste and the rate is growing at three times the speed of any other form of waste.",
"What is sustainable design?",
"Sustainable design is a reaction to the global environmental crisis.",
"It aims to produce products, buildings and services, which have a low impact on climate change and the depletion of the world's resources.",
"In industrial design this includes the use of recycled and recyclable materials; reducing pollution through cutting down the need for transportation, such as by using locally-sourced materials; making products which can be taken apart once they are discarded so that their parts that can be used again; and designing goods which use as little energy as possible while they are being made.",
"While many companies are beginning to think of ways in which they can reduce their environmental impact during the manufacture of their products, many sustainable design experts believe that these measures are not enough to reduce the damage the constant manufacture of products is doing to the world's eco-system.",
"A change in culture .",
"\"Daily life is becoming increasingly mediated by electronic artifacts,\" says Jonathan Chapman, editor of Designers, Visionaries and Other Stories, a book which seeks to bring together new thinking on sustainable design.",
"\"These products are great but it seems that as their popularity grows, their impermanence grows with it.\"",
"Chapman believes that true sustainability can only be achieved if we moderate our inclination to strive for the newest product, and he argues that the onus is on designers to initiate a shift away from a disposable culture.",
"He proposes a model for consumer behavior based on a service economy -- that products are designed to last longer and to be fixed when they break; brands can make their profits by providing the services to ensure that this can be done.",
"\"It's quite conceivable to make objects that don't necessarily make a profit at the point-of-sale but that, because their life-spans are extended and are punctuated with service and upgrade options, can generate turnover over long periods of time that is greater than making a small profit and having to remanufacture,\" he explains.",
"He believes that consumers would be prepared to pay more for their electronic goods if they knew they would last longer.",
"It is an economic model that would make most manufacturers choke, but it is an unfounded fear, says economist Andrew Charlton, author of Ozonomics: Inside the Myth of Australia's Economic Superheroes.",
"\"The key thing to remember is that human desires know no bounds -- we are never satiated,\" he says.",
"\"If we replace an expensive disposable product with a permanent one, that just frees up income to spend on other things.",
"\"Ballpoint pens last longer than quills, tarred roads last longer than cobblestones -- and the economy moves on.",
"Every time we satisfy one demand, another one comes along to take its place.\"",
"\"A quarter-inch hole\" But it's not enough to expect consumers to sign up to a longer-life model just because it is 'green', says Steve Bishop, head of sustainability at design firm IDEO.",
"Consumers concerned with the sustainability of the products they buy still only make up a small fraction of the market and designers must incorporate energy-saving measures into mainstream thinking, with sustainability as a by-product.",
"Marketing a product as environmentally friendly is \"really addressing a niche market,\" he argues.",
"\"It's putting the responsibility on people and it's effectively guilting people into buying these things.",
"It shouldn't be about guilt or sacrifice.",
"It should be about connecting to people's values and what really matters to them.\"",
"Often what really matters to people is saving money.",
"He cites as an example of sustainability-achieved-by-stealth some research IDEO made into the effectiveness of hybrid electric cars.",
"They found that the single feature of the cars that maximized their energy-efficiency was not the variable transmission, the regenerative brakes or the electric motor but a small widget on the dashboard that measures fuel consumption and tells you when you are driving the car most efficiently.",
"\"It's not so much that they are trying to be green as much as they are trying to get high score,\" Bishop concludes.",
"Sustainability must understand and adapt to human behavior, not vice versa, is his verdict.",
"\"People don't want a quarter-inch drill.",
"They want a quarter-inch hole,\" Theodore Levitt, former marketing professor at Harvard Business School and author of Marketing Myopia, used to tell his students.",
"Apple's iTunes software, a service which allows music fans to download audio files directly onto their computers, is an example of Levitt's analogy in action.",
"While its main aim was to make listening to music easier, it has inadvertently become a sustainable design model by canceling the need for the compact disc.",
"People still get their end-product -- listening to music -- but without the waste and unnecessary energy consumption that goes into manufacturing a physical item on which to store it.",
"His point is that businesses will have to shift their goal posts and might even have to change the mentality that says that producing more products is the only way to make money.",
"Making a real impact .",
"Environmental issues are becoming increasingly important to the public and manufacturers may have to combine 'green' production techniques with a dramatic change in how consumers relate to the products they buy.",
"\"The real impact happens when you integrate both those things - when you look at the scientific basis and reduce the energy footprint during production but you also look at the psychological and emotional factors during use,\" says Chapman.",
"\"When you start to integrate like that, that's when you start to achieve sustainable design.\"",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"Europeans find it cheaper to throw away rather than fix electrical products .",
"Electrical products are Europe's fastest growing form of waste .",
"Durable products reduce energy needed to manufacture new ones .",
"Sustainable design products have low carbon footprints and use little energy ."
] |
[
2,
7,
9,
10
] |
[
"(CNN) -- In an age of unromance, of Internet dating, of gut reaction cynicism -- I love hearing a story about how Lenny Ann Low of Sydney met her fiancé Alan of Glasgow.",
"Lenny Ann Low made sure every week to do something scary that would in some way alter her future .",
"\"Tell the story again!\"",
"I would beg her in the manner of a child wanting to be read her favorite fairytale, never tiring of the narrative, always smiling with delight at the ending.",
"Lenny met Alan when she was in Edinburgh at the annual comedy festival.",
"She was lining up for a hot tuna melt and a latte at a station café with 9 minutes to catch a train back to London.",
"She stood at the back of the long queue thinking, probably, of anything but love -- when she locked eyes with the young man behind the steaming coffee machine -- the man who in a few short minutes would be making her latte, than in an even shorter minute later would be consigned to the distant memories of coffee makers past.",
"But when their eyes locked from over the Gaggia machine down the snaking queue, Lenny felt an unmistakable current.",
"Could this be love?",
"And if so -- what could be done in the nine minutes she had left in the country?",
"Lenny knew exactly what to do as she had formulated a plan that she had been following for some years.",
"Called Future Friday it was a game she played with herself each week.",
"In order to gain more confidence and \"get out of a rut\" she decided that by Friday each week she would do something scary that would in some way alter her future.",
"Minutes ticked up.",
"She moved up the queue.",
"She ordered her tuna melt.",
"She took her coffee and sat in the train.",
"Six minutes until it pulled out bound for London.",
"She thought of Future Friday.",
"She wrote her email address on a piece of paper, leapt off the train, raced back to the café, barged through the queue and gave Alan her address.",
"\"Email me!\" she told the stranger as she thrust the paper in his hand and bounded back to catch her train.",
"He did email when she was on a plane halfway to Australia.",
"They emailed for a while, then eventually he came out to Sydney.",
"They got on with the business of falling in love and next month they will marry.",
"Unlike other pundits with a self-help plan, Lenny's not promising hers will deliver riches, fame or love.",
"What she does say however is that if you follow it, you will have a lot of adventures and take all sorts of risks that will enrich your life in many ways.",
"Lenny explains how it works: \"Future Friday is so simple it's embarrassing.",
"By Friday at the end of every week you must do something that is good for your future that is a risk or something scary.\"",
"For Lenny, \"it could be something like getting pap smear, making a dental appointment or telling someone that you fancy them or ring someone out of the blue and asking them if they've got a job.",
"I've done all those things.\"",
"Feeling like she was stagnating inspired Lenny to develop the scheme.",
"\"Being in a bit of a dead-end job made me want to do this - I thought I needed a trigger.",
"It also lets you off the hook -- you can say I've done my Future Friday now -- I don't have to do anything else for the rest of the week.\"",
"Lenny isolated particular areas of her life that she had neglected.",
"\"I put off making a dental appointment for five or six years.",
"I put off telling men they were nice.",
"I put off my pap smear all my life.\"",
"The list of things to do each week for Future Friday then became \"a combination of exciting thrills and horrible must dos.\"",
"Lenny made sure she told all her friends about Future Friday so she could get extra support during the difficult weeks.",
"\"You'd get praise.",
"I'd tell various people about it.",
"You'd move enormous blocks.",
"I really was quite down and just the little sense of doing stuff helped enormously.\"",
"Memorable Future Fridays included doing a stand-up comedy gig, flying in a jetfighter, and of course -- meeting Alan.",
"Lenny started doing Future Friday in 1996 to boost her confidence and expand her world, but she had no idea how it would change her world.",
"She was also contacted by a number of people \"friends of friends, strangers\" who had heard about Future Friday and started practicing it themselves.",
"She recommends starting your own Future Friday if you are also \"swimming around and drowning in a lot of stuff.",
"\"It's a good way to anchor yourself.",
"Now I have formed a habit of getting on with things now -- today I had to get the celebrant form done and I just did it.\"",
"Every time you tick off a Future Friday item Lenny says to give yourself a pat on the back.",
"\"It's about the power of affirmation and realizing you're not a failure -- and its small and it doesn't cost anything.",
"You can take delightful risks.\"",
"Lenny's Future Friday Tips: .",
"• Pick a couple of basic but difficult issues in your life -- a niggle.",
"Make the appointment or ring about a job and you are on your way.",
"• Go and see that man at the pub who you thought was cute.",
"Don't be shy. \"I told a number of men I liked them and they didn't always feel the same way, but at least I didn't die wondering.\"",
"• I didn't keep a diary but it's a great idea to keep track of your progress .",
"• Tell other people and they can get inspired and also support you in your Future Friday.",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"Lenny Ann Low created Future Friday to gain more confidence .",
"She must take one risk that is good for her future by each Friday .",
"Lenny has done stand-up comedy, flew a jetfighter, and met her fiancé Alan ."
] |
[
12,
27,
43
] |
[
"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The commander in chief's priority is preventing another terrorist attack in the United States, President Bush told CNN's \"Larry King Live\" Tuesday.",
"President Bush and first lady Laura Bush sit down with CNN's Larry King Live on Tuesday.",
"\"The most important job I have had -- and the most important job the next president is going to have -- is to protect the American people from another attack,\" Bush said.",
"Accompanied by first lady Laura Bush and engaging in a wide-ranging conversation with King, Bush also said that his administration has been involved in stopping specific threats against the United States since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.",
"\"We've learned a lot of information about al Qaeda that we didn't know before,\" Bush said of intelligence activities during his tenure as president.",
"\"We've stopped some specific threats -- we're decimating [al Qaeda's] leadership.\"",
"He did not offer specifics, but he did offer a self-assessment of his leadership in national security post-9/11.",
"Watch Bush talk about the aftermath of 9/11 » .",
"\"I told the American people I wouldn't tire and I wouldn't falter, and I haven't,\" the outgoing president said.",
"Bush brushed off the low opinion-ratings and declining polls that have marked his waning presidency by saying, \"Look, opinion polls are nothing but a shot of yesterday's news.\"",
"\"Opinion polls aren't going to be high when the economy is in the tank,\" he added.",
"\"People aren't happy with the economy.",
"Neither am I. But you can't make decisions based on popularity polls.\"",
"Bush took that train of thought on to another topic, Iraq.",
"\"If the military thinks you're making decisions based on the Gallup poll, they're not going to follow a commander in chief,\" he said.",
"Asked about inaccurate intelligence reports on alleged weapons of mass destruction that led up to the war in Iraq, Bush refused to criticize the CIA, saying only that he was \"disappointed.\"",
"On Iraq, he maintained that actions taken by his administration were correct.",
"\"I don't think Iraq was wrong,\" Bush said in response to a question from King.",
"\"What I was worried about, (was) Iraq going to fail -- not Iraq was wrong,\" he said.",
"\"And the surge has worked and a young democracy in the heart of the Middle East has taken hold.",
"There's more work to be done. But al Qaeda has been denied the base in which they wanted to operate.",
": . When discussing the nation's economic slump, Bush cautioned his successor \"not to become an economic forecaster once he gets to be president.\"",
"King and Bush discussed President-elect Barack Obama's predictions for a bad year ahead for the U.S. economy and King asked Bush, \"That's not a good idea to say?\"",
"\"I don't think so. I think he can say it's going to be a tough period, but to predict what the economy is going to do ... it is going to be bad.",
"How bad? How long?\" Bush responded.",
"\"What he ought to be saying -- and I know he feels this way -- is he's going to take the steps he thinks are necessary to get us back on the road to recovery and we will recover.\"",
"Bush said he is looking forward to the inaugurationTuesday, describing it as \"a historic moment for the country.\"",
"Asked by King if he liked Obama, Bush replied, \"I do.",
"I do like him. You'd like him, too.\" But Laura Bush said she took some of Obama's critiques of her husband personally.",
"\"Were you angry at it?\" King asked.",
"\"Yes, sort of. George didn't really even know about it because he didn't really watch it that much,\" Laura Bush said, laughing.",
"Watch Laura Bush express her disapproval » .",
"\"So what's new?\" Bush piped in.",
"\"When you make big decisions and tough calls, you're going to get criticized.\"",
"\"During the course of this presidency, I've been disappointed at times by the silly name-calling that goes on in Washington -- it's really not necessary,\" Bush said.",
"\"I've done my best, though, to make sure I didn't bring the presidency down to that level.\"",
"On other topics: . • Bush said he favors closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but only \"under the right circumstances.",
"\"The problem is, you've got a bunch of cold-blooded killers down there that if they ever get out they're going to come and kill Americans, and I'd hate to be the person that made that decision.\"",
"• Asked by King, \"Are we ever going to find (Osama) bin Laden, Bush replied, \"Yes, of course, absolutely.",
"We've got a lot of people out there looking for him, a lot of assets.",
"You can't run forever.",
"• As to whether the United States had ever come close to capturing bin Laden, Bush said, \"I don't know -- I can't answer that.",
"I really don't know.",
"I'm not trying to hide anything.\""
] |
[
"\"Most important job ... is to protect the American people,\" Bush tells CNN's Larry King .",
"Bush agrees rocky times are ahead, but cautions Obama against making predictions .",
"Outgoing president says Obama should talk more about getting on \"road to recovery\""
] |
[
1,
2,
7
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain is prepared to send more troops to Afghanistan, the head of the British Army said in an interview published Friday.",
"Britain currently has 8,300 troops in Afghanistan.",
"Richard Dannatt, the chief of the general staff, did not say how many troops he would be prepared to deploy.",
"Dannatt told The Times newspaper that elements of the 12th Mechanized Brigade had been \"earmarked for Afghanistan.\"",
"He said there are no plans to send the whole brigade of 4,000 troops.",
"\"If we're asked for more and we say we can, it's not going to be 4,000 -- it's going to be something in between\" that and the current troop level, Dannatt told the Times.",
"The Ministry of Defense confirmed his remark.",
"British defense sources told The Times that a rise of 1,700 to 2,000 was \"the uppermost ceiling.\"",
"U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to announce a new strategy for Afghanistan on Friday that includes sending another 4,000 troops to the country with hundreds of civilian specialists, senior administration officials told CNN.",
"The troops -- which are in addition to the 17,000 that the president announced earlier would be sent to Afghanistan -- will be charged with training and building the Afghan Army and police force.",
"The plans include doubling the Army's ranks to 135,000 and the police force to 80,000 by 2011, the officials said.",
"Military officials told CNN earlier that the Afghan government had requested the additional troops."
] |
[
"Britain is ready to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan, army chief says .",
"Richard Dannatt told the Times up to 2,000 more could be sent .",
"Army waiting for formal request by U.S. government, he says ."
] |
[
0,
5
] |
[
"CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr and photojournalist Peter Morris traveled to southern Afghanistan with Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps.",
"CNN's Barbara Starr is on assignment in Afghanistan, where she says Marines are living in very tough terrain.",
"HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Our travels in Afghanistan continue.",
"I feel like the title of this posting should be \"why I had to get power-washed in Afghanistan\" or \"the body armor is only heavy until they start shooting at you.\"",
"OK, now I will explain.",
"CNN photojournalist Peter Morris and I just wrapped up spending several days in southern Afghanistan with Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, touring the combat zone.",
"The Marines are living in some of the toughest terrain there is.",
"It is remote and often raining.",
"That means dust turns to mud, and you find yourself covered in it from head to toe.",
"Stinky, cold, wet, oozy mucky mud.",
"The good news is, everybody stinks, so you lose any sense of self-consciousness about it.",
"But you do dream of getting power-washed.",
"So, yes, after a few days a shower was, shall we say, more than essential.",
"For the Marines, however, it is a seven-month tour of duty in mud in the winter and dust in the summer.",
"It seems very grim, especially when compounded by the fact that the Marines are wearing heavy body armor all the time.",
"Ask them if it's heavy to wear, the typical answer goes something like, \"It's only heavy to wear until the bad guys start shooting at you.",
"Then it's OK.\" The young Marines know exactly how tough the fight they are facing in the coming weeks and months will likely be.",
"Several of them told me security had gotten considerably worse in recent days.",
"Their bases were being repeatedly shelled by insurgents, several roadside bombs had gone off, and local Afghan police had died at the hands of suicide attacks.",
"Senior commanders usually have a more cheery outlook, but here in southern Afghanistan, everyone is cautious.",
"Almost everyone is a veteran of Iraq and learned the tough lesson there about not declaring victory too soon.",
"Even Conway, who commanded U.S. forces in Fallujah, picks his words very carefully.",
"He tells me he believes that everyone must be ready for a spike in U.S. casualties as the Marines begin to move into the region in greater numbers this spring.",
"All of this was rattling around in my head when I saw the Marines riding around in what they call \"a 7-ton truck.\"",
"As the name suggests, it's huge and has some armor plating on the sides.",
"But what it doesn't make clear is that the truck is open in the back and sides.",
"The Marines insist it is a safe way to transport troops.",
"For years now, the Army has used fully armored vehicles only in the combat zone.",
"The Marines have a somewhat different view.",
"They believe heavy armor isn't everything; sometimes being able to get around on the battlefield faster is better.",
"But then again, when someone starts shooting at you, I think you want all the armor you can get.",
"Next stop, Iraq.",
"Yeah, there is still a war there, too."
] |
[
"With all the mud in southern Afghanistan, everyone stinks, Barbara Starr says .",
"Marines also wear heavy body armor all the time, adding to the discomfort .",
"Armor is only heavy \"until the bad guys start shooting at you,\" Marines say .",
"Marines often travel in \"7-ton truck\" that's open in the back and sides ."
] |
[
1,
3,
15,
25
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Just weeks before a Continental Connection commuter plane crashed near Buffalo, another airline had reminded its pilots about safety issues with instrument approaches at the airport.",
"Only a few pieces of the Continental Connection Dash 8 turboprop were recognizable after the crash.",
"However, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday said it was extremely unlikely the February 12 crash and the warning were related.",
"Instrument approaches are those in which pilots use cockpit displays to line up their aircraft with the runway when visibility is low.",
"The alert, initially issued by Southwest Airlines and reissued Wednesday by the airline's pilot association, warned there was a \"potentially significant hazard\" concerning the instrument landing system's glide slope guidance signal for runway 23.",
"The airline advised, \"Pilots who are preparing to configure and land have the potential to experience abrupt pitch up, slow airspeed, and approach to stall if conditions present themselves in a certain manner.\"",
"Southwest Airlines spokesperson Linda Rutherford said an earthen dam at the end of the runway was interfering with the signal being sent to inbound flights.",
"Rutherford would not confirm if any of Southwest's recent flights into Buffalo experienced problems on approach.",
"\"We often put out alerts on obstructions to a navigation aid,\" Rutherford told CNN.",
"She also pointed out, though landing on the same runway, Southwest Airlines flights approach runway 23 from the north, turning right, while the Colgan Air flight that crashed was approaching from the south turning left.",
"Rutherford called that distinction important.",
"View a Google Earth image of runway 23 » .",
"The National Transportation Safety Board told CNN the agency was \"aware\" of the Southwest Airlines alert, but would not comment further.",
"The issue is caused by a geographic feature at the airport, a valley, \"something we can't do anything about,\" said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown.",
"She said the \"altitude reading makes it look like you're a lot higher than you are, because there is a valley there.\"",
"The feature has been noted on FAA charts for years, she said.",
"\"As far as we can tell, there is no way this had any role in the accident,\" Brown told CNN.",
"\"It's not a navigation aid that would have applied to the approach.\"",
"The alert from Southwest Airlines advises pilots that the problem could cause the planes navigational system to interpret data \"in such a way as to result in a nose-up pitch and loss of airspeed.\"",
"Flight data recorders obtained by the NTSB of the crashed Colgan air Flight 3407 show during its approach to runway 23, the twin turbo prop Dash-8 pitched up 31 degrees before going into a stall due to lack of airspeed.",
"Southwest Airlines Pilot Association told its pilots the \"issue is being addressed on several levels in an attempt to address procedures, facilities, and communication regarding this matter.\"",
"The alert advises any pilots experience trouble to contact the association's safety office."
] |
[
"NEW: FAA spokeswoman says it doesn't appear issue was related to crash .",
"Warning concerned runway 23, the same one the crashed plane was lined up to use .",
"Airline advised possibility of \"abrupt pitch up, slow airspeed, and approach to stall\"\nSouthwest Airlines spokeswoman said earthen dam was interfering with signals ."
] |
[
2,
5,
6
] |
[
"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama is expected to approve a proposal to withdraw most combat troops from Iraq within 19 months, Pentagon officials told CNN Wednesday.",
"U.S. soldiers stand guard outside a mosque during a prisoner release Sunday in Baghdad, Iraq.",
"The decision will be announced at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Friday, according to one senior administration official.",
"Although the White House has made no announcement yet, \"That's the way the wind is blowing,\" a Pentagon official said.",
"A White House spokesman said the president has made no final decisions about Iraq policy.",
"Obama's campaign pledge was to withdraw combat troops within 16 months.",
"But shortly after taking office, he asked Pentagon and military commanders for an analysis of other time frames.",
"The Pentagon sent Obama options for withdrawals at 16, 19, and 23 months.",
"It is expected that the final plan will call for the majority of combat forces to be withdrawn, and keep as many as 50,000 in Iraq to serve mainly as military trainers or advisers.",
"U.S. military officials said even those residual forces could find themselves in combat.",
"For the last two months, the U.S. Central Command has been assessing how equipment and personnel will be withdrawn from Iraq, according to a U.S. military official.",
"Watch what Obama said Tuesday night about Iraq » .",
"The official did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of discussing withdrawal details before the president's announcement.",
"However, he said the U.S. military is looking at exit routes through Jordan and Kuwait.",
"The military is trying to determine what equipment might be returned to the United States; transferred to the Iraqi or Jordanian government; sent to Afghanistan; or simply discarded."
] |
[
"NEW: Decision to be announced Friday at Camp Lejeune, official says .",
"Obama to approve 19-month time frame, military sources say .",
"During campaign, Obama pledged to get troops out within 16 months .",
"Pentagon said to be looking at exit routes through Jordan, Kuwait ."
] |
[
0,
2,
5,
13
] |
[
"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Iraq war has strained U.S. forces to the point where they could not fight another large-scale war, according to a survey of military officers.",
"U.S. troops patrol Haifa Street in Baghdad last week.",
"Of those surveyed, 88 percent believe the demands of the Iraq war have \"stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin.\"",
"On the other hand, 56 percent of the officers disagree that the war has \"broken\" the military.",
"Eighty percent of officers believe it is unreasonable to expect the U.S. military to wage another major war successfully at present.",
"Foreign Policy magazine and the Center for a New American Security on Tuesday issued the U.S. Military Index, a survey of 3,400 present and former U.S. military officers.",
"\"We asked the officers whether they thought the U.S. military was stronger or weaker than it was five years ago,\" said Michael Boyer, who helped write the report.",
"\"Sixty percent said the U.S. military is weaker than it was five years ago,\" Boyer told reporters.",
"The report found that officers \"see a military apparatus severely strained by the grinding demands of war.\"",
"More than half of the officers responding cited the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the \"pace of troop deployments\" needed for those conflicts, the survey said.",
"The report comes a few weeks before the five-year anniversary of the Iraq war, where a troop \"surge\" is winding down by summer.",
"The U.S. military is proposing a pause in troop reductions for a period of review before any more decisions on withdrawals.",
"The officers have \"an overwhelmingly negative view\" of many of the early decisions shaping the Iraq war, but most believe the present U.S. counterinsurgency strategy and troop increases are good omens for success in Iraq.",
"A majority of officers in the Iraq war say some policy decisions have \"hindered the prospects for success there.\"",
"\"These include shortening the time units spend at home between deployments and accepting more recruits who do not meet the military's standards.",
"Even the military's ability to care for some of its own -- mentally wounded soldiers and veterans -- was judged by most officers to be substandard,\" the survey found.",
"At the same time, 64 percent of the officers believe morale in the military remains high.",
"Nearly three-quarters of the officers believe civilian leaders set \"unreasonable goals for the military in post-Saddam Iraq.\"",
"\"They believe more troops were needed on the ground at the start of the fighting.",
"They believe disbanding the Iraqi military was a mistake,\" the survey said.",
"However, nearly nine of 10 think the surge and Gen. David Petraeus' counterinsurgency strategy are \"raising the U.S. military's chance for success there.\"",
"The officers believe \"that either China or Iran, not the United States, is emerging as the strategic victor\" in the Iraq war.",
"\"The United States has been preoccupied away from Asia,\" said Kurt Campbell, the head of the group that conducted the survey.",
"China's rising influence worldwide predates the war but is part of a \"great game under way in Asia for influence, for relationships,\" Campbell said.",
"The U.S. focus on Iraq \"sends a message to our friends and others that maybe we're not as focused on the drama that's playing out there,\" he said.",
"Iran has gained from the war because of the removal of Iraq \"as a strategic counterweight,\" the report said.",
"The survey portrayed Iran, the Taiwan Strait (where tensions have flared between China and Taiwan), Syria and North Korea as four potential hot spots and sought opinions of how prepared the U.S. is \"to successfully fight a major combat operation there.\"",
"Officers were asked to judge the preparedness of the U.S. on a scale of one to 10, with 10 meaning \"fully prepared\" and one indicating \"unable to execute.\"",
"Iran was rated 4.5, the Taiwan Strait ( where there have been tensions between China and Taiwan) 4.9, Syria 5.1, and North Korea 4.7.",
"The officers ranked the Navy and Air Force readiness the highest at 6.8 and 6.6, respectively.",
"The Army and Marines, which have assumed the \"bulk of the burden in Iraq and Afghanistan,\" ranked 4.7 and 5.7, respectively.",
"Other results of the survey: ."
] |
[
"Eighty percent of officers: It's unreasonable to expect U.S. to wage another major war .",
"Officers have \"overwhelmingly negative view\" of early decisions shaping Iraq war .",
"Fifty-six percent of officers disagree that the Iraq war has \"broken\" the military .",
"Results based on survey of 3,400 present and former U.S. military officers ."
] |
[
3,
4,
12,
31
] |
[
"SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir (CNN) -- Anti-election demonstrators threw stones at two polling stations and clashed with Indian security forces Sunday as voters stood in long lines in Indian-controlled Kashmir to cast ballots in the second stage of state elections.",
"An Indian Border Security Forces soldier watches as voters in Indian-controlled Kashmir wait to vote Sunday.",
"The protesters yelled pro-independence and anti-poll slogans and threw stones at polling stations in two villages in the Ganderbal constituency, police said.",
"Police used batons to restore order, but no one was injured, police said.",
"People demonstrated in two other villages, Duderhama and Beehama in Ganderbal constituency -- one of six constituencies voting Sunday in the second of seven stages in the state assembly elections.",
"The elections began after months of violent protests by anti-Indian groups, fearful state elections will firm up Indian control of the Muslim majority Himalayan state, and by Indian nationalists, fearful that separatist groups will gain control.",
"Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both, has been wracked by an 18-year bloody separatist campaign that authorities say has left at least 43,000 dead.",
"Sunday's protests came a day after Indian paramilitary forces, according to authorities, gunned down two youths, one of them a high school student apparently taking part in an anti-India demonstration.",
"Police Saturday fired on protesters in the town of Baramulla, killing 10th-grader Manzoor Ahmad Kumar, a senior police officer told CNN.",
"Hundreds of protesters followed Kumar's body into the \"Old Town\" area of Baramulla, where demonstrators clashed with police.",
"Protesters threw stones at a candidate's escort vehicles, the office said.",
"Indian authorities deployed heavy paramilitary and police reinforcements to maintain order.",
"Six protesters were injured in the fighting, police said.",
"A police official said paramilitary forces in the Baramulla's Old Town area Saturday, shot and killed a second youth, Tanvir Ahmad Sheikh.",
"Elsewhere Sunday, voting continued without incident.",
"In Kangan constituency, voting picked up in the late morning and afternoon, and there and in Ganderbal, voters -- including many women -- lined up to cast their votes.",
"Indian poll officials said the turnout was about 65 percent of eligible voters.",
"Heavy security was also deployed in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir.",
"Indian paramilitary troopers carried automatic weapons and blocked roads with barricades and coils of razor wire there and in other towns.",
"The first phase of elections was held November 17 and the third will be held November 30."
] |
[
"Anti-election demonstrators, Indian security forces clash during state elections .",
"Police say they used batons to restore order, and no one was injured .",
"Authorities: Protests come a day after Indian paramilitary forces killed two youths .",
"Voting was second stage of seven-stage election in Indian-controlled Kashmir ."
] |
[
0,
3,
7
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Violence and drug-trafficking have become such a major threat to Latin America that the presidents of Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and Panama will sit around a table Friday in Panama to discuss what they can do about it.",
"Cartridges and weapons seized from gangsters and drug-traffickers at the Military Headquarter in Mexico City.",
"Their summit comes at a particularly troubled time for these governments, especially Mexico, which tallied a record number of drug-related killings last year.",
"Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich characterized the battle in Mexico among drug cartels and with government authorities as a \"civil war\" on a news program this week.",
"But Mexico is not alone.",
"Colombia has been fighting drug cartels for decades.",
"Panama has been a center of money-laundering for dug cartels and other organized crime groups for many years.",
"And Guatemala has seen its share of slayings and bloodshed.",
"\"It's a recognition that there is a shared problem and that they can't solve that problem independent of each other,\" said Robert Pastor, a professor of international relations at American University in Washington who served as a national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s.",
"Jennifer McCoy, the director of The Americas Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta, says it is \"encouraging\" that presidents Felipe Calderon of Mexico, Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, Alvaro Colom of Guatemala and Martin Torrijos of Panama not only recognize the problem but want to meet to see what they can do about it.",
"\"The issue of security is vital in these countries and in Latin America,\" McCoy said.",
"It's not just a threat for Latin America, a recent report from the U.S. military says.",
"The violence in Mexico and elsewhere south of the border could spill over to the United States, says the report, issued in November by the U.S. Joint Forces Command.",
"\"The growing assault by the drug cartels and their thugs on the Mexican government over the past several years reminds one that an unstable Mexico could represent a homeland security problem of immense proportions to the United States,\" says the report, \"Joint Operating Environment 2008.\"",
"That instability could threaten the United States' underbelly along the 2,000-mile border with Mexico.",
"\"Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone,\" the report says.",
"Mexican Secretary of Governance Fernando Gomez Mont rejected that notion in an interview with CNN this week, saying it is \"inadmissible\" that the United States would have to intervene.",
"Pastor, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994 to become U.S. ambassador to Panama, believes the United States should be more involved now.",
"\"The United States is a major part of the problem,\" he said.",
"\"The dollars are coming from the United States.",
"The demand is coming from the United States.",
"The arms are coming from the United States.\"",
"Pastor pointed out that there are 7,600 gun shops in the United States within 100 miles of the Mexican border.",
"\"We ought to have a clear recognition that that we are part of their problem, and they can't solve it without us,\" he said.",
"Panamanian Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis Navarro indicated at a news conference this week that other nations also need to be more involved.",
"He didn't mention the United States but it was clear whom he was talking about.",
"The summit leaders will ask nations that have high drug consumption to do their part to reduce that demand, the Spanish news agency EFE quoted Lewis as saying.",
"Mexican President Calderon met with President-elect Barack Obama in Washington this week and security was a prime subject of their discussions.",
"\"Both countries share a long border,\" said Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue.",
"\"They are terribly worried about the violence from organized crime in Mexico and slipover into the U.S.\" Hakim met with Calderon at a private dinner hosted by the Mexican president Sunday night.",
"After his meeting with Obama on Monday, Calderon stressed the level to which the two nations are intertwined when it comes to security.",
"\"The more secure Mexico is, the more secure the United States will be,\" the Mexican president said, first in Spanish and then in English, to make sure no one missed the point.",
"Obama is likely receptive to that message, said Michael Shifter, a vice president at the Inter-American Dialogue.",
"\"I think Obama is going to understand that Mexico is very important to the United States,\" Shifter told CNN last week.",
"\"This isn't an issue that he has focused a lot of attention on up until now.",
"But he's going to understand that if Mexico really deteriorates or if the violence spills over into the border states, this is a war that he really has to deal with.\"",
"Drug-fueled violence reached record levels in Mexico last year, with around 5,400 slayings, more than double the 2,477 reported in 2007, Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said last month.",
"The situation is so dire in Mexico that the Joint Forces Command report says, \"In terms of worst-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico.\"",
"The report goes on to say that the \"Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police, and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels.",
"How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state.\""
] |
[
"Presidents of Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama to meet Friday in Panama .",
"They will discuss ways of countering growing violence and drug-trafficking .",
"Drug-fueled violence reached record levels in Mexico last year, with 5,400 slayings .",
"Instability caused by crime in Mexico could threaten U.S. which shares a border ."
] |
[
0,
14,
36
] |
[
"HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Like that other famous environmentalist, Thomas Friedman began his talk at the Asia Society in Hong Kong on December 16 with a simple PowerPoint slide.",
"But that's where the similarities between Al Gore and The New York Times columnist end.",
"Thomas L. Friedman has taken on a green hue with his latest book, \"Hot, Flat and Crowded\".",
"Unlike Gore, Friedman is a distinctly different shade of green, a deeply pragmatic green that believes economic forces can usher in a revolution in environmental policy.",
"He argues that systemic change simply requires showing the world that it needs green technology and letting pure economics do the rest.",
"As a journalist, Friedman makes no claims to having scientific expertise in climate change.",
"He is approaching it from a philosophical standpoint.",
"Green capital .",
"Friedman's new book \"Hot, Flat and Crowded\" is not a major departure from his previous books.",
"Whether he's discussing globalization or green industry, he is writing from his deep-seated belief in the markets.",
"He is an unabashed capitalist.",
"For Friedman, the system works but it's not immune to bad decision-making.",
"Green industry like globalization will come of age if given the right market environment.",
"His faith in capitalism is equal to that in green technology -- for him, these are two things that are clearly reconcilable.",
"So how do we do this? America as the bastion for innovation, Friedman argues, should play a big role.",
"In fact, he confesses it really isn't a book about the environment and energy, its a book about America.",
"For Friedman, America is slipping down the ranks of hegemonic power and climate change is its big chance to reposition itself as a global leader.",
"The environment is merely an allegory for how the U.S. will achieve this revival.",
"As an extension of that argument, all countries need to do the same.",
"Right now, no country has really taken the lead in environmental technology, so what we have at the moment is an all out race to the top.",
"Indeed Friedman's book was written before the financial meltdown but recent events have furthered his argument that environmental technology is the solution of all solutions.",
"It's a sentiment I also came across at the recent Clinton Global Initiative meeting.",
"Green Dream Team .",
"Friedman seemed cautiously optimistic about Obama's ability to lead the green revolution.",
"Given the disarray of many of America's financial institutions, it's unclear whether this new green message will get through.",
"A glimmer of hope however is Obama's newly appointed energy secretary Steven Chu.",
"There's been extensive chatter about him on environmental blogs in recent days with the media calling Chu the head of Obama's \"Green Dream Team.\"",
"Friedman made a ringing endorsement of Chu as did many in the audience that day.",
"Steven Chu, Nobel Laureate and the head of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, is seen as a promising choice for many environmentalists, one perhaps that proves Obama's intention to fulfill a key campaign promise on energy policy.",
"Chu himself underwent an interesting move from physics to environmental technology.",
"He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997 but left the world of Quantum Physics to study the science of global warming.",
"As head of Berkeley National Lab, he led projects to the tune of $650 million channeling much of it towards green technology to develop advanced biofuels and solar power.",
"Watch a video of Steven Chu from Berkeley University .",
"Changing light bulbs and leaders .",
"The audience listening to Friedman that day was clearly appreciative of his no-nonsense approach to the green issue.",
"As Friedman puts it, \"it's not about changing light bulbs, it's about changing leaders.\"",
"He confessed to having attended too many Earth Day concerts in the past and that no matter how many celebrities you get to show up or how you offset the event, it won't be enough to set off this green revolution.",
"So as I sat there wondering whether the fish the guests had been eating for lunch was sustainable, for Friedman, it didn't really matter.",
"For his revolution, he had bigger fish to fry."
] |
[
"Journalist and author of \"Hot, Flat and Crowded\" spoke at Hong Kong event .",
"Pragmatic approach to environmentalism also a means to transform U.S. economy .",
"For Friedman, innovation in energy technology is solution of all solutions ."
] |
[
5,
8,
20,
33,
38
] |
[
"ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Oscar Reynoso owed his bosses $300,000, and he was running out of time.",
"One anti-drug operation in Atlanta netted $10.6 million, 108 kilos of cocaine, 17 pounds of meth and 32 weapons.",
"Gunmen snatched Reynoso and locked him in the basement of a home to try to settle the drug debt.",
"He was chained to a wall of the basement by his hands and ankles, gagged and beaten.",
"His captors, members of a powerful Mexican drug cartel, held Reynoso for ransom, chained in the sweltering, dirty basement for six days without food.",
"Reynoso's ordeal could've been a scene from the drug war in Mexico.",
"But it played out recently in suburban Atlanta, Georgia.",
"U.S. federal agents are fighting to keep that kind of violence from gripping Atlanta, as the city known for Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines has become a major distribution hub for Mexican drug cartels.",
"In fiscal year 2008, authorities confiscated about $70 million in drug-related cash in Atlanta, more than anywhere else in the United States, the Drug Enforcement Administration says.",
"This fiscal year, Atlanta continues to outpace all other U.S. regions in such seizures, with $30 million confiscated so far.",
"Next are Los Angeles, California, with about $19 million, and Chicago, Illinois, with $18 million.",
"\"There is definitely a center of this type of drug activity here, and we are working to make sure the violence does not spill out to the general public,\" Atlanta U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said.",
"Atlanta has become a stopping point for truckloads of Mexican cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine, agents say.",
"The drugs are held in stash houses before being distributed up the East Coast.",
"\"The money comes down here also to money managers in Atlanta, who get the books in order before it is sent out,\" said Rodney Benson, Atlanta's chief of the DEA.",
"Agents attribute the growth in drug trafficking to Atlanta's location, proximity to other major cities and access to major highways.",
"Authorities also point to the growth of the Hispanic population in Atlanta, which allows practitioners of the Mexican drug trade to blend in among hard-working, law-abiding Hispanics.",
"No place is that more evident than in Gwinnett County, a community about 20 miles north of Atlanta.",
"Gwinnett's Hispanic population rocketed from 8,470 in 1990 to 63,727 in 2000, according to the U.S. Census.",
"By 2010, 20 percent of the county's projected population of 700,000 is expected to be Hispanic.",
"\"In Gwinnett County, the drug dealers are able to hide in plain sight,\" county District Attorney Danny Porter said.",
"\"To combat this, we have to be much more coordinated between my office, the police department and the federal authorities.",
"The presence of the organizations is a dilemma enough that we have to develop new tactics.\"",
"Federal agents say arrests and drug-related violence in Atlanta have been linked to the two most powerful Mexican organizations: the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels.",
"A battle over drug routes has been blamed for the recent surge in violence in Mexican border towns, bloodshed that has included hundreds of deaths.",
"The fear is that the battle will extend deeper into the United States, causing more to suffer a fate similar to Reynoso's ordeal in the Gwinnett County basement.",
"Lucky for Reynoso, federal agents had a wiretap on his captors' phones.",
"Agents stormed the home just as it appeared that the debt would not be paid and Reynoso would be killed.",
"\"There is no doubt in my mind that we saved his life that day,\" said the DEA's Benson.",
"One case resolved, as cartels thrive in Atlanta."
] |
[
"City outpaces all others in the United States in drug-related cash seizures .",
"$30 million has been confiscated in Atlanta this fiscal year .",
"Location, proximity to other cities and highways cited in trafficking growth .",
"Drug dealers \"hide in plain sight\" in suburban Gwinnett County ."
] |
[
8,
15,
20
] |
[
"BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's main political parties Sunday reached a deal designed to allow non-U.S. foreign troops to stay in the country past the end of the year, when a United Nations resolution authorizing their presence expires.",
"Iraqi and British soldiers during an Iraqi army training session in Basra last week.",
"The deal would set a deadline of July 31, 2009, for all non-U.S. foreign troops to withdraw, according to Abdul Hadi al-Hassani, a lawmaker with the main Shiite parliamentary bloc, who spoke to Iraqi state television on Sunday.",
"The agreement awaits approval by Iraq's Parliament, which is expected to vote on the measure on Monday, several Iraqi lawmakers said.",
"The emergency negotiations came after lawmakers Saturday rejected a similar proposal that would have been law.",
"Sunday's proposal, by contrast, was drafted as a resolution that would empower the Cabinet to authorize international troop presence without requiring Parliament to pass a law.",
"Washington and Baghdad have already worked out a separate agreement that will keep U.S. troops in Iraq but tighten restrictions on them.",
"Countries other than the United States that have troops in Iraq could be left with no legal cover for their presence there if Baghdad does not act swiftly.",
"Iraq's Cabinet had approved a draft law authorizing non-U.S. foreign troops Tuesday, the first step in passing legislation, but it fell at the next hurdle -- Parliament.",
"That left lawmakers scrambling Sunday for a way to give foreign troops legal cover quickly.",
"Lawmakers expect Sunday's agreement to cut through the problem, because a resolution can be passed in a single day, while it takes at least a week to pass a law.",
"British government lawyers, meanwhile, are studying \"all possible options\" to legally extend the presence of British troops in Iraq beyond New Year's Day in case Iraq's Parliament rejects the new compromise.",
"Britain has the second-largest contingent of foreign troops in Iraq -- about 4,100 -- after the United States, which has about 142,500.",
"All other countries combined have only several hundred troops in the country.",
"Britain and Iraq announced last week that British troops would begin leaving Iraq in May 2009, while a \"handful\" of British military personnel would remain after that date to continue naval training for Iraqi sailors, primarily to protect oil platforms.",
"The United States reached a security agreement with Iraq in November.",
"That deal, which was ratified by the Iraqi Parliament, calls for American troops to leave Iraqi cities by June 2009, and to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.",
"Beginning New Year's Day, U.S. commanders will have to get prior Iraqi government approval for any operations.",
"American military personnel who commit crimes while not on duty or who commit grave crimes while on duty would be subject to Iraqi legal jurisdiction under the new agreement.",
"The U.S. security agreement does not govern the presence of troops from other coalition countries.",
"The Parliament's rejection of the Cabinet's proposed law allowing foreign forces to remain in Iraq after January 1 came after heated arguments that lasted for days.",
"The session became so contentious that Parliament's speaker threatened to resign, lawmakers said.",
"Some political blocs, notably the Sadrists, oppose any extension of the presence of foreign troops in Iraq.",
"That group, headed by Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr -- an anti-Western cleric -- is demanding an immediate withdrawal of foreign forces.",
"CNN's Jill Dougherty and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report."
] |
[
"NEW: Deal would permit non-U.S. troops to stay into 2009 .",
"NEW: Agreement would set July 31 withdrawal deadline for those troops .",
"U.K. examining options in case Iraqi Parliament doesn't OK deal .",
"Sadrists oppose any extension of the presence of foreign troops in Iraq ."
] |
[
2,
22
] |
[
"BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid a visit to Baghdad on Friday to congratulate its citizens for last weekend's \"remarkable\" Iraq-led provincial elections, a process he said \"augurs well for the transition process and the solidifying of Iraq's national reconciliation.\"",
"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, meets Friday in Baghdad with Iraq President Jalal Talabani.",
"On a tour that also has taken him to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Ban met with Iraqi leaders and appeared at a news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose allies won big in nine of the 14 provinces where the local elections were held.",
"\"I have been following the electoral process closely from the early days of the parliamentary debate over the elections law last summer to the final stages of adjudication of the complaints and yesterday evening's release of the provisional results,\" Ban said at the news conference, according to prepared remarks issued by the United Nations.",
"\"It will be some days before final results are known, but current indications are that the elections have been successfully carried out.\"",
"Ban last visited Iraq in 2007.",
"In March of that year, he got a taste of the violence that often rocks the Iraqi capital.",
"An explosion rattled Baghdad's International Zone, where he was holding a televised news conference with al-Maliki.",
"Apparently used to such blasts, al-Maliki remained stoic, while Ban briefly ducked before regaining his composure and continuing.",
"Now, he said, he's \"very much impressed to have witnessed myself the great success and progress the Iraqi government and people have made under the leadership of Prime Minister Maliki, and I congratulate you,\" he said, emphasizing the improvements in security.",
"The secretary-general praised the turnout of millions of voters in \"an environment free of violence,\" a development he called a \"remarkable achievement\" in a strife-torn nation.",
"\"Iraq has come a long way in taking their own affairs in hand, this being the first Iraqi-led and Iraqi-owned electoral process.",
"It is a tribute to the growing effectiveness of the Iraqi security forces, and testifies to the increasing stability in the country,\" he said.",
"Ban praised Iraqi election officials, the local U.N. office and its special representative, Staffan de Mistura, and election workers.",
"Voters in 14 of 18 provinces turned out last weekend to elect provincial councils.",
"The nation's three Kurdish provinces will hold elections in May, and voting in Tameem province has been suspended because of political disputes in Kirkuk.",
"\"This marks an important event, these being the first polls to affect the day-to-day lives of Iraqi voters,\" Ban said.",
"\"In fact, these elections are about real power, in the sense that local leaders are nominated to be accountable for the delivery of basic services.\"",
"The United Nations helped Iraq with logistics in its election process and plans to help in this year's parliamentary elections and to deal with sticky disputes, such as the status of Kirkuk and disputes over some internal boundaries.",
"Al-Maliki thanked the United Nations for the supportive role it played.",
"He noted that the provincial elections \"changed the political map\" of Iraq, but he said the elections were successful for all Iraqis.",
"He said he was proud people voted for blocs based on political goals and not along sectarian and ethnic lines.",
"Ban also met with the three members of the presidency council -- Kurdish President Jalal Talabani, Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi and Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi.",
"CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report."
] |
[
"U.N. secretary-general visits Iraq, lauds \"remarkable\" elections there .",
"Ban Ki-Moon last visited Iraq in 2007, when violence was still raging .",
"Voters in 14 of 18 provinces turned out last weekend to cast ballots .",
"Iraq prime minister thanks United Nations for assistance, support ."
] |
[
0,
5,
14
] |
[
"ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- U.S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden assured Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday that the incoming Obama administration will continue to support Pakistan's efforts to strengthen democracy and combat terrorism, according to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.",
"Vice President-elect Joe Biden meets Pakistani officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday.",
"Biden told Zardari that the new U.S. administration would also help Pakistan \"meet its socio-economic requirements and capacity building,\" the ministry said in a written statement.",
"The vice president-elect \"assured the Pakistani leadership\" of the United States' \"continued assistance to Pakistan,\" the statement said.",
"No additional details were provided.",
"Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, accompanied Biden on the trip.",
"Biden \"described Pakistan as an incredibly valued U.S. ally and said that the U.S. recognized Pakistan's important contribution and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism,\" the ministry said.",
"Zardari, who took office in September, said \"Pakistan needed the support and understanding of the international community in this effort,\" according to the statement.",
"Pakistan's government is waging a bloody battle against Taliban and al Qaeda militants in its tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan.",
"The United States has provided Pakistan with billions of dollars in aid for those counterterrorism activities.",
"Last year, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a bill authorizing $7.5 billion in non-military aid over the next five years.",
"The measure is sponsored by committee chairman Biden and the ranking Republican on the panel, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana.",
"It would provide money for developments such as schools, roads and medical clinics, and it conditions security aid on State Department certification that Pakistan is making efforts against the Taliban and al Qaeda.",
"The bill has not come before the full Senate.",
"Biden also said he was hopeful that India and Pakistan could resolve their conflicts, according the ministry.",
"\"The U.S. vice president-elect expressed the hope that both Pakistan and India will be able to overcome the current tensions and would resolve their differences peacefully,\" the ministry's statement said.",
"November's attacks in Mumbai, India, fueled tensions between Pakistan and India, longtime rivals that have fought three wars since independence and conducted tit-for-tat nuclear weapons tests in 1998.",
"India has said Islamic militants trained in Pakistan were behind the three-day siege of India's financial capital.",
"Pakistani officials have promised to cooperate with the investigation but have insisted that India show it the evidence supporting its case.",
"On Wednesday, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the sole surviving suspect in the Mumbai attacks, which killed more than 160 people, is a Pakistani national, state-run media reported."
] |
[
"NEW: Vice President-elect Joe Biden hopes Pakistan, India overcome tensions .",
"Biden and Sen. Lindsay Graham meet in Islamabad .",
"Biden assures Pakistani president of support against terrorism .",
"Pakistan is one of main focus points in war to defeat the Taliban ."
] |
[
0,
11
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Utah is the nation's fastest growing state, increasing 2.5 percent from July 2007 to July 2008, according to new population estimates from the Census Bureau.",
"Barack Obama greets one of the newest members of the U.S. population this year on the campaign trail.",
"The main reason for Utah's growth is a \"natural increase\" -- births minus deaths -- said Census Bureau demographer Greg Harper.",
"\"Utah has a strong rate of natural increase and domestic migration, where more people move into the state and [are] not moving out,\" he said.",
"\"Second is Arizona,\" Harper said.",
"\"It grew by 2.3 percent, and the increase is due to domestic migration, meaning more people are moving into the state than moving out.",
"Also, it's a natural increase, more people were born there than died.\"",
"Arizona is followed by Texas, North Carolina and Colorado, each with a 2.0 percent growth rate.",
"Texas added more people than any other state -- about 500,000 -- making it the third-fastest growing state.",
"Because it has a larger population size, its percentage growth was less than Utah.",
"\"Nevada was last year's fastest-growing state, but it fell to eighth,\" said Harper.",
"\"Overall, that state had been among the four fastest-growing states each of the past 23 years.\"",
"Only two states lost population: Michigan and Rhode Island, losing 0.5 and 0.2 percent respectively.",
"Overall, Northeastern states are not growing as fast as other parts of the country, but they have been on the increase since 2005.",
"The South added the most people during the period, 1.4 million.",
"But Western states, with a 1.4 percent increase, saw the fastest growth rate.",
"One state that has reversed its course of growth is Florida.",
"A few years ago more than 250,000 people per year were moving there.",
"But for 2007-2008, the state's 0.7 percent increase was below the nation's 0.9 percent overall increase.",
"According to the estimates, the United States had a net gain of just over 2.7 million people from July 2007 to July 2008."
] |
[
"Utah population grows 2.5 percent by \"natural increase,\" Census Bureau says .",
"Texas adds more people than any other state -- about 500,000 .",
"Two states lose population: Michigan and Rhode Island .",
"Figures are Census estimates for growth from July 2007 to July 2008 ."
] |
[
0,
8,
12
] |
[
"(CNN) -- Now that Caylee Anthony's remains have been identified, the search for the Florida toddler turns into a prosecution of her mother.",
"Casey Anthony, 22, is accused of killing her daughter.",
"Investigators say her alibi didn't check out.",
"Although Orange County, Florida, Medical Examiner Jan Garavaglia said Friday she could not determine how Caylee died, she concluded the death was a homicide.",
"The child's mother, Casey Anthony, 22, faces charges including murder in the disappearance and death of Caylee, who was 2 when she vanished last summer.",
"The remains were found last week in woods about a half-mile from Anthony's parents' house and identified through DNA testing.",
"See where Caylee's skeleton was found » .",
"On Saturday, investigators finished 10 days of sifting through the crime scene and served a warrant at the Anthony house for a third search for evidence, said Capt.",
"Angelo Nieves of the Orange County sheriff's department.",
"Cindy and George Anthony, the child's grandparents, were present for the search.",
"The mother's defense team had claimed since her October indictment that the child might still be alive, even claiming witnesses spotted Caylee since her disappearance.",
"The finding of the body \"has really cut the legs out of the defense,\" Stacey Honowitz, an assistant Florida state's attorney, said Friday night on CNN's \"Larry King Live.\"",
"Watch experts size up the legal case » .",
"The lack of a cause of death and the absence of any soft tissue on the toddler's skeletal remains poses a challenge for prosecutors, forensic expert Lawrence Kobilinsky, a defense consultant for Casey Anthony, told Larry King.",
"\"If you don't have a cause of death, isn't it possible that it might have been an accident?\"",
"Kobilinsky said.",
"A murder conviction would require proof the victim was killed intentionally.",
"Legal experts say duct tape reportedly found on the body could convince a judge or jury that Caylee's death was not an accident.",
"Perhaps of greater significance, though, is Casey Anthony's behavior since -- and even before -- her child went missing.",
"According to earlier reports, Caylee was the result of an unintended pregnancy, and Anthony made an attempt to give her up after birth.",
"She referred to Caylee as \"the little snot head\" and continued to maintain an active social life.",
"Follow a timeline of the case » .",
"When Caylee went missing, Anthony did not tell her family for a month.",
"It was the child's grandmother who called police.",
"Anthony told conflicting stories at the beginning of the investigation, including a tale that Caylee was with a nanny.",
"The name and address turned out to be bogus.",
"As police searched for Caylee, they say Anthony's active social life continued -- including one memorable evening dancing at an Orlando bar that was hosting \"Hot Body Contest.\"",
"Investigators said they found the scent of decomposing flesh and a trace of chloroform, a powerful knockout agent, in the trunk of a car Anthony drove at the time.",
"Anthony's family offered various explanations, including a rotting pizza and a dead squirrel.",
"Watch a tribute to the little girl » .",
"On the Anthonys' home computer, police found there had been searches for chloroform, missing children and \"neck-breaking,\" although Garavaglia said Friday that she did not find evidence of trauma to the bones.",
"\"The prosecution is going to have a great deal of circumstantial evidence, and this is a physical evidence case,\" Kobilinsky said.",
"\"This is not a question about credibility, although obviously a jury looks at credibility and contradictions, but the physical evidence will either include her or exclude Casey.",
"It's an uphill battle for the defense.\"",
"Nevertheless, forensic expert Kathy Reichs, who also is working with Anthony's defense team, sees an opening.",
"\"Given that there's no evidence as to the cause of death, ... you could have an accidental death and a mother that panics,\" she told King.",
"\"There are alternative explanations.\"",
"Perhaps not enough to save Anthony, said famed defense attorney Mark Geragos, who is not associated with the case.",
"\"The defense will try to focus, I'm sure, on all of the forensic evidence and whatever else they can do,\" he told King.",
"\"But they're always going to be up against it with the 'She didn't act right' evidence, and that's the hardest thing to combat in this case.\"",
"Prosecutors don't need to show what killed Caylee, Geragos said.",
"The defense needs to overcome Casey Anthony's statements and behavior.",
"\"Somebody is going to have to give an explanation at some point as to when she last saw the child, who she gave the child to,\" he said.",
"\"And until that is done, I don't care what they put together, it's not going to carry any weight.\""
] |
[
"Casey Anthony's defense team has big challenge, experts say .",
"Lack of cause of death, physical evidence could hinder prosecution .",
"Mother's partying, other behavior don't help her defense .",
"Officials have identified remains of Florida toddler who vanished last summer ."
] |
[
0,
2,
13
] |
[
"NEW YORK (CNN) -- Most people like gossip.",
"Come on! You do too. Don't you glance every once in a while at US Weekly, In Touch, Page Six?",
"And how about that Spitzer scandal -- even I can't get enough of that one.",
"A freshman talks about how cruel postings on the Juicy Campus web site have tainted her college experience.",
"But what happens when the gossip is about you or your boyfriend or your kid?",
"And what if it's there on the Internet, for the entire world to see on a Web site called Juicy Campus?",
"That's what happened to Jane Smith (her name has been changed to protect her privacy), a college freshman I spoke with recently.",
"She said she learned from a friend that her name had been posted on the Web site and people were anonymously posting not so nice things about her.",
"Things like she was promiscuous, \"ugly,\" \"overrated,\" \"racist.\"",
"Things she says are not true.",
"Her post has received over a thousand page views -- in non-techie speak, everyone is reading and writing about her.",
"She even got a request for a \"hook up\" from a guy hundreds of miles away at another college.",
"She told me that when she read the posts, she felt like she had been kicked in the stomach.",
"She called her parents in the middle of the night crying.",
"She has lost weight, has trouble sleeping, and has become suspicious of those around her.",
"She told me that it has ruined her freshman year -- and will likely taint her entire college experience.",
"Watch how campus poison pens inflict pain » .",
"So what is Juicy Campus and who is behind it?",
"Juicy Campus is a Web site, founded on August 1, 2007, which claims to have \"the simple mission of enabling online anonymous free speech on college campuses.\"",
"The site allows and encourages posters to anonymously post uncensored gossip and rumors -- the juicier the better -- about others.",
"There is a separate section on the site for each college or university, over 60 campuses at last count.",
"Some recent posts discuss the breasts of a professor, sluttiest girls and sexiest guys on campus.",
"Some posts even contain racist, sexist and anti-Semitic remarks.",
"Juicy, huh? It was founded by a Duke alum, a former frat house president who has gone to lengths to keep his identity secret.",
"We tried to reach him for comment.",
"He didn't return our calls or e-mails.",
"Instead, we received this not-so-juicy statement from a publicist: .",
"\"While there has been much attention given to the critics ... Thousands of students from across the country have written in to request that their campus be added.\"",
"Come on! Why is he hiding? Jane can't even sue him.",
"In fact, there is little she can do.",
"Juicy Campus and similar Web sites are protected under Communications Decency Act of 1996.",
"The Act aims to shield Web publishers from liability for libelous comments posted by third parties.",
"The section states \"no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.\"",
"Juicy Campus is one of those sites that openly hides behind its immunity.",
"The site's Frequently Asked Questions page states: \"There is no way for someone using the site to find out who you are.",
"And we at Juicy Campus are not keeping track of who you are or what you post.",
"In fact, we prefer not to know who you are.",
"We like to think that famous people like Justin Timberlake and Beyonce are using our site.",
"We love them ...\" But what about those cowards, I mean posters, who like to call people names behind the wizard's curtain of protection provided by the Communications Decency Act?",
"The First Amendment certainly protects free speech, even unpopular speech.",
"Opinions are protected.",
"The truth is protected.",
"But lies are not. To successfully sue the posters, Jane would have to show that they made false and defamatory statements about her (racist and slutty would qualify, I think) published them to a third party (I read them) and that her reputation was damaged (check).",
"In fact, most jurisdictions also recognize \"per se\" defamation, where the allegations are presumed to cause damage to the plaintiff, such as attacks on a person's professional character or standing; allegations that an unmarried person is unchaste; a person is infected with a sexually transmitted disease or has committed a crime of \"moral turpitude.\"",
"Should Jane sue the pants off the posters?",
"How would she find them?",
"When you file a civil lawsuit against even an anonymous individual, a judge can issue a subpoena.",
"Juicy Campus says it will respond to any \"lawful subpoena.\"",
"A subpoena could reveal a poster's IP address.",
"But in the end, it really is sooooo high school.",
"Actually, it's more grade school.",
"So Juicy Campus posters, come out, come out wherever you are.",
"Or Jane, file a lawsuit and find them.",
"E-mail to a friend ."
] |
[
"College gossip site Juicy Campus allows anonymous posting .",
"Some of the postings are gossipy, others are cruel .",
"Opinions are protected under the law, lies are not .",
"Legal action may be difficult unless site cooperates in identifying posters ."
] |
[
3,
19,
30,
36,
40
] |
[
"BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's government has authorized Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to submit to Washington amendments to a draft security agreement with the United States, an Iraqi government spokesman said Tuesday.",
"Students protest the status-of-forces agreement Tuesday at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University.",
"Ali al-Dabbagh said the Iraqi government approved several amendments that were \"necessary, essential and appropriate\" to the draft status-of-forces agreement, which would set the terms for U.S. troops in Iraq after the United Nations mandate on their presence expires at the end of this year.",
"\"The Iraqi government authorizes the prime minister to bring up these amendments to the U.S. side in order to reach a draft agreement that will preserve the fundamental principles and the sovereignty of Iraq and its high interests,\" al-Dabbagh said.",
"It is unclear when al-Maliki will submit the changes to the draft document.",
"U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said that there was \"great reluctance\" to make any more changes to the agreement.",
"However, senior U.S. officials -- speaking under the condition of anonymity -- are not ruling out possibly renegotiating parts of the deal with Iraq if the country's parliament does not approve it.",
"The most vocal opponent of the draft security deal in Iraq has been the political party of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, which opposes any U.S. military presence in Iraq.",
"U.S. military helicopters Tuesday flew over Baghdad's Mustansiriya University, where hundreds of students took part in a demonstration organized by the Sadr movement against the status-of-forces deal.",
"\"We are against this agreement between the Iraqi government and between the American government because it is against Iraqi sovereignty,\" said law student Ahmed Fadhil Abbas, one of the demonstrators.",
"Fellow demonstrator and law student Hisham Mohammed said the students plan to organize a sit-in and a strike across universities in Iraq to protest the agreement.",
"The draft status-of-forces agreement, according to a copy obtained by CNN, calls for U.S. combat troops to be out of Iraqi cities and villages by July 30, 2009, and out of the country entirely by December 31, 2011.",
"The agreement allows for an earlier withdrawal or an extension of the U.S. forces' stay in Iraq, by agreement of both parties.",
"It also allows the Iraqi government to ask \"the United States government to leave certain forces for training and for support purposes for the Iraqi forces.\"",
"Legal jurisdiction over U.S. forces in Iraq has been a sticking point in the negotiation, with the U.S. side preferring that its troops and contractors remain immune from Iraqi law.",
"Baghdad had sought the power to arrest and try Americans accused of crimes not related to official military operations, plus jurisdiction over troops and contractors who commit major crimes in the course of their duties.",
"Under the draft agreement, U.S. forces or contractors who commit \"major and premeditated murders\" while off duty and outside U.S. facilities would fall under Iraqi jurisdiction, according to the copy obtained by CNN.",
"All other crimes -- and murders committed inside U.S. facilities or by on-duty forces -- would fall under American jurisdiction, the agreement says."
] |
[
"Official calls changes \"necessary, essential and appropriate\" to the draft agreement .",
"Status-of-forces pact would set terms for U.S. troops in Iraq after U.N. mandate ends .",
"U.S. has shown \"great reluctance\" to change pact but hasn't ruled out renegotiations .",
"Hundreds of students protest status-of-forces deal Tuesday at university in Baghdad ."
] |
[
1,
2,
11
] |
[
"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- A huge man-made island shaped like a date palm tree opened Thursday off the coast of Dubai with a celebrity-studded gala and a three-day party.",
"The island officially opens with a spectacular fireworks display.",
"The Palm Jumeirah increased Dubai's shoreline by 100 percent after work started on it in 2001.",
"It features resort hotels, homes, luxury shopping and entertainment.",
"Though the entire island officially opened Thursday, parts of it already opened weeks ago -- including the Atlantis, The Palm, a sister to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas.",
"The Atlantis played host to the opening celebration Thursday night.",
"Stars including Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Robert De Niro, Janet Jackson and the Duchess of York were in attendance.",
"Pop star Kylie Minogue performed at the party.",
"Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra started what was billed as the world's largest-ever fireworks display, with more than 100,000 pyrotechnic devices.",
"When work on the island began, a team of Dutch engineers were employed to create the Palm by using a technique called rainbowing -- a vessel dredging sand from the seabed and spraying and piling it onto the desired area and into the requested shape."
] |
[
"The Palm Jumeirah man-made island officially opens off Dubai .",
"The island of luxury shops, hotels, entertainment doubled Dubai coastline .",
"Robert De Niro, Janet Jackson and the Duchess of York at opening party ."
] |
[
0,
1,
3,
6
] |
[
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- A yellow smiley-face badge, smeared with blood, has become the trademark for \"Watchmen,\" the most critically revered of all comic books -- but it could also represent its troubled journey from page to big screen.",
"\"Watchmen\" opens with the unexplained murder of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).",
"Note smiley badge.",
"The subject of fervent debate in the geekosphere for more than two decades, \"Watchmen\" finally rolls out in the U.S. and other territories from the first week of March onward.",
"But it's not as well known to wider audiences, who may puzzle at all this heat about a superhero movie with no A-list star attached.",
"Instead, they may simply ask: \"Watch-what?\"",
"\"Watchmen,\" created by the UK comic-book team of writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, surfaced in 1986 as a monthly 12-issue series published by DC Comics (part of Time Warner, which owns CNN parent company Turner Broadcasting).",
"Are you looking forward to \"Watchmen?\"",
"Or think it's just hype?",
"It was a defining year for the medium: aside from \"Watchmen,\" '86 also saw Pulitzer-prize winning holocaust drama \"Maus,\" from The New Yorker contributor Art Spielgeman; and Frank Miller's hyperviolent Batman reworking \"The Dark Knight Returns.\"",
"\"Watchmen,\" which takes place in 1985, is set in a parallel world where America never lost Vietnam, Russia is about to invade Afghanistan and Richard Nixon still holds power (Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward were murdered).",
"Meanwhile a superhero team -- only one of whom has special powers -- reforms after a fellow operative is mysteriously slain.",
"But what lifts \"Watchmen\" above its superhero peers is a complex, multi-layered narrative and depth of characterization that ensured it was the only comic book to make Time's 100 best novels since 1923.",
"A dark, downbeat work with a heady 11th-hour twist, it puts as much store on subsidiary characters like a newspaper seller as its does blue-skinned man-god Dr. Manhattan.",
"Its influence can be traced to current small-screen favorites like \"Heroes\" and \"Lost.\"",
"Watch \"Watchmen\" trailer. ...",
"Perfect fodder, one might think, for the multiplex -- but \"Watchmen\" has been lodged in Development Hell for the best part of two decades.",
"At various times Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vin Diesel were mooted to play Manhattan; Mickey Rourke and Ed Norton were suggested for right-wing vigilante Rorschach.",
"Directors set to shoot have included Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass and David Hayter (whose script has been retained for much of the final film).",
"Several planned shoots failed to materialize due to studio fears about the budget (locations include Antarctica and Mars as well as New York) and how the ending might be perceived in a post-9/11 world.",
"But film-makers such as Gilliam and Guillermo del Toro also believed that the complex material would be better treated as a TV mini-series.",
"As the latter, the \"Pan's Labyrinth\" filmmaker, told IGN: \"I just couldn't get my head around 'Watchmen' being two or three hours long.\"",
"Whoever made \"Watchmen\" would also do so without Moore's blessing.",
"Still resident in his hometown of Northampton, central England, Moore cuts an imposing figure.",
"At least six-and-a-half feet tall, with chest-length beard and hair, talon-like rings on his fingers and the skull of a centuries-old Buddhist monk in his study, he resembles Doctor Who as reimagined by Edgar Allan Poe.",
"(In person he's gracious and affable, as this writer will attest from a few years back.)",
"Moore has had a mixed relationship with both the mainstream comic-book industry (which he accuses of over-commercialization and exploiting creators' rights) and Hollywood.",
"The comic-book series \"From Hell,\" in which Moore uses the Jack the Ripper killings as a precursor to 20th-century violence, runs to about 500 pages, including 40-plus pages of footnotes.",
"On film it became a melodramatic pad around Victorian London, gamely carried by a pre-\"Pirates\" Johnny Depp.",
"Two other Moore adaptations also failed to translate.",
"Stephen Norrington's \"The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen\" (2003) was widely derided and the subject of a court case into which Moore was dragged; by the time of James McTeigue's better judged \"V For Vendetta\" (2005), Moore had asked his name be taken off any movie adaptations and refused to take royalties.",
"Enter Zack Snyder.",
"In 2004, Snyder came to the attention of mainstream cinemagoers with his well-regarded remake of George A. Romero's zombie flick \"Dawn of The Dead.\"",
"Following the $450m-plus taken worldwide by Snyder's \"300\" (2006) -- a hyper-stylized take on Frank Miller's ancient Greek suicide-mission -- it was announced that \"Watchmen\" would be his next project with Warner Bros. Paramount, which abandoned plans for the movie in 2005, took international rights.",
"The $150-million feature went into production in Vancouver in mid-2007, wrapping in early 2008, and with a cast including Billy Crudup and Jackie Earle Haley.",
"Snyder has retained \"Watchmen's\" 1980s setting and also recruited original artist Gibbons -- who still retains friendship with Moore -- to advise on production design.",
"Mindful that a narrative so complex could never work as a movie, Snyder has jettisoned several parallel subplots, which will surface as DVD extras and in director's cuts.",
"Word is that the ending has also been changed.",
"But wary of over-tweaking, Snyder told Entertainment Weekly last year: \"You can't make it into something else, you really can't.",
"It's not 'Fantastic Four,' it's got to be hard R [cinema rating], it's got to challenge everyone's ideas.\"",
"Meanwhile Moore, who sometimes mentions that he worships a Roman snake-god, hinted in the LA Times that he had cursed the feature.",
"\"I can tell you that I will also be spitting venom all over it for months to come,\" he added.",
"So was it Moore who saw \"Watchmen\" end up in the courts for a case that risked scuppering its release?",
"Last year Twentieth Century Fox claimed it still retained rights through an earlier deal with producer Lawrence Gordon in the 1980s; Warners Bros. disagreed but a judge decided there was a case to answer.",
"A settlement was eventually thrashed out last month, only weeks ahead of release.",
"And so \"Watchmen\" ticks toward early March and a rollout in spring, the now-traditional season for edgier comic-book adaptations like \"300\" and \"Sin City.\"",
"Trailers and early footage have drawn praise, with several scenes playing like detailed frames from the original artwork.",
"But key will be whether Snyder can match \"Watchmen's\" dramatic beats against its green-screen chicanery for more than two hours (the Internet Movie Database lists the running time at 163 minutes).",
"After all, successfully mixing pyrotechnics and narrative is how the most satisfying genre features of recent years -- such as Peter Jackson's \"Lord Of The Rings\" trilogy and Christopher Nolan's \"The Dark Knight\" -- have found artistic, as well as commercial, favor.",
"Should Snyder pull it off then will he earn the gratitude of fan boys everywhere, as well as no small thanks from a fair few movie executives.",
"What Alan Moore might think is another issue.",
"'Watchmen' is released in the UK on 6 March."
] |
[
"Comic-book movie, directed by Zack Snyder, took two decades to reach cinemas .",
"Directors Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass, previously attached .",
"Source material regarded by many as the best comic-book ever written .",
"Co-creator Alan Moore has objected to the idea of story being made into movie ."
] |
[
18,
27,
31
] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.