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(CNN) -- Robbie Rogers became the first openly gay male athlete to play in a pro American sporting match Sunday when he took the field for Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy during a rout of the Seattle Sounders. Not to be overlooked in the landmark moment is Rogers' prescience. In remarks to ESPN before the game, he said, "I'm hoping I can come on and it's 4-0 and I can just enjoy myself." Which is exactly what happened. With 13 minutes remaining in the game, Rogers came in as a substitute for midfielder Juninho with the Galaxy up by four goals. Emphatic applause erupted from the stands at the Home Depot Center. Before the game, Los Angeles native Jason Collins, a pro basketball player who announced last month that he was gay, tweeted Rogers to say good luck. Rogers said after the game that the experience was "perfect, really perfect." "The first training session the Galaxy ever had on the Home Depot Center pitch, I was here training," he said. "I've kind of been on this huge journey to kind of figure out my life, and now I'm back here, I think kind of where I'm supposed to be." Bleacher Report: Twitter reacts . Rogers was introduced as the newest member of the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday, making him the first openly gay male athlete in Major League Soccer and ending his brief retirement. The Galaxy signed Rogers to a multiyear contract after acquiring him from the Chicago Fire, which held his rights, in exchange for midfielder Mike Magee. Rogers, a former winger for the U.S. national team, had retired from soccer in February at age 25, announcing then that he is gay. However, he still had the passion for the game. He trained with the Galaxy for about a month before making the comeback official. "After I finally got in here, everything was completely normal, as it should be," Rogers said at his introductory news conference. "Getting back on the pitch was amazing." Opinion: Lust in the locker room -- get over it? But even though he still enjoys the game, deciding to come back was not easy for Rogers, who said he was afraid to share the secret about his sexual orientation for 25 years. "I kept my secret because I thought I couldn't be both a soccer player and a gay athlete," Rogers said. "I figured it out that it's not true, but I felt that way. So I was afraid to put myself back into a situation where I felt like I was kind of an outcast or just different than people." In his career, Rogers also has played for MLS club Columbus Crew from 2007 to 2011, winning the MLS Cup in 2008. He also briefly played for English club Leeds United. Los Angeles head coach Bruce Arena believes that Rogers will make an impact on the field with his play. "We've been searching for the last year or two for a player that has the skills to be a flank player, play wide and add a little speed to our club, take on players and a good crosser off the ball with both of his feet," Arena said. "He offers qualities that we've been looking for, so we're hopeful that in time, Robbie will demonstrate the kind of qualities that he has previously in this league." Rogers isn't the only trailblazer for male gay athletes in American professional sports. Twelve-year NBA veteran Collins announced he was gay, but he has not played a game since he made the announcement. He is currently a free agent. Opinion: When celebrities share secrets, good things happen . | NEW: Galaxy provide historic moment as Robbie Rogers takes field for 13 minutes in rout . Rogers becomes the first openly gay male athlete to compete in Major League Soccer . Former winger for U.S. national team came out in February as he announced retirement . NBA player Jason Collins has not played since he came out last month . | 964ff99f1630531c77e2eb2c8c6afb032ce9aa03 |
(CNN) -- Being a green employer isn't just good for the environment, it could also help a business attract the best and brightest staff. Going green in your office is easy, say the authors of 'True Green @ Work'. The 2006 Hayes Best Employer Survey showed that nearly 75 percent of 20-year-olds will not apply for a job unless if they are uncomfortable with a companies values. And for individuals, being more environmentally minded at work is easy, says Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin, authors of "True Green at Work". Below are their ten tips to be greener in the office. 1) Keep a mug at work for coffee rather than using disposable cups. 2) Switch to using long-life refillable pens made from recycled plastic, paper or timber, or from fully biodegradable bioplastic (derived from cornstarch). 3) Choose recycled paper, rather than paper made from virgin timber - it makes up 70 percent of office waste. 4) Set your printer to double-sided copies to save paper. 5) Keep a paper recycling tray in addition to your waste bin. 6) Bring your own lunch to work in a reusable container to reduce packaging waste. 7) Remove your phone charger from the power point when not in use, as it continues to consume up to 40 percent of the current used to charge your phones. 8) Set your computer to sleep if you are away from your desk for more than 10 minutes, which reduces power consumption to about 5 percent of full operating power. 9) Look to maximize the natural light in your office, rather than relying on artificial light. 10) Join the environmental or sustainable committee in your workplace. If one does not exist, take the initiative and form a green task force. | Authors of True Green @ Work offer 10 tips for greener office life . Many are simple to archive, but small steps can make a big difference . Joining your workplace environmental committee a more progressive step . Click here for more ways to go green in the office . | 63d36757c06541c06a22d13a5d5d6dd952b8e281 |
(CNN) -- Adam Wilson posted two messages on Twitter on April 15. The first one, "GO BADGERS," might have been sent by any University of Wisconsin-Madison student cheering for the school team. The brain-computer interface allows people to compose a tweet by focusing on the desired letter. His second post, 20 minutes later, was a little more unusual: "SPELLING WITH MY BRAIN." Wilson, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering, was confirming an announcement he had made two weeks earlier -- his lab had developed a way to post messages on Twitter using electrical impulses generated by thought. That's right, no keyboards, just a red cap fitted with electrodes that monitor brain activity, hooked up to a computer flashing letters on a screen. Wilson sent the messages by concentrating on the letters he wanted to "type," then focusing on the word "twit" at the bottom of the screen to post the message. The development could be a lifeline for people with "locked-in syndrome" -- whose brains function normally but who cannot speak or move because of injury or disease. Wilson and his supervisor, Justin Williams, made the breakthrough last month after hearing a question posed on the radio. Watch a demonstration of the technology » . "Wouldn't it be great if you could Twitter just by thinking about it?" That query sparked what Williams called the "a-ha moment." "We can do that," said Williams, an assistant professor and the principal investigator at the lab in Madison, Wisconsin. "We can do that tomorrow." In the end, it wasn't quite "tomorrow," Williams said, but Wilson had written the software to link existing technology with Twitter "within a couple of days" of starting on the project in March. He sent Williams his first "tweet" -- or message -- from the brain-computer interface on March 31. Watch Dr. Gupta explain how it works » . "I had set up my phone to get Twitter updates, and I walked in my door and got this message, and I knew it was really possible," he told CNN by phone. "My wife was sitting there, and I showed her the message and she immediately got excited about it -- and it's rare that I come home from work and she gets excited about what I have been doing." That's because using the brain to post Twitter messages is potentially much more than an academic exercise or a party trick -- it could help paralyzed people communicate. "These are people who have ALS, like Stephen Hawking, or they have a brainstem stroke, or a high spinal-cord injury," Williams explained. "There is nothing wrong with these people's brains. It's a normal person, locked into a lifeless, useless body." (The British physicist Hawking has ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.) Hundreds of thousands of people suffer from locked-in syndrome, Williams estimated. Many of them want just the kind of ability the brain-Twitter project seems to offer, said Kevin Otto, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Purdue University in Indiana. "The interesting thing about this project is they are directly addressing some of the patient desires," he said. "A lot of people think [locked-in patients] want to walk and want fancy prosthetics, but a lot of times what they want are bladder control and basic communication skills." Otto, who was not involved in the University of Wisconsin project, called it "a very important incremental step to take two existing technologies and marry them together like this." Williams had been working on brain-computer interface technology "for many years," he told CNN, before the idea to use Twitter. "The technology we were developing was 10 or more years down the line, so we started wondering, 'Is there something we can do now?' " His lab at the University of Wisconsin -- like those at Brown University, Purdue and the Wadsworth Center in Albany, New York, among others -- is developing ways for locked-in people to communicate. Projects range from manipulating a cursor on a computer screen to operating a robotic arm, and they can include devices physically implanted into a brain. But the Twitter project has a lot of advantages, Williams said. "Twitter fits so many of our needs and patients' capabilities," he said. "Their first interest is in being able to communicate in a normal fashion, and at a distance." Twitter is simpler than e-mail, he said. "If I am locked in and I want to e-mail someone, the format is all wrong. You have to be able to select recipients and group them, copy, paste, send. ... We don't think about that much as normal people, but it can become unmanageable. "Twitter takes care of all those things. They just have to get [the message] to a location where people can come and find it," he said. Locked-in people communicating by tweet might have followers who don't even realize they are disabled, Williams said. "Nobody's going to notice that the person at the other end is disabled. They might not have any idea. And that might be very empowering for people," he said. The interface is not unlike the method the French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby used to dictate his novel "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" -- later turned into a movie -- after a massive stroke left him paralyzed except for his left eyelid. Bauby's caregivers recited letters of the alphabet; he blinked when he heard the one he wanted and they wrote them down. The brain-Twitter application flashes letters on a screen while the user, wearing a cap fitted with electrodes, concentrates on a letter. "When the letter that you are concentrating on flashes, we can pick that up," Williams said. Williams declined to say how soon the interface could be available commercially, noting it has not yet been used by anyone with locked-in syndrome. "I'd hate to speculate about things being on the market," he said. "Adam [Wilson] is going to graduate in May, and his next role is to start preclinical trials with subjects in New York and Germany." But Williams said he is excited about the development. "We were interested in seeing what we could do right now to help people," he said. "The field has come far enough that we need to start getting to people in their homes." CNN senior medical producer Shahreen Abedin contributed to this report. | Doctoral student develops a way to post messages on Twitter using mind . Brain-computer interface uses electrical impulses generated by thought . Twitter simpler than e-mail, and format is good fit for new technology, prof says . Development could be a lifeline for people with paralysis, "locked-in" syndrome . | c7c93a87fa2b755f3b44bfed8760319f9ad1c3d1 |
Washington (CNN) -- The Libyan military has been pounded by coalition airstrikes neutralizing its air capabilities but it is still able to fight and maneuver on the ground, U.S. officials said. The Libyan Air Force has been grounded after five days of operations by the coalition forces. More than 160 Tomahawk missiles and several hundred strikes from fighter jets have virtually destroyed Moammar Gadhafi's air defense. The toll on the air system is "to the point where we can operate with near impunity across Libya," said Vice Marshall Greg Bagwell of Britain's Royal Air Force. Despite the targeting of mobile launchers, Libyan forces still have numerous mobile launchers that could pose a risk to coalition planes. But it's the ground forces where Gadhafi has more maneuverability because of the coalition's limitations in fighting Libyan forces only from the air. Gadhafi's forces have retreated from the eastern city of Benghazi, but continue to fight in other cities including Misrata and Ajabiya using "tanks, artillery, rocket launchers," according to Rear Adm. Gerard Hueber, chief of staff for the coalition Odyssey Dawn. The coalition is able to strike at forces moving toward cities, but once they are inside city limits, dropping bombs with enough precision to avoid civilian casualties is difficult. Before the war, Libya had about 500 mortars and 2,400 pieces of artillery. Gadhafi had close to 2,000 tanks and armored vehicles to move around, but much was poorly maintained. Libya's elite forces come from tribes loyal to Gadhafi, dedicated to protecting the regime. The 32nd Brigade, for instance, is commanded by one of Gadhafi's sons. Those forces total, at most, 10,000 men. They are better paid and better equipped, said Gawdat Bahgat, a military analyst at National Defense University, with tanks and conventional weapons. Those elite forces are on the offense. U.S. surveillance planes have seen some attacks by the elite units. "Those forces are fully engaged in this conflict, that are attacking those civilian populations," Hueber said. The Gadhafi forces remain capable of carrying out attacks on the opposition, a U.S. official told CNN. They are relatively well organized and continue to fight effectively in certain parts of the country, said the unnamed official, who is not authorized to speak on the record. The rebels have gained some additional battle space due to coalition efforts, the official said. Rebels are in a better position than they were a few days ago, but the Gadhafi forces have the upper edge at this point in time, the official said. However, where possible, the coalition is hitting the forces on the ground, arguing it is within the mission of protecting civilians. "Gadhafi's forces are feeling the strain of several weeks of fighting without any resupply," the official said. "In Ajdabiya to Misurata, our targeted priorities are mechanized forces, those mobile integrated -- those mobile surface-to-air missile sites, interdicting their lines of communications which supply their beans and their bullets, their command-and-control, and any opportunities for sustainment of that activity," Hueber said Wednesday. | Gadhafi's elite ground forces are well-paid, well-equipped . Those troops fight within cities, where coalition can't easily get them . | 73af1f20097ef52f16422443aeefa053bd757bf4 |
(CNN) -- Two U.S. spacecraft are set to crash on the moon Friday. On purpose. And we're all invited to watch. An artist's rendering shows the LCROSS spacecraft, left, separating from its Centaur rocket. NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite is scheduled to drop its Centaur upper-stage rocket on the lunar surface at 7:31 a.m. ET. NASA hopes the impact will kick up enough dust to help the LCROSS probe find the presence of water in the moon's soil. Four minutes later, the LCROSS will follow through the debris plume, collecting and relaying data back to Earth before crashing into the Cabeus crater near the moon's south pole. The LCROSS is carrying spectrometers, near-infrared cameras, a visible camera and a visible radiometer. These instruments will help NASA scientists analyze the plume of dust -- more than 250 metric tons' worth -- for water vapor. The orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will watch, and photograph, the collisions. And hundreds of telescopes on Earth also will be focused on the two plumes. Watch animation of how the moon will be "bombed" » . NASA is encouraging amateur astronomers to join the watch party. "We expect the debris plumes to be visible through midsized backyard telescopes -- 10 inches and larger," said Brian Day at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California. Day is an amateur astronomer who is leading education and public outreach for the LCROSS mission. Ames will host "Impact Night," an event with music and food starting Thursday evening before a live transmission of the lunar impact will be shown around 4:30 a.m. PT Friday. Other science observatories and amateur astronomy clubs across the country will be hosting similar events. iReport: Are you planning to watch? "The initial explosions will probably be hidden behind crater walls, but the plumes will rise high enough above the crater's rim to be seen from Earth," Day said. The Cabeus crater lies in permanent shadow, making observations inside the crater difficult. Watch CNN's Jeanne Moos ask if lunacy is behind the moon "bombing" » . The impacts will not be visible to the naked eye or through binoculars. If you don't have a telescope, or you live in areas where daylight will obscure the viewing, NASA TV will broadcast the crashes live. Coverage begins at 6:15 a.m. ET Friday. The two main components of the LCROSS mission are the shepherding spacecraft and the Centaur upper stage rocket. The spacecraft will guide the rocket to its crash site. Data from previous space missions have revealed trace amounts of water in lunar soil. The LCROSS mission seeks a definitive answer to the question of how much water is present. NASA has said it believes water on the moon could be a valuable resource in the agency's quest to explore the solar system. LCROSS launched with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 18. Friday's lunar impact will be visible best in areas that are still dark, particularly in the Western United States. The Fremont Peak Observatory near Monterey, California, will open up its doors early Friday to allow people to watch the event through its 30-inch telescope. It's "the most accessible public telescope in the [San Francisco] Bay Area," said Dave Samuels, the observatory's vice president. So far, at least 50 people have signed up, Samuels said, noting that number is "really phenomenal, especially on a school night [and] work night. It's really incredible." Students, retirees and board members are among those scheduled to attend. Samuels said a special low-light, infrared video camera will be hooked up to the telescope so that the audience can watch the rocket strike the moon. The observatory is in Fremont Peak State Park, which is on a list of California parks that could close because of recent budget cuts. Samuels said he hopes Friday's event triggers more interest in astronomy, particularly among young children, and possibly help the park to stay open. "It's things like this that get kids interested [in science]," he said. "It will probably be a defining moment for them." Darrick Gray, who teaches atmospheric sciences at Ray-Pec High School near Kansas City, Missouri, said he's planning to take 17 students -- all juniors and seniors -- to watch the lunar impact . "This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Gray said. He said he's arranged for a school bus to pick up the kids early Friday and take the class to the Powell Observatory in Louisburg, Kansas. "It's weather-dependent; we've got rain right now," Gray said. "It's going to be a call I make at 5 a.m." Gray, who is also the director of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City, said his students will try to take photos of the impact through the eyepiece of their telescopes. He said he hopes the event will influence his students to pursue careers in science. "Being as we do live here in Missouri, we're away from the hub [of astronomy]," Gray said. "We're not in Florida, we're not in Texas, we're not in Silicon Valley -- it's not something they're used to seeing. "So any time you can show them something that's never been done, and they say, 'Oh this is pretty cool,' I think they buy into that." | A NASA spacecraft is set to drop a rocket on the moon at 7:31 a.m. ET Friday . Four minutes later, the LCROSS probe will follow and crash onto the lunar surface . The LCROSS probe will relay data back to Earth about water vapor in moon dust . The debris plumes will be visible through midsize backyard telescopes . | 02bcf4a693c5d7ee6ca36f9a525978eaac91dcc1 |
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israel's government rejected a Qatari offer to re-establish trade relations that would have allowed the Gulf state to provide aid to Gaza, two senior Israeli government officials said Thursday. One official, who did not want to be named citing the sensitivity of the matter, said there had been "tentative discussions" within the Israeli government on the informal Qatari proposal, which would have linked the re-establishment of economic ties with Israel with Israel's granting permission for the Gulf state to send reconstruction supplies and other goods into Gaza. The official said that the idea was rejected because it was seen "as a way of bolstering Hamas" and said American and Egyptian officials had expressed similar concerns. The same official said the proposal did not come as a "formal request or offer" from the Qatari government but could offer no details on who initially presented the idea. News of Israel's rejection of the Qatari offer was first reported by Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Tuesday. An official from the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem could not immediately comment. Qatari officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Another senior Israeli government official said "we were favorable" to the idea of renewed relations, but that the Qatari "precondition" of allowing "large amounts" of goods into the Gaza was a deal breaker. The official said it was not clear who would have overseen the process. The proposal did not address Israel's concerns "about the unrestricted flow of material that can be used for defensive fortifications" by Hamas and "we had to say no," the official said. The Palestinian territory of Gaza has been subjected to an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since 2007, when the Islamist group Hamas staged a violent coup ousting the Palestinian Authority government lead by Fatah, a rival political faction. Qatar and Israel maintained trade relations from 1996 until last year. Relations fell apart after the start of Israel's military operation against Hamas in Gaza at the end of 2008. The three-week campaign, dubbed Operation Cast Lead, ended with approximately 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis killed. In protest, the Qatari government in Doha ordered the Israeli trade office closed. Qatar was the only Gulf country to maintain official relations with the Jewish state. In a statement released earlier this month after a meeting of Arab leaders, the Qatari Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabor Al-Thani criticized Israel's Gaza policy, saying it contravened international legitimacy. "We have to concentrate on confronting the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza which is oppressive and it is our duty to save the Palestinians who are part of us and we are part of them," he said. Qatar has long sought to bolster its role in regional diplomacy. Bringing about a deal to send in construction supplies to Gaza would be regarded by many in the Arab world as a diplomatic coup, though it is unlikely that Egypt would be receptive to such an arrangement. The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported Thursday that Egypt had expressed its opposition to Israel over the Qatari proposal, and that it was ultimately rejected so as not to upset the government of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told CNN that "the Israeli newspaper report is a fairy tale and quite illogical." "Since when do the Israelis need to consult with Egypt when they want to establish relations with any other party?" Zaki asked. "It is clear that the Israelis do not want to offend the Qataris and therefore they (the Israelis) resorted to their usual game in striking a nerve in order to start trouble between Egypt and Qatar, just to make Israel look innocent," the spokesman added. | Israeli officials say Qatar offered to re-establish trade relations . Qatar wanted to provide economic aid to Gaza . Israel fears any aid would bolster Hamas, officials say . | 527b6039c9417ec0dff3d5d0d771fcc95fb9fd5f |
Las Vegas (CNN) -- After six days, 3,250 booths and 20,000 new products, a few interesting trends bubbled up at last week's Consumer Electronics Show. There were plenty of generic 5-inch smartphones, cheap tablets and ginormous televisions, as well as prototypes of fun, futuristic technology like the 20-inch 4K tablet from Panasonic or the self-driving car from Audi. We also spotted plenty of odd gear, like the manicure machine that can print photos on your nails and the mind-controlled helicopter. And we learned a few things about where consumer tech is going in 2013. Here are six trends that caught our eye. Transportation for people who hate walking . Shiny, futuristic smart cars were on display from big companies such as Audi, Toyota and Ford. They showed off self-driving car prototypes and in-car displays for reading maps, playing music and even checking social networks. But some of the more inventive transportation tech was smaller and geekier. There was the ZBoard, a motorized skateboard that senses your weight to propel you in the right direction, going up to 15 miles per hour. The eFlow E3 Nitro Electric bike will set lazy bikers back $4,000. People wearing electric roller skates and strange two-wheeled boots zipped around the show floor at low speeds. The Solowheel electric unicycle actually looked like a lot of fun, but at $1,795, you might be better off catching a few cabs. Overhyped pricey TVs . Televisions are the biggest product category at the Consumer Electronics Show, with major companies such as Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Panasonic using the occasion to launch their latest and greatest screens. The big hardware feature pushed at last week's show was the Ultra High-Definition 4K screen, which offers a crisper picture than traditional HD displays. While the technology is closer to being available to consumers, it's still mostly just hype. The prices are sky-high for 4K TVs, and you'll notice the difference only if you're sitting close to the set or if you spring for a giant television measuring 60 inches or larger. Even if you can afford a 4K TV, there's not much in the way of content for the medium yet. Crowdfunded gadgets . The crowd-funding and conference worlds merged nicely at this year's CES. Companies that got their start on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, like the people who made the Pebble smart watch, managed to parlay that early momentum into higher visibility at the show. Crowdfunding sites also are proving to be more than just great ways to raise money; they're places where people with offbeat inventions can test the waters to see whether there's a market for their product. And then there were the startups with protoypes that announced plans to raise money on crowdfunding sites in the coming months. One CES darling was the HAPIfork, a "smart" fork that tallies how many bites you take in order to help fast eaters slow down. The product has received a lot of press, both adoring and mocking, which should help it rake in money when it debuts on Kickstarter this spring. Help for senior citizens . The elderly tend to get overlooked in the tech world, but this year's CES featured a surprising number of products aimed at the grandparent set. Connected smart-home devices make it possible to monitor family members from far away, which can be comforting to primary caregivers dealing with aging parents. New sensors can text family members or a doctor if something is amiss in the senior's daily routine, such as not getting out of bed or skipping medication. If you're concerned about an elderly relative's safety, you can use smartphone apps to remotely control security systems, thermostats and even kitchen electronics. For people in poor health, sensors and gadgets will monitor vital signs and send alerts if someone needs assistance right away. In case of emergency . Whether inspired by Hurricane Sandy or "The Walking Dead," a number of intriguing gadgets promised to help users handle emergencies. The Luci inflatable lantern, for example, is both solar-powered and waterproof. Also popular were mobile-charging devices that offer backup power on the go for smartphones and tablets. These battery packs can be pricey, though. The solar-powered Yeti 150 generator has enough juice to power a smartphone for 15 hours, but it will cost you $400. The junk . CES is huge, spanning 1.92 million square feet. For every interesting gadget or prototype, there were dozens of small booths hawking digital detritus. Though Apple doesn't have an official presence at CES, the iPhone accessory was a popular item on the show floor, There was a neverending supply of cheap cases, covers, Bluetooth keyboards, power packs and charging stations for iPhone and iPads. Speakers and headphones were as omnipresent as flu germs. Some big companies introduced cool audio products, but the big trend continued to be celebrity-endorsed headphones. Beats by Dre has done so well that every earbud now clamors for some famous support, even from the likes of Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister or, um, "The Jersey Shore's" Snooki. Finally, there were the massagers. There wasn't anything terribly innovative or new in the massage field, but the booths demoing massage tech were always packed with stressed-out or weary attendees who needed a little back rub after wandering the show floor all day. The latest trend in this field? Little robot massagers that wander around on your back. We'll find out soon enough whether they catch on in the real world. | 20,000 new products were showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show . Helpful technology for seniors and emergencies was big on the show floor . Many companies planned Kickstarter funding campaigns for their products . The massive show wrapped up Friday in Las Vegas . | 984a2f2c1c7e505eedd02abe2553ccdd125f9bff |
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Paramedics were called to Lindsay Lohan's Los Angeles hotel room when she did not wake up from a nap Friday morning, but the actress "is fine," her publicist said. Lohan joked about the incident in a Twitter posting early Saturday: . "Note to self.. After working 85 hours in 4 days, and being up all night shooting, be very aware that you might pass out from exhaustion & 7 paramedics MIGHT show up @ your door.... Hopefully theyre cute. Otherwise it would be a real let down." Lohan, 25, was simply sleeping after working "a grueling schedule the past few days," publicist Steve Honig said. She is in the middle of filming the Lifetime movie "Liz & Dick" in which she portrays legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor. LiLo's maybe co-star, porn actor James Deen . "She was on set last night at 7 p.m. and worked through the night until 8 a.m. this morning," Honig said. "She took a nap before shooting her final scene. Producers were concerned when she did not come out of her room and called paramedics as a precaution." Paramedics determined Lohan "is fine, but did suffer some exhaustion and dehydration." Contrary to some media reports, she was not taken to a hospital, he said. "She is resting now and is hoping to be back on set later this afternoon," he said. The scare came a week after Lohan was involved in a car crash that sent her to a hospital emergency room. Lohan has spent several stints in substance abuse rehab, jail and home confinement in the past five years. Her professional life has gotten back on track in recent months and her supervised probation, stemming from two drunken driving convictions, has been lifted. Lohan's lengthy legal history . CNN's Jack Hannah and Carolyn Sung contributed to this report. | NEW: Lohan jokes about the incident on Twitter . Lohan was napping after "a grueling schedule the past few days," her publicist says . "Liz & Dick" producers call 911 when she didn't return to the set . She "is fine, but did suffer some exhaustion and dehydration," publicist says . | c7674636d77bc5cbf04d778ba213058ef7edcafb |
(CNN) -- Eight mass graves were uncovered in northeastern Mexico Wednesday, holding at least 59 bodies, the Tamaulipas state attorney general's office said. Authorities found the graves during an investigation into a report of the kidnapping of passengers from a bus in late March. The investigation led them to the town of San Fernando, the same place where in August of last year the bodies of 72 immigrants were found at a ranch. This time, authorities arrested 11 suspects and rescued five hostages, the state attorney general's office said. They also discovered the eight mass graves. There were 11 bodies found in the first six graves, 43 bodies in the seventh, and five in the eighth, the agency said. Forensic investigators will examine the bodies in an attempt to identify them and to see if they are the missing bus passengers. Tamaulipas Gov. Egidio Torre Cantu condemned the violence, and said he would collaborate with federal authorities to locate and punish those responsible. "These reprehensible acts underline the cowardice and the total lack of scruples of the criminal organizations, which generate violence in our country, and especially in the state of Tamaulipas," the office of Mexican President Felipe Calderon said in a statement. Read about a deadly four-day stretch in another part of Mexico . Amnesty International also called on Mexico to fully investigate, and it criticized the country's efforts to protect its citizens and migrants passing through. "The mass graves found yesterday once again show the Mexican government's failure to deal with the country's public security crisis and reduce criminal violence which has left many populations vulnerable to attacks, abductions and killings," said Rupert Knox, a researcher on Mexico at Amnesty International. "All too often such human rights crimes have gone unpunished, leaving criminal gangs and officials acting in collusion with them free to target vulnerable communities, such as irregular migrants." The nationalities of the victims found in the mass graves were not immediately known. Tamaulipas is one of Mexico's most active states when it comes to drug trafficking activity. The Gulf cartel and the Zetas cartel both operate in the state and have strongholds there. The Zetas have been blamed for the killings of the 72 migrants who were found in San Fernando last year. | Authorities discover eight mass graves in northern Mexico . At least 59 bodies were recovered . The local governor and the president of Mexico condemned the violence . | 10d4ffd0b60a0131ff2e88fa54be6c96ed44b0c4 |
Editor's note: Peter Bregman is chief executive of Bregman Partners Inc., a global management consulting firm, and the author of "Point B: A Short Guide to Leading a Big Change". He writes a weekly column, How We Work, for HarvardBusiness.org. Peter Bregman says you can't make your luck, but you can control how you'll react to what happens. NEW YORK (CNN) -- There is a Buddhist story about a poor farmer whose one horse ran away. All his neighbors came to him in sympathy, saying "What bad luck!" "Maybe," he responded. The next day the horse returned with several other wild horses. "What great luck!" his neighbors exclaimed. "Maybe," he responded. A few days later the farmer's son was trying to tame one of the wild horses when he was thrown off and broke his leg. "What terrible luck!" his neighbors said. "Maybe," he responded. A week later the army came through the village to draft all the young men but seeing the broken leg of the farmer's son, they left him in peace. "What wonderful luck!" the neighbors said. "Maybe," the farmer responded. And so it goes. My life is a series of lucky accidents strung together starting from the moment of my conception. I was a diaphragm baby. In college I was planning to go into politics. Then in the spring of my junior year the bicycle trip I had planned to go on was cancelled because the leader broke her arm. So instead I went on a camping trip and it changed my life. I soon gave up politics and began teaching leadership on wilderness expeditions. And on one of those expeditions I met the woman who would eventually become my wife. Later I built a successful company teaching leadership with lots of employees and several offices around the world. Then, as luck would have it, my company crashed along with the economy and the Twin Towers. It turns out, after some introspection and a solid dose of therapy, that I wasn't enjoying the business the way I had built it the first time. So I rebuilt it in a much smaller, sustainable and fulfilling way. While I might not have been happy about it at the time, each turn of luck was a catalyst that brought me closer to the life that I'm happily living now. Often we operate with the impression that we are in control of our lives. I remember long conversations with my wife, Eleanor, about exactly when we should have our second child. Two miscarriages later we realized it wasn't up to us. And when Sophia eventually came, we knew that any time would have been the right time. Some strokes of luck are small. Maybe you enjoy a conversation with someone new. Maybe you read a poem that happened to be sitting on someone's desk. Maybe you bump into the car in front of you. Only years later can you see how fundamentally that moment may have changed your life. Some strokes of luck are big and you know at the time they will change your life. Maybe you win $10 million with a lottery ticket you didn't even know you had, as recently happened to a woman in Australia. Maybe you lose your job. What we don't know is how those things will change our lives. All the research points to how poor we are at predicting how we'll feel about something once it happens to us. Lottery winners are no happier than before. Paraplegics are no less happy. And there's something I've been noticing about people who have lost their jobs recently. They seem happier. Relieved, almost. Not everyone. But in many cases, the fear of losing your job is worse than losing your job. I know a large number of employed people who are miserable on two counts: They hate their jobs and they're afraid of losing them. They're scared and stuck. But once you lose your job you can move on. Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard University, explained this phenomenon in a recent New York Times article, "What You Don't Know Makes You Nervous." "When we get bad news we weep for a while, and then get busy making the best of it. We change our behavior, we change our attitudes. ... An uncertain future leaves us stranded in an unhappy present with nothing to do but wait." So when your luck changes, what should you do about it? Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck has done a tremendous amount of research to understand what makes someone give up in the face of adversity versus strive to overcome it. Her research shows that if someone believes his talent is inborn he'll give up quickly, because any obstacle is a sign of his limitation. He's hit a wall; he can't do something and won't ever be able to. But if someone believes her talent grows with persistence and effort, she'll work to master the challenge. She'll view adversity as an opportunity to get better. So here's the good news: You can change your results by changing your mind-set. When Dweck trained children to view themselves as capable of growing their intelligence, they worked harder, more persistently, and with greater success on math problems they had previously abandoned as unsolvable. Luck changes. Call it fate. Call it God's will. Call it an accident. No matter how well we plan our lives, we're not fully in control. But how we face our luck -- good and bad -- is in our control. How's this year going? Are you having good luck? Bad luck? Maybe. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Peter Bregman. | Peter Bregman: So much of our lives is ruled by luck . Bregman says we can't control luck but can decide how we react to it . He says studies show you can change your results by changing your mindset . | d700a463b82eeba1c6ccbfed8347fd87974e71f9 |
London, England (CNN) -- The British government has apologized and offered compensation to hundreds of people who suffered the effects of thalidomide, a drug once prescribed to pregnant women that later was linked to major birth defects. Thalidomide sufferers and campaigners hailed the move and said it was long overdue. British doctors prescribed thalidomide for expectant mothers from 1958 to 1962 to control the symptoms of morning sickness. The drug, developed by a German firm, was used internationally as a sedative and hailed because overdose simply caused prolonged sleep, not death. Thalidomide also was combined with other drugs to create medications for asthma, hypertension, and migraine, according to the Thalidomide Trust, which supports victims. Doctors and scientists began to notice gross limb malformations in infants starting in 1960, and scientists linked it to thalidomide the next year. By then, it had affected babies from Kenya to Peru to Japan, though most of the cases were in Germany, where the drug had been available over the counter. There are currently 466 people in the United Kingdom whose mothers took the drug when they were in the womb. Most of them have two or four limbs missing, and some also can't see or hear, according to the trust. One of them is Louise Medus-Mansell, who was born in 1962 with no arms or legs. "It is a bonus, something that we didn't think would ever happen," she told CNN about the government's apology. "There's a lot of people today that have been waiting for this apology from the government that have had partners die." Medus-Mansell, who recently had a kidney transplant, published an autobiography this year titled "No Hand to Hold and No Legs to Dance On." Health Minister Mike O'Brien said the British government is creating a £20 million ($32.5 million) fund over three years to meet the health needs of Thalidomide victims, who are between 45 and 51 years old. The money will be distributed by the Thalidomide Trust, he said, and will help reduce further degeneration of their health as the victims grow older. "The government wishes to express its sincere regret and deep sympathy for the injury and suffering endured by all those affected when expectant mothers took the drug thalidomide between 1958 and 1961," O'Brien said in the House of Commons. "We acknowledge both the physical hardship and the emotional difficulties that have faced both the children affected and their families as a result of this drug, and the challenges that many continue to endure, often on a daily basis." The problems caused by the drug led the British government to review the marketing, testing, and regulation of drugs, O'Brien said. That included the enactment of the Medicines Act 1968, which introduced more testing for medicines prior to licensing to make sure they meet safety standards. The Thalidomide Society, which was created in 1962 by the parents of thalidomide victims, said it welcomed the government's apology. "I think it obviously makes a great deal of difference (to the children), but I think also for the parents who had dreadful, dreadful trouble in the very early years to convince people that something had happened and it wasn't their fault," said society secretary Vivien Kerr. "For them, I think, it's something to be very grateful for and it's welcome." CNN's Phil Black and Melissa Gray contributed to this report. | There are currently 466 people in the UK whose expectant mothers took the drug . Drug, prescribed from 1958 to 1962 for morning sickness, linked to birth defects . Also affected babies from Kenya to Peru to Japan, most of the cases in Germany . Health minister: UK government creating a $32.5M fund to meet health needs . | 5de722be3bf4c9bb5c8d3125e6ff881a37de9b69 |
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office asked police to do more investigative work before a decision is made on whether charges will be filed in the domestic violence case against singer Chris Brown, according to a spokeswoman for the DA. Chris Brown attends a party saluting music producer Clive Davis in Beverly Hills, California, on Saturday. The LAPD's chief investigator in case, Detective Deshon Andrews, told CNN he hand-carried his findings to the district attorney Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors looked at the files and then asked Andrews for "an additional investigation," DA spokeswoman Jane Robinson said. Andrews said that to keep photos and documents from leaking to the media, he has kept the case file closely guarded and allowed no copies of the material to be made. Watch the latest about the case » . Police have refused media requests to hear the 911 call that led to their investigation early Sunday, but Andrews said it mostly recorded the sound of "a screaming woman." Brown, 19, turned himself in Sunday night after police said they were looking for him. He was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats. Brown was later released on a $50,000 bond. He is expected to appear in court on March 5. Police said Brown and a woman were in a vehicle near Hollywood's Hancock Park early Sunday when they became involved in an argument. The woman "suffered visible injuries and identified Brown as her attacker," police said. Police did not identify the woman, but sources close to the couple told CNN the alleged victim was his girlfriend, singer Rihanna, 20. Brown's lawyer has not responded to several requests for comment. CNN's Jennifer Wolfe and Ninette Sosa contributed to this report. | NEW: L.A. DA's office wants more investigation of Chris Brown case . Police: Brown turned himself in after woman accused him of attacking her . Police haven't named woman; sources say it was girlfriend Rihanna . | 7d84704eae7b9e4190891ffd73d430854a359018 |
Osh, Kyrgyzstan (CNN) -- The first U.N. aid plane arrived Wednesday in Uzbekistan to help the thousands of people who have fled ethnic clashes in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, officials with a U.N. Refugee agency said Wednesday. The cargo plane carrying about 800 lightweight tents will add to a growing effort to try and aid the estimated 100,000 people who have fled fighting in Kyrgyzstan for refugee camps in Uzbekistan. Several countries, including the United States, Germany and Russia, also have sent aid. The International Committee of the Red Cross has said tens of thousands more people are displaced within Kyrgyzstan and the scope of the humanitarian crisis is "immense." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov from London on Wednesday, thanking Karimov for his help with the humanitarian situation, according to a statement from Ban's office. The secretary-general promised assistance to affected people in southern Kyrgystan and those seeking refuge in Uzbekistan, and said he intended to consult with key members of the U.N. Security Council upon his return to New York later Wednesday. Relative calm continued in Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second largest city, Wednesday. But still sporadic gunfire could be heard. The Central Asian nation's news agency 24.kg reported that the death toll had risen to 179, a number that some observers discounted as low. Kyrgyzstan's interim government had declared Wednesday a day of mourning for families of the many killed and thousands wounded in the violence that started last week. The government had sent extra security forces into Osh and Jalal-Abad, the hardest-hit cities, on Tuesday to help calm the situation. The ICRC says it was able to visit the main detention center in Osh Wednesday for the first time since the crisis started and has delivered food provided by the World Food Program to around 1,000 detainees. The WFP says it has 3,000 metric tons (about 6.6 million pounds) of food -- mainly wheat flour and oil -- in ready for distribution in Kyrgyzstan. The WFP says that's enough to feed 87,000 people for two months -- and as long as its personnel can get safe and unimpeded access to those in need, they're prepared to bring the food. However, the WFP says transporting aid from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, is difficult, because the roads aren't safe and commercial trucking companies are reluctant to risk their vehicles. The pressing issue for many aid groups Wednesday was trying to deal with refugee camps that were overwhelmed with refugees. The ICRC is particularly concerned with hygiene, "with many people drinking from irrigation ditches and reports of spreading dysentery," ICRC Anna Nelson said. The clashes are part of the most serious outbreak of ethnic violence in the former Soviet republic since 1990, when hundreds of people died in skirmishes between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in Osh. "The past 20 years have been spent working very hard to avoid this kind of conflict, but everyone is aware of the danger, Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency UNHCR, told CNN. "The situation is like a striking a match on petrol." It was not clear what sparked the violence, which came weeks after bloody protests removed Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev from office. Colville said there's a strong consensus in the Kyrgyz government that this wasn't a spontaneous interethnic clash, but one that was orchestrated and deliberately provocative. "It's very hard to confirm anything for sure, but cross-checking seems to indicate a planned, provocative act. The Kyrgyz government is naming names, but UNHCR is not in a position to name names or point fingers," said Colville. In recent days, more than 100,000 ethnic Uzbeks have fled the clashes with ethnic Kyrgyz, into camps in Uzbekistan, according to Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry. The flow of people was so overwhelming that Uzbekistan had close some of its border crossing areas leaving many standing at the border on the Kyrgyzstan side of a barbed-wire fence. Many ethnic Uzbeks that have remained in Kyrgyzstan have had to hide out in abandoned buildings. Red Cross workers came across one mosque outside Jalal-Abad where an estimated 6,000 frightened people have gathered for safety. CNN's Matthew Chance, Brian Walker, Jill Dougherty, Nic Robertson and Evan Buxbaum contributed to this report. | Red Cross: Scope of humanitarian crisis 'immense' UNHCR spokesman: Kyrgyz govt. says not a spontaneous interethnic clash, but provoked . UN Refugee Agency airlifted aid to Uzbekistan Wednesday morning . Death toll at 179, Kyrgyz news agency reports; Red Cross estimate is higher . | 7a70375590452392984bc849d8d41a32e46ae004 |
(CNN) -- Roger Federer secured a record-equaling seventh Wimbledon title to dash the hopes of Andy Murray and a partisan Centre Court crowd. Federer made it 17 grand slam titles to his name after a two-and-a-half-year drought and matched the haul of American Pete Sampras at the All England Club. The Swiss will return to the top of the world rankings as a result of his 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 victory, meaning he will match his hero Sampras' record of 286 weeks at No. 1. For Murray, the first Briton to reach a men's singles final at Wimbledon in 74 years, it represented his fourth defeat in major finals, and his pain was acutely felt by a fervent crowd at Wimbledon. Sampras: I hated (and loved) Wimbledon . Federer's triumph was his first at Wimbledon since 2009, with his last major win coming at the Australian Open in 2010 when he also beat Murray. "It's amazing," Federer told the host broadcaster. "It equals me with Pete Sampras, who is my hero, so it feels amazing. "I think I played some of my best tennis in the last couple of matches. It's worked out so many times here that I play my best in semis and the final. I couldn't be more happy -- it feels being great being back here as the winner. It's a great moment." Federer's victory means he is only the second player in the men's game to have held the top ranking over the age of 30, alongside Andre Agassi. "As we know, the world No. 1, you don't get that gifted," he added. "I was up two sets to love in the quarters last year, two sets to love up at the U.S. Open ... so many chances, maybe I got nervous, maybe the other guys were just too good. "I never stopped believing and I started playing more even though I have a family and it all worked out, I got great momentum and confidence and it all came together. It's a magical moment for me. "I've obviously gone through some struggles as well, a lot of changes have happened in my life since so this one comes at the right time, as any grand slam victory." Murray had started well, spurred on by a fervent home crowd desperate to see a first British winner in the men's singles since Fred Perry in 1936, breaking Federer in the very first game. Wimbledon grass faces Olympic race against time and nature . And though the 25-year-old then lost his own serve, he summoned another break to take his first set in a grand slam final. As a tense second set neared its climax, Federer then executed two perfect drop shots to stun Murray and take it 7-5. The third set was locked at 1-1 when a heavy burst of rain arrived, forcing the players off court as the recently installed roof was closed. The change in atmosphere played into Federer's hands as he reappeared rejuvenated. An epic sixth game of the set lasted for 20 minutes and 10 deuces as Murray desperately tried to cling on to his serve. But once Federer secured the break he quickly finished the set and then broke for 3-2 in the final set, sinking to the turf as a cross court forehand from Murray handed him his seventh title. Afterwards, a tearful Murray joked: "I'm getting closer. I'd like to congratulate Roger. I was getting asked the other day after I won my semifinal, was this my best chance because Roger is 30 now? Well, he's not bad for a 30-year-old. "He played a great tournament. He showed what fight he still has in him. So, congratulations Roger you deserve it." Murray saluted the fans who offered him such support throughout the tournament, and remarked on the pressure that comes with carrying a nation's hopes of finally ending a 76-year British wait for the men's title. Expectations had been raised even higher after Jonathan Marray became Britain's first men's doubles champion at Wimbledon since 1936 on Saturday. "Everyone always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbledon but it's not because of the people watching," Murray said. "They make it so much easier to play. The support has been incredible so thank you." | Roger Federer wins his seventh Wimbledon title beating Andy Murray 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 . Federer matches Pete Sampras' Wimbledon record with his latest victory . Murray suffers his fourth defeat in major finals as his loss is felt by partisan crowd . Federer has now won 17 grand slam titles and regains the world No. 1 ranking . | 7b8fea9c212bf8e4cad1e2c6d3d3a6043df2c11e |
Kabul (CNN) -- On the outskirts of Kabul, behind a high wall is a building that used to serve as a school classroom. On the outside, painted on the dusty gray walls, are murals of brightly colored animals. Inside on the worn-out carpet sits a family, huddled together. Masoma smiles shyly as we enter the room. The 25-year-old mother of two invites me to sit on a deep red cushion, used at night for their bedding. Her children -- five-year-old Ali and eight-year-old Mohammad --- sit close to their grandmother, Zahra, who looks much older than her 54 years. Masoma's sister, 20-year-old Fatima, and older brother Husain, 27, lean against the wall looking on as we set up for the interview. They may look like any normal Afghan family, but they're hiding a shameful secret: They're all addicted to opium, the main ingredient of heroin. It is a drug so prevalent that one million Afghans are addicted to it -- that's 8% of the population, according to the United Nations. "It's very bad," explains Masoma. "At first when I started to use the drug, it was like a medicine for pain relief after my husband died. But when I became completely addicted and needed it every day, I knew I had to search for a way to stop all this." Masoma's mother, sister and older brother also used the drug to dull their pain when Masoma's younger brother died soon after her husband. They too became addicted. "It made us feel calm and gave us comfort," says Masoma. "When I felt bad about my husband and younger brother, using opium decreased my sorrow." After inhaling the additive smoke that often swirled around the house, Masoma's two young children soon became addicted, without her even realizing. Read more: Afghan infants fed pure opium . "I feel shame," she tells me as her mother weeps in the background. "I always say to myself, why did I do this? Why didn't I think about my children, my future? People want nothing to do with us." That was until Laila Haidari found them. The local Afghan woman set up Mother Camp in the abandoned school about a year ago. It's a place for drug addicts to live, escape their destructive environment and hopefully get clean. She and her small team of volunteers offer counseling to help the addicts become "mentally strong." There is no government assistance to fund the program. Instead the profits from a restaurant she owns keep Mother Camp running. "I was sick of seeing all these drug addicts. They used to congregate under the Pol-e-Sukhta bridge, near Kabul University," she recalls. "The people where in such bad condition -- hundreds maybe more were there every single day. The police moved them on so now they're spread out all over the city. But nobody is there to think about their life and take care of them, so that's when I came up with idea to start Mother Camp." Read more: U.N.: Afghanistan 'world's biggest producer of hashish' She admits that not everyone is cured by the time they leave the program. In fact many return to their former lives, but she says she has to try and help these people who've lost all hope. "Nobody is helping people in my country," she says. "Everything is so wrong here. The government is corrupt, which means society is also corrupt." In another suburb, close to the slums of Kabul, is a methadone clinic operated by Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World). It's the only clinic in Afghanistan that is allowed to dispense methadone --- a substitute for heroin. Some 71 addicts registered on the program arrive each day to receive the methadone -- a liquid poured into a small paper cup and drunk once a day. Program director Ernst Wisse says this is the best and most effective way to get drug addicts off heroin. It also eliminates the use of needles and dramatically reduces the risk of HIV spreading. "What we fear is that this epidemic, we have a concentrated epidemic of HIV among the entire population... if this grows, and it will grow if you don't put any effective intervention into place, then automatically it will get out of hand and then there's nothing you can do," he says. Two years ago, the Afghan government allowed Medecins du Monde to expand the methadone program to 200 clients. Several months later they shut it down, Wisse says, claiming they hadn't decided if this was the best form of treatment. "This decision means there are only 71 clients under methadone in the whole of Afghanistan," explains Wisse. "The drug addiction problem in Afghanistan is enormous and growing and unless they extend the program, the situation is only going to get worse." Watch video: Drug addiction rampant on Kabul's streets . In a small room at the back of a clinic is a bed for addicts who walk in off the street. The program has been able to take a new patient because one of the registered addicts came off methadone. Wisse introduces me to 38-year-old Asadullah who has just arrived. He gets off the bed and shakes my hand -- a huge smile reveals his missing teeth. What teeth he does have are black and decaying. Asadullah decided to come to the clinic after meeting the outreach team of Medecins du Monde. Several times a week, the health workers visit areas around Kabul where drug addicts live and hand out clean needles, sterile swabs and offer counseling. "I know these people, they used to give me clean needles. They kept telling to come to the clinic and finally I did," he proudly explains. "I feel better now, because the methadone is a replacement of the drug -- it gives us a better feeling. I want to use methadone until I forget about drugs completely and to find a good way to start a normal life again." Asadullah has been using heroin for the past 14 years, supporting a habit of three grams a day, which costs about US$24. But the father of four says his family has had enough, and has told him he has to get off drugs or they won't support him any longer. "Drugs are ruining my life. It's a bad thing in our society," he says. "I also have got bad effects from drugs and my family has also been affected -- that's why I need to stop this." One man who now works at the clinic knows exactly what Asadullah is going through. Raheem, 48, was one of the first patients to arrive at the clinic two and a half years ago. "I'd been using drugs for 17 years. I started when I was in a prison in Iran," he says. "During that time I faced a lot of problems and difficulties. I didn't have any information or contact with my family and that's when I started to use heroin. "When I got out of prison someone told me methadone was coming to Afghanistan and I wanted to get on the program. Now I don't even use methadone." Raheem's journey is inspiring but sadly it's the rare exception in Afghanistan, not the rule. | Family of seven addicted to opium seeking treatment in Kabul . Two children, aged just five and seven, breathed in family's smoke . Masoma, 25, took up the drug after losing her husband . Mother, brother and sister also used drug to dull the pain of death . | 6766ce6434df00cae9d021e67af25770e70360be |
(CNN) -- As Iran rushes ahead with its nuclear program, some foreign policy thinkers urge Israel to accept that it must live with "incomplete" security. On Monday morning, 200,000 Israeli children spent the morning in bomb shelters rather than classrooms, as rockets from Gaza barraged southern Israeli cities. That would seem to qualify as security "incomplete" enough to satisfy anybody. Israel has met the barrage with a new defense system, named Iron Dome. Iron Dome senses rocket launches. Its computers assess which rockets are headed toward populated areas, then it fires missiles to intercept the incoming rockets. According to the Israel Defense Forces, Iron Dome has achieved a success rate of more than 90% when fired. Since Friday, Palestinian militants have fired more than 170 rockets at Israeli cities, but as yet, no Israeli civilians have been killed. Since 2001, Israel has responded to attacks by deploying ever-more effective technological systems: first the security fence to halt the entry of suicide bombers; now Iron Dome to stop short-range rockets; and in time, the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system against longer-range missiles. These innovations have defeated and deterred violence and saved many lives. But these innovations are also subject to inherent weaknesses. The rockets launched from Gaza are armed only with explosives and shrapnel. When Iron Dome misses -- and it does sometimes miss -- the Gaza rockets kill and maim only within a very limited radius. The fence also fails sometimes. Last year for example, a British citizen was killed and 50 people wounded by a bombing near the Jerusalem convention center. Yet as with the Gaza rockets, the lethality of bombings is inherently limited. Israel does not need to reach 100% success to defeat the terrorism threat. Suppose, however, that the rockets carried nuclear payloads, or that suicide bombers had access to radioactive materials. Then a 90% success rate would not nearly suffice. Iran's nuclear program threatens to upend the strategic calculus of the past decade, to overwhelm all Israeli countermeasures to protect Israel's population. A nuclearized Iran does not imply "incomplete" security for Israel. It would expose Israel to absolute insecurity. As rockets fly toward southern Israel, the rest of Israel carries on. The economy produces and thrives. A relative of mine, visiting Jerusalem, comments that if she were not reading about the rockets in the newspapers, she would not know they were being fired. Yet even the threat of a mass-casualty event would paralyze the Israeli economy. People would avoid downtowns, visitors would stay home, children would be sent abroad, investment flows would cease. Iran would not have to shoot at Israel. It would just have to talk loosely about shooting at Israel to do vast harm. Iron Dome represents a triumph of Israeli science, generously supported by U.S. aid under both Presidents Bush and Obama. But we remain far away from a high-tech shield against the Iranian threat. This week's congratulations to Israel must be tempered by awareness: The biggest danger -- Iran's potential ability to build a weapon that could kill hundreds of thousands in a single strike -- looms as menacing as ever. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum. | Israel reported 90-plus percent success in fending off incoming rockets . David Frum says the "Iron Dome" system is useful for defending against Gaza militants . He says an Iranian nuclear weapon would change the calculation . Frum: Partial security isn't enough when the threat is mass annihilation . | 5f212d16131052386e3ff15c315d5ed808b20635 |
(CNN) -- The mother of "Modern Family" star Ariel Winter is denying allegations that she abused the 14-year-old actress. "It's all untrue, it's all untrue," Chris Workman told People about allegations in a court document relating to guardianship of Winter. Winter, whose real name is Ariel W. Workman, stars as Alex Dunphy in the ABC comedy series. Last month, a Los Angeles judge ordered the young actress be placed in temporary guardianship of her older sister, Shanelle Gray. "It's most unfortunate that the matter has become an interest of the press," said Michael Kretzmer, Gray's attorney. "Ariel's best interest is what we're concerned about, and that's what we'll work for in future court proceedings." Kretzmer declined to offer further details about the case. The lawyer filed a petition on behalf of Gray on October 3, alleging Winter was the victim of ongoing physical abuse, insults about her weight, deprivation of food and attempts to "sexualize" a minor. Guardianship with Gray was necessary to protect Winter from further abuse, Kretzmer said in the document. A judge ruled that Chris Workman have no contact with Winter until a November 20 hearing on the matter. CNN was unable to reach Chris Workman for comment Thursday. But the mother told People, "I have my doctor's letter that my daughter's never been abused. ... I have stylists' letters that she's never been abused." ABC and personal representatives for Winter declined to comment. Kretzmer also contended in the court document that guardianship was necessary because Chris Workman receives checks for Winter's work on "Modern Family" and has control of a related financial account. CNN's Jane Caffrey contributed to this report. | Young actress on "Modern Family" is under temporary guardianship . Ariel Winter, 14, is in the care of her older sister . Petition alleges she was the victim of ongoing physical abuse, insults and deprivation of food . | d63de37ce8566fc29c90867b34adc87f15ef35ac |
LA PAZ, Bolivia (CNN) -- Heads of South American nations lent support Monday night to President Evo Morales of Bolivia, who says opposition leaders are trying to overthrow his government. Indigenous people from El Alto, Bolivia, take part in an anti-U.S. demonstration in La Paz on Monday. Confronting their first crisis, members of the four-month-old Union of South American Countries voted to create a commission to support Morales' democratically elected government, said President Michelle Bachelet of Chile. She read a nine-point statement on Chilean TV that calls for the support of human rights and democracy and the preservation of Bolivia's territorial integrity. The statement condemns any attempts to overthrow the government. It also said the new commission would investigate a reported massacre in the Bolivian state of Pando, where violent clashes killed 30 people last week. Those clashes pitted supporters of eastern governors who want autonomy against the central government. The South American leaders also urged dialogue to address disputes in Bolivia. Morales attended the emergency meeting of the union, which is modeled on the European Union and aims to politically and economically integrate South American countries. The president is poised to approve the start of negotiations between his leftist government and opposition leaders of five provinces who demand greater autonomy and the cancellation of a constitutional referendum that would give the president more power. The opposition also is angry over tax money that Morales is diverting from the provinces to fund elderly programs. Morales said the opposition leaders are trying to overthrow the government. "This is a coup in the past few days by the leaders of some provinces, with the takeover of some institutions, the sacking and robbery of some government institutions and attempts to assault the national police and the armed forces," Morales said. Opposition leaders say they merely want their demands met. Police kept order Monday during a march by about 2,000 pro-government groups opposed to the violence in the provinces. The demonstrators marched past the U.S. Embassy in La Paz. Morales expelled the U.S. ambassador to Bolivia last week, blaming the American government for inciting the violence. The United States called the accusations "false and baseless" and said Bolivia was making a "grave mistake." Most of South America's leaders attended Monday's emergency summit, with the exception of President Alan Garcia of Peru. Protest leaders asked to attend the summit in Santiago, Chile, but it was limited to heads of state. The protests started 21 days ago in Pando, Beni, Santa Cruz, Tarija and Chuquisaca provinces. The opposition groups have blockaded major roads and threaten to disrupt the nation's natural gas shipments, particularly to Brazil and Argentina. Anti-government protesters also have clashed with police and taken over offices and buildings in the five provinces. Watch some of the violent demonstrations across Bolivia » . Much of the violence has taken place in Pando -- Morales declared martial law there Friday. On Monday, supporters of Morales, or his so-called militias, were gathering in Santa Cruz, and threatening to encircle the city, stoking fears that blood could be shed there. In Pando, it was reported that arbitrary arrests were taking place as the military took to the streets. Houses had been broken into and shot up, and civic leaders were fleeing to Brazil. It was uncertain, meanwhile, whether the Bolivian military remained solely behind Morales. Some signs of divisions had been seen within the military. Opposition leaders say they will not negotiate if there are any more deaths. Vice President Alvaro Garcia said the government will not negotiate about the dead citizens but will rigorously pursue those responsible for the killings. There are conflicting reports over who killed the 30 peasants. Opposition leaders say the peasants were ambushed by local forces. The government says the peasants were armed and initiated the firefight. The opposition has offered to lift the blockades as a goodwill gesture, but the government demanded that the protesters also relinquish the buildings and other property they have seized. Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, was elected in December 2005. CNN's Ione Molinares and Journalist Martin Arostegui contributed to this report. | NEW: Bolivian president to return home to approve negotiations with provinces . South American nation have met to discuss violence in Bolivia . At least 30 people killed during past week of protests . Violence is centered in the eastern province of Pando . | b817f72285bc5e826ad3b3831c5379b93a4e878e |
(CNN) -- It's time for those of us who are good men to start acknowledging the role that male socialization plays in domestic and sexual violence. As good men, we must begin to acknowledge and own our responsibility to be part of the solution to ending violence against women and girls. What is a good man? A good man is a man who believes women should be respected. A good man would not assault a woman. A good man believes in equality for women. A good man honors the women in his life. A good man, for all practical purposes, is a nice guy. We believe this to be the majority of men. There is a minority of men who perpetuate a tremendous amount of violence against women. These men are counting on good men to stay true to rules -- the rules that actually allow them to be who they are in the presence of good men. These rules are what we call the ingredients in the "man box." These rules are also the foundation of how we as men collectively define manhood. The man box teaches us as men that we must be tough, strong, aggressive and dominating. We are taught not to show feelings and emotions. We are taught that we should be in charge, leaders and protectors. And if we fall short we lose our status and are placed outside the box. TED.com: Rachel Botsman on the case for collaborative consumption . Outside the box is reserved for women, and for men defined as being less than fully male, or "woman-like". The man box at times can be hypermasculine and extremely homophobic. With that being said, "outside the man box" is a place most men don't want to be. So we find ourselves staying true to the rules of the man box, many times operating from a subconscious place, just on remote control, doing what's natural to us. We as good men don't realize that every time we tell a boy that he is acting like a girl, we are actually saying that girls are "less than." We all know that a college freshman woman is known on campus as "fresh meat." And while we know that domestic violence is wrong and a crime, it continues to be tolerated in many of our communities. It is with this understanding that our work, our vision, is not to beat up on good men, but instead to help us understand, through a process of re-education and accountability, that with all of our goodness, we still have been socialized to maintain a system of domination, dehumanization and oppression over women. While we as good men would never hurt women, our collective socialization is the foundation that violence against women is built upon. TED.com: Sam Martin on the quirky world of "manspaces" There are three key aspects of male socialization that are the foundation of men's violence against women: . • Men viewing women as "less than;" • Men treating women as property; . • Men viewing women as objects. We as good men have to find our voice and began to challenge this collective socialization of men. We as good men have to teach our sons and other young men how to truly respect and promote equality for women. We as good men have to envision the world we want to see for our daughters and other girls -- and in that world how would we want to see our sons and other men acting and behaving. We must as good men understand that the world we want for our daughters and other girls won't happen through osmosis. We as good men have to break out of the man box, stand up and speak out to end violence against women and girls. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Anthony Porter. | Anthony Porter says most men respect women and honor the women in their lives . He says male attitudes enable some to lash out at women . Men are taught not to express their emotions, Porter says . Men who treat women as property or as objects help enable violence, he says . | 8d953db24917108da74a063c657f2169f123a267 |
(CNN) -- Rapper Lil' Wayne may avoid jail time on an Arizona drug charge, according to a plea deal that was announced Monday. The only problem is the rapper is already in jail. Lil' Wayne is currently serving a year in prison in New York for gun charges. But he appeared in an Arizona court Monday via video. The rapper, whose legal name is Dwayne Carter, could receive 36 months probation in the plea deal, according to court documents from Yuma County Superior Court in Arizona. Carter was facing a maximum sentence of three-plus years in prison if convicted in the Arizona case, according to court documents. The charges stem from a January 2008 bust on his tour bus where the drug ecstasy was allegedly found in his backpack. The plea deal is a recommendation and needs to be confirmed when Carter goes in front of a judge at a later date. Lil' Wayne is a multiplatinum-selling and Grammy-winning rap artist. His hits include "The Block is Hot" and "Lollipop." His album "Tha Carter III" was the top selling disc of 2008. His latest album, "Rebirth," was released earlier this year. The New York charges stem from his arrest in 2007 outside New York City's Beacon Theater. According to police, Carter had a .40-caliber pistol on his tour bus. His attorney said it belonged to someone else. | Lil Wayne pleads guilty to drug charge . Already in jail for drug charge . Rapper may get 36 months probation for Arizona case . | 132a63e6f1bc2628886a71b986c3fa952a791a99 |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Chester French is giving its music away. Chester French, Max Drummey, left, and D.A. Wallach are earning buzz as a band to watch. Go to the duo's Web site and you can scoop up an entirely free "athletic-themed" album. The idea is that you'll be so impressed by the free stuff, you'll feel inspired to buy the band's official debut album, "Love The Future" (Star Trak/Interscope), which came out last month. "We're doing something that's never been done by a band before," says lead singer D.A. Wallach. "It's great because when you put out free music, people can spread it around as much as they want. And right now as we're just trying to expose ourselves to more people. Every new supporter helps." The band has even come up with a fancy name for its fans: "VIP Concierge Service." So who are these two clever, skinny dudes who jokingly claim to "put in a lot of burn at the gym"? Wallach and Max Drummey met at Harvard, but found music to be more interesting than their studies. Fortunately for them, sought-after producer Pharrell Williams liked what he heard and signed the group to his label. So far things seems to be working out for Chester French (named for sculptor Daniel Chester French, though the group is sick of explaining). They won a place on Rolling Stone's "Artists to Watch" list in 2008. HBO's "Entourage" showed some love for their catchy single "She Loves Everybody." Watch Chester French get punched by a pretty girl » . And then there's the transportation situation. "Right now we're on the first tour bus we've ever had," says Wallach. "We were driving around in a van for the past year and a half and it's a real luxury now to be able to sleep while we're driving." The band spoke to CNN about the challenges of navigating a rapidly changing industry, getting punched by a pretty girl in a music video and why the Beach Boys have nothing on them. CNN: How does it feel to be called the next big thing? D.A. Wallach: You know what, we actually haven't been called that in those words too often. But if we did, that would be very flattering. CNN: Things get a bit violent in the music video for your song "She Loves Everybody." Who's idea was it to have you both get beaten up by an angry girl? Wallach: It was the director's. We worked with Paul Hunter on the video and it was our first music video. ... He had the concept that love hurts. So this girl was going to take it out on us and we were going to be all about it and still smiling and enjoying it. CNN: So it was a lot of fun? Wallach: Yeah it was great. It was painless. Actually we both got hit accidentally by her. I mean most of the hits were kind of staged punches. But we both got hit once each, and it was fun. CNN: You're both Harvard graduates. Does that make you the smartest dudes in pop music? Wallach: Probably not. We were kind of nerds in high school. And the hardest part about Harvard is getting in, people say. After that you take it at your own pace. And at different times we were more or less engaged there, but we met some other really intelligent, thoughtful people. Max Drummey: And there's definitely a lot of stupid people at Harvard. CNN: Tell me how you both met. Wallach: We met in the dining hall our freshman year and we started the band with three of our classmates. It was just a funny hobby at first and it wasn't until sophomore year that we really got serious about it and said, "OK, let's actually try and make this a possibility as a career." CNN: And didn't you record most of your new album on campus? Wallach: Yeah, there was a recording studio in the basement of one of the dorms at Harvard and we were both recording engineers there. So we recorded lots for other people as well. And in our free time we were working on the record we just released, "Love the Future." CNN: Is it true that there was a bit of a bidding war between Jermaine Dupri and Pharrell Williams (over the record deal)? Wallach: No. ... There were several people all at once who were interested in working with us and it was a little awkward because they're all friends with each other. And since we've been working with Pharrell we've stayed cool with everyone. ... We couldn't have gone wrong. CNN: Why do you think there's been all this interest from hip-hop producers? Drummey: We're the hottest rappers out. Wallach: I'm from Milwaukee, he's from Boston. They're both very diverse cities and we grew up with friends and all different kinds of music around us. So the records we make are inspired by a lot of different places. And certainly having grown up in the '90s, hip-hop is a part of the soundtrack for us and so it's very natural for us to have learned things from Dr. Dre or Pharrell and people like that. CNN: A lot of people compare your sound to the Beach Boys. How do you feel about that comparison? Drummey: I mean we're definitely better. And we came first too. So it's sort of a ridiculous comparison. CNN: Don't you play the theremin? Drummey: Yeah. Not well. Wallach: There are only a couple of people who play it at a virtuoso level. You'd have to really have something off to put the time in as a theremin artist. CNN: What has been the most surprising aspect of the music business so far? Wallach: I think the biggest surprise has been that people don't really know a hundred percent what they're doing. Everyone is trying to figure out how the music business is going to look in 10 years. And as a new artist there's not a blueprint. I figured you'd get signed and you're instantly on billboards. And the reality of it is that we find ourselves in a situation where all we can focus on is building our audience one person at a time. And it's just a brick-and-mortar, nose-to-the-grindstone process. CNN: What musicians do you admire as being fellow brainiacs? Wallach: Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails I think is really brilliant, not just on a musical level. Pharrell's been incredibly helpful and his advice is always really apt. Jay-Z. Really, when you're in the thick of it, anybody who's built a real career has something figured out. Or they got really lucky. | Chester French a duo of two Harvard grads . Band praised for Beach Boys-like sound, highlighted on "Entourage" Despite pedigree, "probably not" smartest folks in pop music, says one member . | 40db89a00e8d5d75e31bf86522c3a13bca1ecc57 |
Washington (CNN) -- We all know about the power of born-again and evangelical voters in the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses. Four years ago, three out of every five Iowans who attended a GOP precinct caucus described themselves that way, and they handed Baptist minister and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee an upset victory over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum would like to repeat that trick again on Tuesday. Whether 60% of the 2012 Iowa GOP caucus vote will be made up of self-described born-again or evangelical voters again, and whether any one of those candidates will be able to scoop up almost half of them as as Huckabee did, remains to be seen. But even if Bachmann, Perry or Santorum can repeat Huckabee's feat, then what? New Hampshire's Yankee Republicans have been notoriously skeptical of what they perceive as holy rollers roaring out of Iowa. Huckabee could only manage a distant third-place finish with 11% of the vote in the 2008 Granite State primary. And when the 1988 Iowa caucuses elevated televangelist Pat Robertson with a second-place finish that year, he could only manage a fifth-place showing and 9% of the vote in the New Hampshire GOP primary. Both Huckabee and Robertson quickly headed to South Carolina to try to resuscitate their campaigns in its primary, but there were no revivals: Huckabee finished second there, and Robertson third. CNN surveyed 64 Iowa GOP insiders, including state legislators, local elected and party officials, veterans of previous caucus campaigns, and other party operatives, and asked them if a relatively strong showing by any of this year's more conservative trio could lead to a legitimate run for the GOP nomination by rallying the faith vote. And in the state that knows that vote well, there were doubters. If Bachmann, Perry or Santorum is able to finish in the top three in the caucuses, do you think that candidate will be able to consolidate the born-again/evangelical vote and become a significant factor in the GOP nominating contest? • Yes: 46% . • No: 54% . The Iowa GOP insiders' skepticism was informed in part at least by what happened four years ago. "Huckabee couldn't do it and he was a much better candidate," observed one Iowa GOP insider. Maybe Santorum or Bachmann or Perry could consolidate the religious vote for a while, allowed another GOP insider: "Be a significant factor in the GOP nominating contest? No, the Huckabee campaign confirmed this in 2008." RELATED: Two out of three think Romney will win . RELATED: Some Iowa Republicans want more options . And even several of those yeses were qualified. "Bachmann and Perry are finished, they just don't know it yet," said one Iowa GOP insider dismissively. "Santorum could ride the wave for a while, but I doubt to the nomination." Another echoed, "Santorum could become the anti-Mitt, but (the) lack of a national organization and fundraising will be an impediment. He'd need to suddenly catch fire in South Carolina and he'll have a tough time with resources in Florida." The CNN Iowa GOP insiders were surveyed from the evening of December 27 through the morning of December 30. Most of the survey was conducted over the Internet; some interviews were conducted by phone. The Iowa insiders were given anonymity for their individual answers in order to encourage candid responses. And while some insiders were aligned with one or another of the presidential campaigns, more than two-thirds said they had not endorsed and were not working for any candidate in the race. Here are the names of the participants in the survey: Chad Airhart, Tim Albrecht, Bill Anderson, Lon Anderson, Becky Beach, Carmine Boal, Jeff Boeyink, Michael Bousselot, Danny Carroll, James Centers, Tim Coonan, Peter Cownie, Mikel Derby, Paula Dierenfeld, Brian Dumas, Ed Failor Jr., Susan Fenton, Brenna Findley, Christian Fong, Dave Funk, Tracie Gilbert, John Gilliland, Gary Grant, Pat Grassley, Adam Gregg, Sandy Greiner, Steve Grubbs, Chris Hagenow, Robert Haus, Erik Helland, Matt Hinch, Mark Hudson, Caleb Hunter, Stew Iverson, David Jamison, Eric Johansen, Jake Ketzner, Gary Kirke, Jeff Lamberti, Jill Latham, Don McDowell, Christopher McGowan, Bill Northey, Chad Olsen, Noreen Otto, Christopher Rants, Steve Roberts, Craig Robinson, Dave Roederer, Brett Rogers, Richard Rogers, Stacey Rogers, Nick Ryan, Renne Schulte, Rich Schwarm, Mike St. Clair, Suzan Stewart, Ted Stopulos, Cameron Sutton, Ed Wallace, Andy Warren, Nicole Woodroffe, Eric Woolson, Grant Young. | Iowa evangelicals wield power in the GOP presidential selection process . Bachmann, Perry and Santorum are favorites among social conservatives . But their ability to consolidate power is questioned . | f0e61dc9ccd33307bed0859fc3c59943a7818e63 |
Washington (CNN) -- Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was not on a terrorism watch list or a "no-fly" list when he traveled to Russia last year, a federal law enforcement official told CNN on Tuesday. The source, who spoke on condition of not being identified, noted the FBI found no suspicions of terrorist ties when it interviewed Tsarnaev and his family members and friends in 2011 after Russia asked U.S. authorities for information on the immigrant from the Caucasus region. Because the United States "never deemed him a threat," Tsarnaev "was not on a terror watch list or any 'no-fly' list," according to the official. The information added to questions over the FBI's handling of Tsarnaev, 26, the older of two brothers accused of setting off two bombs that killed three people and injured more than 260 others near the finish line of last week's Boston Marathon. Area near Boston bomb scene reopens to residents, business owners . Tsarnaev and his brother, Dzhokhar, also allegedly killed a university policeman on Thursday, three days after the bombings, to set off an unprecedented Boston-area manhunt. Tamerlan died after a shootout with police on Thursday night, and Dzhokhar was captured on Friday. Some members of Congress have questioned how someone the FBI questioned two years earlier because Russia was concerned about his shift toward Islamic extremism could have avoided closer scrutiny since then. After being briefed Tuesday by FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee said they don't believe the FBI "dropped the ball" in its handling of Tsarnaev. Heat is on FBI over handling of bombing suspect . However, both Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who chairs the panel, and its top Republican, Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, said potential problems revealed by the Tsarnaev case needed to be addressed. Chambliss cited an apparent lack of information-sharing between the federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a problem he said was believed to have been remedied in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks almost 12 years ago. "We're going to continue to look at whether or not all of the information was adequately shared," he told reporters. Separately, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Matt Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, briefed House members on the Boston bombings, said Republican Rep. Peter King of New York. None of the legislators who spoke to reporters after the briefings provided details of the ongoing investigation, saying it was too soon to draw conclusions. "Who knows what will be found tomorrow?" Feinstein said. A focus of the briefings was Tamerlan Tsarnaev's six-month trip to Russia in 2012 that family members said included visits to Chechnya and Dagestan, regions known for radical Islamic insurgency. What was Tamerlan Tsarnaev doing in Russia? At a hearing earlier on Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, some GOP panel members challenged Napolitano about reported discrepancies in the Tsarnaev case. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa cited reports that U.S. authorities were unaware Tsarnaev had left the country for Russia in January 2012 even though his name was misspelled on his airline ticket by Russian carrier Aeroflot, which would normally trigger increased scrutiny. Napolitano responded that Tsarnaev's departure did "ping" in the homeland security screening system, but she noted that because the FBI's investigation in 2011 found no suspicious activity, there was no reason to follow up. "There was a missed match there" involving the incorrect spelling of Tsarnaev's name, Napolitano said, adding that "even with the misspelling, in our current system there are redundancies and so the system did ping when he was leaving the United States." The federal law enforcement official told CNN that such a hit in the system doesn't prompt automatic action. In Tsarnaev's case, the Russian government knew he would be traveling to Russia and had family there, so there was nothing to follow up, the official said. Timeline: A look at Tamerlan's past . CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes, a former FBI official, offered a similar explanation Tuesday. "By the time he comes back, the FBI case is closed and, again, no additional information comes back from the Russians to keep an eye on him or that he's on his way back to your country," Fuentes said. "Once the FBI case is closed, there is no further monitoring by the FBI of his activity or whether he's going to these Jihadi Web sites or becoming increasingly radicalized." However, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told CNN on Tuesday that the episode showed that the Department of Homeland Security never notified the FBI that Tsarnaev had left the country. "It was clear to me that the homeland security shop had information about the travel to Russia, the FBI did not, and they're not talking to each other and they're going back to the pre-9/11 problems here," Graham said. He also questioned why the FBI investigation of Tsarnaev in 2011 failed to bring his name up as someone to check out in the immediate aftermath of the Boston bombings. Tsarnaev and his brother were only identified three days later when authorities released photos and video footage of them at the scene of the blasts. "I just find it really unnerving that we could have had him in FBI custody in 2011 and did a whole profile of him, and after the attack that his name not surface, that we didn't check the database or the database had him missing," Graham said. Tsarnaev was an immigrant from the volatile Caucasus region of southwest Russia who had legal residence in the United States and sought last year to become fully naturalized, like his brother Dzhokhar, 19. Bombing suspect's wife 'very distraught' However, the Department of Homeland Security rejected the citizenship request due to the FBI questioning before the Russia trip. An FBI statement Friday said a foreign government -- later identified by legislators as Russia -- asked for information on Tsarnaev "based on information that he was a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer, and that he had changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the United States for travel to the country's region to join unspecified underground groups." In response, the FBI said, it "checked U.S. government databases and other information to look for such things as derogatory telephone communications, possible use of online sites associated with the promotion of radical activity, associations with other persons of interest, travel history and plans, and education history." "The FBI also interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev and family members," said the FBI statement. "The FBI did not find any terrorism activity, domestic or foreign, and those results were provided to the foreign government in the summer of 2011." In addition, the FBI "requested but did not receive more specific or additional information from the foreign government," its statement said. The lengthy travel to Russia by Tsarnaev, who's ethnically Chechen but came to the United States from Kyrgyzstan, caused some legislators and analysts to speculate he may have received training during the trip. Dead Boston bomb suspect posted video of jihadist, analysis shows . Fuentes detailed how the FBI employs what amounts to "triage" to deal with what he said were tens of thousands of similar inquiries a year that require some level of bureau investigation. "If you are getting this from a hot place like Afghanistan or the tribal area of Pakistan or places where we have had specific training camps and people deployed on purpose to come and attack us, then that is the highest priority," he said. "And even there, many of the people that go back and forth are visiting family. I mean, they are not always going back to be trained to be terrorists or always going back for refresher courses on terrorism." Regarding Russia, Fuentes noted the ongoing conflict with Chechen separatists that may have caused Moscow's request for information on Tsarnaev. 5 key questions in Boston bombing probe . "That's been an ongoing fight, but it's been localized," he said, adding that he couldn't recall a case in which a Chechen trained at home came to attack the United States. However, Fuentes noted that al Qaeda had sent people to the Caucasus region for training that included bomb building. Lohr: What we know about Chechnya . Now U.S. investigators need to find out if the Tsarnaevs "had connections, were they deployed by a bigger group, and are there other terrorists in the United States," Fuentes said. "Are there other explosive devices hidden somewhere or booby traps created, a cache of weapons?" he wondered. "That'll be the task." de Waal: Suspects' culture of migration and machismo . CNN's Jim Acosta, Ted Barrett and Ashley Killough contributed to this report. | NEW: Senators say no indication yet that the FBI "dropped the ball" NEW: Republican senators cite failure of federal agencies to share information . Legislators question the FBI handling of bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev . The FBI investigated Tsarnaev two years before the Boston Marathon bombing . | 996e00e2fa6e634fce13e0958c6b67d2c0468ef4 |
(CNN) -- Switzerland have been knocked out of the Davis Cup by the U.S. after Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka lost their doubles match against Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish in Fribourg on Saturday. The Swiss pairing went down 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 to hand the U.S. an unassailable 3-0 lead which sees Jim Courier's team progress to April's quarterfinals where they will face either France or Canada. "It feels great to win. I know what it's like to lose and that's not good. You always want to play with Mike, he's one of the best doubles players ever," Fish said, AFP reported. Isner stuns Federer . Despite the loss, Federer remained upbeat about Switzerland's future fortunes in the Davis Cup. "It was a tight match. Maybe our level dropped a tiny bit, just a game in each set made the difference. I enjoy being with the guys. We will take it tie by tie. It's not a setback, or a step forward, it's nothing like that," Federer said, AFP reported. Defending champions Spain have also reached the last eight for the sixth successive year after securing an unbeatable 3-0 lead over Kazakhstan in Oviedo. Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez defeated Evgeny Korolev and Yuriy Schukin 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 to book a quarterfinal match-up against either Austria or Russia. Russia kept the tie in Wiener Neustadt alive courtesy of a five-set victory 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (7-9) 7-5 3-6 4-6 by Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny over Alexander Peya and Olivier Marach to leave Austria 2-1 up with just Sunday's singles to play. The Czech Republic are through to the quarterfinals after Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek beat Italy's Daniele Bracciali and Potito Starace 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in Ostrava. They will face the winner of the tie between 2010 champions Serbia and Sweden. Johan Brunstrom and Robert Lindstedt ensured the Swede's took the tie into Sunday with a gruelling 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (3-7), 10-8 win over Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic after Serbia had won both of Friday's opening singles matches. Meanwhile in Hyogo, Croatia lead Japan 2-1 after Ivo Karlovic and Ivan Dodig beat Tatsuma Ito and Yuichi Sugita 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The winners will race last year's runners-up Argentina, who ensured their place in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Germany in Bamberg after David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank overcame Tommy Haas and Philipp Petzschner 3-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 on Saturday. At the WTA event in Paris, France's Marion Bartoli will face Germany's Angelique Kerber in the final on Sunday. The second seed beat Klara Zakopalova from the Czech Republic 7-6 6-0 to set up a meeting with Kerber who beat Yanina Wickmayer from Belgium 6-7 6-3 6-4. | U.S. advance to Davis Cup quarterfinals at expense of Federer-led Swiss team . Defending champions Spain also through after securing 3-0 lead over Kazakhstan . Czech Republic will face 2010 champions Serbia or Sweden after beating Italy . Marion Bartoli to play Angelique Kerber in final of Paris Open on Sunday . | cf16d16f3a0f6775c954b504b877a8d3894e9ff6 |
(CNN) -- Joshua Macabuag is a 23 year-old recent graduate of the University of Oxford's Pembroke College. Josh, as he prefers to be called, studied civil engineering and achieved some of the highest marks in his class. "Josh is a very brilliant chap," remarked one of his professors. Josh got interested in relief and development work during his second year at school and has already spent one summer abroad in Japan, where he worked with Japan Railways. He loves to travel and perhaps it's his wanderlust that's motivated him to take the next year off and travel to Jozini, South Africa. But it won't be an easy year. Jozini is a small town in northeastern KwaZulu-Natal Province on the main route to Mozambique. It is one of the most impoverished areas of South Africa, but is also surrounded by a massive dam, game preserves and two majestic mountain ranges. Josh, who speaks some Spanish and has taught himself Japanese, will now focus on learning some Zulu. He's teamed up with the charity Engineers Without Borders, and plans to put his education to use and get some practical experience in the field. Josh will be working on a new sports complex in Jozini, a facility that will double as an educational facility for local youths. The idea is to replace a dilapidated, existing facility with a new one that will be self-sustaining and provide the community with a way of generating income as well as prepare area kids for a career. There probably won't be much free time for squash and the martial arts that Josh normally enjoys, but it's certain new talents will emerge over the next year during Josh's time abroad. E-mail to a friend . | Joshua Macabuag will report on his experiences in Jozini, South Africa . He will work with the charity Engineers Without Borders . With EWB he will help build a new sports complex for the town . | cb24ea3f1565a963a098c6b52de2679f28ae4e03 |
Cairo (CNN) -- Six months after the improbable revolt that toppled one of the world's longest-serving rulers, protesters are once again camping in Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand speedy change. The president they ousted, Hosni Mubarak, faces a possible death sentence if he survives a variety of ailments that have left him hospital-bound since April. The tourists who once flocked to the pyramids of Giza and the beaches of the Red Sea have yet to return, and the joblessness and poverty that fueled the protests is deeper than before. The result is a revolution that remains incomplete, with the coalition that formed in Tahrir Square splintering over different visions of a post-Mubarak future. But few dispute that the uprising launched on January 25 has changed an ancient nation in a fundamental way. "I am optimistic about the future. We can't go back," said Lillian Wagdy, a photographer who was taking part in the protests. "The wall of fear has fallen, and the people will now demand their rights and stay on the streets." And Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics, said Egyptians have undergone a "psychological rapture" since the revolution. "The psychology of the citizen has changed," he said. "Millions of voiceless people have regained their voices ... It's changed the relationship between sons and fathers and fathers and daughters." The protests lasted 18 days, growing despite clashes with police and pro-Mubarak gangs. The armed forces refused to intercede on Mubarak's behalf, and he handed over power to a council of generals on February 11. The generals suspended Egypt's constitution and named a civilian caretaker government, but remain the final authority in Cairo. That's one of the things that rankles the protesters who have made camp in Tahrir Square since a fresh round of protests in June. "For me to leave Tahrir, the ruling generals need to listen to our demands and take action to ensure them," said Mustafa Sadek, a 16-year-old high-school student taking part in the protests last week. "We also want a clear schedule, a path to elections and reform. We want a plan that lays out the future." Rajia Omran, a lawyer and human rights activist, said the revolution "isn't going too bad." But she said patience will be needed for months or even years to come. "It will take 5 to 10 years to evaluate the revolution," said Omran, whose group helped organize the first protests. "Nobody can evaluate it now. Any evaluation now is premature." With liberals, nationalists, leftists and Islamists now split over whether elections or constitutional reforms should come first, Gerges said the protesters are realizing an old lesson: "Revolutions are messy." But those debates are "a healthy sign that civil society is still alive." "My worry is the cleavages are much deeper than we think, and the question is, will there be a government that will be able to govern in the next two or three years?" Gerges said. "If you don't have a consensus on what the future is, you won't be able to govern." Jumana Shehata, a former media consultant at the National Council for Human Rights, has been critical of the path the revolution has taken. She said secular political parties need more time to organize as a counterweight to the long-suppressed Muslim Brotherhood. "Right now, the Muslim Brotherhood is the only strong party, and we need more diversity," she said. But Gerges said the Brotherhood has its own divisions, with younger members "closer to the nationalists and the liberals and the leftists than the old guard." The military's decision recent decision to delay parliamentary elections until November is a concession to the secular groups, said Shadi Hamid, an analyst at the Qatar-based branch of the Brookings Institution. Hamid said that vote "will clarify matters," demonstrating which of the competing factions "have the support and capability to push things forward and challenge the military's hold on power." Shehata took part in the January protests at Tahrir Square and said most Egyptians still support the revolution, but are "fed up" with the new demonstrations. "I understand the chaos after a revolution, but I don't see the people in Tahrir now as revolutionaries," she said. And Hamid called the renewed protests a "frightening turn" in post-revolutionary Egypt. "More and more, the military staff is being portrayed as an enemy of democracy and an enemy of the transition, at least among the people in Tahrir Square," Hamid said. Neither side appears willing to back down, "and it increasingly looks like the interests of both sides are in some ways impossible to reconcile." Egypt's military has been the backbone of the state since 1952, when Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser led a coup that toppled the country's monarchy -- and the generals will likely try to keep much of that influence in any new government, said Nathan Brown, a Middle East analyst at George Washington University. "There's no question the military does not want to be responsible for collecting the trash and running the schools and the health-care system and the economy, which is a mess," Brown told CNN. "They don't want civilian oversight when they do go back to the barracks, and they don't want to lose a privileged position in Egyptian political and social life." But that sort of privilege may be harder to come by in the new Egypt. During the March referendum on changes to the country's constitution, Brown said, newspapers carried stories about VIPs who showed up at polling places where long lines had formed, expecting to be allowed to vote ahead of the hoi polloi. "Every time this happened, they were told, 'Wait a minute, this is a different country now. You've got to wait in line,'" he said. "It's a less deferential, less hierarchical place than it used to be." Hamid said the most realistic outcome is that the military will keep "some control" over international affairs and defense policy in a new government, as well as its extensive economic interests. But he said the generals appear to be boxing in the debate over their own authority in advance. At the same time, Egyptians are awaiting a reckoning with Mubarak and some of the leading figures in his former regime. Mubarak and his ex-interior minster, Habib al-Adly, are accused of ordering police to use live ammunition on protesters -- a charge that could carry a death sentence upon conviction. Several other figures, including Mubarak's two sons, face public corruption charges. And Wagdy said some of the generals need to be in the dock as well. "The main generals were part of the Mubarak regime and part of the corruption," she said. "We need to dig into their files and prosecute them." Gerges said the show trials that followed the 1952 coup "did a great deal of damage to the whole question of justice," and warned that similar treatment of Mubarak would be "horrible for Egypt." "I do hope that the Egyptian judicial system and Egyptians resist the temptation for vengeance and give Mubarak and his cronies a day in court and due process," he said. And Shehata said what Egypt needs is a process like South Africa's post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which those responsible for human rights abuses became eligible for amnesty if they came forward and testified truthfully about their actions. "I don't believe it is right to call everyone who worked in the old regime as corrupt," she said. "You either agree in the system and let the law decide about the people, or you take matters into your own hands and act like they are acting." This story is based on reporting done by journalist Ian Lee in Cairo, Egypt, and CNN's Matt Smith in Atlanta, Georgia, who wrote it. | "Any evaluation now is premature," a human rights lawyer tells CNN . Protesters in Tahrir Square are calling for speedier reforms . The new Egypt is a "less deferential," more outspoken place, observers say . Some worry that interests of military, protesters can't be reconciled . | 86bef0619e616c617c61d5141c9685cc87088771 |
(CNN) -- I was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. This was shocking news. Sitting across from a doctor holding a clinical folder with your name on it, and hearing him say the words "low-grade glioma," "language and comprehension areas of your brain," "surgery" and "chemotherapy" is a very weird experience. My first idea was to seek other opinions. Maybe this hospital is wrong. Maybe there are other places that wouldn't need to do surgery. Maybe there is a laser, a chemical, an ancient tradition, a shaman, a scientist, a nanorobot. I felt incomplete about the way that the medical system was handling my situation. Being "diseased" is like a state of suspended life. Can I work? Have fun? Be creative? Not really. When you are declared "diseased," you become a set of medical records, therapy, dosages, exam dates. It's as if you disappear, replaced by your disease. I immediately asked for my clinical records in digital format, and left the hospital. TED.com: A new understanding of cancer . My main objective -- the best thing I felt that I could do -- was to make my digital information available on the Internet, in formats that would allow people of multiple cultures, skills, professions and inclinations to access, use, recombine and redistribute it. Why would I want them to access this information? To help me find the best cure for myself, and in the process to produce substantial social change by redefining the word "cure." But when I went home to publish my medical records, all I could do was send them to specialized professionals, either by duplicating the CDs and mailing them or by copying their closed format and uploading them somewhere. I had no direct access to my own information, since I use Linux and OSX rather than the files' Windows-based viewer. As a software engineer, I found software and programming tools to hack the files and make them open -- but a nontechnical person would have difficulty making use of their own medical data. I needed, first of all, something which I could easily share, maybe allowing people to open it from their browsers, or even from their smartphones. TED.com: New strategy in war on cancer . So I opened up my medical records and converted the data into multiple formats: spreadsheets, databases, metadata files in XML and video, image and sound files. And I published them on The Cure. The responses have been incredible. More than 200,000 people have visited the site and many have provided videos, poems, medical opinions, suggestions of alternative cures or lifestyles, personal stories of success or, sadly, failures -- and simply the statement, "I am here." Among them were more than 90 doctors and researchers who offered information and support. The geneticist and TED fellow Jimmy Lin has offered to sequence the genome of my tumor after surgery -- in an open-source platform, of course. And the Italian parliament has been debating a motion to make all patients' medical records more open and accessible, which would be amazing progress in my country. Within one day I also heard from two different doctors, who recommended similar kinds of surgery. The first version is "awake surgery," which monitors the brain in real time as different parts are touched. The second is a variation in which electrodes are placed on the brain during surgery, and then a brain map is produced (with the patient awake) and used during a second surgery (with the patient fully unconscious). TED.com: Your genes are not your fate . Existing portals and websites that allow patients and ex-patients to exchange stories and opinions already exist. But we're talking about something different. I see a cure as a dynamic process, in which multiple doctors, professionals, artists, scientists and others join as a society -- to converse, support each other, be open to various contributions and shape solutions that merge humanity, technology, technique, philosophy and art. Creativity and "normal life" become part of the process and bring "diseased" people back to life. To me, a true cure is complete, is human, and has dignity. And it never ends. Such a cure is a dialogue in which "experts" maintain their status -- and in fact, an enormous thank you goes out to all the extremely qualified professionals who are constantly responding to my calls -- but the whole process opens up to possibility. TED.com: The potential of regenerative medicine . And this is exactly what is happening: We are creating a cure by uniting the contributions of surgeons, homeopaths, oncologists, Chinese doctors, nutritionists and spiritual healers. The active participation of everyone involved -- both experts and ex-patients -- is naturally filtering out any damaging suggestion which might be proposed. To achieve this kind of cure, we must be open to strategies from different cultures and philosophical orientations. And we must embrace a wider, more profound discourse about the ways in which information circulates digitally. For now, I'm following a complex strategy developed with the help of a series of doctors and experts who responded to my open-source cure site and have suggested a variety of therapies to deal with the disease. As of now, my cancer growth has stopped. We are waiting for the next test results to decide when and if to proceed to surgery. How can you be involved? Tell us about excellent techniques and technologies from around the world that can effectively confront low-grade glioma. We have explored many opinions in Italy and Europe, but fewer outside. Share your stories and experiences, the solutions you have found, the fraud you have encountered. Send us videos, poems, images, audio or text that you see as relevant to a scenario in which art and creativity can help form a complete and ongoing cure. Or tell us, "I am here!" -- alive and connected, ready to support a fellow human being. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Salvatore Iaconesi. | Salvatore Iaconesi: I was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 39 . He says he decided to put his medical records online, invite world to help find a cure . More than 200,000 people have visited site; many have provided valuable information, support . Iaconesi: I'm following a complex set of therapies before deciding on surgery . | 7e89e99c0ec10a84136353ed4407d9be0aa99b7d |
(CNN) -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student body president who was killed this year was shot several times, including in her head, according to her autopsy report released Monday. Unsealed warrants show Eve Carson was abducted and then shot by both men. Eve Carson, 22, was found slain on March 5. Carson's autopsy report lists six gunshot wounds, but says two were probably from the same bullet, according to North Carolina's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Carson's death shocked the community and drew national attention. An estimated 10,000 people turned out for a service remembering her. Her autopsy -- released after a North Carolina newspaper filed a court motion to have it unsealed -- describes wounds to various parts of Carson's body. It says shotgun wounds to her head and hand "most likely represent a single shot with the hand acting as an intermediate target." One of the other four wounds was also a gunshot to her head. A separate, handwritten summary of the medical examiner's report says Carson was "shot multiple times" and found lying on her back, with one arm bent behind her head. The autopsy says sexual assault testing was done. It does not say whether any sign of sexual assault was found. Two suspects, Demario James Atwater, 22, and Lawrence Alvin Lovette, 17, have been charged with first-degree murder. Lovette's attorney said the warrants against the suspects rely on hearsay. Atwater's attorney cautioned against "any rush to judgment." Court documents released Friday say Carson was kidnapped from her apartment and forced to provide her abductors with ATM access to her bank account before she was shot to death in the early hours of March 5. The documents -- applications for search warrants -- say a confidential informant told police in the days after the death that Atwater had told her he and Lovette had entered Carson's home through an open door and forced Carson to accompany them in her car. The informant said she had talked with Atwater after a picture was displayed on television showing someone attempting to use Carson's ATM card at a convenience store two days after Carson's body was found. The informant said the two men drove Carson to an ATM, obtaining her PIN number from her. "The CW [informant] learned that Carson was forced into the back seat with Atwater, and Lovette drove Carson's vehicle," the court documents said. "That information is consistent with video footage taken from an ATM camera on that date." The witness told police Atwater said the two got about $1,400 from Carson's account. Bank records show that was approximately the amount taken from the account over a two-day period, the documents said. And the informant said that both suspects shot Carson, according to one of the affidavits. "This information was corroborated by crime scene search information that two separate weapons were used in the homicide," the documents said. The documents said police believe Carson was subjected to a sexual assault "of an unknown nature" and asked for a search warrant to collect DNA swabs from the suspects. But Orange County, North Carolina, District Attorney Jim Woodall told CNN Friday the collection and testing done on Carson's body was routine, and authorities do not believe she was sexually assaulted. Prosecutors had fought to keep her autopsy sealed. Following a motion by the Raleigh News & Observer newspaper, prosecutors agreed to allow the report's release. Carson, a native of Athens, Georgia, was a pre-medicine student double-majoring in political science and biology. She was a recipient of the university's prestigious Morehead Scholarship and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, UNC has said. | Autopsy: There were shotgun wounds to Carson's head and hand . Report lists six gunshot wounds, but it says two were probably from same bullet . Warrant shows she was kidnapped from her home and robbed . | d70dcffc2c07e08cc121d7126ada53dbc479626e |
(CNN) -- France defender William Gallas has attacked former national coach Raymond Domenech, blaming him for the team's disastrous performance at the World Cup in South Africa. In an interview with French weekly culture magazine Les Inrockuptibles on Wednesday, Gallas became the first French player to speak about the disastrous World Cup campaign, saying that "the real problem is the coach." "Les Bleus" crashed out of the tournament in the first round after two draws and a defeat left them at the bottom of Group A with just one point. Forward Nicolas Anelka was sent home from the tournament after an argument with Domenech, causing the rest of the French side to strike from training. Domenech, as was decided before the competition began, has now been replaced by former World Cup winner Laurent Blanc. "We all wanted to protest against the decision taken by the coach. Everyone was in agreement to boycott training," the 34-year-old Gallas said. He also hinted that Anelka's row with Domenech may not have been a one-off, as a lot of players found it difficult to build a relationship with the coach. "Domenech wasn't open. Lots of players could not talk to him. He said that he listened to us, but at the end of the day he took decisions alone," said Gallas, who was given extra time to recover from injury by Domenech before being named in the 23-man squad for the finals. "What we said didn't have any influence, so I no longer said anything. I listened and I did what he told me." Gallas is still unhappy that he was overlooked by Domenech when Patrice Evra was named captain of France. "The hardest thing was the way that it happened. Domenech never told me," said Gallas, who was vice-captain under former skipper Thierry Henry. "I learnt by accident before the match against Costa Rica that the captain was Evra. I saw that the armband was on his shirt." Gallas is searching for a club now that his contract with English Premier League side Arsenal has expired. On Wednesday, Arsenal signed French defender Laurent Koscielny from Lorient on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee. "He has shown he is mentally strong, he's a fighter and a very strong competitor. Koscielny is a great addition to our squad," manager Arsene Wenger said in a statement on the club's official website. Meanwhile, 1998 World Cup winner Patrick Vieira has confirmed that he no longer wants to play for France. The midfielder will instead concentrate on his career at English club Manchester City. "My target in the next few years is City. I want to do my best for the club," Vieira told the club's official website on Wednesday. The 34-year-old made his first appearance for Les Bleus 13 years ago and has more than 100 caps, but was controversially left out of France's World Cup squad by Domenech. | Gallas pins blame for disastrous French World Cup campaign on former coach Domenech . Defender was interviewed in French culture magazine Les Inrockuptibles . He says French players found it hard to build a relationship with the coach . French midfielder Patrick Vieira plans to retire from international football . | 705316f2675744b98dd34302683e5ae2474bebf2 |
(CNN) -- Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia are seen as the most corrupt nations in the world, according to Transparency International's latest survey, released Tuesday. More than two thirds of the 177 countries included in the 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index scored below 50, where 0 indicates the country's public sector is seen as highly corrupt and 100 as very clean. Denmark and New Zealand performed best with scores of 91. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia tied last with 8 points each. "All countries still face the threat of corruption at all levels of government, from the issuing of local permits to the enforcement of laws and regulations," said Huguette Labelle, Transparency International's Chair in a statement. In Syria, where 100,000 have died in a conflict which began in 2011 and has now exploded into war, people regard its public sector as increasingly corrupt. The stricken nation dropped 9 points from 144th place to 168th. Libya, Yemen, Spain, Australia, Guatemala and Madagascar were among the other countries whose scores declined significantly. Myanmar saw the biggest improvement, rising from 5th last position in 2012 to 19 places from the bottom this year. The change reflects the benefits of introducing more open and democratic rules after years of military rule, according to Transparency International's Asia Pacific Director, Srirak Plipat. Myanmar also ratified an international treaty against corruption in December 2012 and the parliament approved an anti-corruption law in July, although this is yet to come into force. While Greece's score rose four points this year to 40, but remained the lowest ranking country in the European Union in 80th place. Brunei, Laos, Senegal, Nepal, Estonia, Lesotho and Latvia also improved. The UK jumped from 17th to 14th place with a score of 76, two points up from last year. The U.S. did not change from last year, ranking 19th with a score of 73. China's rank did not change. Australia dropped two places to 9th position with a score of 81. The Corruption Perceptions Index is based on perceptions of corruption in public institutions like political parties, police and justice systems according to experts and business people. Strong access to information systems and rules governing the behavior of public officials can help a country improve, while a lack of accountability and weak public institutions damages these perceptions, Transparency International said. The organization called on public institutions and officials to be more open, adding that corruption remains notoriously difficult to investigate and prosecute. | Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia are seen as the most corrupt nations in the world . Denmark and New Zealand are seen as the least corrupt nations . More than two thirds of the 177 countries included in the corruption index score badly . | f01a53cd1095980227988bb964b5d921a06ad2b2 |
(CNN) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is asking parents to immediately stop using a series of inflatable floats for babies in swimming pools, announcing a voluntary recall of about 4 million floats Thursday. The Squirtin' Tootin' Tugboat is among the floats covered by the recall. The items -- which inflate to seat babies and toddlers as they float on water -- are manufactured by Massachusetts-based Aqua Leisure Industries. The company has voluntarily recalled 14 models because the leg straps in the seat of the float can tear, causing children to slip into the water, posing a drowning risk, the commission said in a statement. There have been 31 reports of float seats tearing, though no injuries have been reported, the commission said. The floats were sold from December 2002 through June 2009 at retailers nationwide, including Target, Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart, Dollar General, Kmart, Walgreens, Ace Hardware and Bed, Bath & Beyond. The commission is asking consumers to stop using the floats and to send them back to the company. Aqua Leisure officials could not be immediately reached for comment, but the company's Web site has posted the commission's recall advisory. CNN's Gerri Willis contributed to this report. | Aqua Leisure Industries recalls 14 models . Leg straps can tear, allowing children to slip into the water . Agency says there have been 31 reports of seats tearing . Floats were sold nationwide at many chain retailers . | 4913f36ab79da578880f8ec53527a4d17b7cba45 |
Santiago, Chile (CNN) -- Sure, Luke Mescher felt a trembling fear when the walls around him started to shake Saturday, but standing around confused and scared wasn't an option. "I was more focused on we need to get out of here and we need to get out of here as fast as we can," said Mescher, a University of Iowa student studying Spanish in Chile. Mescher, 27, was at the home of his host family when the 8.8-magnitude quake struck early Saturday. He was talking with friends on his computer when the power went out. Immediately after, he felt a subtle vibration that progressed into a violent shaking, he said. His host mom cried as the walls around them shook and her daughter attempted to comfort her, he said. "They were "paralyzed with fear," he said. "I was like, we don't have time for this," Mescher said. "We need to get the hell out of here." He grabbed his head lamp, the two women, and ran barefoot and bare-chested into the dark street. The three met dozens others in the staircase scurrying out the 20-story apartment building, he said. The exit was "surprisingly orderly," Mescher said. But others faced more of an ordeal. CNN iReporter Matias de Cristobal said the earthquake destroyed many homes in her Santiago neighborhood. Cristobal tried to climb upstairs to check on her three children -- age 6, 9, and 11 -- after she began feeling tremors on Saturday, but she was slowed by shifting ground and falling objects. Mirko Vukasovic, a 25-year-old illustrator in Santiago, had been dancing at a club early Saturday when the disco ball began swinging wildly. A chaotic evacuation was under way when the lights went out, but everyone managed to escape, Vukasovic said. "Broken windows and falling building parts was what welcomed us in the streets," he said. iReport: Read Mescher's firsthand account . Vukasovic submitted iReport video showing the damage to his fourth-floor apartment. "What used to be a beautiful bathroom is now torn, a beautiful crack," he said as his camera panned to a pile of tile and plaster that had been shaken loose from the walls. Some in Chile reacted to the quake with disbelief. "It was 3 or 4 in the morning and I had come home late," said Aneya Fernando, an American who teaches English in Santiago. "Suddenly my bed was moving so violently that it woke me up." "I'm on the 10th floor of a building and it was swaying and shaking," Fernando, 23, said. "Suddenly it was just gone and I was confused. I thought it was in my head." When Fernando's electricity returned 30 minutes later, she learned of the earthquake on TV. Scott Ireland, a business traveler from Rochester, New York, who was staying at the Sheraton San Cristobal when the earthquake struck, submitted iReport photos of cracks in the exterior walls of his hotel. Ireland, 48, had experienced two earlier earthquakes -- one in Turkey in 1966 and another in Southern California in 1971. "Not only was this the most severe," he said, "the duration was longer than anything I'd ever experienced. Luckily the damage here was minimal." Meschler, the Iowa student, encountered faces of confusion and concern when he and his host family left their apartment building and entered the street. Some tried using their phones to call out with no luck, others ran to neighboring apartment complexes, looking to help. iReport: Watch video of damage at an apartment . Many throughout the city don't have their basic utilities, the Salvation Army reported. Mescher doesn't have gas, but his power and water are back on. The elderly seemed most frazzled by the rattling, he said. One elderly man had suffered a wound to his head. When the aftershocks began and kept rolling in jolts to his Santiago neighborhood, Mescher said some neighbors prepared for a night outside of their home. "I did see a good portion of people go back upstairs an hour into it and put together what they could," he said, speaking of a sleep away bag. "There were a lot of people that got their car and took off." Mescher had also tested his luck, considering he was unsure of the building's stability after such a great temblor. "After we were safely outside I made a quick run and grabbed a shirt and some shoes," he said. About 5 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) -- about 90 minutes after the quake -- he returned to the apartment to finally get some rest, just to be rattled by another aftershock. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a 6.9-magnitude aftershock hit Chile about that time. Dozens of aftershocks later, Mescher was looking at cracks that had shaped around the door frames and crept up walls. Chunks of plaster littered the floors, he said. "I've got to think there have to be some long-term structural issues," he said. "For the time being, I don't think it's going to fall on top of me." | NEW: CNN iReporter says many homes destroyed in her Santiago neighborhood . NEW: Witness to previous quakes said this one was strongest, most long-lasting . Luke Mescher, a U.S. college student, was with host family in Chile when quake hit . | ca04ce6fb6665bdfbf2995e49b8e9684279cd9fd |
(CNN) -- Luci Baines Johnson was just 16 years old when she approached her father, President Johnson, with what she considered a reasonable request. Luci Baines Johnson, left, and her older sister, Lynda Bird, pose inside the White House in 1963. "I asked my father if we could have the Beatles come to play at the White House," she recalled. "I was very excited about it." His response? A decisive no, "without even any moment of trying to soften the blow," Johnson said in a recent phone interview. The president thought the move would be viewed as self-serving. His daughter, however, saw it as a chance to honor "a great talent" and strengthen ties between the United States and Great Britain -- not to mention a golden opportunity for her and her friends. "I could see how different sets of folks could have either perspective. And I suspect my father could see that too," she said. Luci Baines Johnson learned quickly of the scrutiny that came from being a first daughter. Her family moved into the White House in 1963, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Johnson was catapulted into the exclusive fraternity of White House families and embraced what she describes as a role she landed simply by chance. That fraternity has most recently expanded to include President Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia. "I was an eyewitness to history, over and over, during my father's five years in the White House. And I wasn't elected to that option. I had no qualifications that provided me that privilege except an accident of birth," she said. See famous first kids who grew up in the White House » . Johnson speaks fondly of the opportunity she was afforded to dine with kings and queens, meet the movers and shakers of her time, engage with the body of America and hold a front-row seat to history. While most of her memories fall into two categories -- "the fond personal memories" and "the fond memories of public privilege" -- there's one in particular that was a combination of both. "My 17th birthday, I received a handwritten note from my father, the only handwritten note I have, telling me how much he loves me and how much he has delighted in having me as his daughter for all those 17 years," she said. The note was dated noon, July 2, 1964. Six hours later, in the East Room of the White House, Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination based on race or gender in public places, schools and places of employment. "Can you imagine ever receiving a more momentous, glorious, exciting, thrilling birthday present that lasted forever and ever than something like that, that would change the world for all time and make it a much more decent place? That took place on my birthday," she said. Life in the White House, however, came at a cost. Johnson and the first children before and after her will always have to "pay a big price in terms of personal time," she said. More than 45 years after she moved into the White House, she still receives requests for interviews about the time she spent there. But the public's interest in first daughters is nothing new. Fanny Hayes, for example, who was about the same age as Malia when she moved into the White House in 1877, was followed by the media until the day she died. "She was an American celebrity," said presidential historian Doug Wead. While the interest in first daughters has stayed steady, the pressure on the children has intensified, said Wead, author of "All the Presidents' Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Families." "It's like the Miss America contest -- it's a real dilemma for the daughter of a president. She's supposed to be gracious. She's mocked and ridiculed if she isn't pretty," he said. When Chelsea Clinton was just 13 years old, for example, she was ridiculed in a 1993 "Saturday Night Live" sketch that declared her "not a babe." Actor Mike Myers later apologized, and the skit was cut from replays of the show. Amy Carter, who was 9 when she moved into the White House, was also mocked for her appearance and for her poor manners, after she pulled out a book during a state dinner. Her parents enrolled her in public school, illuminating the already bright spotlight on her. An infamous photograph of her first day at school shows the young girl with her head hanging low, carrying a Snoopy book bag and surrounded by a swarm of paparazzi. To this date, no other presidential children have attended public school. But other presidential children have taken on power roles in their fathers' administrations. Anna Roosevelt, for example, was a "super aide" to Franklin D. Roosevelt during his last year in office, Wead said, describing her as a combination of a personal secretary and chief of staff, not to mention popular in the public eye. And Alice Roosevelt, a fashion icon who was known to have quite the rebellious streak, also played a pivotal role for her father, Theodore Roosevelt. She went on an around-the-world junket for the purposes of American foreign policy -- a move that diverted attention from her father's efforts to bring about a peace treaty in the Russo-Japanese War, Wead said. The president later won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on various peace treaties. Under the administration that followed, William Taft's daughter became one of the unsung heroes of women's rights, Wead said. Taft credited his daughter, Helen, for helping to change his mind about women's suffrage. But for all presidential children, Wead said, there remains a lifelong battle of seeking approval from their fathers while struggling to carve their own identities. Many presidential daughters have gone on to author books about their time in White House, in what Wead describes as an attempt to restore their fathers' reputations. "It's like sitting in front of a big window ... and seeing a billboard with misspelled words on it. It's just irritating," he said. "And the writing of a book, if it doesn't change history, it is a purifying experience for the child." Susan Ford Bales once told the San Francisco Chronicle that while in the White House, "I kept thinking, I want to be normal. But I can't be normal. .... Everyone was watching. It was like living out loud." But Ford also cashed in on some of the perks of her high-profile position and took Alice Roosevelt's advice to "have one hell of a good time." Ford roller-skated through the White House, held her prom in the East Room and scored VIP treatment at concerts -- including a backstage pass to see Rod Stewart. (That move ignited the public's interest in her, sparking rumors that she and Stewart were engaged.) Johnson said that some of the best advice she received while in the White House was to just recognize that she couldn't change things or make the attention go away. "There are inevitably going to be moments when you feel like the pressures of the goldfish bowl seem unfair or more than you can bear, but so are the opportunities to learn, to understand, to grow, to love, to make friends, to witness," she said. "I describe it as the best of times and sometimes the worst of times, but whatever the times, it was a time of extraordinary privilege." | Luci Johnson describes being a first daughter as an "extraordinary privilege" It was "the best of times and sometimes the worst of times," she says . First daughters often followed by media for remainder of their lives . The pressure on first daughters has intensified over the years, historian says . | 2025fb9ea8f1b1f5659e4f8fea16508b01aa9386 |
(CNN) -- Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung scored twice including an injury-time winner as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 on Saturday to cut Chelsea's lead at the top of the English Premier League to two points. It was a scarcely convincing performance from United at Old Trafford and the visitors looked to be heading to a deserved point until the South Korean international burst into their penalty area to beat Marcus Hahnemann with a convincing finish. Park had put United ahead in first half injury time only for Sylvan Ebanks-Blake to equalize for Wolves just after the hour mark with a neat turn and shot. The result leaves United with 23 points from 11 games, with leaders Chelsea on 25 from 10. The reigning champions can re-open a five-point gap with victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday. Third-placed Arsenal will join United on 23 points if they beat promoted Newcastle in another Sunday fixture at the Emirates Stadium. A sour note for Manchester United was the truncated return of England international midfielder Owen Hargreaves, the long-term injury absentee lasting just a few minutes in his first start for two years before he limped off with a hamstring strain. "It was a long struggle," manager Alex Ferguson told MUTV. "Given the changes I had to make, trying to get the continuity of performance was difficult. "Some players played with touches of flu and others with diarrhoea, so we've done really well to get a result." Earlier, Tottenham Hotspur suffered an hangover from their midweek Champions League triumph over Inter Milan as they went down 4-2 at Bolton in the lunchtime kick off. Two goals from Kevin Davies, who would have impressed watching England manager Fabio Capello, including a second half penalty, put them 3-0 up at the Reebok with Greta Steinsson crashing home the second. It was the cue for a belated Tottenham comeback as an Alan Hutton curler and superb volley from Roman Pavlyuchenko cut the deficit to a single goal, only for Martin Petrov to kill the game off in injury time. They move above Tottenham on goal difference into fifth place, with Sunderland, who beat Stoke City 2-0, also on 15 points. Meanwhile Fulham's Brete Hangeland headed a 94th-minute equalizer to salvage a 1-1 draw at home to Aston Villa, who are still searching for their first Premier League win since September. Marc Albrighton had put Villa ahead just before halftime. In the Scottish Premier League, Celtic have gone to the top with an amazing 9-0 thrashing of Aberdeen at Parkhead. Anthony Stokes and Gary Hooper both scored hat-tricks in the rout which sees Celtic move two points clear of Rangers in the title race. | Park Ji-Sung scores twice in Manchester United's 2-1 win over Wolves . Korean star grabs winner in added time at Old Trafford . Tottenham Hotspur falter with 4-2 defeat at Bolton as Kevin Davies scores double . Celtic go top of Scottish Premier League with 9-0 rout of Aberdeen . | 8334a0c7d9a4a42aea89793fb9dd34f1c4bb87d0 |
Seoul (CNN) -- The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the church colloquially known as the Moonies, is unconscious and undergoing treatment for pneumonia at a hospital in South Korea, a spokesman said Thursday. His doctor has given him only a 50% chance of survival, spokesman Ahn Ho-yeol said. Doctors put the 92-year-old founder of the Unification Church in intensive care Tuesday, where he is breathing through a respirator, the church spokesman said. Moon felt ill suddenly and was hospitalized in Seoul in "grave condition." The Unification Church gained fame worldwide for its mass weddings decades ago, including at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Many met their spouses-to-be for the first time during the ceremony. In addition to weddings in South Korea, couples from various countries took part in the ceremony through satellite hookups. The controversial Moon, whose church critics compare to a cult, served a federal prison term in the United States for tax evasion. He was also a strong supporter of Republican politicians including Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, said Eileen Barker, a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was "virulently anti-Communist," having been imprisoned in North Korea during the Korean War before being freed by the allies, she said. Moon is the founder of The Washington Times newspaper, which vocally backed Reagan, she said. In 2010, the newspaper was sold to a group operating on his behalf, according to a statement on the paper's website. In his later years, his position toward North Korea softened, and he met the late North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung and invested some money in the North. His followers regard Moon as the messiah who is completing the salvation that Jesus Christ failed to accomplish. His church says Jesus was divine but he is not God, a position that puts the Unification Church outside the bounds of traditional Christianity. Different measures are under way in case of the worst-case scenario, according to the church spokesman. He did not elaborate on the measures. Followers of the church worldwide are praying for his health, he said. CNN's Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report. | Sun Myung Moon's church gained fame worldwide for its mass weddings . He is the founder of The Washington Times newspaper . His doctor has given him only a 50% chance of survival, a church spokesman says . | 0e862f042060778670ba9d9955c5e1246ef547c6 |
(CNN) -- Angela Merkel has come a long way. Once dismissed by hard-core conservative critics as "the divorced, childless, Protestant woman from former East Germany", the German chancellor's landslide victory in Sunday's Bundestag elections has reinforced her position as the uncontested political leader in Germany and the rest of Europe. For a few hours Sunday night, Merkel's center-right CDU/CSU parties seemed even within striking distance of an absolute majority of seats, a feat only West German CDU "Uber-Chancellor" Konrad Adenauer achieved in 1957. Under the rules of Germany's complex electoral system, the Conservatives received 41.5% of the vote but 49.3% of the seats (five members short of an absolute majority in the 630-strong Bundestag). Above all, Sunday's elections have confirmed that a vast majority of Germans are supportive of Berlin's handling of the European sovereign debt crisis -- and specifically, Germany providing financial backing in return for structural and fiscal reforms in crisis-hit Eurozone countries. In contrast to other major Western leaders who are struggling at home, Merkel's calm, disciplined and unpretentious approach to governing resonates with many German voters who feel confident she will protect them against the uncertainties and crises abroad. By firmly occupying the German political center ("Die Mitte") Merkel has successfully marginalized the SPD/Green opposition parties (she even decided to phase out nuclear power). Add to that Germany's strong economic performance and low unemployment figures and you have the secret recipe behind the success of Angela Merkel. Even CDU/CSU party insiders were surprised at the magnitude of her election victory (an increase of 7.7 percentage points compared to 2009), especially since successive bail-out packages, the European Central Bank's aggressive bond buying, as well as the European Stability Mechanism fund have increased Germany's Eurozone liability exposure to hundreds of billions of Euros. In late August, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, a close Merkel ally, caused some political consternation within the center-right camp when he alluded to the possibility that Germany may need to sign off on a third bailout package for Greece. Schaeuble's comments, while politically risky, seemed to confirm what many economists have suspected all along: namely that the Greek drama is not over, that Athens will ultimately need significant debt forgiveness to regain its footing, and that there are other Eurozone countries -- ranging from Portugal to Ireland, Slovenia and Cyprus -- that will soon be asking for more (German) money. Yet Sunday, even the resurgent anti-Euro "Alternative for Germany," or AFD, party missed the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament, thus providing relief among international investors that Berlin is not beginning to pull the financial plug on the rest of Europe any time soon. Quite to the contrary, since the demoralized pro-business FDP party failed to enter the Bundestag for the first time since 1949. Merkel will now have to find a new coalition partner and could theoretically either join forces with the Social Democrats, known as the SPD, or the Greens. Both opposition parties have frequently criticized the outgoing center-right government for putting too much emphasis on austerity rather than on growth measures to kick-start the fledgling Eurozone economies. The SPD and Greens are also strong supporters of the controversial Eurobonds that have been categorically rejected by Merkel for fear they would remove all incentives for individual European countries to get their fiscal and economic houses in order. While Merkel is going to stand firm in her opposition to Eurobonds a new German government with either the Social Democrats or the Greens on board would be more open to making concessions on the planned European banking union, especially regarding the proposed single resolution authority mechanism to be placed within the European Central Bank. Pretty much everything will depend on the internal horse-trading during the upcoming coalition talks between CDU/CSU and SPD and Greens, respectively. Ultimately, most political observers agree that Merkel's next government (and her last since she has already said she won't run again in 2017) will probably be a relaunch of the Grand Coalition with the SPD that she led during 2005-2009. While the SPD is rather reluctant to enter into such a deal (after all, it scored its worst post-war result in the 2009 elections), the party knows full well that a Grand Coalition is the preferred option for a majority of German voters. In theory, getting the SPD on board should also help Merkel break the political gridlock that has gripped German politics since the opposition SPD, Green and Left parties retain control of Germany's upper chamber (the Bundesrat), which nowadays needs to approve about half of all German laws. From an American perspective, the re-election of Angela Merkel is definitely good news and promises a certain stability and continuity in an otherwise rather weak and fluid European political leadership landscape. In principle, the Chancellor's commitment to free trade should also provide valuable political cover for the planned U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership at a time when protectionist sentiments are running high, especially in France and the Southern European countries. That being said, as evidenced by the Syria crisis, a future Merkel administration that includes either the SPD or the Greens would probably be even more reluctant to use military force abroad than the outgoing center-right coalition government. Merkel's victory in the 2013 Bundestag elections is of historic proportions. Political commentators are already speaking about "the era of Merkel" and note that the woman who spent well over half of her adult life in East Germany is even beginning to eclipse her one-time mentor Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the father of Germany's reunification in 1990. The next four years will determine whether Merkel's leadership and handling of the Eurozone crisis will keep the European project together. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ulf Gartzke. | Angela Merkel's parties scored big victories in Sunday's Bundestag elections . Ulf Gartzke: Merkel's calm, unpretentious approach and strong economy help her cause . He says Merkel has walked fine line, propping up Euro, without losing popularity at home . | fefaed25016f4b1494f1deeceb5470cd5aa1b0dd |
(CNN) -- Equestrian champion Ingrid Klimke could ride a horse before she could walk, such is the fondness her family holds for the animals. The German's father, Reiner, won an incredible six Olympic gold medals spread across five separate installments of the Games between 1964 and 1988 before his death in 1999. His dream was for one of his children to follow in his footsteps and participate at the Games, which Ingrid duly did in Sydney in 2000. And eight years later Ingrid became the second Klimke to clinch a gold medal when she was part of the German three-day eventing team that triumphed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Klimke has now competed in three Olympics and has also claimed a host of domestic and international titles over a 21-year career in the sport. CNN's Human to Hero show caught up with the 43-year-old and her horse FRH Butts Abraxxas, nicknamed "Braxx," at her home in Munster, Germany as she prepares to saddle up for her fourth Olympics in London. Starting out . "My mother says that I could ride, or sit on a horse before I could walk. I just grew up with horses," Klimke told CNN. The 43-year-old did a Masters in Equestrian Management after university and trained in dressage, stadium jumping and three-day eventing. Klimke began competing in the late 1980s and opened her own stables in 1998. Heroes . It is no surprise Klimke's father has been the most influential person in her career. Learning from a five-time Olympian has helped shape her own successful path in the sport. "My father was a wonderful dressage rider, but he also started with eventing. In 1960 he took part at the Olympics in Rome as an eventer, but then afterward he started doing dressage," she said. "He counted in Olympic years because for him the Olympics was just his thing. His dream was that one of his children would go to the Olympics. "Later I could work out whether I preferred more dressage or more eventing -- that's why I still do both." Setbacks . Injuries are part and parcel of any rider's career, and Klimke has had her fair share of bumps and bruises. "I think if you have a life with horses you have injuries, and I've had some falls," she said. "Last year I fell at Badminton (England's prestigious horse trials) and I damaged my knee -- so that put me out for three months right in the middle of the season. You always have to take your time to come back." Olympic memories . Klimke's appearance in London will be her fourth Olympics, having competed in Sydney, Athens and Beijing, but her gold at the Games in China was her first. "Sydney was my first four-star event and it was a very tough, long course, 13 minutes up and down. It was hot!" she said. "The Olympics is the thing I grew up with and that's why I keep going with my next generation of horses, hoping one of them will be able to follow in Braxx's footsteps. "You must always have dreams and goals never rest, never think you have had it all -- then it is better to quit -- but I would love to keep going." | Germany's Ingrid Klimke to compete in her fourth Olympics in London this year . The 43-year-old won gold for Germany as part of three-day eventing team at 2008 Games . Inspired by father who won six gold medals at five separate Olympics from 1964 to 1988 . Klimke has won a host of international and domestic titles in a career spanning 20 years . | 7fe38b8a8d6da5330df412e836013790c5e49862 |
(CNN) -- Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher made an impressive return to Formula One in the first day of official testing for 2010 in Spain on Monday -- but was upstaged by another driver making his comeback, Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Schumacher, who has ended a three-year retirement to drive for Ross Brawn's new Mercedes team, was third quickest behind Massa and BMW Sauber's new signing Pedro De La Rosa. The 41-year-old German took over from Nico Rosberg with about an hour and a half of the Valencia session remaining, and ended up posting a time more than a second faster than his younger teammate. "It was a perfect rollout for the new car today. I felt totally comfortable and really had a feeling that everything was very natural," Schumacher told his official Web site. "It felt just like at the very beginning of my career in 1991 when on the first lap, I thought wow that was really fast, and then on the second lap, I was extremely excited. I feel just like a young boy again and really enjoyed myself. "We did a good job today, making a few control checks, and the most important thing was that the car ran reliably. With Nico and I covering 79 laps today, it was a superb job by the team." Rosberg, who drove for Williams last year before Mercedes took over world champions Brawn and signed the German, completed 39 laps and Schumacher was on the track for 40, according to Web site autosport.com. "For me, to have him here is a great thing, fantastic," Rosberg told reporters about his alliance with Schumacher. "It has given me a little bit of extra motivation. "My relationship with him is very good. I get on well with him. We respect each other and I think we will be great teammates. There will be a few things I'll be able to pick up from him as he is one of the best that has ever driven." Massa was back behind the wheel of a Formula One car in a public session for the first time since his accident in Hungary in July, which left him needing life-saving skull surgery. The Brazilian clocked an unofficial fastest time of one minute and 12.574 seconds as he completed 102 laps, autosport.com reported, with veteran Spaniard De La Rosa posting 1:12.784. Schumacher's 1:12.947 put him well ahead of Rosberg, who was fourth best on 1:13.543. McLaren test driver Gary Paffett was fifth fastest, but his team's official race entries for this year -- world champion Jenson Button and his predecessor Lewis Hamilton -- sat out the session. Hamilton will drive on Tuesday, and Button is scheduled to take the wheel on Wednesday. The other drivers to take part were Button's former Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello in a Williams, Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi and Renault's new signing Robert Kubica. | Michael Schumacher makes impressive return to F1 in first day of official testing for 2010 . Seven-time world champion is third fastest in Spain, racing 40 laps for Mercedes . Ferrari's Felipe Massa, making his comeback after six months out, is quickest in Valencia . World champion Jenson Button and McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton sit out session . | a6a8c12b785ef69e905bc7819b92a88d7408e07b |
(CNN) -- Crews in North Dakota were testing the air Tuesday morning for any dangerous fumes a day after two trains wrecked, sparking a large fire. The results of the tests will help determine when it is safe for residents to resume their routine activities. One of the trains was carrying crude oil, which sent dangerous smoke into the air, officials said. The incident occurred one mile west of Casselton, a town of 2,300 residents about 25 miles west of Fargo. Authorities issued an evacuation order, which was not mandatory, but "strongly, strongly recommended," Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney told CNN. He estimated that 65% of area residents heeded the call to leave their homes. There were no injuries in the wreck, and everyone is accounted for, Laney said. "When you see the fireball and you see the damage and the aftermath, that's amazing that nobody was hurt," he said. "There were people inside their homes that could feel the heat from the explosion in their homes." Firefighters were forced to let the fire burn out. The extreme heat made it impossible for them to get close enough to the flames to battle the blaze. CNN's Steve Almasy, Aaron Cooper and Carma Hassan contributed to this report. | Crews are testing the air near Casselton, North Dakota . They are testing for any toxic fumes . A train wreck on Monday created an oil fire . | 6dddc3d2493026793e4c9b8646bfe69b3a62cf80 |
New York (CNN) -- The mother of one of the two New Jersey men arrested last week at a New York airport allegedly on their way to fight with an al Qaeda-affiliated group in Somalia says the two men are guilty of stupidity -- but not of the sinister plan described by authorities. "Anything makes him angry. But he's not a terrorist; he's a stupid kid," Nadia Alessa said of her U.S.-born son, Mahmood. Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, New Jersey, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, of Elmwood Park, New Jersey, are charged with one count each of conspiracy to kill, maim and murder persons outside of the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The men, who were taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport on June 5, intended to take separate flights to Egypt on their way to Somalia "to join designated foreign terrorist organization Al-Shabaab and wage violent jihad," according to federal prosecutors. The criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Newark alleges that in 2007, Alessa and Almonte traveled together to Jordan, where they intended to enter Iraq to commit violence against U.S. troops there. Nadia Alessa told CNN that her son went to 16 or 17 psychiatrists for what she called "anger management issues" that surfaced when he was a boy. He lived at his parents well-kept home, where his angry outbursts were common. However, she said, he wasn't particularly religious. "He slept late. If he was devout, he would make his prayers on time. He didn't," she said. She helped him pack for his trip to Egypt, though she said she resisted the idea from the start. Nadia Alessa said she was reassured by a man named "Bassim," who had befriended her son and Almonte. "He said we're gonna study Arabic. I said but here there are many schools. But he say in Egypt, they're better," she recalled being told by the man when she expressed concerns about Alessa moving to Egypt. "Don't worry, I take care of them," she said Bassim told her days before her son and Almonte were arrested boarding a flight to Egypt. She said she believes the man was an undercover federal agent who recorded her son making incendiary comments against the United States and continued to build the case against him and Almonte. "Since I saw him, I warned my son and Carlos," Nadia Alessa said. "But my son say 'Always you say about my friends they are undercover.' " The Alessa family invited CNN on Saturday also talk to a woman who said she was set to marry Mahmood Alessa upon his arrival in Egypt. Nadia Alessa said she met her son's girlfriend the night before. The 19-year-old woman, who said her name is Siham, sat at the family's home, cloaked in a niqab, a veil that covers the entire body and face with only a sheer cloth revealing the eyes. She said she met Mahmood Alessa in an online chat room. Siham showed CNN her passport stamped June 9, 2010, indicating her arrival at Kennedy airport from Paris, France. She also produced her airline itinerary, which shows that her trip started in Cairo -- where, she says, she was waiting for Alessa. "We were supposed to get married and study awhile in Egypt. That was the plan," Siham told CNN. She said she moved from Sweden, where she was born to Egyptian parents, to Cairo at Alessa's behest a few months ago. When he didn't arrive in Cairo on June 6, she was shocked to learn from a friend in New York that her soon-to-be fiance had been arrested. "She told me that Mohamed got arrested for terrorism and that they were saying he was going to Somalia," Siham said in disbelief. "So I didn't know what to do; words can't explain what I felt. I was in shock and I couldn't stop crying." She said she boarded a flight and arrived in New York a day before Alessa's arraignment Thursday. It was then that she saw him for the first time, through a veil in a federal courtroom. "I didn't have any ticket booked or anything. I just went to the airport and I booked a ticket from there, and I left," Siham said. CNN recently learned that Alessa and Almonte were followers of an extreme Islamist group based in New York. CNN obtained an image of the two suspects attending a protest in New York organized by the Islamic Thinkers Society on June 1. They appear to have been taking part in a demonstration against Israel. One is holding a banner, the other an Islamic Thinkers Society poster that includes the slogan, "Exterminate the Zionist Roaches." The society's video of the event, posted on its YouTube channel, has since been removed. The rally took place a week before the two men made their way to Kennedy airport and were arrested. "My soul cannot rest till I shed blood. I wanna like be the world's [best] known terrorist," Alessa is alleged to have told an undercover agent in the United States last year. Later he said, "We'll start doing killing here, if I can't do it over there." Another image -- from late 2008 -- shows Almonte at a different rally, holding a poster that says "Death to all Juice" (sic). It's not clear whether that rally was organized by the Islamic Thinkers Society. When asked about the rallies Alessa attended, Siham insisted his presence was a show of outrage -- not intent. "But that doesn't make him a terrorist. That only shows how much he dislikes what the people are doing to the Muslims," she said. "That doesn't show he was going to Somalia and do anything." | Mother of New Jersey terror suspect insists son "not a terrorist" Son and his friend charged with conspiracy to kill outside U.S. Mahmood Alessa's girlfriend says they were supposed to marry in Egypt . | cc9cb1120f407f32819dc4b35e0d728759a13b5b |
(CNN) -- The mother of child murder suspect Casey Anthony affirms her belief in her daughter's innocence and expresses fear for her safety in letters released by court officials on Thursday. "You stay strong Casey," Cindy Anthony tells her daughter in one letter from May. "Many, many people believe in you and are trying to get to the truth. Not everyone has been brainwashed and not everyone is trying to cover his/her butt." Casey Anthony is charged with capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. The girl was reported missing in July 2008, and investigators found her body after five months of intense searches and speculation. In the May letter, Cindy Anthony writes that she "freaked out" when she saw her daughter being escorted into the courtroom by heavily armed deputies. "I was worried that there's treats [sic] on your life and are finally being taken seriously," she wrote. "I swear there are maniacs out there. I hope they step up security next year, for all of us. It's going to be nuts. Hopefully by then somebody will actually look at the evidence and clearly see that they need to be looking for the real person that took our Caylee." In June, after Casey Anthony tripped on her way to a court appearance and showed up with a chipped tooth and cut lip, her mother said she had been "worried that something was going to happen to you." She thanks her daughter for trying to call on Mother's Day, and tells her, "I had a dream the other night that you will be home." "I know you better than anyone," Cindy Anthony wrote. "Even with unanswered questions I still know the person you are and love you have in your heart. Your problem is that you are too trusting like I was. Unfortunately, we both found out how ugly and mean people really are. There's very few people you can trust." The letters were released as part of discovery in the case. In June, prosecutors released more than 5,000 pages of documents that ranged from marriage proposals from admirers to calls for Casey Anthony to be put to death. She has pleaded not guilty and has refused to see visitors, because the sessions would be videotaped and eventually released. In a July letter, her mother laments, "I just wish we had the ability to speak to each other." In Session's Aletse Mellado contributed to this report. | Casey Anthony's mom warns, "I swear there are maniacs out there" "Many people believe in you and are trying to get to the truth" Anthony faces capital murder charges in daughter Caylee's 2008 death . Letters released as part of discovery in upcoming trial . | 16ae4d5a3f493708650f60d3182d27c52cd81b2f |
Washington (CNN) -- As e-book readers and tablet computers become more common, one prominent tech mogul says that physical books could disappear sooner than expected. In an interview with CNN's Howard Kurtz on "Reliable Sources," author Nicholas Negroponte, founder of One Laptop per Child, said the physical book's days are numbered. "It will be in five years," said Negroponte. "The physical medium cannot be distributed to enough people. When you go to Africa, half a million people want books ... you can't send the physical thing." Negroponte emphasized the efficiency of being able to put hundreds of books on the laptops his organization sends to villages. "We put 100 books on a laptop, but we also send 100 laptops. That village now has 10,000 books," he said. CNN iReport: Have you replaced books with an e-reader? Share your story. When it comes to making e-books standard, Negroponte thinks that developing countries may actually be faster than developed countries. "That's what cell phones did," Negroponte said. "Cell phones were more popular in Cambodia and Uganda because they didn't have phones. We had phones in this country, and we were very late to the table. They're going to adopt e-books much faster than we do." Negroponte founded One Laptop per Child in 2005 with the goal of providing one internet-connected laptop to every school-age child in the world. Through the help of industry insiders, the organization created the XO, a lightweight and durable laptop. For $199, it's possible for individuals to buy a laptop for a child in the developing world through the website www.laptop.org/en/. | The physical book's days are numbered, author Nicholas Negroponte says . "The physical medium cannot be distributed to enough people," he says . Negroponte founded One Laptop per Child in 2005 . | 67af151cde4a4ce33520e4742ead5f48d7ef07b5 |
(CNN) -- All her life, Carmen Figueroa believed she was born in the United States. It was what her mother had always told her. But a State Department investigation found that she was born in Sinaloa, Mexico, and brought into the country illegally at a young age, CNN affiliate KVOA reported. The discovery brought an abrupt end to Figueroa's 10-year career with the Arizona state police. Figueroa, 42, was forced to resign or be fired. Under Arizona law, an undocumented immigrant cannot be a peace officer. Her record as an officer included praise and promotions. The case is a reminder of how the country's immigration laws can turn lives upside down. It raises questions about how potential public employees are screened, and how easily facts about something as basic as a birthplace can be obscured. "She was great, well-liked. The whole thing is a sad story," said Bart Graves, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Figueroa had joined the force as a highway patrol officer 10 years ago and became a detective in 2010. The detective likely would have continued to serve if not for the State Department investigation. Figueroa's brother had applied for a passport while he was in the Air Force, Graves said, and during that process the State Department flagged him about his citizenship. "When she was informed by the State Department that she and her brother were not U.S. citizens, that was the first she'd heard of it," Graves said. "Her mother had told her she was born in this country." Figueroa learned of her immigration status in June, but she didn't inform her agency, Graves said. "She knew in June about her status and by law was required to report it immediately," he said. "She waited for us to find out about it in August." Once it found out, the Department of Public Safety placed Figueroa on paid administrative leave until Monday, when she resigned. The State Department conducted a criminal investigation and in October decided that it will not file any charges against Figueroa, Graves said. Arizona continues to work with federal officials to determine if any state criminal charges will be filed, Graves said. Figueroa could not be reached for comment despite repeated calls. In Arizona, a state known for its law cracking down on illegal immigration, the case has sparked debate. It's unclear what's next for Figueroa, KVOA reported. "A situation like this where someone has been in the U.S. for 30 or 40 years believing that they're a U.S. citizen is pretty rare," immigration lawyer Maurice Goldman told the CNN affiliate. But one immigrant rights activist told CNN en Español such cases aren't as uncommon as you might think. Dulce Matuz said she knows people who've found out they were undocumented when they went to get driver's licenses. Many of them grew up during a different climate surrounding immigration, she said. "This is a topic that wasn't talked about," Matuz said. "It was taboo. ... Now we are seeing that children are realizing at a very young age the immigration status of their parents and themselves." CNN's Stan Wilson and journalist Valeria Fernandez contributed to this report. | NEW: Activist: Such cases aren't as uncommon as you might think . Carmen Figueroa was a detective with the Arizona Department of Public Safety . A State Department investigation found she is an undocumented immigrant . She had always been told she was born in the United States . | 77a1a17ad420ac3629040e4f6e6f9e3bf3ad3df7 |
(CNN) -- Much has been made in recent years about America's growing gap between rich and poor. I'm sure you feel beaten over the head with statistics comparing the struggling 99% with the top 1% of earners, those chosen few whose economic and political clout of rich few has increased to levels not seen since the Great Depression. So I'll spare you the stats and simply ask one question that's not considered nearly often enough in the post-Occupy era: Is America's current income distribution fair? Forget about how we got here. Forget the Wall Street suits and the cardboard-holding protesters. Obama and Romney. Bloomberg and Buffett. Pretty much delete 2007 to 2013 from your brain. Is the system fair? And what information do you need in order to decide? For intellectual guidance, I'm turning to the work of the late philosopher John Rawls, whose 1971 book "A Theory of Justice" was written about eight years before this rich-poor gap in the United States started to widen. Rawls argues, in a roundabout way, that a society is unfair if its citizens would not agree to be randomly reassigned to another income class. Michael Norton, an associate professor at Harvard, explained it to me this way: Imagine you're moving to a new country, but when you do, you will randomly be assigned to any income level that currently exists in that society. Would you move? If so, it's fair. If not? Well ... This idea is great as far as thought experiments go, but how should I know whether I would make that gamble? Like most Americans, I tend to come into contact with people who are very much like me, economically at least. Most of my friends have gone to college. Many hold jobs in highly skilled industries. There's a range, and I do live in a neighborhood with a serious homelessness problem, but I don't engage the full spectrum of modern American wealth -- from the very poor to the extremely rich -- in my day to day life, and I bet that you don't either, if you're honest. It's hard to assess the state of inequality if it's partly invisible. Would I play that John Rawls lottery? I'm not sure. So I'm going to test this theory in real life. And I'm going to call it the Rawls Test, named for the philosopher whose work inspired this journey. This week, I'll be going to an undisclosed location, which happens to be the most unequal place* in America. I'm going to meet people from all five income brackets, spend time with them, trying to get a real understanding of the economic challenges they face. Step away from the statistics. And then I'll decide: Is this the America I want to live in? Do you? Does everyone in this country have a more or less equal chance of success if they work hard and want to get ahead, as politicians from both parties argue they should? Consider this a referendum not on this undisclosed place but on inequality in America writ large. The Rawls Test and the stories that will follow originated with you. This summer, I asked readers of this column to vote on five stories you wanted me to cover as part of the Change the List project. Income inequality was the top pick, with 16,789 of 32,546 voters putting this issue in their top five. This test is just the start of a big conversation on the topic. I invite you to follow the journey on a Tumblr called "Rawls Test," or on Twitter. I'll be tweeting with the hashtag #rawlstest. If you have questions about the project or for the people I encounter, please ask. At the end of the experiment, I'll ask you to consider this fairness question with me. Then, if needed, we can get into the messy details about what would make our society better. Until then, think about the Rawlsian lottery and whether you might play it. And wish me luck! *Data note: There are many ways to measure the "most unequal place" in the United States. By one measure, which I'm not disclosing for fear of giving away the location, I'm in the most unequal place in the country. By others, I could be in New York. The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of John D. Sutter. | Income inequality will be the focus of the next Change the List story . 16,789 of 32,546 CNN voters picked the topic; it was the top choice . John Sutter is traveling to the most unequal place in America . Follow the journey on this "Rawls Test" blog on Tumblr . | acd9cb6db53d7de296f08b9a1c696ed1c92af8b3 |
London (CNN) -- Britain's Prince Harry has moved into the same west London residence that his brother William set up home in with new wife Kate last year, CNN can reveal. Harry took a small apartment at Kensington Palace after moving out of the bedroom and study he occupies at nearby Clarence House - the home of his father, Prince Charles. The move, on the heels of this month's successful official tour of the Caribbean, is seen as a sign that the increasingly mature 27-year-old is putting his wild past behind him. It also appears to be evidence of the strong bonds between Harry and William, the brothers who will lead and define Britain's royal family over the next few decades. Watch Harry talk about "emotional trip" to Caribbean . Harry is understood to have been looking to move into his own place for some time, and is becoming William and Kate's neighbor because the brothers "wanted to be together," a senior royal source told CNN. "Prince Harry and Prince William are a double act for the rest of their lives," the source said. "They are very loyal and trust each other. Loyalty is key. Harry is very respectful towards William." William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, currently live in Nottingham Cottage, in the grounds of Kensington Palace, but will move into a renovated apartment in the main building in 2013. Harry, third in line to the British throne, is then expected to take over the cottage. Kensington Palace was home to both the princes when they were being brought up by their mother Diana, the Princess of Wales, who lived there from 1981 until her death in 1997. While Harry's Caribbean tour saw him graduate as a representative of the British royal family, the prince's official duties are expected to take a back seat to his military career in the immediate future. According to the royal source, Harry relishes the ordinary treatment he receives as a captain and Apache helicopter pilot in Britain's Army Air Corps. Read more on Harry's career as a helicopter pilot . His colleagues say they often forget his royal status. Kayon Mills, a Jamaican lieutenant who trained with Harry at Britain's Sandhurst military academy, told CNN the prince's nickname was "Harry Potter." Captain Wales, as he is officially known, is preparing for deployment later this year to Afghanistan, where he served briefly four years ago until a broken media embargo led to him being rushed home. There is not expected to be a news blackout this time. The royal source says but the prince won't require extra security despite being a potential priority Taliban target. "The thinking is that being an Apache pilot is quite an anonymous job and the Apache is already a target," he said. "They can't be more of a target than they already are." | CNN EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry moves to Kensington Palace . Harry occupies apartment close to Prince William and Kate . Move seen to reflect Harry's maturity and closeness to brother . CNN also reveals prince's military academy nickname: Harry Potter . | d19df095c7239ca8810b92d1773c7d88e5943356 |
(CNN) -- After a week in which football's reputation has been dragged through the mud, the ugly spectre of hooliganism raised its head once more after a goalkeeper was subjected to a physical assault during an English Championship game. Chris Kirkland, the goalkeeper of Sheffield Wednesday, was hit in the face by a supporter of Leeds United during the teams' 1-1 draw at Hillsborough. With Leeds just having equalized in the 77th minute, the man ran onto the pitch and struck Kirkland, who fell to the floor and required medical treatment. Racism row shines light on Serbian football . The former England goalkeeper, 31, was left visibly shocked by the event and led to his manager, Dave Jones, insisting that Leeds fans should be 'banned from every league ground'. "They are vile animals," Jones told Sky Sports. "You don't wave at them after that. I thought it had gone out of our game. "The authorities have to look at it and sort it. I'm talking about an incident when we should be talking about the football. We're talking about vile animals. "That's what they are. We talk about racism, but that, we need to sort that. "Chris Kirkland is feeling sore, if he had stayed down I wonder what would have . happened? They [Leeds United] should be punished." English player chief Carlisle calls for Serbia ban . The two teams, both from Yorkshire, have a fierce rivalry and had not played at Hillsborough for six years. "I felt embarrassed to be a manager when I saw that," said Leeds manager Neil Warnock. "I thought it was an absolute disgrace. I think they should get the guy and prosecute him and put him in prison. "He (Kirkland) went down like a ton of bricks but that doesn't make a difference. Nobody should be on the pitch doing that. "I hope we can make an absolute issue of it. He spoiled everything for everyone. I've not enjoyed that when I see a moron like that. "I am not proud of being Leeds manager when I see that. I don't mind the rivalry between us - there was a great atmosphere. "To see things like that on the field of play there is no place for it - I am absolutely embarrassed." In March 2007, Timothy Smith, was fined £300 and given a three-year Football Banning Order after running onto the field and attempting to punch Frank Lampard during Chelsea's FA Cup replay at Tottenham. Call for unity as racism divides English football . And action is nearly certain to be taken against the offender with Leeds offering its full cooperation to ensure he is found. In a statement released after the game, Leeds said: "Leeds United Football Club would like to publicly apologise and condemn the action of the fan who came on the pitch and attacked Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Chris Kirkland. The club will fully cooperate with the police and the football authorities in identifying the individual concerned. "After the week football has endured there is no place for this type of behaviour and the majority of Leeds supporters will be ashamed of his actions." Speaking after the incident, Chief Superintendent Jason Harwin of South Yorkshire Police said: "During tonight's match, Sheffield Wednesday versus Leeds United at Hillsborough, incidents occurred where it is believed seats and bottles were thrown inside the ground. "We are also aware of an incident whereby the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper has been assaulted by an individual who ran onto the pitch. "Fans are still leaving the ground and surrounding areas and our priority is to ensure the safe departure of fans. "Such incidents are not acceptable and won't be tolerated. We will be working with both clubs to identify and quickly bring to justice the persons responsible. "Thankfully, such incidents are a rarity and we see a minority spoil it for the majority of genuine supporters. "We are keen to hear from anyone that can help identify any person responsible for any of these incidents tonight." Meanwhile, in Russia, Dynamo Moscow's players came under attack from fans using paintball guns at the club's training ground on Friday. Fans arrived in camouflage at the club's training base in Novogorsk, just north of Moscow before unleashing a flurry of paintballs at the players. Dynamo lost seven of its opening eight games before the arrival of new coach Dan Petrescu. The former Chelsea defender has helped guide the club to 13th position in the league since taking over the reins. "They are idiots," club president Gennady Solovyov told local media. "I have no other words to describe those who could do such things. I promise I'll do my best to try to find and punish those responsible for these actions." Dynamo midfielder Alan Gatagov added: 'I was hit in the back of the head when they shot at us. Lots of players were also hit. 'I just can't find the right words. What are we supposed to do now? Should each of us hire a personal bodyguard?' | Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Chris Kirkland attacked on pitch . Former England keeper knocked to the floor and needed medical attention by his goal . Game continued after the incident with Kirkland left shaken . Leeds issue statement condemning actions of fan . | b6277dff4940635553d2af407ba7f9c0013f7928 |
(CNN) -- An appeals court on Monday sided with the federal government in blocking several provisions in Alabama and Georgia's controversial anti-illegal immigration laws, while allowing other key parts of those laws to stand. Advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center applauded the decisions, with National Immigration Law Center executive director Marielena Hincapie saying in a statement they "should send a strong message that state attempts to criminalize immigrants and their loved ones will not be tolerated." Still, while three judges from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did strike down more challenged provisions than they allowed in a pair of rulings, officials from both Alabama and Georgia pointed out that the vast majority of their states' immigration laws remain valid. "The essence of Alabama's immigration law has been upheld by today's ruling," Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement. "The core of (the) law remains if you live or work in the state, you should do so legally." Talking about the appeals court decision's effect on his state's law, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens said, "While I disagree with the Court's decision on Section 7, after over a year of litigation, only one of 23 sections of HB 87 has been invalidated." Undocumented immigrants line up for relief from deportation . While dealing with two different states and laws, both decisions were signed on by a trio of judges -- Charles Wilson, Beverly Martin and Richard Voorhees -- who considered the two cases at the same time. The issue of illegal immigration has become a hot-button issue in recent years, with several states passing their own laws in bids to boost local and state law enforcement agencies powers to prevent undocumented residents from living, working and getting benefits in their states. Political leaders in these states, many of them Republican, have criticized the federal government for not doing enough in this regard and argued this lack of action made it imperative that states do more. But the federal government has challenged all or parts of many of these laws, insisting that it is the federal governments' responsibility, and not individual states, to enact and enforce immigration laws. The U.S. Supreme Court waded into this debate in June, when it ruled by a 5-3 vote to uphold the authority of the federal government to set immigration policies and laws while weighing in on legislation in Arizona that helped kickstart the debate. The court, however, did allow one of the most controversial provisions of that state's law to stand: letting local and state police check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws. The rulings Monday resembled that high court ruling in many respects, with the appeals court judges' Alabama decision even quoting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority ruling on the Arizona. "Although (illegal immigration) is a problem that gives rise to unique issues in our nation, we must be mindful that individual states 'may not pursue policies that undermine federal law,'" the three judges said. One provision the court assessing the two state's laws did let stand, as the Supreme Court had in the Arizona case, is to allow law enforcement to check the immigration status of those suspected of a crime. Taking the chance of a lifetime . This was one of only two provisions in the Georgia legislation, known as HB 87, that the federal appeals court considered. The other would institute three crimes for "interactions with an 'illegal alien'." These are knowingly transporting such a person "while committing another criminal offense," "concealing or harboring" an undocumented person and lastly "inducing an illegal alien to go into" Georgia, according to the appeals court ruling citing the state's legislation. The federal court struck down this aspect of Georgia's law, known as Section 7, on Monday. "We are ... convinced that Section 7 presents an obstacle to the execution of the federal statutory scheme and challenges federal supremacy in the realm of immigration," the court explained as part of its reasoning. Four provisions of Alabama's law were blocked by the appeals court judges on Monday, while three still stand despite the federal government's arguments. Faces of hope: Lining up for two more years in the U.S. Authorities in that state cannot make it a crime for undocumented immigrants to work or solicit work, as prescribed by the legislation known as HB 56 but denied by Monday's ruling. Similarly, the appeals court upheld a lower court ruling and knocked down parts of the law that would have made it a crime to hide "an alien," to encourage one to live in the state, to transport such a person or agree to a rental agreement. The provision prohibiting companies that employ undocumented workers from taking a state tax deduction for wages (and instituting stiff penalties for those who don't abide by this law) was also blocked. So, too, was part of the Alabama legislation to characterized the hiring or employment of a illegal immigrant over a U.S. citizen or "alien authorized to work" in the country as a "discriminatory practice." Yet the federal government's argument in favor of jettisoning other measures were determined "at this stage (to be) facially invalid" by the appeals court. That includes checking into a person's citizenship if a driver does show police his or her driver's license. The court also ruled that Alabama can prevent illegal immigrants from engaging in a "business transaction" (except for pursuing a marriage license) with a state or municipal government agency, as HB 56 states. Five things to know about big change in policy . | A federal appeals court rules on Alabama and Georgia's immigration laws . Judges say police in both states can check citizenship of criminal suspects . Parts of law making it a crime for undocumented immigrants to work was blocked . | 3cf79f31a7dd38dde00b63208502a4dc1868fda2 |
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