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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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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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 .

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(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 .

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(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 .

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(CNN) -- Sport's battle with racism and discrimination has suffered a further setback after a senior Australian administrator compared an athlete to "King Kong." Eddie McGuire, president of the Collingwood Australian Rules Football team, has apologized unreservedly after describing Adam Goodes, an indigenous Australian playing for the Sydney Swans, as an ideal person to promote the musical of the 1930s classic film. "Get Adam Goodes down for it, do you reckon?" McGuire, a businessman and TV presenter, said on the radio show he presents. "You can see them doing that can't you? Goodsey," continued McGuire. "You know with the ape thing, the whole thing, I'm just saying pumping him up and mucking around, all that sort of stuff." McGuire, who will go through the Australian Football League's (AFL) Racial and Religious Vilification Policy, received the backing of the Collingwood board on Thursday. "I apologize to Adam Goodes, to the Indigenous people of Australia and every Indigenous sportsperson," McGuire told a press conference. McGuire announced he would not be stepping down in light of the incident, with the board standing by a man they claim has "led with distinction for almost 15 years." "I understand the questions surrounding my leadership but with the support of my fellow directors I remain committed to the Collingwood Football Club and all that it stands for," McGuire said in a Collingwood statement. Goodes tweeted a link to an article about McGuire's comment on the AFL's official website on Wednesday. "Morning Australia this is what I have woken up to t #racismitstopswithme #bigweekinfooty," said the 33-year-old from his verified Twitter account. Racism in sport was again thrust into the limelight last week when golf was at the center of a discrimination storm. When asked if he would invite world No. 1 Tiger Woods to dinner during next month's U.S. Open, Spain's Sergio Garcia replied: ""We'll be having him round every night... and serving him fried chicken." Woods, a 17-time major winner, described the comments as "wrong, hurtful and inappropriate," with Garcia subsequently issued a full apology. Soccer has also been grappling with high-profile incidents of racism. Italy striker Mario Balotelli threatened to walk off the playing field after he was subject to "monkey chants" during AC Milan's recent match against Roma. European football's governing body UEFA recently announced a raft of new anti-discrimination sanctions. Players and officials found guilty of racism offenses will be hit with 10-match bans, while clubs whose fans breach discrimination rules will be subjected to part or complete closure of their stadiums.

An AFL team owner has apologized after comparing a player to King Kong . Eddie McGuire, president of the Collingwood team, made the comment on his radio show . McGuire has apologized to Sydney Swans' indigenous Australian player Adam Goodes . Tiger Woods was recently "hurt" by a comment made by fellow golfer Sergio Garcia .

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(CNN) -- French league leaders Paris St Germain have confirmed the appointment of Italian Carlo Ancelotti as their new coach on a two-and-a-half year contract as a replacement for Antoine Kombouare, who left the club earlier on Friday. Ancelotti has been out of work since being sacked by Chelsea in May -- despite leading the London club to the English Premier League and FA Cup double in 2010. He replaces former PSG player Kombouare who, despite leading the club to the top of the Ligue One table, has been sacrificed by PSG's mega-rich Qatari owners who were keen for a bigger name to take over as coach. Out with the old and in with the new in 2012 . The 52-year-old Ancelotti, who twice won the Champions League while in charge of AC Milan, is reported to be the highest-paid coach in French football history and his first match in charge will be a friendly against Milan in Dubai on January 4. Ancelotti told a news conference: "I am delighted to be here as coach of Paris Saint-Germain and I think I can do a great job to help PSG become a big club in Europe. "The club has everything to succeed and has enormous ambition. I will do my best to learn French in the best possible way, although I'd rather continue to speak in Italian for the moment," continued Ancelotti -- who also confirmed that former French international Claude Makelele will be his assistant at the club. Kombouare, 48, issued a statement on his departure, saying: "I thank everybody who offered me support over these last few days. "I leave Paris Saint-Germain with a sense of unfinished business but with the feeling of having given everything for the club." Ancelotti's appointment has increased speculation that David Beckham, who played for both Ancelotti, and PSG's sporting director Leonardo, at AC Milan, could be the next big name arrival in the French capital. However, Beckham's agents released a statement saying: "There is no agreement with PSG at this time, an offer does not make a contract, we continue to hold negotiations with a number of clubs."

Carlo Ancelotti has been appointed as the new coach of French side Paris St Germain . The 52-year-old Italian has signed a two-and-a-half year deal with the big-spending club . Ancelotti will replace Antoine Kombouare, who left his position earlier on Friday .

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(CNN) -- The death toll rose to 13 and number of injured increased to 154 after a truck carrying fireworks to a religious procession exploded Friday in the central Mexican city of Nativitas, government news agency Notimex reported. The explosion occurred when one of the fireworks went astray and landed in the truck carrying "a significant amount" of other fireworks, Notimex said. The injured persons were being taken to several area hospitals, Mateo Morales Baez told Notimex. CNN's Nelson Quinones contributed to this report .

NEW: 154 people were injured, government news agency says . A truck carrying fireworks to a religious procession explodes in Mexico . One firework went astray and landed in the truck .

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A former New York City bouncer was sentenced to life without parole Wednesday for the brutal slaying of a graduate student from Boston, the Brooklyn district attorney's office said. Darryl Littlejohn, 44, is already serving prison time for the attempted kidnapping of another student in 2005. Darryl Littlejohn, 44, was convicted of first-degree murder last month in the 2006 death of Imette St. Guillen, 24, who had been studying criminology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Littlejohn, who is already serving 25 years to life for the October 2005 attempted kidnapping of a 19-year-old Queens college student, will serve out the sentences consecutively, said Sarah McNaughton of the Brooklyn district attorney's office. During the trial, witnesses said they saw Littlejohn and St. Guillen leaving The Falls bar in lower Manhattan together early February 25, 2006. Littlejohn was working as a bouncer at the bar. Hours later, St. Guillen's nude body was found in an isolated lot in Brooklyn. Her face was covered with strips of packing tape, and a sock was stuffed into her throat. She died of asphyxiation, and investigators determined she had been raped. Littlejohn was charged with murder after investigators linked his DNA to blood found on plastic ties used to bind St. Guillen's hands behind her back. Littlejohn's attorney, Joyce David, has filed an appeal on behalf of her client and maintains his innocence. She said that although Littlejohn has a long criminal record, he has no history of violence against women. The horrific incident spread shockwaves through New York City nightlife, which relies heavily on unlicensed bouncers to keep order in the city's bars and nightclubs. Littlejohn is being held at New York's Rikers Island maximum security facility. CNN's Chris Kokenes and Kristen Hamill contributed to this report .

Darryl Littlejohn was convicted last month of murdering Imette St. Guillen, 24 . Witnesses saw the two leaving Manhattan bar the morning of February 25, 2006 . Investigators linked his DNA to ties used to bind St. Guillen's hands behind her back . Lawyer for the former bouncer says he is innocent .

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(CNN) -- At least 12 Chinese sailors have been killed after their cargo ships were attacked on the Mekong River in the northern Thai province of Chiang Rai, the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Yunnan Province has said. The ministry's website stated that two Chinese cargo ships -- the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8 -- were attacked with gunfire on October 5. According to the initial investigation, all six sailors from Hua Ping and six of the seven sailors from Yu Xing 8 were found dead, while one remained missing. Though still in the early stages of their investigation, Thai police say they cannot rule out the involvement of drug gangs in the killings. Chiang Rai police colonel Popkorn Khuncharoensuk told CNN that the two ships were raided by a joint task force of army, marine police, local police and paramilitary following the attack, and found almost one million amphetamines on the vessels. "This is the most gruesome incident I have ever seen," Popkorn said. According to Popkorn, one of the bodies was found aboard the Hua Ping, while the rest were found in the Mekong River near Chiangsaen port. Three of the bodies remained unidentified, and some were found with their hands cuffed or tied. "I can't rule out all possibilities, but initially there appears to be drugs involved," Popkorn said. "But we can't just quickly jump to the conclusion that it was carried out by drug gangs. The case is complicated, and we have to be very thorough." The violent incident has unnerved many of those who ply their trade on the river. "There are no cargo ships leaving or coming to Chiangsaen port," said Surachart Janthawatcharakorn, Chief of Chiangsaen Customs Office. "They have all halted their traveling because they are still frightened by the incident, and are still very concerned about their safety." The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the Chinese Embassy in Thailand and its consulate general in Chiang Mai were investigating the murders and were working closely with Thai authorities and other relevant countries to hunt down the criminals. CNN's Kocha Olarn and Haolan Hong contributed to this report.

Two Chinese ships were attacked on the Mekong River on October 5 . China's Foreign Ministry says at least 12 sailors were killed in the attack . China says it's working with Thai authorities to hunt down the criminals .

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Los Angeles (CNN) -- Delays in deposing Kanye West and other witnesses in the divorce of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries mean the 72-day marriage may not legally end until next year, lawyers said at a hearing Wednesday. Humphries, an NBA forward, accuses Kardashian, a reality TV star, of fraud by entering the marriage only to make millions of dollars with their wedding, Humphries' lawyer, Marshall Waller, told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephen Moloney. The August 20, 2011, wedding was aired in October on E! Entertainment in a two-part special titled "Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event." Kardashian filed for divorce at the end of October. "Ms. Kardashian had no intention of going through with the marriage," Waller said. "The wedding was simply for the benefit of her television show." Humphries is asking for an annulment of the marriage instead of a divorce. "To what end does he want this annulment?" Kardashian lawyer Laura Wasser asked in court Wednesday. Wasser accused Waller of dragging his feet in making his case with vague charges. Kardashian's legal fees have already reached $250,000, which Wasser said she will try to force Humphries to pay. "We're going to ask for every penny to be paid by Kris," she said. Humphries' case is taking longer to build because of delays in getting documents from NBC Universal and Bunim/Murray Productions, two companies involved in the wedding broadcast, Waller said. "I'm trying to find information out and somebody is trying to stop me," he said. The deposition of Kardashian will not happen until after Humphries' lawyers have reviewed the production documents, Waller said. Kris Jenner, Kardashian's mother, is among the 33 people listed as witnesses by Humphries. While she has accepted a subpoena, she will not be questioned until Humphries' lawyer gets her business records, Waller said. Kanye West, Kardashian's current boyfriend, could be a key witness in the divorce trial, but the hip-hop star has so far evaded Humphries' efforts to subpoena him for a deposition, Waller said. Kardashian answered the door at her Los Angeles home on July 16 when a process server knocked and said told her he had something for West, Waller said. "She said he was on phone and she wouldn't accept it, so he left it," he said. West was not there at the time, Kardashian lawyer Laura Wasser said. The server -- who she described as "a strange individual" -- left the subpoena in a Nordstrom department store box, she said. Efforts to reach West though his lawyer and publicist have been unsuccessful, Waller said. Humphries' girlfriend will be deposed by Kardashian's lawyers in New York Tuesday, Wasser said. The lawyer did not name the girlfriend in court. Judge Moloney set the next hearing for November 28. A trial date of early 2013 may be set then, he said.

Subpoena for Kanye West in Nordstrom box left at Kardashian door, her lawyer says . "I'm trying to find information ... somebody is trying to stop me," Kris Humphries' lawyer says . Humphries' girlfriend will be deposed by Kardashian's lawyers in New York Tuesday . A 2013 trial date may be set at the next hearing in November, the judge says .

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South Bend, Ind. (CNN) -- When you say "Notre Dame" and then throw in words such as mystique, storied and blessed, you create as many folks rolling their eyes as wiping away tears of joy. This has been so throughout the 125 seasons of football for the Fighting Irish, especially when they are good. Well, forget about placing "Notre Dame" and "good" in the same sentence for a moment. With overwhelming losses to supposedly inferior foes on a consistent basis and underwhelming coaches from Bob Davie to Tyrone Willingham to Charlie Weis, "Notre Dame" has been "mediocre" or less during the last two decades. Now, with Brian Kelly in his third year of leading the Irish while having the fourth-most victories of any coach among the big boys of college football since 2006, "Notre Dame" is flirting with "greatness" at 7-0 despite a monster schedule and all those haters. Oh, and lovers. This gets a little confusing. After all, no team this side of the New York Yankees, Duke basketball and the Dallas Cowboys is more polarizing than the famous -- or is that the infamous? -- one that resides among the majestic oaks, maples and pines of Northern Indiana. Notre Dame can further its return to prominence Saturday night, when it takes its No. 5 ranking in the Bowl Championship Series standings on the road to No. 8 Oklahoma. Not surprisingly, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops is calling this the biggest game for his team in 12 years -- maybe ever -- because it's Notre Dame. It will be televised nationally on ABC, and the ratings will be huge, partly because of the game's magnitude, but mostly because of the staggering number of Notre Dame haters and lovers. I'll show you how this works, and I'll start with a confession: I was born and raised a few punts from the Notre Dame campus. Not only that, I was at the Irish's home game last week against Brigham Young during their attempt on a heavily overcast afternoon to remain undefeated this late in a season for the first time since 2002. They trailed BYU by four points deep into the third quarter, but then something happened -- first away from the playing field and then on it. The sun burst through the clouds, and as I looked to my left inside the Notre Dame Stadium press box toward the nearby Hesburgh Library, I saw the brightest of sunlight touching the face of Jesus on the mosaic that is as high as half a football field. They call the mosaic Touchdown Jesus around here. Needless to say, Notre Dame's offense promptly roared to the end zone after that to take a lead the Irish would never relinquish. Then, after the Notre Dame Marching Band finished its eternal playing of the Victory March at the end, the Irish players gathered before the student section for one of Notre Dame's slew of traditions. The others? The pep rallies on the Friday night before every home game, with a crowd as high as 20,000 at times. The public luncheon (average attendance of 1,500) that happens on the Friday afternoon before every home game. The lighting of candles on campus at The Grotto for miracles ranging from game-winning field goals to huge interceptions. The Midnight Drummer Circle, featuring those from the Notre Dame Marching band spending 45 minutes in front of the Golden Dome leading cadences and cheers. But back to the BYU game, when Notre Dame players continued a post-game home tradition that happens whether they win or lose. After they reached the front of the student section, they joined those who remained from the sellout crowd of more than 80,000 to sing Notre Dame's alma mater called "Notre Dame, Our Mother." Tears were everywhere. You may roll your eyes now. I haven't even mentioned that the whole Notre Dame Nation these days is inspired by Manti Te'o, the Irish's senior linebacker from Hawaii with a story built for Hollywood -- you know, like the one about George Gipp, otherwise known as The Gipper. Gipp was the Notre Dame running back who played for legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne from 1917 to 1920 before his death from a throat infection. Notre Dame's dynamic coach and player duo inspired the phrase "Win one for the Gipper," and they were immortalized in the 1940's movie "Knute Rockne, All American." Somebody named Ronald Reagan played The Gipper. To hear political pundits tell it, that role contributed to his earning the right to spend two terms in the Oval Office. You may roll your eyes again. Either that, or you can wait to hear more about Te'o, the undisputed leader of Notre Dame's bone-crunching defense. Before Notre Dame went to then-10th-ranked Michigan State in September, Te'o's grandmother and girlfriend died in Hawaii within six hours of each other. He played anyway. Along the way to a 20-3 victory, he had 12 tackles, broke up two passes and intercepted the first pass of his four-year Notre Dame career. After the interception, Te'o pointed to the sky, with emotion -- the kind he sends through the rest of his teammates. "There are a lot of leaders that think a quality of a leader is just to talk," Te'o told me after the BYU game. "I think the strongest leaders are those who not only verbally communicate but communicate by action." Exhibit A: With much help from Te'o, the Irish rank second in the nation by allowing opponents just an average of nine points per game. They also possess the only defense at the NCAA's highest level of football that hasn't allowed a rushing touchdown. Te'o leads the team in tackles, ranks second in the nation in forcing turnovers (four interceptions, two fumble recoveries) and is among the handful of legitimate candidates for the Heisman Trophy, which is college football's top individual award. He would join Michigan's Charles Woodson (1997) as the only person to win the Heisman Trophy as primarily a defensive player. He also would help Notre Dame break its tie with the University of Southern California for the school with the most Heisman Trophy winners (7). (Seven trophies also have gone to Ohio State, but two went to the same player.) In addition, when it comes to The Associated Press and The USA Today/ESPN (formerly the United Press International) polls, Notre Dame has more consensus national championships than anybody (11). Nobody has more consensus All-Americans than Notre Dame's 80, and the Irish lead everybody in first-round NFL draft picks with 63 and in overall No. 1 NFL draft picks with five. Still, the haters would mention Notre Dame hasn't won a national championship since 1988. In contrast, the lovers would mention Te'o isn't alone as an Irish star these days. Notre Dame has other splendid players, such as future NFL tight end Tyler Eifert, athletically gifted quarterback Everett Golson and the speedy 6-6 and 303 pounds of Stephon Tuitt at defensive end. With Kelly's expertise and the Gipper's guidance, they are on the verge of turning Notre Dame's glory days of the past into those of the present and the future. You may roll your eyes some more.

Notre Dame hasn't won a national championship since 1988 . However, pep rallies Friday nights before home games host crowds of 20,000 . Coach/player duo Knute Rockne and George Gipp were immortalized in the 1940 film . Today fans are inspired by Manti Te'o, who played the day his girlfriend and grandmother died .

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(AOL Autos) -- Regular readers of AOL Autos know that we have done a series of stories on the development and increasing popularity of cars that run -- or will eventually run -- on alternative fuels. The mandatory use of CNG in public service vehicles began in New Delhi, India in 2000. We've written about hybrids, clean-diesel engines, fuel-cell technology, ethanol and more. That brings us to another entry in the auto industry's ongoing research and development of green-technology: compressed natural gas (CNG). Scientists are trying to determine which alternative fuel will best strike a balance between being environmentally friendly and commercial viability. CNG might be the answer. Vehicles running on CNG have actually been around since the early 1990s, but have not been a dominant force in the marketplace mostly because the infrastructure (i.e. re-fueling stations) is not yet in place to support high-volume sales of CNG-powered cars. Presently, there are only about 1,600 CNG refueling stations in the U.S, compared with up to 200,000 gas stations. Currently there is only one CNG-powered model sold on the consumer market that is actually manufactured as a CNG-powered car. That's the Honda Civic GX, which boasts an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 24/36 miles per gasoline-gallon equivalent. AOL Autos: Best hybrids . Rich Kolodziej, president of Natural Gas Vehicles for America said there are other natural-gas-powered vehicles on the road -- about 130,000, he estimates -- but that the vast majority of those are part of commercial or transit fleets or have been converted from gasoline-powered cars. "They're mostly fleet vehicles, like transit buses, delivery trucks, and the fleets maintained by the gas company, the electric company, etc," he said. "We don't have hard figures about conversions, but I'd bet that about 25 percent of those 130,000 were once gasoline-powered vehicles that have been converted to CNG vehicles," Kolodziej said. "There are a growing number of companies making certified conversion systems and installing them." NGVAmerica maintains a list of certified conversion systems on its Web site: www.ngvc.org. AOL Autos: Fuel-efficient used cars . Some of those 130,000 are also natural-gas-powered vehicles manufactured and sold by Ford, Chrysler and GM back in the early '90s, he says -- back when the U.S. manufacturers were still in the business of making CNG-powered cars. But we'll get back to that later. But with the price of gasoline currently averaging over $4 a gallon nationally, Kolodziej predicts there will be more and more demand for CNG-powered vehicles like the Civic GX. "I went to a conference a couple of months ago, and every manufacturer we talked to said that their phones were ringing off the hook, from people who are saying they'd be interested in buying a CNG-powered car," Kolodziej said. "And there are more and more people and companies who want to get into the conversion business." AOL Autos: Hybrid SUVs . The cost of conversions varies by the type of vehicle, Kolodziej noted. "But most cost in the $10,000 range. Most conversion systems are certified for Ford and GM models, among others," he said. On the financial side, natural gas is about 30 percent less expensive than gasoline when it is purchased at a refueling station. It's about 50 percent less expensive when you fill 'er up at home, via home refueling appliance that tap into your natural gas line, Kolodziej said. Owners of the Honda Civic GX in New York and California who have natural gas piped into their homes can purchase the "Phill" re-fueling system for about $3,500. This Phill system can be used whether your CNG vehicle was manufactured that way or converted, he said. AOL Autos: Luxury cars with best gas mileage . "The Phill is about the size of a pay phone, and you hang it on the garage wall, and vent it like a dryer and plug it into a gas line and also into an electric socket," Kolodziej explained. The primary environmental benefit of a CNG car is that it produces 90 percent fewer smog-forming pollutants (oxides of nitrogen), compared to the output of a conventional gas engine, said Steve Ellis, manager of alternative fuels for American Honda Motor Co. The Civic GX has reaped many environmental awards. This year, it was named by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) as the "greenest vehicle in the nation -- for the fifth consecutive year." The GX, which was first introduced in 1998, has the cleanest internal combustion certified by the EPA, Ellis noted. AOL Autos: Most-popular fuel-efficient cars . The Civic GX is not a high-volume vehicle in terms of sales. Ellis said annual sales have fluctuated between 500 to 1000 units a year since it was rolled out, with sales of 1,100 units last year. He expects that to go up in 2008. For comparison purposes, about 40,000 Honda Civic Hybrids were sold last year, with sales of 48,000 anticipated for this year. Most of the sales of the Civic GX are concentrated in southern California, followed by Phoenix and Salt Lake City -- primarily because those markets are where many of the 1,600 re-fueling stations are presently located. "As the infrastructure builds up, we'll sell more of them in other markets," Ellis predicted. "Right now, this is a car that people use regionally. If you live here in Los Angeles, you can drive to Las Vegas and back and not worry about being able to find a refueling station. As for cost, the GX natural-gas vehicle is priced at about $24,500, compared to $17,000 for a comparably-equipped Civic LX, Ellis said -- except that buyers get a $4,000 tax credit on the purchase of the GX. And until recently, California buyers got an additional $3,000 rebate from the California Air Resources Board. "But the program was so popular, they are out of funds, and looking to add more money to the coffer so they can continue with the rebates," Ellis said. "But people who buy a Civic GX, when we ask them about the math, in term of comparing those two Civics, they sort of give us blank stares," Ellis continued. "Most of these folks who are buying the GX are trying to get out of having to commute to work every day in a pick-up truck, SUV or even a passenger car that's only getting 15 or 20 miles a gallon. And they're also the same kind of people who've said they'd pay $25 or $50 a week to be able to drive in the car-pool lane." Interestingly, many of the automakers, like Volkswagen, Mercedes, Fiat, GM Opel, Ford Europe, Peugeot and Renault, do produce CNG-powered vehicles for other countries, said NGVAmerica's Kolodziej, who noted that "about 1.5 million of the natural gas vehicles have been sold in Brazil, another 1.5 million in Argentina, another 1.5 million in Pakistan, and so on." And, once upon a time, in the early '90s, U.S. automakers did sell CNG vehicles in the United States. "But the federal government kept adding more loopholes to the energy policy that was supposed to encourage the increased manufacture and sales of CNG vehicles," Kolodziej said. "Then the government opted not to expand the coverage of the program the way the law allowed -- or the way the automakers expected. Without that demand pull, the U.S. automakers didn't believe they could sell enough of them here." "U.S. automakers zigged when they probably should have zagged" added Ellis of American Honda. "They turned their backs on CNG and began to focus on bio-fuels." But, noted Ellis, "We're definitely keeping our stake in the CNG business, because we know we can add it to other platforms. We used to think of the Civic GX as 'The Little Engine That Could' -- you know, saying, 'I think I can, I think I can' in terms of becoming more commercially viable. "But, with gas prices going up and up, now we're thinking more along the lines of 'I know I can, I know I can.' And more and more people are genuinely interested in going more green because of the environmental impact," he said. "A lot of people got into the hybrids, and then, after a while, began to ask, 'How can I do more?' And they're looking to natural-gas-powered cars as the answer to that. "So, we're in this for the long haul," noted Ellis, who said the company is definitely looking to do bigger business and make a profit from the GX. "Now, it's just a matter of society continuing to change, and to continue to become more environmentally-minded. As they do, we think there will be increasing interest in CNG, and we'll see a shift in emphasis toward CNG and away from bio-fuels."

Scientists trying to determine which alternative fuel is best for future . Some say compressed natural gas could be the answer . Only only one CNG-powered model sold on the consumer market today . About 1,600 CNG refueling stations in U.S, compared to 200,000 gas stations .

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(CNN) -- A total of nine athletes, including Olympic bronze medalist Nataliya Tobias, have tested positive for "sophisticated doping" offenses, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has confirmed. Six of those athletes were caught using a new "biological passport" method, which builds up a profile of each individual over a prolonged period of time. The remaining three, including Tobias who came third in the women's 1500 meters in Beijing four years ago, were suspended after further analysis of samples they gave at the World Championships in Daegu last year. "Today's announcements underline the IAAF's continued and unwavering campaign against doping in athletics," IAAF President Lamine Diack said in a statement on their official website. Greek athlete suspended from Olympic team for offensive remarks . "They demonstrate the IAAF's commitment to use advanced methods to detect doping and to enforce increased sanctions when justified. "We will not stint in our resolve to do everything in our power to eradicate cheating." The IAAF said they had been collecting samples from various athletes in the build up to the Olympics and would conduct 200 more biological passports during the Games. That method accounted for six bans, for Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri, Greece's Irini Kokkinariou, Turkey's Meryem Erdogan, and three Russians -- Svetlana Klyuka, Nailiya Yulamanova and Yevgenina Zinurova, the 2011 European Indoors 800m champion. Along with Tobias, fellow Ukrainian Antonina Yefremova was charged after synthetic testosterone was found in their systems, while Bulgaria's Inna Eftimova tested positive for a synthetic growth hormone. All three athletes admitted the offense and waived their right to a "B" sample, meaning their four-year bans were halved. The six caught via the "biological passport" method were flagged as suspicious in 2009 and were found to have persistently used banned substances over a long period, the IAAF said. Four of the six -- Erdogan, Klyuka, Yulamanova and Zinurova -- admitted their offense and waived their right to a "B" sample, meaning their original four-year bans were cut in half. The IAAF said Goumri had recently received a four-year ban by the Moroccan Athletic Federation, but was permitted to appeal as the decision had not yet been ratified by the IAAF. Kokkinariou has been banned for two years by the Greek Athletic Federation but the IAAF said they were appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to have it doubled on the grounds of "aggravating circumstances." It was not immediately clear whether any of the nine athletes were part of Olympic teams set to participate in London 2012. Hero or villain? Ben Johnson and the dirtiest race in history . North Korean women's team stage walk out in row over flag mix up . The 10 strangest Olympic sports .

Nine athletes banned for doping by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Among them is Ukrainian Nataliya Tobias, an Olympic bronze medalist in the 1500m . Six of the nine athletes caught using the "biological passport" method of testing . Other three banned after further tests of samples from 2011 World Championships .

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(EW.com) -- HBO will bow the fourth and final season of "Eastbound and Down" on Sept. 29. Production on the eight-episode season will start Friday in North Carolina. The single-camera comedy stars Kenny Powers as a former major league pitcher. The third season concluded in April 2012 and was thought to be its last, though HBO convinced star Danny McBride and executive producers Jody Hill, Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy and Adam McKay to create more episodes of the cult hit. The upcoming fourth season picks up the action several years later and finds Kenny living the American Dream with his family in North Carolina. See the original article at EW.com. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.

The final season of "Eastbound and Down" is coming . Production will start Friday in North Carolina . The third season concluded in April 2012 and was thought to be the last .

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Washington (CNN) -- "Worthy of trust and confidence" is the motto of the almost 150-year-old U.S. Secret Service, and Director Mark Sullivan now faces the dual task of proving it true and keeping his job. A scandal involving allegations of partying with prostitutes in Colombia shortly before President Barack Obama's arrival last week for the Summit of the Americas has forced a rare spotlight on the internal workings of an agency labeled as secret. Sullivan, a Secret Service veteran for almost three decades who was sworn in as director on May 31, 2006, is the focus of demands by the White House and Congress -- and a perplexed American public -- to figure out exactly what happened. At issue is how 11 agents ended up in a potentially compromising situation in violation of agency standards. More important are questions raised about whether it was a lone incident or indicative of a culture far removed from the legendary discipline and integrity exuded by the agency. So far, three Secret Service members are leaving over the scandal -- one forced out, one retiring and one resigning -- and more resignations are expected. While one member of Congress has called for Sullivan's ouster, other influential legislators and officials quickly defended his initial steps in dealing with the scandal. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Thursday that Obama has "faith in the director (and) confidence in his leadership," adding: "We are not going to prejudge outcomes and discuss the future of this agency in a press briefing while this investigation is going on." "The fact of the matter is this is an incident that requires investigation," Carney said. "The Secret Service has acted with speed in addressing the matter, investigating the matter, holding people accountable, and continuing to push forward with the investigation." Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vermont, said he has been in close touch with Sullivan and believes the agency director is taking "serious action" to investigate the incident, while House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, said he has a high level of confidence in Sullivan. Steps taken so far include bringing home the agents involved, stripping them of their security clearance and questioning that has included at least one polygraph exam. In addition, sources said Sullivan wants to form an outside panel to examine if the Cartagena incident reflected a problem of wrongdoing embedded in agency culture. "He's outraged by this," CNN National Security Contributor Fran Townsend said of Sullivan after talking to him. Rather than making Sullivan the target or fall guy, members of Congress want to give him the opportunity to investigate it and bring in outsiders to look at the agency culture, Townsend said Thursday. Despite their initial praise, legislators made clear they need more answers. Issa and the ranking Democrat on the oversight committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, sent Sullivan a letter demanding comprehensive information on the incident. Cummings told CNN of a conversation he had with Sullivan on Wednesday -- before the departures of the initial three Secret Service agents were announced -- that explained the culture of pride permeating the Secret Service. "I could tell that he was very upset, and probably more upset than a lot of the people on (in Congress) can be," Cummings said Thursday. "... I asked him a question. I said, 'Look, I get the impression that there's a culture of pride, of excellence, of being the best.' I said, "Is it possible that these men might resign?' He said he had absolutely no doubt that they would." Cummings continued: "They have this pride they don't want any bad apples and so it probably would be so uncomfortable to them that they would leave. So, yesterday's actions with regard to folks leaving and being fired did not surprise me one bit." To Congress and the nation, the Secret Service symbolizes the highest level of protective security. Most visible are the agents who guard the president and vice president, familiar to the public by their sunglasses and earphones and through films such as "In The Line Of Fire" starring Clint Eastwood in 1993 and "Guarding Tess" a year later with Shirley MacLaine and Nicolas Cage. The Secret Service was created as a division of the U.S. Treasury on July 5, 1865, to suppress counterfeit currency. It quickly expanded to take on the Ku Klux Klan, moonshiners and others "perpetrating fraud against the government," according to the Secret Service website www.secretservice.gov. The agency assumed responsibility for protecting the president in 1902, and its role continued to expand in ensuing decades. When the Department of Homeland Security was created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Secret Service moved over from Treasury. Sullivan has an exemplary record with the Secret Service, rising up through the ranks and receiving the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award in 2005 and 2010, the website said. Born in Arlington, Massachusetts, Sullivan graduated from Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire and joined the Secret Service as a special agent in Detroit in 1983. Among his assignments were stints in the fraud division and the presidential protective division before becoming a supervisor. The Colombia scandal is not the first public problem encountered under Sullivan's direction. In 2009, a couple got into a White House state dinner without invitations, embarrassing the Secret Service. While the agency had ultimate responsibility for security that night, the problem was eventually attributed more to a White House failure to check invitations. Sullivan's challenge now is to make sure that the agency's reputation of excellence as an elite force continues, Cummings said. "It's just not what happened here, but it's even the appearance that that organization could be pierced," he said. "We don't even want people to even be thinking that that's possible. And so they've got to re-establish trust, and they also have to make sure that any holes they may find, any weakness, will be filled." CNN's Dana Bash contributed to this report.

Mark Sullivan is trying to protect the agency's reputation, and his job . The alleged prostitution scandal in Colombia raises questions about agency culture . Influential legislators say Sullivan has acted swiftly and effectively so far on the problem . Sullivan has spent almost 30 years at the Secret Service .

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(CNN) -- Carlos Tevez will face disciplinary action from Manchester City after the Argentina striker's apparent refusal to come on as a substitute during a European Champions League match with Bayern Munich. City said in a statement on Wednesday that Tevez, 27, had a case to answer in relation to "breach of contract", having conducted an investigation into the events which occurred during the club's 2-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena on September 27. The former club captain was suspended by City following the incident, but the statement also confirmed Tevez was expected to return to training with manager Roberto Mancini's team on Thursday. Tevez strike is sad for soccer . "The club has now reached a stage in its investigation where it has concluded that there is a case for Carlos Tevez to answer of alleged breaches of contract," read the statement on City's official website. "Accordingly, the club has informed him that he will face disciplinary proceedings and the hearing will be convened shortly. Carlos will be required to report to Roberto Mancini for training on Thursday." British newspaper The Guardian reported every player and coach interviewed during City's investigation refused to back-up Tevez's claims that the events in Munich were the result of a "misunderstanding" between himself and Italian coach Mancini. The publication goes on to claim Tevez will be hit with a six-week fine, which could be as much as $2.3 million dollars given the former Corinthians star's alleged $392,000-per-week wages. The multi-million dollar figure would represent the largest sanction ever handed to a footballer in Britain. Tevez denied he had refused to take to the pitch against Bayern, saying in his own statement following the match with the German outfit: "I wish to state that I never refused to play. "There was some confusion on the bench and I believe my position may have been misunderstood. Going forward I am ready to play when required and to fulfil my obligations." Tevez suspended by Manchester City . One-time West Ham forward Tevez has been consistently linked with a move away from City over the past 12 months, after handing in a transfer request in December 2010. The former Boca Juniors players also saw a move back to Corinthians fall through in July, with the Brazilian outfit claiming there was insufficient time to complete the deal before the close of the transfer window. Tevez is yet to score for City this season having been their top marksman last campaign with 20 English Premier League goals. The Citziens return to domestic action this weekend, with Aston Villa visiting the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Manchester City say Carlos Tevez has a case to answer of breach of contract . Tevez allegedly refused to come on as a substitute during match with Bayern Munich . The Argentina striker could be hit with a record fine for a footballer in Britain .

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(CNN) -- An Iowa family that's been hoping for good news since two young cousins disappeared in July is now grappling with the worst. Hunters discovered two bodies in a wooded area Wednesday afternoon, Black Hawk County sheriff's Capt. Rick Abben said. He said the family of Lyric Cook, 10, and her cousin Elizabeth Collins, 8, had been notified even though the identification process was not complete. The bodies were taken to the state medical examiner's office in Ankeny, Iowa. "Right now, it's looking like the outcome was not the one that we wanted," Abben said at a news conference in Evansdale, Iowa. While the medical examiner's office has not publicly confirmed the identity of the bodies, Elizabeth's mother, Heather Collins posted a message on Facebook late Wednesday night expressing gratitude for the prayers and outpouring of support amid the "gut-wrenching news." "We know that they are up in heaven with our savior," she said on the Facebook page. "Lord we know that you have them in your loving arms and we are so blessed." The girls were last seen by their grandmother on July 13 when they left for a bike ride. The girls' bicycles and a purse were found near Meyers Lake hours after they were reported missing. A search of the 25-acre lake in July turned up nothing, and authorities said they believed the cousins were abducted. "Cooperation with law enforcement is the key factor in discovering the whereabouts of Lyric and Elizabeth," FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault said in July. "Unfortunately, in this case, law enforcement has not received total cooperation from all family and close friends," she said. Abben said the investigation is ongoing, and he thanked the public and the media for their assistance and support in the case. Read more on KCRG . Previously on CNN.com: Family of missing Iowa girls 'bracing for the worst, but hoping for the best' Previously on CNN.com: Iowa mom thinks missing girls may have been 'taken' CNN's John Fricke and Tina Burnside contributed to this report .

NEW: A mother says the bodies are those of her daughter and niece . Two bodies have been found in Iowa near where two girls disappeared in July . The bodies were headed to the state medical examiner for identification . "It's looking like the outcome was not the one that we wanted," sheriff's deputy says .

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(EW.com) -- Fox chose an auspicious moment to greenlight a Batman prequel show. The same day the network announced "Gotham," eternal rival Marvel saw its multi-punctuated "Avengers" spin-off "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." deliver a dominant series-premiere ratings performance. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s" success is proof-of-concept for a new Superhero-Adjacent genre: A show set in a familiar super-universe that focuses on the less-super (and decidedly cheaper) heroes. "Gotham" is superficially similar. Like "S.H.I.E.L.D.," it transforms a supporting character into the lead: The show will apparently constitute an origin story for Commissioner Gordon, the chief lawman and Friend-of-Batman played by Gary Oldman in the "Dark Knight" trilogy. But it also appears that "Gotham" will prominently feature other characters from the comic book mythos. Fox has indicated that iconic villains will also appear, in some kind of fetal prequel form. Expect to learn more about the show in tantalizing tidbits dropped with regular, Internet-imploding news releases over the next few months. In the meantime, here are five talking points about Gotham: . 1. It will probably have a strong narrative foundation from "Batman: Year One." Although less famous than Frank Miller's other grim-and-gritty '80s Caped Crusader adventure, The Dark Knight Returns, Miller's four-part origin-story collaboration with artist David Mazzucchelli has arguably been more influential. Year One provided the structural backbone for Batman Begins and strongly influenced the grounded portrayal of Gotham City through Christopher Nolan's trilogy. The new series might be Batman-free, but Year One is just as much an origin story for Jim Gordon. A younger Gordon arrives in Gotham as a Chicago transplant with a pregnant wife and discovers the Gotham police department is filled with corruption. He becomes a kind of Elliot Ness figure, a hero cop who refuses to take money; meanwhile, his personal life falls into shambles. Since Gotham is on network TV, the rampant corruption will probably be toned down, but don't be surprised if Gordon becomes a great-at-his-job/bad-at-his-life procedural protagonist. 2. It will hopefully have characters inspired by/taken directly from Gotham Central. This Greg Rucka/Ed Brubaker/Michael Lark monthly comic was short-lived but absolutely fantastic. Essentially Homicide: Life on the Street where the criminals are all costumed lunatics, Gotham Central focused on the nitty-gritty police work performed by its gigantic cast of detectives. At one point, a Gotham Central TV series was actually in development. (It was a long time ago; the network developing it was the WB.) While Central focused on the whole department, the new Gotham will probably zero in on a squad of badasses — but if we're lucky, some of those badasses will have names like Renee Montoya, Crispus Allen, and Maggie Sawyer. 3. It will almost certainly be a procedural. At least at first. The new hot concept for a broadcast drama is a Mission-of-the-Week drama set in a larger world that might eventually transform into something more ambitious. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Sleepy Hollow both had pilots that simultaneously set up long-running story arcs while promising hour-long monsters-of-the-week. Fox's own upcoming Almost Human could be a model for Gotham: set in a fantastical world, but with weekly cases that mix the fantastical with viewer-grabbing cop work. Gotham executive producer Bruno Heller created The Mentalist, one of the more durable procedural concepts of recent years. I wonder if the first season will gradually build up through a series of cases that point to an ultimate villain, à la Red John. 4. But the show's ambitions could grow, as it explores the history of Gotham. Batman's hometown has probably the most substantive history of any superhero city. Over the years, various writers and projects have used Gotham's dark-side-of-America persona as a chance to explore just about every bleak thing that has ever happened in the history of the American City. Will Gotham feature anything about the history of the Wayne family? Or the tangled families of the Gotham underworld? Could we ever get a trip to Wonder City, a prototype utopia fallen into disarray that appeared in Arkham City? Could season 5 of Gotham just be a long Batman-free retelling of the incredible earthquake-apocalypse story arc of "No Man's Land"? Remember: Heller also produced Rome, HBO's proto-Game of Thrones, which constantly set its characters' struggles against the history of their society. 5. Clearly, the Riddler should be the Big Bad. Has any Batman villain had a rougher go of it in the modern era? He's the most famous Bat-baddie to not get a Nolanized reinterpretation — which means that his most prominent appearance in the last two decades of pop culture was Jim Carrey's green-tights performance in Batman Forever. But the Riddler could make for a great antagonist in a procedural: His whole existence is based around coming up with ever-more-elaborate mysteries. Also, if the creators of Gotham want to slowly back up into the crazier aspects of the Batman mythology — no Mr. Freeze, no Clayface — the Riddler is a real-ish psychotic. They could even play around with the Riddler's iconography: Maybe, in this retelling, he's Gordon's main nemesis. Or maybe he's initially working with the Gotham PD in some kind of expert capacity, like Hannibal in Hannibal. Come on guys, the Riddler! He makes riddles! What do you want to see from Gotham, fellow Bat-people? And who should play Jim Gordon? Patrick Wilson? Garrett Hedlund? Casey Affleck? See the original story at EW.com. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.

Fox has greenlit a Batman prequel show . "Gotham" will give an origin story for Commissioner Gordon . Fox has indicated that iconic villains will also appear .

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(CNN) -- American striker Clint Dempsey says the U.S. team has drawn confidence from impressive performances against Brazil, Spain and England but says Friday's World Cup clash with Slovenia is a match his side cannot afford to lose. Dempsey struck the lucky shot which slipped through England goalkeeper Robert Green's hands to earn a 1-1 draw for the U.S. in its opening game of the World Cup last Saturday in South Africa. But the Americans played well to avoid defeat against one of the World Cup's most highly fancied teams and Dempsey said the experience of reaching last year's Confederations Cup final had given the American players the confidence to compete with the competition's best sides. The U.S. team beat European champions Spain 2-0 in the semifinals of that tournament and led Brazil by two goals in the final before going down 3-2 to a late winner. "Before the game (against England), we knew that if we played our best, we would get a result out of the game and we did that at the Confederations Cup playing against the top teams," Dempsey told CNN. Midfielder Michael Bradley also said the U.S. team had become "battle hardened." "We've had three or four years of playing against the best teams in the world. We've gotten to the point where when we've stepped onto the field against a team like England, there's a sense of we've been here before," Bradley told CNN. "We know what the game is going to be like and we know what we need to do to be successful. That mentality is going to take us where we want to go." With the top two in the group advancing to the knockout stages, the U.S. and England are favorites to progress ahead of Slovenia and Algeria. But with Slovenia beating Algeria in their opening game, Dempsey said the U.S. could not afford to slip up against a team representing the smallest country to qualify for the finals. "If we lose this game, potentially we'll be out of the tournament, so we have to go out there and make sure that, yeah, we do take chances going forward but calculated risks," said Dempsey. "You can't just say 'everybody go because we've got to post a win' and be countered and get scored on." Bradley, the son of U.S. coach Bob Bradley, said the American players would treat Slovenia with the same respect they showed England. "The term favorites or underdogs... these words, you guys use them but they're not words that we use," Bradley said. "We had a lot of respect for England, we knew it was going to be a difficult game, and I can tell you we have a lot of respect for Slovenia and we know that will be a difficult game too."

Michael Bradley says U.S. team is battle hardened after Confederations Cup . U.S. earned 1-1 draw with England in opening World Cup match . Clint Dempsey says U.S. can't afford to lose Friday's game with Slovenia . Dempsey: "If we lose this game, potentially we'll be out of the tournament"

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(CNN) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been in talks with high-level Taliban members, but the effort has failed to yield "practical reconciliation" or the "resolution of many issues," a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday. "We don't think the Taliban believe that they're losing to the degree that they'd come to terms in large numbers. Without question, they're hurting. We have it on good information that they're feeling the pressure. Just not enough," the official told CNN. Karzai has been forging reconciliation efforts to seek peace with Taliban members and end the nine-year-old Afghan war. One idea his government has pushed is the Afghan Peace Council, which was formed to help negotiate with the Taliban. That group convened for the first time on Thursday, a meeting in which Karzai called for militants to seize the opportunity for peace. "I call on them once again to use this opportunity and say 'yes' to this endeavour. I want them to come and bring peace to this land," Karzai told the group, made up of about 68 Afghan clerics and elders. The senior U.S. official said the peace council and its efforts may pay off down the road. The U.S. military supports Karzai's efforts, and that any reconciliation must be Afghan-led, the official said. Nevertheless, the official put high expectations in perspective, saying outsiders can't expect a "rock solid agreement" every time there are talks. "It will be messy," the official said. The official also noted that the Taliban and al Qaeda have to be thought of, and dealt with, differently. "While al Qaeda just wants to kill people, the Taliban have definite governing ambitions. They want Afghanistan back -- but to accomplish that, they only need to do the minimum. They don't need to control every inch of land, just be present enough to exert influence," the official said. The al Qaeda terror network attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, when it was harbored by Afghanistan's Taliban-led government. A month later, the United States invaded Afghanistan and toppled that government. Another effort is also under way to forge peace. This week, political figures from Pakistan and Afghanistan sat down in Kabul for talks in what one Afghan official called a "new phase" in building bridges and making peace with the Taliban. The meeting is part of an effort called the Abu Dhabi process. A Taliban spokesman has told CNN that the group was not interested in peace talks. Zabiuhullah Mujahed, the spokesman, said the group had no representative in the alleged negotiations in Kabul. Peace negotiations would not happen until the Afghan government met the Taliban's precondition to withdraw foreign forces from the country, the spokesman said. Journalist Nasir Habib contributed to this report.

Karzai tells the group it can help make peace in Afghanistan . The peace council launches as Afghan leaders meet with Pakistani officials . The Taliban says it is not part of the peace talks .

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HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- New Orleans, Louisiana, Mayor Ray Nagin arrived in Cuba late Friday on a mission to learn about how to deal with storms, a spokeswoman said. Mayor Ray Nagin watches President Obama speak in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Thursday. "We understand we may have a lot to learn from the Cubans in terms of disaster preparedness and how they have dealt with hurricanes," spokeswoman Ceeon Quiett said. Cuba is internationally applauded for exceptional disaster management, according to a news release from Nagin's office. In the Cuban capital, Havana, Nagin plans to meet with several officials, including some from the Latin American Medical Centers for Disaster. He will also learn about preparations the Cuba Defense Committee makes in advance of disasters. Nagin's trip comes a day after President Obama held a town hall meeting in New Orleans, still reeling from the aftermath of deadly Hurricane Katrina in 2005. "It has now been just over four years since that terrible storm struck your shores," the president said. "And [in] the days after it did, this nation and all the world bore witness to the fact that the damage from Katrina was not caused just by a disaster of nature but also by a breakdown of government, that government wasn't adequately prepared, and we didn't appropriately respond." Since Katrina, New Orleans has adjusted its disaster response with new evacuation plans. As Hurricane Gustav threatened the city last year, officials evacuated more than 18,000 residents, the release said. Three powerful hurricanes hit Cuba last year, damaging half a million homes and causing $10 billion in losses, according to the Cuban government. But only seven people died, thanks to a smooth evacuation plan. Some aspects of the communist nation's response, including mandatory evacuations, may not be possible in a democracy. Still, some Americans believe that they can learn from their Caribbean neighbor. The mayor of Galveston, Texas, another city hit hard by Gulf of Mexico hurricanes, visited Cuba this year. Nagin is the first New Orleans mayor to make an official visit to Cuba in 50 years. The State Department sanctioned Nagin's trip, Quiett said. He plans to return to New Orleans on Thursday. CNN's David Ariosto contributed to this report.

Ray Nagin to meet with Cuban officials, learn about disaster plans . State Department sanctioned visit, mayor's representative says . New Orleans adjusted disaster plans after Hurricane Katrina . Three hurricanes hit Cuba last year, but only seven people died .

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hundreds of people converged on New York's Union Square Friday for the May Day Immigration Rally, calling for workers' rights and a path to citizenship for the country's nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants. New Yorker's support the rights of undocumented workers on Friday at a May Day rally. The annual event, which began in 2006, was organized by the May 1st Coalition for Workers and Immigrants Rights. Similar rallies were scheduled across the nation in Boston, Massachusetts; Detroit, Michigan; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco in California, and San Antonio, Texas, according to the group's Web site. Following rally cries from speakers in both English and Spanish, demonstrators braved a rainstorm and marched approximately two miles to New York's Federal Plaza. Among the participants was Saul Linares, who emigrated from El Salvador six years ago and works at a Long Island factory making equipment for the U.S. Army. Linares is particularly concerned about children who are American citizens, yet whose illegal immigrant parents have been deported. "The children are living alone, sometimes with relatives, at churches or with neighbors," he said. Teresa Gutierrez, a co-coordinator of the event, blames current government policy for the United States' immigration woes. She said she believes the Clinton administration's landmark 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA -- which was meant to promote cross-border growth between the United States and Mexico -- actually had exploitive effects on the Mexican population. "Immigrants came because of NAFTA. They don't risk their lives crossing the border because they want to, but because they have to," she said. A smaller anti-illegal immigration rally assembled across the street, organized by the New Yorkers for Immigration Control and Enforcement. Charles Maron, a New York firefighter and husband of a first generation Pakistani, believes illegal immigrants who commit crimes should be deported. "Someone who comes, teaches their kids the American way, I support that." Participants in the May Day rally included people from Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. According to Gregory Jesus Luc, who is producing a documentary about the plight of Haitian immigrants, "It's about awareness, letting media and America know that we are immigrants and we are the backbone of this country."

May Day rally seeks path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants . Similar rallies take place in cities across United States . Anti-illegal immigration rally in New York draws a smaller crowd .

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(CNN) -- A high-pressure system over the Northwest United States is giving new meaning to the term Baked Alaska. But relief is coming, according to meteorologists. The National Weather Service reported that several record-high temperatures were recorded across the south-central part of the state this week. Tuesday saw record highs for that date -- 81 in Anchorage, the state's largest city, and 70 in Seward, situated on the Gulf of Alaska about 75 miles south of Anchorage. The city of Homer saw a record-tying 74 degrees Tuesday. The normal temperature for Anchorage this time of year is about 63 degrees. North of Anchorage, Talkeetna and Palmer each saw record-tying temperatures for the date -- of 89 and 78, respectively. Monday was even toastier, with Talkeetna recording a temperature of 96 degrees, shattering the record of 91 that had stood since 1969. Monday's temperature in Seward was 88, also a record. Cordova and Valdez, both along the southern coast, saw a record-breaking 90 degrees Monday. "An expansive ridge of high pressure over Southern Alaska is continuing the string of unusually hot days," the weather service said in a public advisory Monday. The NWS further forecast that temperatures would begin cooling Tuesday, and "the cooling trend will continue on Wednesday." The highest-ever temperature in the state came almost a century ago, when Fort Yukon recorded 100 degrees on June 27, 1915. CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin and Dave Hennen contributed to this report.

Meteorologists say cooling trend will continue on Wednesday after record highs . New temperature records set in Anchorage, Seward on Tuesday . Talkeetna recorded a Monday temp of 96 degrees, shattering the 1969 record .

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(EW.com) -- For the sixth straight year, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will cohost the CMA Awards, airing tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. (See our predictions for who we think will win, and who we'd vote for.) There's a long list of performances, which include Taylor Swift collaborating with Alison Krauss and Vince Gill, Dave Grohl joining the Zac Brown Band, and George Strait and Alan Jackson paying tribute to the late, great George Jones. Back in August, when Paisley began talking to exec producer Robert Deaton about this year's show, one of their first conversations was about how the broadcast would honor Jones. "It ought to be the best you can have with those two doing it," Paisley told EW last month. "They're the heirs to the torch. If anybody's close to the stratosphere that George Jones was cruising in, it's them. That's who it needs to be." EW: CMA Awards - Who will win (and who should) Fans will also tune in to see what Paisley and Underwood come up with for their opening monologue. When we spoke to Paisley, he expected them to have fun with the genre's current identity crisis, epitomized by Brown referring to Entertainer of the Year nominee and fellow performer Luke Bryan's bro-country chart-topper "That's My Kind of Night" as "the worst song I've ever heard." "You've got people in our industry all fired up on each side of that issue, and then you've got me — I'm just happy about it," Paisley says, laughing. "It's like I'm this sadist when we're writing this show. I'm like, 'Oh, that looks painful... That's great!" EW: How country music went crazy - A comprehensive timeline of the genre's identity crisis . Everything is a potential punchline: "Dolly Parton's in a fender bender. The first thing I heard was, 'She's fine though.' Cool. Great, because I love Dolly.... Well, I guess that's fair game," he said, laughing again. "It's such a weird thing: On one hand, I'm glad the government's not shut down, but yet I'm not. It's horrible that the Obamacare website is such a disaster, but it's also not that horrible because there's a great song about that somewhere. We have all these things that we could talk about... and all I can say is, 'Go, Miley! Keep it up.'" EW: CMA nominations 2013 - The snubs and surprises . With Underwood rehearsing for NBC's Dec. 5 The Sound of Music Live!, the two worked on material by texting each other whenever they came across something that might make for good fodder. "Every time I get a text from Carrie, I picture her dressed as Maria. 'In regards to twerking,' and she's dressed as a Von Trapp writing that," Paisley said. "I was like, 'I'll get out in lederhosen [at the CMAs], I don't care.' But I don't know how ABC will feel about that. We'll see." See the original story at EW.com. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.

The Country Music Awards air Wednesday night . There is a long list of performances . Co-hosts Paisley and Underwood have been texting material for show .

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Tokyo (CNN) -- Acknowledging the toll the unrelenting nuclear crisis has had on people's lives and livelihoods, the owner of Japan's stricken nuclear plant has offered money to some of those in the radiation's reach -- an offer that one city decided to refuse. An official with Tokyo Electric Power Company, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, said Tuesday that the utility made a "token" offer to residents in 10 communities near the plant. Nuclear crisis explainer . Starting March 31, money began going out to those in nine of them. But the town of Namie rejected Tokyo Electric's offer, with a local official calling it too meager an attempt to make up for a drastically reduced quality of life and income. "Our people are suffering, and unfortunately, everything we've built is gone," Mayor Tamotsu Baba told CNN. "Where is our direct apology?" Baba asked. "Because the cash certainly doesn't amount to much." Tokyo Electric says the amount is an initial token payment, not compensation for losses sustained as a result of the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi. They promise that will come later -- after they have assessed the damage from the accident, which has spread radioactive contamination across much of the surrounding area. The company called the initial offer "payment for their troubles," and would not detail how much money is being offered to each community. But Kousei Negishi, who is the manager of general affairs for Namie, said that it was 20 million yen -- about $12 for each of Namie's roughly 20,000 residents. That amount of cash, said Negishi, is "not enough." And it is logistically difficult to force local governments to distribute the money, which he said should be Tokyo Electric's responsibility. Several officials from Fukushima, the prefecture that includes the crippled plant, took their complaints about the company and the evacuation zone to Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Tokyo office Tuesday afternoon. "We don't know if TEPCO understands what we're going through," said Katsuya Endo, the mayor of Tomioka, one of the towns that has been evacuated since the accident. Special coverage . The company said Tuesday that would be worked out between the power company and the Japanese government, which has pledged to support Japan's largest utility in the crisis. One week ago, a report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimated Tokyo Electric will face compensation claims of 1 trillion Japanese yen (about $12.13 billion) if the recovery effort takes two months, the financial company's Tokyo spokesman Takayuki Inoue told CNN. That figure would rise to 2.4 trillion to 3 trillion yen if the process takes six months, and up to 10 trillion yen if the recovery takes two years, according to the report. Most likely, tens of thousands of people will have a legitimate claim to this cash. They'll include those who haven't been able to work, who have been forced out of their homes or who otherwise have had their lives turned upside down in the problem-plagued, complicated struggle to contain the emission of radiation into the air, ground and water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. How to help . The government ordered about 78,000 people who lived within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of the plant to evacuate, due to high air and ground radiation readings in those locales. Another 62,000 lived within 20 to 30 kilometers (12 to 19 miles) -- the so-called exclusion zone, where people have been told to stay indoors -- an official from Kan's office said. Namie is located just outside this 30-kilometer radius. Interactive map . Thousands of others have been affected by the crisis. They include fishermen, who have been told not to go within 20 kilometers of the plant and are facing consumers skeptical about the safety of local seafood, especially after authorities announced plans to dump 11,500 tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. Farmers, too, have been hit hard by restrictions on the sale and distribution of certain crops because of radiation readings exceeding government limits. Tokyo Electric itself has suffered as well. The company has admitted it's been inundated by 40,000 public complaints daily coming into its offices, its stock has plummeted and its faced several protests, including one Sunday in downtown Tokyo that drew about 250 people. Last week, Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata acknowledged the financial difficulties and reports that Japan's government is considering nationalizing the company. "(But) we want to make every effort to stay a private company," he said.

NEW: "Everything we've built is gone," the mayor of Namie says . Tokyo Electric offers 20 million yen to residents of 10 communities near the plant . The utility company says more money to those affected will likely come in the future . One estimate is that Tokyo Electric will pay $12 billion to $121 billion in compensation .

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(CNN) -- I knot my black tie carefully. I haven't worn it since my grandmother's funeral. I check my reflection in the shop windows near Westminster as I walk towards the chapel where my "other mother" lies in her coffin. For five years, I've been writing "Maggie & Me," my memoir of surviving Thatcher's 11 years in power. I feel surprisingly protective or perhaps possessive about my relationship with the woman we called Maggie. She privatized my fractured family into poverty by closing the steelworks where my dad toiled and cutting my mother's disability benefits, all while not seeming to care about any of it. And yet, as my family descended into chaos and eventually abuse, Maggie was always there in some sense; always encouraging me to get an education, to get away, to be an individual. At 9am on the dot, I find a place right opposite Big Ben near Westminster Abbey. I will see her hearse as it leaves the scene of her greatest political battles. At this time in the morning, there are more police than observers on the scene. They've been on duty since 5am but remain good-humored. There are sniffer dogs and through the drizzle we catch flashes of color amidst the crenelations of parliament -- snipers on the roof. Read more: Mourners bid farewell . Tourists stop to take pictures. People who have to get to work are annoyed that the road is closed and they have to walk the long way round. A young woman, dressed entirely in cobalt blue from shoes to headscarf, joins my prime spot. She looks like a Thatcherite nun. Much fuss has been made about granting permission for protest but I come across only two placards and these are about the £10 million cost of the funeral. It's hard to see where this vast sum has been spent. There's no sign of bread, nor circuses. I am here to close not just a chapter of my life but a whole book. At various points, Maggie turned her back on me but I won't do that to her today. "I wouldn't give her the satisfaction," I think to myself, and I feel oddly nostalgic. There's a definite sense of loss. Or is it release? Grief or relief? Maybe both. When Labour Party leader John Smith died I was heartbroken and this is certainly not that. But I do have some things to thank her for. I feel determined to show her at least some of the respect in death that she didn't show me, my family, or my community in life. So I stand with dignity as a small crowd forms. The usual anti-war protesters are seated on their chairs with signs. I wonder if they are glad to have a bigger audience or feel infringed upon? Read more: How life might have been without Thatcher . It's 9:45am now, and Big Ben bongs while he can. "Is this the bell which summons me to heaven or to hell?" I wonder. Now the police seem to be multiplying in force. I see three soldiers in desert fatigues with green berets on. A brown-and-white spaniel sniffer dog is off the leash. "It's a moment in history isn't it?" says a young Asian woman officer to a lady from Italy. With ten minutes 'til the top of the hour, a helicopter appears overhead. At exactly 10am, and with surprising speed, Maggie's hearse, flanked by half a dozen police on bikes, exits the chapel at Westminster. She's punctual and impatient in death as in life, I think. Big Ben stays silent but the Abbey bells peal incongruously. People tutt loudly at this. There are more police than mourners -- their backs facing the coffin, not in protest but so they can keep their eyes on us. There are no jeers, or tears. That's that. Done. The small crowd starts to shuffle off and a prim pensioner bustles up expectantly only to be told she's too late. An impossibly young constable smiles his best consoling smile and says "You've missed her, madam. She's gone." Gone but not forgotten. Not yet. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Damian Barr.

Damian Barr has written a book on the Thatcher years -- "Maggie & Me" Thatcher "privatized his family into poverty," he says . He watches her hearse go by to show her the respect he says she didn't show him .

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(CNN) -- During her darkest hours in captivity, former Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt considered death preferable to her ordeal, she said in an interview with CNN's "Connect the World." Betancourt, who was kidnapped in 2002 during her campaign for the presidency and rescued in 2008, wrote about her experience in a new book, "Even Silence Has an End." She recalled that late in her captivity at the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, she became very ill. FARC declined to give her medication, and had her lie in a hammock for months, she said. Betancourt had seen other hostages die in similar circumstances in the jungle. "And because I was in so much in pain in my body and I was kind of unplugging mentally, in the sense that I couldn't just concentrate on anything, I thought that perhaps it was a good moment to just, you know," Betancourt said, referring to dying. In that moment, she said, she preferred death because it would reunite her with her father. "And, also, I thought that it could be a liberation thing for my children, because they had to stop their lives," Betancourt said. That feeling was just one episode in her 6 1/2 years in captivity. Writing the book, she said, brought her to "very deep memories, to places I thought I had forgotten and to situations that were very painful." The writing process would leave her physically exhausted at the end of the day. Betancourt was freed in a high-profile helicopter rescue mission in July 2008. Colombian commandos posed as humanitarian aid workers to free the group, which included three U.S. military contractors and 11 Colombian police and military members. Her book is not the first to touch on her time as a hostage. In a memoir published last year, the U.S. military contractors rescued along with Betancourt painted an unflattering portrait of the dual citizen of France and Colombia, describing her as someone who hoarded belongings and let her temper flare during their time in the rebel camp. For her part, Betancourt admits that she was not the most popular. "We hear the news and they talk about the hostages and the only name that comes up on and on and on is mine," she said. "By not having their names, it was just another humiliation. It was just another torture for them, not knowing if people knew they were there, what was happening with their families." The guerrillas who held them were also keen on keeping the hostages divided. This, she suspects, was so that they would not unite and attempt an escape together. Much of the guerrillas' treatment of their hostages was meant to be cruel and designed to strip away their identities, Betancourt said. "So, for me, it was important to preserve my dignity in the sense of preserving my soul, preserving the things that I thought were important for me to give. And that was a struggle," she said. One way she did this was by showing defiance. When her captors ordered the hostages to identify themselves by numbers, she refused. Although her fellow hostages started counting off, when it came to be her turn, she just answered, "Ingrid Betancourt." "I didn't want to be a number. I didn't want to be an object," she said. "They were referring to us like cargo. And I thought that was horrible. And I didn't want them to get away with that. So I think I was a little like a troublemaker, in some aspects." That streak also partly led to divisions between her and the other hostages, she said. After such lows, how did Betancourt survive the long years? "To put it in just one word, I think it was love," she said. "The love of my children and the love of my mother." Reflecting on the current political situation in Colombia, the former candidate said that the country is in better shape than when she was abducted. There remains, however, what she called a crucial problem: a disconnect between those who live in the cities very comfortably, and those in the countryside who are affected by the violence of the FARC and other rebel groups. "We have 4 million misplaced people in Colombia. And that's because of the war," she said.

Ingrid Betancourt says she favored death over captivity at one point . She was kidnapped in 2002 and rescued in 2008 . She described herself as a bit of a troublemaker during her captivity . Betancourt admits she was not the most popular captive .

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Boston (CNN) -- An FBI official assigned to Boston to clean up corruption in the 1980s testified Tuesday he was overruled by his superiors when he suggested decades ago that James "Whitey" Bulger be shut down as an FBI informant. "They didn't do it. I didn't like it, but there was nothing I could do about it," said Robert Fitzpatrick, the former assistant special-agent-in-charge of the Boston office, who testified his bosses at FBI headquarters in Washington "felt Bulger was the person who was going to bring down the Mafia." Prosecutors have charged Bulger with participating in 19 murders in a 32-count indictment that also accuses the alleged Boston Irish mob boss of racketeering, money laundering, and extortion during some two decades. Defense witness testifies Bulger didn't seem much of an informant . During that time, according to previous testimony from a disgraced former FBI agent, Bulger was also an FBI informant instrumental in the takedown of the New England Mafia, La Cosa Nostra. Fitzpatrick, who was in charge of the drug task force in the organized crime squad, said he was not more forceful in pushing to cut off Bulger as an informant because of the FBI's "quasi-military" structure, saying it would have been a "violation of protocol" to take his concerns any higher. He testified that his recommendation on Bulger came after a 30-minute meeting in which Bulger did most of the talking. Even though he was the second-highest-ranking agent in Boston at the time, Fitzpatrick played down the scope of his authority, suggesting he was undermined by Bulger's FBI handlers, apparently unaware at the time that they were being paid off by Bulger. But Fitzpatrick testified Monday that during the 30-minute meeting, Bulger indicated that the FBI wasn't paying him, but that he was paying the FBI. Asked why he didn't investigate the alleged bribery, Fitzpatrick said, "It could just be a pay-off ... no quid pro quo." Prosecutor Brian Kelly suggested Fitzpatrick was not interested in shutting down a bad informant: "Weren't you more concerned about your own bureaucratic career than rocking the boat?" Trying to discredit Fitzpatrick's story, Kelly read passages from his book, "Betrayal," in which the former agent recounts events at which he was not present. Kelly accused him of creating "an entire imaginary conversation with James Bulger," and smirked at the notion Fitzgerald "taunted" the reputed crime boss. Although the book is portrayed as "absolutely true," its copyright page lists it as "fiction." On the stand, Fitzpatrick described it as a "memoir, a recitation of things" he believes happened. His goal, he said, was to expose corruption in the FBI, which is also, he says, why he resigned: "I didn't want to be part of the corruption." During cross-examination Tuesday, Fitzpatrick had difficulty remembering his testimony from the previous day. "Do you have trouble with your memory?" the prosecutor asked. "Not that I recall," answered Fitzpatrick, drawing some quick laughs from the court. Bulger's defense attorneys called Fitzpatrick as part of their attempt to highlight corruption within the FBI during the 1970s and '80s. Another witness testified that rogue FBI agent John Connolly had access to all FBI informant files and therefore to the identities of everyone cooperating with the government. One of them was alleged Bulger crime associate Brian Halloran. Fitzpatrick previously testified he went to strike force attorneys requesting the Justice Department be more diligent about putting Halloran in witness protection. Halloran was cooperating with law enforcement and had implicated Bulger in the murder of a wealthy Oklahoma business man. Two days later, Fitzpatrick testified, Halloran was shot to death. Bulger's former associate Kevin Weeks previously testified that Bulger fired a machine gun in the hit, along with another shooter. Pointing to Judge Mark Wolf's portrait in court, Kelly argued that in 1988, during hearings before Wolf, Fitzpatrick could not recall going to the Justice Department to help get Halloran in witness protection. The prosecutor also zeroed in on a passage in the memoir in which Fitzpatrick suggests he was present in 2000 when the body of another alleged Bulger victim, John McIntyre, was pulled from the "frozen ground." Despite writing that the image was "etched in my memory," Fitzpatrick couldn't recall whether he was actually there. Fitzpatrick was not working for the FBI at the time McIntyre's remains were exhumed in 2000. "You were trying to take credit for something you didn't do," Kelley said. The prosecution alleges Bulger ordered a hit on McIntyre, a fisherman, after learning that McIntyre was cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation of a shipment of arms Bulger intended to send to the Irish Republican Army on the fishing trawler Valhalla. McIntyre also tipped authorities to a 36-ton delivery of marijuana on the boat Ramsland in 1984, months before he was killed, prosecutors say. Developer describes threats in trial . Kelly brandished documents in court that showed Fitzpatrick vouched for rogue FBI agents during the same time he claims he complained about their behavior. Fitzpatrick apparently signed off on glowing FBI evaluations of disgraced and now-jailed Connolly, and even signed off on a recommendation for him to go to a Harvard program. On redirect questioning, Fitzpatrick defended his book to the jury. "The book is about the criminal justice system," he said. "In my estimation the criminal justice system failed, it failed during this whole situation. I wanted to bring it to light, not just for the public, for my family." Fitzpatrick, who is still fighting to receive the full amount of his pension, plans to write another book on this trial, he said in court. Jury will not be sequestered . Despite a request by the defense, Judge Denise Casper decided Tuesday not to sequester the jury, saying this late in the trial the jury was unprepared, and it could be prejudicial to both sides to have a disgruntled jury. Defense attorney J.W. Carney previously argued that there has "never been a more widely publicized or sensational case in this district," saying there has been saturated media coverage and "statements that are so hyperbolic and prejudicial towards the defendant ... unlike anything anyone has seen." The judge said her initial instructions to the jury have been reinforced "more importantly by my repeatedly advising them that they not pay attention to media accounts." She also said she does not expect a "great amount of coverage during deliberations." "We have to assume the jurors are following my instructions," she said Tuesday morning. "I am not inclined to inconvenience these jurors at this juncture," she said, particularly when they have had "no notice" of the potential of sequestration. The defense has so far called two of its estimated 15 witnesses. It took the prosecution 30 days and 63 witnesses to present its case, which it wrapped up Friday.

Former FBI agent says he wanted Bulger cut off, but there was nothing he could do . The prosecutor uses the former agent's book to challenge his version of events . The defense attorney's request for sequestration is denied . Bulger is accused of participating in 19 murders and faces other charges .

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Los Angeles (CNN) -- In an expanding investigation into teacher misconduct, Los Angeles school officials are going back 40 years in their internal review of teacher discipline cases in an effort to determine whether any of the instructors should also be referred for possible license revocation, a school spokesman said Friday. Los Angeles School Superintendent John Deasy has asked the principals at more than 1,000 schools to search the files of the past 40 years for "any cases of possible employee misconduct," spokesman Tom Waldman told CNN. The 40-year period is a significant expansion from the past four years of misconduct cases that the system has already reviewed. So far, Los Angeles school officials have referred the discipline cases of 604 teachers from the past four years to state authorities who have powers to revoke a teacher's credentials, officials said. Of those 604 cases in which teachers were fired or facing discipline, 60 teachers were accused of sexual misconduct with pupils on or off campus or with minors who weren't students, school officials said. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing will investigate 366 of the 604 teacher cases to determine if licenses should be revoked, which is a six-month process, spokeswoman Anne Padilla said. Most of the cases focused on allegations of teacher misconduct that involved student safety. Padilla said Friday that 122 of the 604 cases were referred back to the school district for further information because the state agency didn't have the authority to investigate. She also told CNN that 103 of the 604 cases were duplicates and were already being investigated by the agency's committee on credentials. "For the vast majority, no final action has been taken. They are still in process," Padilla said about the 103 cases. The referral of the cases to state licensing investigators comes as the nation's second largest school system deals with a crisis of teacher misconduct. The district has been reeling from a scandal at Miramonte Elementary School, where two teachers have been charged with lewd acts on pupils, including one teacher accused of putting children in adult-like bondage situations and placing semen-filled spoons at their mouths. The state license of that teacher, Mark Berndt -- who has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewd acts on pupils -- has been suspended as the state agency monitors his criminal case, and a license revocation occurs upon a conviction, Padilla said. If an appeal to a conviction is made, the suspension of teaching credentials continues, Padilla said. This week, the California Senate approved a bill that would empower school boards to fire teachers for misconduct and expedite the firing process of instructors accused of offenses involving sex, violence or drugs, said Democratic state Sen. Alex Padilla, who authored the legislation. The bill now goes to the State Assembly for a vote. "Because a school board is ultimately responsible for ensuring a safe learning environment, the school board should be empowered to dismiss employees they determine to be a serious threat to the health and safety of students," Sen. Padilla said in a statement. The lurid allegations at Miramonte prompted the Los Angeles system to do an internal review of its handling of past teacher misconduct cases, and the district determined that 604 cases needed to be referred to state licensing authorities for review, though "a substantial number" of other misconduct cases had already been reported to the state, school officials said. One parent, Alvaro Salgero, told CNN that he was concerned about child abuse in the school system. "It tended to be a safe place, but from what I hear, it seems that's not happening in some places," Salgero said. "There isn't sufficient security for children. "We're able to realize that there wasn't much of an investigation with teachers and they didn't investigate them before giving them a job, and those who suffer are the children, the pupils," Salgero said. The 604 cases include teachers who were disciplined or were about to face discipline since July 2008, according to Ira Berman, Los Angeles Unified School District director of employee relations, and Vivian Ekchian, the district's chief human resources officer. The cases also include teachers who were fired by the school board or who left the district after termination proceedings were initiated or while an allegation of misconduct was pending, Berman and Ekchian said. The system doesn't know whether any of the teachers who were fired or who left the district are still in the classroom in other school districts. The 604 figure also includes teachers who were suspended for 11 days or more for a variety of reasons not involving sexual misconduct with students, the two officials said. "The safety of our students is our No. 1 priority," Ekchian said in explaining why the system referred the 604 cases to the state. The system's internal investigation arose after parental outrage after charges were filed against former Miramonte teacher Berndt, who resigned from the system last year but was not referred to the state for possible license revocation, district spokesman Waldman said. Berndt, 61, pleaded not guilty in February to allegations he bound young students, then photographed them with semen-filled spoons held at their mouths and three-inch cockroaches crawling across their faces, among other graphic depictions. "We had not informed Sacramento to revoke Mr. Berndt's credentials," Waldman said. Berndt is being held on $23 million bond and faces 23 counts of lewd acts on a child. The 23 victims were between 7 and 10 years old, and all but two of them were girls, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. Authorities have said they have discovered roughly 600 images allegedly taken by Berndt in his classroom. Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Deasy has said Berndt was removed from his teaching job in January 2011 after school officials learned of the police investigation. A teacher for 30 years, Berndt initially challenged the school district's decision to dismiss him. But he eventually dropped his appeal and resigned last spring. His arrest in January led to broader fallout over the adequacy of safeguards for the school's students and the prospect of more victims. Days after Berndt was taken into custody, another Miramonte Elementary teacher -- Martin Springer, 49 -- was arrested and charged with three felony counts of lewd acts with a girl younger than 14. He has pleaded not guilty. The LAUSD board subsequently shut Miramonte for two days, during which the board reconstituted the entire staff in the 1,400-student school. Miramonte is in unincorporated Los Angeles County within the Florence-Firestone area, about six miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

Los Angeles school officials are now going back 40 years in their review of past teacher misconduct . They have just reviewed the past four years of teacher discipline cases . L.A. school officials referred 604 teacher cases to state authorities in charge of license revocation . California Senate passes a bill that makes firing teachers for misconduct easier .

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Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- At least 13 people were killed and 20 wounded when lightning struck a makeshift mosque in a remote village in northeast Bangladesh on Friday, police said. The lightning strike occurred as people gathered for a special evening prayer known as taraweeh that is conducted during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "Multiple lightning strikes occurred during a storm when nearly 35 people gathered at a house in the village of Saraswati where they turned a tin roof shed into a makeshift mosque for the month of Ramadan as a regular mosque was far away," Dharmapasha police chief Bayes Alam told CNN. The village Saraswati is some 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the capital of Dhaka. Heavy rains in recent weeks have swollen the Saraswati River, making access to the village difficult. "As boats were the only mode of transport to go out of the village, it took several hours to take the critically wounded people to the hospital," said Akm Mezanul Haque, the officer-in-charge of the Modhyanagar police station, who joined the rescue operation. Of the 13 killed by the lightning strike, Mohammad Shahabuddin, the imam, and two others died at the mosque, Alam said. Ten others were declared dead at a Dharmapasha area hospital, he said. Area residents and police took the wounded, many in critical condition, to the area hospital.

A lightning strike occurred as people gathered for evening prayers, police said . Lightning struck a tin roof shed that was doubling as a mosque, police said . The strike occurred in Saraswati, some 200 kilometers from the capital of Dhaka.

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Moscow (CNN) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Tuesday named Anton Siluanov as acting finance minister after the influential Alexei Kudrin was forced out of the position he had held since 2000. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov will expand his duties to include fiscal responsibilities in the government, Putin said at a meeting broadcast on state-run television. Putin said both decisions were approved by President Dmitry Medvedev, with whom Putin is set to swap roles next year. Medvedev signed an order dismissing Kudrin Monday, after a tiff stemming from a comment Kudrin is reported to have made in Washington last Saturday. Citing differences with the president, particularly related to defense spending, Kudrin said that he would not remain in a government led by Medvedev, Interfax said. The state-run RIA-Novosti news agency said Kudrin resigned. The announcement came shortly after Medvedev had given Kudrin, 50, until the end of the day to decide whether to quit. Medvedev urged that Kudrin to "make up his mind about his political future," according to the non-governmental, Moscow-based Interfax news agency. Kudrin was unapologetic in a statement Tuesday. "My statement about the fact that I do not see myself as a member of a 2012 Cabinet of ministers was well thought-out and balanced." Under Kudrin's tenure, Russia paid off most of its foreign debt and created oil wealth funds that helped the nation weather the global economic problems of recent years, RIA-Novosti said. Siluanov, 48, has worked at the Finance Ministry for 26 years and is in charge of inter-budget relations and defense funding. But he has not been a public figure and few have heard his name. The finance shakeup comes as Putin, who served two terms as president from 2000 to 2008, announced Saturday he plans to return next year to the presidency and trade roles with Medvedev by naming him prime minister. CNN's Maxim Tkachenko contributed to this report.

Russia gets a new finance minister . Anton Siluanov takes the post after Alexei Kudrin's ouster . Kudrin's comments on defense spending did not sit well with Medvedev .

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(CNN) -- Detectives on Saturday arrested the 12-year-old brother of Leila Fowler on a homicide charge in connection with his 8-year-old sister's death, Calaveras County, California, Sheriff Gary Kuntz said. The brother -- who Kuntz did not name, but did speak publicly after his sister's death -- was arrested at 5:10 p.m. (8:10 p.m. ET) at a county sheriff's office substation in his hometown of Valley Springs, according to the sheriff. "Citizens of Calaveras County can sleep a little better tonight," Kuntz said. Leila Fowler and her brother were said to be alone on Saturday, April 27, in their family's northern California home when she was found dead. The 12-year-old told police that he'd seen an intruder leaving the home, then found his sister suffering from stab wounds. The 8-year-old died minutes after arriving at a hospital, authorities said. After the incident, police offered a sketchy description of the suspect as a 6-foot-tall white or Hispanic male with a muscular build. Hundreds flock to vigil for slain girl . They also interviewed registered sex offenders in the area, ran down leads and searched in attics, storage sheds and more in the rural, mountainous community located about 60 miles southeast of Sacramento. Authorities also combed the Fowler's home and neighborhood looking for evidence. "We did collect fingerprints during that search," Calaveras County Sheriff's Capt. Jim Macedo said days after the attack, "and we did collect what we believe to be DNA." Kuntz said law enforcement officers "put over 2000 hours into this investigation to provide Leila Fowler's family with answers in her death." He declined to answer questions after giving his statement, including on the exact charges against the brother, where he is being held or when he will appear in court. The death of young Leila, known for her bubbly personality, shook the small town of Valley Springs, where purple ribbons, Leila's favorite color, were tied to stop signs. "We are devastated," the girl's mother, Crystal Walters, told CNN via her Facebook page. "She didn't deserve this. ... She was so full of life."

The brother, 12, was arrested at a sheriff's substation late Saturday afternoon . "Citizens of Calaveras County can sleep a little better tonight," sheriff says . Leila was fatally stabbed; her brother had told police he'd been an intruder .

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(CNN) -- Former FIFA presidential hopeful Mohamed Bin Hammam believes that soccer's ruling body has already decided he is guilty of bribery. The ex-head of the Asian Football Confederation was suspended pending an investigation on May 29, having been accused of trying to buy votes in his bid to win the July 1 election against incumbent Sepp Blatter. FIFA's ethics committee has begun a two-day hearing to decide the Qatari's fate, and the 62-year-old is pessimistic ahead of the verdict. "I want you all to know that my legal team and I remain confident that the case and the evidence presented against me are weak and unsubstantiated," Bin Hammam said via his official website on Friday. Bin Hammam wants a "fair FIFA hearing" "They are flimsy and will not stand up to scrutiny in any court of law; that has been clear throughout this process and it remains to be so. "I am not confident that the hearing will be conducted in the manner any of us would like. It seems likely that FIFA has already made its decision weeks ago. So, none of us should be completely surprised if a guilty verdict is returned." Bin Hammam vowed to clear his name if he is found guilty. "Justice will eventually prevail whether through the FIFA ethics committee, the Court of Arbitration of Sport or, if necessary, through other courts or legal proceedings in courts where we will be equal and no special privileges will be granted to either party." FIFA set date for Bin Hammam verdict . Bin Hammam withdrew from the presidential election in the wake of the accusations, with Blatter maintaining the position for a fourth term. Jack Warner, the former head of football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, faced similar charges to Bin Hammam. The investigation into Warner was stopped, with his innocence presumed, after the Trinidadian resigned in June.

Mohamed Bin Hammam believes FIFA has already decided he is guilty of bribery . The Qatari is accused of offering bribes in exchange for support in presidential election . FIFA's ethics committee is meeting to reach a verdict on the accusations .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama is planning to issue three executive orders Thursday, including one demanding the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay be closed within a year, according to a senior administration official and a congressional aide. A guard keeps watch from a tower at the military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A second executive order will formally ban torture by requiring the Army field manual be used as the guide for terror interrogations, essentially ending the Bush administration's CIA program of enhanced interrogation methods. A third executive order, according to the officials, will order a systematic review of detention policies and procedures and a review of all individual cases. The officials said new White House Counsel Greg Craig was briefing congressional Republicans Wednesday afternoon about the three executive orders. "We've always said the process would include consultation," the senior administration official said of the closed-door meeting informing Republicans of the moves. The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay became a lightning rod for critics who charged that the Bush administration had used torture on terror detainees. President George W. Bush and other senior officials repeatedly denied that the U.S. government had used torture to extract intelligence from terror suspects. Obama's move will set off a fierce legal struggle over where the prison's detainees will go next. Watch experts debate the Gitmo dilemma » . "The key question is where do you put these terrorists," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement issued Wednesday. "Do you bring them inside our borders? Do you release them back into the battlefield?" The meeting with Craig did not address how the administration plans to handle Guantanamo detainees, said Rep. Bill Young of Florida, the top Republican on the Defense Appropriations Committee. The executive orders "will leave some wiggle room for the administration," he said. Young said he has "quite a bit of anxiety" about transferring detainees to United States facilities. "Number one, they're dangerous," he said. "Secondly, once they become present in the United States, what is their legal status? What is their constitutional status? I worry about that, because I don't want them to have the same constitutional rights that you and I have. They're our enemy." Watch what may happen to Gitmo's inmates » . He said he asked Craig what the government plans to do with two recently built facilities at Guantanamo, which he said cost $500 million. He said Craig had no answer, but pledged to discuss the issue further. Young said he suggested reopening Alcatraz, the closed federal prison on an island outside San Francisco, California -- in Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district. "Put them in Alcatraz, where supposedly they can't escape from," Young said, but added the suggestion "didn't go over well." The revelation coincided with a judge's decision on Wednesday to halt the September 11 terrorism cases at the behest of President Obama. On Tuesday, he directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask prosecutors to seek stays for 120 days so terrorism cases at the facility can be reviewed, according to a military official close to the proceedings. CNN's Susan Candiotti and Laurie Ure contributed to this report.

NEW: Obama to issue 3 orders Thursday that break from Bush administration . NEW: Order 2 will ban torture by requiring use of Army field manual for interrogations . NEW: 3rd order will mandate review of detention policies and procedures . Military judge grants Obama's request to stay cases for 120 days .

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(CNN) -- Rafael Nadal is on course for a comeback double as he bids for two titles at the VTR Open in Chile on Sunday. The 11-time grand slam champion will seek his 37th clay-court crown and 51st overall when he takes on 73rd-ranked Argentine Horacio Zeballos in the singles final at Vina del Mar. He will then team up with another Argentine, last year's tournament winner Juan Monaco, in the doubles final against Italy's Paolo Lorenzi and Potito Starace. "I'm really happy with what I've been doing this week," said the Spaniard, who has dropped to fifth in the rankings after being sidelined for over seven months due to knee problems. "I have a good feeling on the court, so I cannot ask for anything more. I will try to play better and better every day." "I won't compare myself to seven months ago, it's just the first week of competition. It's a great feeling to be in a final match after so much time without playing." Nadal's first real test of the week came in Saturday's semifinal against 26th-ranked French third seed Jeremy Chardy, but he had no problems in cruising to a 6-2 6-2 victory. "I played well today, better than the days before, which is important," he said. Zeballos, meanwhile, reached the second ATP World Tour final of his career -- the other being in St. Petersburg in 2009 -- by beating eighth-seeded compatriot Carlos Berlocq 6-3 7-6 (7-4). Richard Gasquet became the first player to win twice on the ATP Tour this year as he beat compatriot Benoit Paire 6-2 6-3 in Sunday's final of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. The 10th-ranked Frenchman has a 14-1 record in 2013, having won the Qatar title in January before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open. In other men's news, Nadal's great rival Roger Federer will return to action in Rotterdam this week as he defends his World Tennis Tournament title. The world No. 2, who lost to Andy Murray in the Melbourne semifinals last month, will play 60th-ranked Slovenian Grega Zemlja in his opening match. In women's action, Petra Kvitova put the Czech Republic into the semifinals of Fed Cup on Sunday, as her 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 win over Samantha Stosur gave the two-time defending champions an unbeatable 3-0 lead against Australia in Prague. The 2011 Wimbledon champion saved a match-point at 5-4 down in the second set against that year's U.S. Open victor Stosur. Kvitova's teammates Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka then beat Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua 6-0 7-6 (7-1). The Czechs will next face Italy, who edged the United States 3-2 in Rimini. Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci beat Liezel Huber and Varvara Lepchenko 6-2 6-2 in the decisive doubles rubber. Russia also went to a decider against Japan before sealing a semifinal clash with Slovakia. Japan leveled at 2-2 in Moscow as home No. 1 Maria Kirilenko was unable to play due to illness, as Ayumi Morita triumphed 6-4 6-1 against stand-in Elena Vesnina, but Ekatarina Makarova bounced back from her Saturday defeat to beat Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-1 6-1. She then teamed up with Vesnina in a 6-2 6-2 doubles victory over Morita and Misaki Doi. Slovakia took an unbeatable 3-1 lead against last year's finalists Serbia as Daniela Hantuchova won 6-3 6-2 against Vesna Dolonc.

Former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal reaches singles final in Chile comeback tournament . Spaniard will seek his 37th clay-court title as he faces Horacio Zeballos in Vina del Mar . Nadal can complete a Chilean conquest in the following doubles final on Sunday . Roger Federer to return to action this week as he defends his title in Rotterdam .

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Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli archaeologists have discovered an ancient Roman bathhouse that was probably used by the soldiers who destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Monday. The surprise discovery includes the mark of Rome's Tenth Legion -- as well as the paw print of a dog. The animal probably belonged to one of the soldiers, excavation director Ofer Sion said. The print "could have happened accidentally or have been intended as a joke," he said. Archaeologists were not expecting to find the Roman structure in the Jewish Quarter, where a mikvah, or Jewish ritual bath, was being constructed. "The mark of the soldiers of the Tenth Legion, in the form of the stamped impressions on the roof tiles and the in situ mud bricks, bears witness to the fact that they were the builders of the structure," he said. "It seems that the bathhouse was used by these soldiers who were garrisoned there after suppressing the Bar Kokhba uprising in 135 CE (A.D.), when the pagan city Aelia Capitolina was established," he explained. The structure includes a number of plastered bathtubs in the side of a pool, a pipe used to fill it with water, and a white industrial mosaic pavement on the floor. Hundreds of terra cotta roof tiles were found on the floors of the pool, indicating it was a covered structure, he added. The bathhouse tiles are stamped with the symbols of the Tenth Legion "Fretensis" -- LEG X FR, he said. The discovery shows that the Roman encampment established to help keep Israel under Roman domination was larger than previously thought, another expert said. "Despite the very extensive archaeological excavations that were carried out in the Jewish Quarter, so far not even one building has been discovered there that belonged to the Roman legion," Jerusalem district archaeologist Yuval Baruch said. "The absence of such a find led to the conclusion that Aelia Capitolina, the Roman city which was established after the destruction of Jerusalem, was small and limited in area," he said. But the discovery of the 1,800-year-old bathhouse "together with other discoveries of recent years, shows that the city was considerably larger than what we previously estimated," he said. Understanding the ancient Roman city of Aelia Capitolina is "extremely valuable," he said, because it determined the shape of Jerusalem's historic walls "and the location of the gates to this very day."

The surprise discovery shows the ancient Roman encampment was bigger than thought . It includes tiles stamped with the mark of the legion that destroyed the Second Temple . Archeaologists found a dog's paw print . The Roman city helped determine the shape of Jerusalem to the present day .

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A woman was jailed for eight years by a British court Friday for her part in the kidnap of her own daughter. Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan were both involved in the plot to kidnap Shannon. Nine-year-old Shannon Matthews was locked in an apartment for 24 days after going missing from her home in February last year. After a massive police investigation, Karen Matthews, 33, was found guilty last month of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. She was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court in West Yorkshire, northern England, the British Press Association reported. Her former partner's uncle, Michael Donovan, 40, was also convicted of the same offences and received an eight-year jail term, PA said. Prosecutors say Donovan abducted Shannon as she was on her way home from school in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. They claim he gave her Temazepam -- a type of sleeping tablet -- and travel sickness pills and kept her tethered to an elasticated strap attached to a roof beam through a loft hatch when he went out. Meanwhile Matthews kept up a "wicked and dishonest lie" as her daughter became the subject of a massive police search operation and a reward fund offered by a local newspaper grew to $50,000, jurors were told. Donovan planned to release Shannon and then "discover" her, prosecutors said. According to PA, Matthews told five versions of what happened to Shannon, ranging from being a distraught mother whose daughter had gone missing to blaming the crime on her former partner Craig Meehan and other members of his family. It also emerged in court that Donovan abducted one of his own daughters after he became involved in a custody battle with his former wife, PA said.

Girl, 9, drugged, tethered, as part of kidnap plot staged by mother and uncle . Karen Matthews, 33, and Michael Donovan, 40, jailed for 8 years . Guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice . Prosecutors say Shannon was tethered to roof beam, given sleeping tablets .

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(CNN) -- Four months after an auto accident and reports of extramarital affairs put his golf career on hold, Tiger Woods announced Tuesday that he plans to return to the sport at the Masters Tournament in April. Woods dropped out of professional competition in December after a Thanksgiving weekend wreck outside his Florida home turned a harsh spotlight on the golfer's personal life. In March, the 34-year-old golfer issued a public apology for cheating on his wife and said he was undergoing treatment for unspecified "issues." But on Tuesday, he said he was coming back to play in the Masters, which he has won four times since 1997. "After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta," Woods said in a statement released by his agent. "The major championships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it's been a while since I last played." The tournament is scheduled for April 5-11 at Georgia's Augusta National Golf Club. Can Tiger the Great's return restore his legend? Billy Payne, the club's chairman, welcomed the return of the sport's top draw. "We support Tiger's decision to return to competitive golf beginning at this year's Masters Tournament," Payne said in a statement shortly after the announcement. "Additionally, we support and encourage his stated commitment to continue the significant work required to rebuild his personal and professional life." And PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem added, "We were pleased to learn that Tiger Woods will be playing the Masters in a few weeks. He has invested a lot of time taking steps, both in his personal and professional life, in order to prepare for his return. We all wish him and his family the best as he rejoins the tour." Woods has won four PGA championships and six of the association's Grand Slam title. Tuesday's announcement comes nearly a month after Woods publicly apologized for what he called "irresponsible and selfish" behavior, which he said included infidelity, and said he was working to "become a better man." "I have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy, and I am continuing my treatment," he said in Tuesday's statement. "Although I'm returning to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life." Woods' public woes began with an early-morning crash November 27 outside his Orlando-area home, when he suffered minor injuries after striking a fire hydrant and a tree with his Cadillac SUV. Woods was not required to talk to police about the wreck and declined to talk with investigators on several occasions. Eventually, he was cited for careless driving. He paid a $164 fine and received four points on his driving record. The wreck occurred days after the tabloid National Enquirer named Woods as having an affair with a New York nightclub hostess. The woman has denied the allegation, but several others have come forward to claim that they had sexual relationships with Woods, who is married to former model Elin Nordegren. The couple has two children. In his carefully managed March statement, delivered to a small, hand-picked crowd, Woods said he was in inpatient therapy for 45 days from the end of December to early February for "issues," which he did not explain. The controversy prompted several major sponsors to suspend or drop their relationships with Woods, who also apologized to his business partners for his behavior. And he denied speculation that Nordegren attacked him the night of the accident, saying she showed "enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal."

Superstar athlete sidelined by sex scandal . "I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta," he says . Woods won Georgia tournament four times since 1997 .

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(CNN) -- Android continues to dominate in the battle to be the top smartphone system in the world, thanks in part to Samsung, which reigned as the top phone manufacturer for 2012. Android grew its already significant chunk of the smartphone market to 68.8% last year, while Apple's iOS operating system stayed comfortably in second place with 18.8% of smartphone shipments, according to new stats from research firm IDC. Together, the two operating systems accounted for 87.6% of all new smartphones in 2012, leaving struggling competitors BlackBerry and Windows far behind. It's no surprise that Android has surged so far ahead of iOS. There are are thousands of Android handset models in every size and at every price imaginable, while Apple has released only six versions of the iPhone. Apple sold 130 million smartphones last year, according to Gartner. "Even with the Apple Maps debacle, iPhone owners were not deterred from purchasing new iPhones," said IDC research manager Ramon Llamas in a statement. Apple released one new iOS phone in 2012, the much-anticipated iPhone 5. However, according to Gartner it was previous iPhone models, which dropped in price enough to make them a more appealing option in emerging markets, that accounted for much of Apple's smartphone success. Even though Apple's sales are growing, IDC points out that its year-over-year growth is actually slower when compared with the rest of the smartphone market. Samsung sold 384.6 million phones in 2012, only 53.5% of which were smartphones, according to Gartner. Chinese phone maker Huawei climbed to the No.3 smartphone vendor spot in the final quarter of 2012. Nokia has been struggling and 2013 will be a key year for the company. Its fate is largely tied to that of Windows Phone 8, which runs on Nokia's latest Lumia phones. Both BlackBerry and Windows are compteting to win over smartphone customers with their new offerings. BlackBerry just released its long-awaited new smartphone operating system and two new handsets in January, and Microsoft debuted its Windows Phone 8 update at the end of 2012. BlackBerry must persuade its existing users to make the upgrade and win back some large companies, which were previously its biggest customers. Unlike BlackBerry, Windows Phone 8 unveiled its new products and marketing campaign early enough to make some progress last year. Though it only made up 2.6% of the smartphone market in 2012, it did grow its number of shipments an impressive 98.9%, according to IDC. BlackBerry plummeted 36.4% from the previous year, but we'll have to wait and see how its latest products do in the fresh year. Overall, the number of phone sales in 2012 actually dropped 1.7% from the previous year, the first drop since 2009. "Tough economic conditions, shifting consumer preferences and intense market competition weakened the worldwide mobile phone market this year," Gartner analyst Anshul Gupta said in a statement.

Reports: Android, Apple make up vast majority of global smartphone sales . Samsung was the top phone maker in 2012 thanks to its popular Galaxy devices . New BlackBerry and Windows Phone 8 devices are just now winning over new users .

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HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Political corruption in Zimbabwe threatens efforts to save millions of people from malaria in the southern African country, according to aid agency officials. HIV-positive 13-year-old orphan Evans Mahlangu, left, and his brother Edmond, 8, had to jump Zimbabwe's border with Mozambique to get anti-retroviral drugs. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has demanded that Zimbabwe's government return $7.3 million placed in the country's reserve bank to pay for the distribution medicine that can cure malaria, according to the group's spokesman. A senior western diplomat in Zimbabwe told CNN he believes the money was taken by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government to fund political activities. He accused reserve bank governor Gideon Gono of involvement. "This could put millions of people in Zimbabwe at risk of malaria in the current malaria season," said John Linden, spokesman for the group which is a leading international financing institution for those diseases. Linden said his group has given Zimbabwe until Thursday to repay the money or else no more aid will be sent to the country. "At this stage we do not have confidence in the reserve bank's ability to release the money when needed, so we have demanded that all the money be released immediately," Linden said. The money was intended to train thousands of health workers to distribute the malaria cure, medicine that is already available but sits on shelves. CNN's Kim Norgaard in Johannesburg, South Africa contributed to this report.

Corruption in Zimbabwe threatens efforts to tackle malaria, aid officials say . Group demands that Zimbabwe's government return $7.3 million of donor money . Western diplomat says money was taken by President Mugabe's government .

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(CNN) -- A nice glass of wine, a puff on a cigar and a few clubs. It sounds like a decent night out -- except these clubs are golf clubs. When Miguel Angel Jimenez became the oldest ever winner on the European Tour following his triumph at the Hong Kong Open in November, he celebrated in the only way he knew how -- with a big, fat cigar. At 49, Jimenez, who replaced Des Smyth as the oldest winner on the European Tour at the age of 48 and 318 days, is man with a hinterland which stretches well beyond sport. While the rest of the world rushes around at breakneck speed, Jimenez often sits, looks out onto the Mediterranean and contemplates the meaning of life -- a subject he's had a lot of time to think about since breaking his leg in a ski accident last December. "You have to do whatever you want in your life when you are alive," Jimenez told CNN's Living Golf on location in his hometown of Malaga. "I love to ski, I love to drink, I love to smoke, I love to compete and I love to have time with my friends. "I don't want to stop any of those things. I'm sorry, but I'm honest. "Freedom is so nice, to do what you're doing in your life, to do what you want in your life -- that's genuine. It doesn't matter what." If sport these days is characterized by a winner takes all mentality summed up by legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi's famous remark -- "Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser" -- then Jimenez's approach is the very antithesis to that philosophy. "I do what I like in my life and I'm not going to change that. If a major is coming then it will be 'wow', but if the major is not coming, I'm still going to do what I like with my life." A wry smile appears on his face as he waves his hand towards the camera and adds: "Bye, bye major." But don't let Jimenez's "pleasure pursuit principle" disguise the ambition which still burns fiercely within his heart -- the passion and determination to compete with the latest generation of stars remains as strong as ever. "I spend many days a week working at the gym and if I don't at the age of 49 then I've no chance of competing with the younger ones," he said. "Of course, I really enjoy having my glass of wine, having nice food and just to have a cigar with nice company and I enjoy my life. "You know somebody told me a long time ago that this life we're going to spend more time dead than alive. So, when you're alive, live." However, as he wrings every last ounce of pleasure out of life you won't find Jimenez telling the world about it on social media networks. While Tiger Woods tweets to over 3.2 million followers and Rory McIlroy converses with his 1.2 million fans, the Spaniard prefers the old-fashioned method of talking to people. "But sometimes people forget that you need to enjoy it, we need to enjoy friends, we need to enjoy family and we need to enjoy the things which happen around ourselves," said the Spaniard. "People identify with a lot of modern things such as computers and social networking. I feel that people have lost communication between people. "Now there is a lot of communication by information, but I prefer to touch the people, to talk to the people." Jimenez made his professional debut 30 years ago. During that time the clubs have got bigger and heavier -- as have the pay checks and the relentless media attention which comes with life on the Tour. "Golf has always been professional, but now it's getting more so," he added. "People are more into that and are more like horses when they wear blinkers -- they don't see sideways. "You have to be yourself and if you're like that then it's fine, you have to respect those things, no?" Jimenez makes no judgments on how others choose lead their lives, but he is insistence that his laid back and carefree attitude remains at the center of his equilibrium. "The most important thing is, and I've always said the same thing, you have to enjoy what you do in your life," he said. "I do a little bit of this, a little bit of that and my life is going forward. "That is what I recommend to people. Enjoy yourself, enjoy your life and do whatever you want to do in life. "But don't come to play golf if you want to do something else and don't do something else if you want to do golf. "You have to make a compromise with yourself about what you want to do." The affable Jimenez makes his comeback at Thursday's Spanish Open at the Parador de El Saler course in Valencia, providing the Spaniard with an opportunity to test out a body which has been put through months of rehabilitation. "It's made me more determined," he said. "I love the game and these three months of not competing, I'm missing some important venues. "I love to compete. It's the only thing I know how to do properly in my life. "It doesn't matter whether you win or not, but you're doing what you like in your life and I stopped doing things. "I've stopped competing with the young guys. I've stopped competing in the tournaments. I miss all these things and that's what I want to do." Jimenez's 19 tour wins remain a source of great pride of satisfaction as does his success with the European Ryder Cup team -- most recently as assistant captain at Medinah. While the next few days should give an indication of how his body is holding up, Jimenez is undecided as to how long he will continue playing at the very highest level. "I've seen four kinds of generations and I've played with them. To me I think it's a privilege to be part of the history with them. "I haven't won a major, but I don't regret anything. I feel satisfied to be part of all this, I feel so happy with that. "I'm on the way back, I don't know for how long. To me I will keep competitive or in competition with the young people for as long as I can play well and win a tournament. "But if I don't play well and just finish winning it's time to go."

Miguel Angel Jimenez is set to return to action at this week's Spanish Open . The Spaniard has been out of action for three months after breaking his leg in a ski accident . The 49-year-old is the oldest man to have won on the European Tour . Jimenez insists his career will not be a failure if he does not win a major .

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(CNN) -- David Nalbandian is under police investigation for an alleged assault after a line judge was injured when the Argentine tennis star kicked over an advertising board in Sunday's Queen's Club final. London's Metropolitan Police confirmed to CNN Monday that a complaint had been received following the incident, which led to Nalbandian's disqualification, with Croatian Marin Cilic awarded the title. "We are aware of an incident which took place at the Aegon Championships on June 17," said a police spokesman. "A complaint of assault has been made and the Metropolitan Police Service is now investigating." Nalbandian was a set up, but trailing in the second when his frustrations boiled over after failing to return a Cilic service. He lashed out at a court side advertising board, behind which line judge Andrew McDougall was sitting. The force of the kick dislodged the display, which hit McDougall and left him a nasty gash to his left leg. McDougall was seen to angrily remonstrate with Nalbandian, who was defaulted for "unsportsmanlike conduct." ATP supervisor Tom Barnes confirmed that he had been left with no other choice, much to the disappointment of a capacity crowd who had been enjoying a closely contested final. "Once I saw the injury it was not a judgment call. I didn't have any other option," he told the official ATP Tour website. Nalbandian forfeited the $56,802 prize money and the 150 ranking points he would have received and later Monday was fined $12,564 by the ATP for his actions. Nalbandian, who was defaulted for insulting a linesman at tournament in Chile in 2002, said he regretted the latest incident. "I made a mistake and I apologize," the 30-year-old told the official ATP Tour website. "I feel very sorry to the guy. I didn't want to do that. This is a bad situation for everybody that I really apologize for." The official tournament website said McDougall had been tended to by St John's Ambulance and ATP medical staff but did not need any further treatment.

London's Metropolitan Police to investigate assault allegation against David Nalbandian . Nalbandian injured line judge after kicking over an advertising board . Nalbandian loses his $56,802 prize money and ranking points from Queen's Club event . NEW: Argentina star fined 10,000 euros ($12, 564) by the ATP .

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New Delhi, India (CNN) -- Exiled Tibetan lawmakers are set to hold a historic debate on the Dalai Lama's offer to shed his political role, the speaker of their parliament said Monday. The statement came after the speaker read to the legislators the spiritual leader's proposals to accord greater powers to their elected representatives. "The essence of a democratic system is, in short, the assumption of political responsibility by elected leaders for the popular good. In order for our process of democratization to be complete, the time has come for me to devolve my formal authority to such an elected leadership," the Dalai Lama said in his message to Tibet's parliament-in-exile, which is meeting at Dharamsala, India. "The general lack of experience and political maturity in our democratic institutions has prevented us from doing this earlier," he added. Penpa Tsering, the speaker of the exile unicameral chamber, told CNN that its lawmakers would now debate the Dalai Lama's motion. "We should get a sense of the house by tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon," he said. The assembly, he explained, will primarily have three options -- accept all his proposals, reject them completely or recommend what he called a middle course by giving more executive powers to the elected leadership of Tibet exiles. In case the lawmakers agree to the Dalai Lama's proposals in totality, they will be required to set up a special drafting committee to amend their present constitution or the charter, he said. The whole process then may take months, possibly beyond the next session slated for June, Tsering added. "But to me, the first option (of accepting all his proposals) seems difficult," the speaker cautioned. "This will have many ramifications, including those related to the Dalai Lama-led dialogue with China." According to Tsering, the Dalai Lama could be requested to retain political leadership of the community while devolving his ceremonial powers into elected representatives as a middle ground. In his message, the Tibetan community's global figurehead cited democracy as a key means to the success of his movement. "No system of governance can ensure stability and progress if it depends solely on one person without the support and participation of the people in the political process. One man rule is both anachronistic and undesirable. "We have made great efforts to strengthen our democratic institutions to serve the long-term interests of the six million Tibetans, not out of a wish to copy others, but because democracy is the most representative system of governance," he wrote. The final vote for a new prime minister of his government-in-exile is due on March 20. The Dalai Lama fled China 52 years ago on March 10, 1959, after a failed uprising. The exile group is headquartered in Dharamsala. He told CNN in October that he would like to retire at some point. "I'm also a human being. ... Retirement is also my right," he said while on a speaking tour of North America. Without saying exactly when, he said, "Sooner or later, I have to go. I'm over 75, so next 10 years, next 20 years, one day I will go."

Parliament will consider Dalai Lama's plan to shed his political role . The lawmakers can accept, reject, or amend the proposal . The speaker of the lawmakers-in-exile says it will be difficult to accept the plan as written .

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London, England (CNN) -- Two nine-month-old twin girls were in a serious condition in hospital on Monday after being mauled by a fox as they slept in their London home, according to police. The two girls were attacked in their upstairs bedroom at a house in Hackney, east London, after the fox apparently entered the house through a door left open because of the heat while the twins' parents watched television downstairs, police said. "Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and found two nine-month-old girls with injuries," a Metropolitan Police spokesman told CNN. "Both babies were taken to an east London hospital where their condition is described as serious but stable." A fox caught in a trap placed at the rear of the property by local environmental officers was destroyed early on Monday, the spokesman said. "On Sunday night a neighbor informed environmental health officers that an animal could be heard in one of the traps," he said. "A vet was called to establish if it was safe to move the animal. It was determined it was not and the fox was humanely killed by the pest controller... The traps will remain in situ for the time being." The twins, Lola and Isabella Koupparis, are being treated at London's Royal Free Hospital. The twins' four-year-old brother, who was also asleep upstairs, was not hurt, the UK's Press Association said. The girls' mother, Pauline Koupparis, told the BBC she had gone to check on the twins after hearing "a funny cry, not a normal cry" from the bedroom. "It was quite muffled but very pained. I went into the room and I saw some blood in Isabella's cot, I thought she had a nosebleed. "I put on the light, I saw the fox, it just looked at me and it wasn't even scared of me. I started screaming as I realised Lola was also covered in blood." Foxes are a common sight throughout London, especially in Hackney which backs onto the green spaces of Hackney Marshes, the Lea Valley Regional Park and the new Olympic site. A neighbor of the family told PA: "We've all got foxes at the bottom of our gardens. Some people have got two or three living in their garden. They're all as bold as brass. You walk out into the garden and you have to shoo them away." Of the twin girls, she said: "They're beautiful little babies, really beautiful." Michael Parra, another neighbor, said police had warned residents not to leave doors open in the summer weather. "We see a lot of foxes around here. They're always in our garden. Something should be done about them. I would love to get them out of here. They're really a nuisance and a danger. They've terrorized our garden." A Hackney Council spokesman said the council didn't have dedicated environmental officers to deal with foxes but had called in a private contractor over the incident. He said the council usually received "one or two phone calls a month" from people concerned about foxes going through their trash. "We have never had reports in the past of foxes attacking residents," the spokesman told CNN. "All the expert advice we have had suggests that shocking incidents like this are incredibly rare, and our thoughts are with the children and their family."

Twin girls were asleep in upstairs bedroom when attack occured . Nine-month-olds' condition described as "serious but stable" Fox caught in trap at property has been destroyed . Hackney Council says no past reports of foxes attacking residents .

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(CNN) -- World No. 1 Rory McIlroy continued his superb form on the PGA Tour with a eight-under-par 64 to share the lead in the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick Thursday. McIlroy came into the third leg of the FedExCup playoffs off the back of his win at the Deutsche Bank Championship and was in no mood to rest on his laurels, firing seven birdies and an eagle in the first round against a single bogey. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland rolled home a six-foot birdie putt on the ninth, his final hole, to join U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, Bo Van Pelt and Canadian Graeme DeLaet in the clubhouse lead. Playing partner Tiger Woods drained a long birdie putt on the par-five hole to be one back on 65 as the pair treated the galleries in Indiana to a real treat. BMW Championship latest scores . McIlroy has not looked back since claiming the final major of 2012 at the U.S. PGA Championship, and his friendly rivalry with Woods is becoming a feature of the season. The pair were interviewed together after their rounds and 14-time major winner Woods was fulsome in his praise of the young pretender to his throne. "This is the next generation, he's a really nice kid and the game of golf is in good hands," the American said. Veteran Fijian Vijay Singh produced a superb birdie burst on his back nine to join Woods in the clubhouse on seven under, while defending champion Justin Rose of England opened with a 67. 'Hot putter' Snedeker snares U.S. Ryder Cup place . Former world No. 1 Luke Donald was tied for seventh on 66, while fellow 2012 Ryder Cup players Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood, Dustin Johnson and Steve Stricker were on 68 in a group also including British Open champion Ernie Els, runner-up Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen -- who was second at the Deutsche Bank event. U.S. Ryder Cup teammates Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Brandt Snedeker and Jim Furyk shot 69, as did Sergio Garcia -- who secured his place on the European team for this month's match at Medinah by winning the Wyndham Championship in August. Padraig Harrington and Hunter Mahan, who missed out on being among their respective team captains' wild-card picks, shot 70 to be tied for 41st while automatic U.S. selections Keegan Bradley (71) and Jason Dufner (72) were further back. With preferred lies and soft conditions, scoring was low on a course with a fearsome reputation with only 10 players in the 70-strong elite field over par. Only the top 30 in the FedEx rankings go through to the Tour Championship in Atlanta in two weeks' time to have the chance to win a $10 million bonus for the overall winner.

Rory McIlroy well placed for back-to-back wins in FedExCup playoffs . McIlroy shoots eight-under 64 to tie for first-round lead at BMW Championship . Playing partner Tiger Woods also in the hunt after carding 65 on Thursday . U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, Bo Van Pelt and Graham DeLaet also shoot 64 .

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(CNN) -- Jon Opsahl said he doesn't think domestic terrorist-turned-housewife Sara Jane Olson served nearly enough time for his mother's murder, but he's relieved the saga ended with Olson's Tuesday release from prison. Sara Jane Olson was released from a California prison Tuesday after serving seven years. Olson, a member of the self-styled revolutionary Symbionese Liberation Army -- perhaps best known for kidnapping Patricia Hearst -- was released from a California prison after serving seven years, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. She was released to her husband just after midnight and is expected to serve her yearlong parole term in Minnesota -- over the the objections of police unions and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Her sentence stems from her involvement in the 1975 attempted bombings of two police cars and the slaying of Myrna Opsahl during a bank robbery that same year. Back then, Olson went by her birth name, Kathleen Anne Soliah. After her 1976 indictment in the attempted bombings, she changed her name and started a new life in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was not apprehended until 1999. "I've really got nothing to say. She did her time, as minimal as that may have been," said Jon Opsahl, who was 15 when his mother was killed. "One of those years -- just one -- was for the murder of my mom and the bank robbery up in Carmichael." Myrna Opsahl, a mother of four, was depositing money at the Crocker National Bank for her church when she was shot by Olson's co-defendant Emily Montague Harris, according to court documents. Harris was sentenced to eight years; she served four and was released on parole in February 2007. Jon Opsahl, now 49, said he never understood why it took so long to bring his mother's killers to justice. While charges were filed in the bombings within months, no charges were brought in his mother's murder until 2002. "You expect thugs to do what thugs do, but you don't expect the district attorney to turn a blind eye to the murder of an upstanding citizen," Jon Opsahl said Monday. Olson's release Tuesday will cap an oft-strange storyline that spans more than three decades and which saw Olson wear the hats of college student, 1970s radical, housewife and philanthropist. Attorney Andy Dawkins met Olson, now 62, shortly after she moved to St. Paul through friends in the reggae band, Pressure Drop. Fred Peterson, Olson's husband, played trumpet in the band, Dawkins said. "She did good deeds everywhere. She raised three wonderful daughters. It was always a shock to all of us that the Sara we know had that past," Dawkins said. After attending the University of California, Santa Barbara, Olson moved to Berkeley in the early 1970s. There, she met Angela Atwood in 1972, and the two became best friends and roommates, Olson told L.A. Weekly in a 2002 interview shortly before she was imprisoned. After Atwood and five other SLA members were killed in a 1974 gunfight with the Los Angeles Police Department, Olson appeared at a memorial in Berkeley's Ho Chi Minh Park to eulogize her friend. "SLA soldiers, although I know it's not necessary to say, keep fighting. I'm with you, and we are with you," Olson told the crowd. Almost a year later, Olson took part in two bank robberies to help fund the SLA, according to court documents. During the Carmichael robbery, Olson "entered the bank with a firearm and kicked a nonresisting pregnant teller in the stomach. The teller miscarried after the robbery," the documents said. In August 1975, Los Angeles police found homemade bombs under two squad cars. They were designed to explode when the car moved, but neither device detonated. Authorities cast the attempted bombings as payback for the bloody shootout that left Atwood and other SLA members dead. A probe into the gunbattle helped police arrest Hearst, the granddaughter of publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst, who claimed she had been kidnapped, raped and brainwashed by the SLA. In her book "Every Secret Thing," Hearst put Olson at the center of the Carmichael robbery. Olson soon left California. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, "she evaded capture for 23 years, and in the meantime, became a doctor's wife, mother of three, community volunteer, veteran of charity work in Africa and practicing Methodist living in an upscale neighborhood in St. Paul." Though authorities said a 1999 "America's Most Wanted" episode marking the 25th anniversary of the L.A. shootout led to Olson's arrest, the show's Web site mentions neither Olson nor Soliah among its almost 1,100 "captures." Her Minnesota friends and neighbors were shocked, even incredulous, when she was arrested. They pleaded with a judge to grant her bail. The Sara Olson Defense Fund began selling cookbooks, titled, "Serving Time: America's Most Wanted Recipes." It would help that Olson was generous with her time. She was active in the church. She volunteered for political campaigns. Dawkins said he had a blind client to whom she used to read The New York Times. Olson's philanthropy, coupled with the connections of her husband, a respected emergency room doctor, made raising the $1 million bail relatively easy, said Dawkins, who remembers that some members of the community had so much faith in Olson they put up their children's college funds. On October 31, 2001, Olson pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to ignite a destructive device or explosive. She later tried to rescind the plea, saying "cowardice" prevented her from telling the truth. A superior court judge, however, denied her request and in January 2002 sentenced her to 20 years to life in prison, a sentence the parole board later reduced. Olson was charged with Opsahl's slaying that same week and pleaded guilty in 2003 to second-degree murder. Olson received a sentence of five years to life. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement that Olson's sentence was reduced for good behavior and for her work on a maintenance crew that cleaned the main yard of the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. Dawkins said "it's right" that Olson served time, but he is glad she is being released. He expects many hugs await her in St. Paul and that she will soon be back to her generous ways. "I really believe who we knew in St. Paul was the true Sara Olson," he said. The Los Angeles Police Protection League disagrees and has loudly opposed her early release. Sgt. Paul Weber, the league's chief, called her a sociopath who "never said she was sorry." He also lashed out at those who rush to defend her. "Enough with the BS that she was unfairly targeted by law enforcement for her youthful indiscretions -- she is a criminal," Weber said in a Monday statement. Corrections officials say it's important that she be reunited with her family during her parole -- it helps reduce recidivism -- but Minnesota legislators, the governor and the St. Paul Police Federation have asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to keep her in California over the next year. "Letting a domestic terrorist like Kathleen Soliah set the terms of her parole is an insult to the memory of Myrna Opsahl and all the men and women of LAPD past and present," the St. Paul union said in a letter last week. Jon Opsahl, however, just wants to put Olson out of his mind. "Get her out of here," he said. "I don't want to see or think about her again."

NEW: Governor, police unions oppose Olson serving parole in Minnesota . Olson evaded capture for more than 20 years living as Minnesota housewife . Olson was member of Symbionese Liberation Army, which nabbed Patricia Hearst . Court documents say Olson kicked pregnant teller during 1975 bank robbery .

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Washington (CNN) -- When gunmen riddled bullets through Newtown, Chicago, Aurora and an alphabet soup of cities and towns across the country, the nation sent up collective wails of grief at the death of the innocents. America swore this time was different. Lawmakers vowed they'd take a stand. But political seasons are fickle. So are the American people. Background checks on gun sales: How do they work? In December, days after the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting spree that left 20 children and seven adults dead, more than half of the nation favored stricter gun control laws, according to national polls. Less than six months later, that number dwindled to just over 40%. Several national polls show that roughly 90% of Americans support some form of universal background checks. However, that provision has faced intense pushback from some lawmakers and is a major sticking point even as Senate leader Harry Reid scheduled a vote Thursday to block the filibuster on comprehensive gun control reform. CNN Poll: Background checks popular, worrisome . Instead, those negotiators may be on the verge of putting forth a watered-down version of background checks in order to salvage the broader gun control package wending through that chamber. Though FBI background checks are required for commercial sales, the proposal being considered would expand them to gun shows and internet sales, but they would not require checks for other private transactions, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks. Is this how democracy works? "If our democracy's working the way it's supposed to and 90% of the American people agree on something, in the wake of a tragedy, you'd think this would not be a heavy lift," an exasperated President Obama said in West Hartford, Connecticut, on Monday. But the gun control debate — with its at times befuddling plot twists — highlights what many are loathe to admit: This is the way democracy works. Or at least this is the way democracy has worked with such similarly controversial measures as the Affordable Care Act and the bank bailouts — both of which were pushed through despite public opposition. Public opinion doesn't always equate to a legislative outcome. Yes, the gun control advocates are buoyed by the outrage of a grieving nation and a presidential administration's powerful push. But the gun-rights advocates are backed by the powerful gun lobby and a motivated and vocal interest group -- the NRA. Add to that the public's confusion about current gun laws, said Jon Vernick, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, and it's a recipe for gridlock. Hope grows for compromise proposal on gun control . "It's the usual stuff," Vernick said. "Historically politicians have feared even the smaller group of pro-gun folks more than the pro-gun violence prevention movement." That's because the gun advocates are motivated by that single issue and are far more likely than their more liberal-leaning gun control counterparts to be outspoken on that particular issue, policy experts said. "What happens is that the gun owners, the gun enthusiasts are one-issue voters, and there's been research done that shows that if you ask gun owners if they oppose gun control and you ask how vehement they are, they say 'it matters,'" said Alan Lizotte, dean and professor at the State University of New York at Albany's School of Criminal Justice. "Then you ask 'what have you done in opposing gun control.' They say 'I donated money. I wrote to my congressman. I've called my senator.'" Those who support stricter gun controls are motivated by a broader mix of issues. "When you ask the gun control people the same thing they're like 'what do you mean.' They have a bunch of things that matter," Lizotte said. NRA 'plucks the bird' to weaken gun proposals . Gun rights voters are aided by the targeted efforts of the National Rifle Association, which has more than 4.3 million members. The powerful gun lobby and its allies in Congress use a sophisticated campaign -- constantly shifting the focus of the battle among various provisions, raising new arguments to old issues and proposing solutions that would expand weapons use and training instead of increasing regulation. The NRA also exerts its political clout through a rating system that identifies friends and foes of its positions in Congress and directs substantial contributions to political campaigns it favors or opponents of candidates it dislikes. From gun hater to NRA-loving mom . Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, who received an A-rating by the NRA, has joined roughly a dozen similarly high-scoring Republicans in threatening to block Democrat-backed gun control legislation. Mayors Against Illegal Guns -- the group co-chaired by wealthy New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg battling the NRA in the recent gun control debate -- is using its opponent's tactics against them, creating their own grading system for lawmakers, some of them facing re-election next year. "At the end of the day, these guys represent their states, not the country," said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor at the Cook Political Report. "They need to be in step with their constituents." Outmatched . Sometimes, even when those constituents vocally advocate for stricter gun control laws, they find themselves outmatched. Rob "Biko" Baker, executive director of the League of Young Voters, a group which targets non-college, minority youth and encourages them to vote, said he remembers the NRA showing up at a community meeting with the families of gun violence victims in the predominantly black and urban north side of Milwaukee. "It was on MLK Drive and they showed up two-to-one. They showed up with the slick talking. We knew they were going to come deep, but we thought we were going to out organize them," Baker said. Ultimately, the measure Baker's group was pushing — a proposal to require background checks of all gun purchases — failed to even get out of committee in the Wisconsin statehouse. Should anyone be allowed to buy guns? Share your views . "We were making a common sense argument that black men are being targeted," Baker said. "It was pretty disheartening. I've gotta walk the streets and talk to the mothers, and they still have open wounds." Looking at the polls, the ones that President Obama pointed to as proof of the country's broad support for his agenda on gun control, doesn't tell the full story either. "In every Quinnipiac University poll since the Newtown massacre, nationally and in six states, we find overwhelming support, including among gun owners, for universal background checks," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "American voters agree with the National Rifle Association, however, that these background checks could lead someday to confiscation of legally owned guns." By a 48%-38% margin, voters in a Quinnipiac University survey said that the government could use the information from universal background checks to confiscate legally owned guns. And gun owners believe 53%-34% that the checks could lead to confiscation of legal guns. There's also a partisan divide on the question, with 61% of Republicans, 51% of independents and 32% of Democrats expecting confiscations. Opinion: Why the NRA fights background checks . The battleground of the states . As blue states like Colorado, Maryland and New York take on tougher restrictions on gun purchases and expand background checks, red states are considering pre-emptive laws to nullify a possible federal assault weapons ban. The types of gun control measures that easily sailed through the state legislature in Maryland faced huge hurdles, sparked protests and even drew in such national players as Vice President Joe Biden and gun manufacturer Magpul Industries in Colorado. Even as Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper was signing into law stricter gun control measures, the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners Group was giving away "a Winchester Super X Pump Marine Defender 12 Gauge Shotgun, courtesy of our friends at Cornerstone Arms in Colorado Springs" and several "Gen-M2 PMAGS" on its Facebook page. "It's a promotional giveaway," said Dudley Brown, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. "It looked like there was a chance of banning semiautomatic assault rifles, so it was an in your face 'OK then we'll give them away then,'" The group says it plans on giving away more guns and ammo between now and when the new laws take effect on July 1. They also are focusing on federal lawmakers they feel might cave to efforts to pass stricter gun control laws. "There are a number of weak-willed Republicans in the House, and we don't want them to feel they have wind in their sails," Brown said. "We're going to make Republicans pay the price. We are going to hold them accountable for their votes. Nothing is going to be done in secret. The days of smoke-filled rooms where even the institutional gun lobbies cut deals is over." CNN's Dana Bash, Tom Cohen and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Days after Newtown, more than half of the nation favored stricter gun control laws . Less than six months later, that number dwindled to just over 40% . National polls show 90% of Americans support some form of universal background checks .

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BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNN) -- Hundreds of Christians packed the Church of the Nativity on Thursday for a midnight Mass in what is thought to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ. A worshipper touches a star at the point where tradition says Jesus Christ was born in the Church of Nativity. The standing-room-only service included singing and organ music. There were also large crowds outside the church, one of the most sacred places in Christianity. So many people had flocked to the area this Christmas season that there were no rooms left at the inns and hotels in Bethlehem. Some took this as a sign that tourism in Bethlehem was on the upswing. Christmas is the one time of year when the West Bank's small, shrinking Christian communities show everyone else that they are still there. Before the midnight Mass, Palestinian scout groups representing Christians throughout the West Bank did as they always do on this day -- they marched, banging their drums loudly and, in a way, trying to make a point. Watch Bethlehem's Christmas celebrations » . The drumbeat has been heard by more and more people, locals say, as tourism has skyrocketed this year. "This year, tourism is much better than last year -- we reached 1,250,000," said Victor Batarseh, the mayor of Bethlehem. "All our hotels are full around Christmastime. We have 30,000 tourists coming in." Tourists in record numbers were on hand this year, braving an unusually cold, gray and windy day to watch the parade of drums and holiday songs. "It's kind of neat to see it in the Middle East, and they're playing Christmas carols and the songs we know," said one American tourist. "I'm loving it, it's just been an incredible atmosphere and just a wonderful learning experience," said another. The Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem also came to the birthplace of Jesus, as he does every Christmas Eve, allowed through normally tightly shut gates by Israeli troops. The heavy security is a testament to ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. "My Christmas wish is that we will have real peace, based on justice and freedom," said Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian parliament member. "My Christmas wish is that the justice that Jesus Christ gave his life for will happen sometime in his birthplace in Palestine." CNN's Ben Wedeman contributed to this report.

Hundreds of Christians pack Church of the Nativity Thursday for midnight Mass . The church is thought to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ . Large crowds gathered outside the church -- one of Christianity's most sacred places .

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(CNN) -- The general manager for the New Orleans Saints said Thursday he has never listened in on an opposing team's communications, or asked to have the capability. Allegations that he had the ability to eavesdrop on coaches for nearly three seasons were not true, Mickey Loomis told reporters. "I have a clear conscience." "In my 29 years in the NFL, I have never listened to an opposing team's communications," Loomis said. "I have never asked for the capability to listen to an opposing team's communications. I have never inquired as to the possibility of listening in on an opposing team's communications. And I have never been aware of any capability to listen in on an opposing team's communications at the Superdome or any NFL stadium." Louisiana State Police have joined the FBI in looking into the matter. "All we have now are allegations of illegal use of wiretapping and eavesdropping," state police Superintendent Mike Edmonson said earlier this week. Loomis said he did not know who made the eavesdropping claim. "I'm angry about it," he said. ESPN reported this week that the Saints general manager had a device in his Superdome suite that was wired to allow him to hear members of the opposing coaching staff from 2002 to 2004. The stadium suffered severe damage in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina ripped through the city. Citing anonymous sources, the report said it could not determine for certain whether Loomis ever used the system. On Monday, Saints spokesman Greg Bensel called the report "1,000% false -- completely inaccurate." "We asked ESPN to provide us evidence to support their allegations, and they refused. The team and Mickey are seeking all legal recourse regarding these false allegations," he said. Jim Haslett, former Saints coach and current defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins, similarly cast doubt on the ESPN report. "At no time during my tenure as head coach with the New Orleans Saints did Mickey and I discuss monitoring opposing team coach's communication, nor did I have any knowledge of this. To my knowledge this concept was never discussed or utilized," he said in a statement. The statute of limitations for wiretapping crimes is typically five years, according to CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin. When asked how that fact might figure into the investigation, Edmonson said, "Let's find out that if the allegations are factual and if state law has been compromised first. Then it will be up to the U.S. attorney or district attorney to review the matter." A spokesman for the National Football League said Monday that the league had no prior knowledge of the wiretapping accusations, which come on the heels of another Saints scandal. This month, the NFL upheld penalties it imposed against the Saints and members of its coaching staff for the team's bounty program. The unprecedented punishment was handed down in March after an NFL investigation found that the team had an "active bounty program" during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons. During this time, players were purportedly offered payments if they managed to hurt opposing players and knock them out of a game. The stiffest penalty handed down -- an indefinite ban -- was given to Gregg Williams, the Saints defensive coordinator who, over the offseason, moved to take that same position with the St. Louis Rams. Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012-13 season. Loomis was suspended without pay for the season's first eight regular season games, while assistant head coach Joe Vitt was suspended without pay for the first six regular season games. The team was also fined $500,000 and ordered to forfeit its second-round draft picks in 2012 and 2013, the NFL has said. Loomis said Thursday the team respects the NFL's decision on the bounty program . "It is our job to move forward. Player safety is a paramount issue for the league and the New Orleans Saints." CNN's Rick Martin contributed to this report.

Mickey Loomis denies he listened in on communications, or tried to . Authorities are looking into eavesdropping, wiretapping allegations . The Saints are already in hot water over their bounty program . Loomis said the Saints have accepted penalties related to that .

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(Tribune Media Services) -- I'm lost! For American Girl book fans, the "Happy New Year, Julie" story is an ideal gift for holiday road trips. Hopelessly, completely lost on a winding, backcountry road somewhere in Westchester County, N.Y. Did I mention it was night and pitch-black? "How could you do this?" asks my aggravated 16-year-old daughter, Mel. I'm not even sure. One minute we're on the highway and a couple of wrong turns later, here we are. None of the maps in the car showed the road we were on. Finally, we spot some open shops and a kind saleswoman in the Gap gave me directions. Guess what I want somebody to give me this holiday? A portable GPS! (Are you listening, elves?) L.L. Bean (www.llbean.com) has some that are under $100, TomTom (www.tomtom.com), has some for under $250. A GPS would be a welcome gift for any traveling family. It's no fun getting lost, whether close to home or on vacation in an unfamiliar city or country. Of course, my favorite gift of all would be a trip. Give those you love most the gift of an adventure together someplace new, or someplace that holds special memories, whether you are celebrating a special anniversary, birthday or simply a good year. Outfitters, cruise lines and resorts will help you arrange a custom itinerary -- and give you a good "reunion" deal too. Just make sure you get everyone on board with the idea before you fork over your credit card for those nonrefundable deposits. Give the adults different guidebooks about the region and if you are planning a trip to foreign shores, give each of the kids some Euros, Pesos, etc., to spend when they get there. They'll have fun and maybe hone a few math skills figuring out how much they've really got to spend. Maybe you want to encourage your kids' or grandkids' interest in exploring the world beyond their community. Buy them a subscription to National Geographic Kids (www.shopng.org) and for preschoolers, National Geographic Little Kids (subscriptions are just $15 a year.) Those planning road trips or plane trips with their children will thank you every time they travel, if you slip a portable DVD player under the tree or next to the Hanukkah Menorah. Disney (www.disneyshopping.com) has a new one that's compact and has twin 7-inch LCD screens and two sets of headphones. It sells for $179.99. Of course, you'll need a couple of new DVDs to watch. How about encouraging the young chefs in the gang with Pixar's "Ratatouille," or spark your little pirate's sense of adventure with "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." If you're planning a holiday trip, bring along your favorite holiday movie. Books on tape are also a great bet for families who prefer the road to the skies. The story can become a shared experience because everyone, including the driver, can listen at the same time, assuming you can get the older kids to turn off their iPods. There are plenty of holiday stories, like "A Christmas Carol" performed by Jim Dale, who read the Harry Potter books so well, John Grisham's "Skipping Christmas"(www.randomhouse.com/audio) read by Dennis Boutsikaris or Fannie Flagg reading her book "A Redbird Christmas," which I just listened to on a long drive in Colorado. Also check out Brilliance Audio (www.brillianceaudio.com) for other titles like Adam Canfield's "Watch Your Back" about the adventures -- and misadventures of an intrepid middle-school reporter. Good old-fashioned books, of course, are great gifts too, especially if you can find one that relates to an experience you've shared on vacation or to a place you plan to visit. Ask your local children's librarian for suggestions. Maybe you've taken the kids to Cirque de Soleil or the Big Apple Circus, if so check out "The Painted Circus" (www.kidscanpress.com), which features beautiful illustrations that play tricks on the eye -- great to read together on a plane or at a relative's house. If you've been to San Francisco, buy your American Girl book fans (www.americangirl.com) the "Happy New Year, Julie" story about a girl growing up around San Francisco in the 1970s who celebrates the Chinese New Year with her best friend. An added plus: It will be fun for moms to share what their lives were like "back in the old days" through these historically accurate tales. I also like the Mini Mysteries from American Girl. No one should travel these days without a camera in his or her pocket -- to capture all those funny moments that don't always end up in the family scrapbook. Even better, the kids can take charge of creating family vacation Web pages. The experts at Take Great Pictures (www.TakeGreatPictures.com) suggest the Olympus Stylus 770 SW ($379.95) because it is shockproof, waterproof, crushproof and only weights 5.5 ounces. For teens, check out the Casio EX-S880 ($249.95), which comes in bright colors and is about the size of a credit card. The Casio EX also features a YouTube Capture mode so they can upload videos to the Web. The experts suggest the Pentax Optio E40 (under $150) for kids as young as six. No one, including kids, should travel without a lightweight, rolling duffel. Lands End (www.landsend.com) or L.L. Bean (www.llbean.com) offer them in a variety of colors and while you're at it, order a monogrammed fleece blanket for each child for those interminable car trips. I'm also a fan of fleece jackets and vests for travel because they're lightweight and dry quickly. You can find them everywhere, even for young kids. (Check out the selection at Patagonia (www.patagonia.com). Happy shopping. E-mail to a friend . (For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com, where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.) Copyright 2009 EILEEN OGINTZ, DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

A portable GPS is a useful gift for traveling families . A subscription to National Geographic Kids exposes kids to the world . No one, including kids, should travel without a lightweight, rolling duffel .

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(CNN) -- The next Winter Olympics in Russia will feature six new events, meaning that more women will be able to compete at Sochi in 2014. The men's and women's ski half-pipe, women's ski jumping, biathlon mixed relay, team figure skating and luge team relay will be added, the International Olympic Committee announced on Wednesday. Another decision will soon be made about whether to add five other competitions: men's and women's ski slopestyle and snowboard slopestyle, plus Alpine team parallel. The IOC said it had looked at ways of increasing universality, gender equity and youth appeal and overall value to the four-yearly Games. "The inclusion of these events on the Olympic Winter Games program is sure to be appreciated by athletes and sports fans alike," IOC president Jacques Rogge said. "These are exciting, entertaining events that perfectly complement the existing events on the sports program, bring added appeal and increase the number of women participating at the Games." Meanwhile, the IOC is preparing rules aimed at preventing a repeat of the Caster Semenya gender controversy. The South African runner's 800-meters victory as an 18-year-old at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin sparked a furore that saw her miss a year of competition while tests were undertaken to determine her true sex. Semenya has since been allowed to return to running as a woman by the International Association of Athletics Federations, but the IOC is hoping to avoid such embarrassment at the 2012 London Olympics. The IOC's executive board is meeting in the British capital this week and has agreed on the rules in principle, the UK Press Association reported on Tuesday. "My opinion is that there will not be many such cases," IOC medical commission chairman Professor Arne Ljungqvist told PA. "My experience in the last several years is that there has been a handful of cases over the last 10 years. I feel to start with it would be advisable for sport to have a panel of experts who can gain more experience of these cases so that they can be dealt with in a consistent way. "I would probably personally recommend the identification of a number of experts to gain the necessary expertise in the near future."

The IOC announces that six events will be added to 2014 Winter Olympics . More women athletes will have the chance to compete at Sochi in Russia . IOC is drawing up rules to prevent repeat of Caster Semenya gender controversy . Its executive board is meeting in London and hopes to have rules in place for 2012 .

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Los Angeles (CNN) -- While Charlie Sheen works to "conquer the medical issues" in rehab and his hit sitcom is on "production hiatus," a porn actress is talking about a two-day party she claims led to his collapse last week. Kacey Jordan appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday morning and she later tweeted "the rest of the story" will air on "Nightline" Monday evening. Sheen's lawyer Yale Galanter responded with a written statement Monday. "It is a shame that during this time, while Mr. Sheen has sought treatment on his own, opportunistic women are trying to take advantage of his celebrity status," Galanter said. The actress described what she said was a nonstop party at Sheen's Los Angeles home, including a large amount of cocaine use by Sheen. "It was all over the bathroom counter," Jordan said. "You could see him like chiseling it off, putting it in there repeatedly." Sheen proposed that she and several other porn actresses move into a mansion at his expense, Jordan said. "He wanted us all to live in this huge house he was going to rent out and he's like, 'You can have anything you want. Anything you want, you name it. It will be done within an hour," Jordan told ABC. But the sex and drug allegations weren't the only revelations from Jordan. She claims Sheen wanted her to baby-sit his children. "I think maybe the baby-sitting part was important to him, so that maybe when he was, you know, doing his drinking, you know, maybe that he didn't have to have his kids see him be like that and then have one of us girls watch them," Jordan said. Denise Richards, an ex-wife who shares two young daughters with Sheen, apparently saw the ABC interview. Richards posted this message on her Twitter account soon after: . "If you caught GMA today..FYI.. No 'adult film star' will be babysitting our kids!" Sheen voluntarily entered an undisclosed rehabilitation center for treatment Friday, Sheen representative Stan Rosenfield said. The announcement came a day after Sheen was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where Rosenfield said he was treated for severe pain related to a hernia. He checked out of the Los Angeles hospital Thursday night, he said. "Charlie has had a hernia condition for some time," Rosenfield said. "I was told by the person who made the 911 call that it was hernia-related." Sheen's hit CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men" has been placed on "production hiatus," CBS and Warner Bros. Television said Friday. "We are profoundly concerned for his health and well-being, and support his decision," their joint statement said. It was the second emergency trip to a hospital for Sheen in three months. He spent several hours in a New York hospital in October after police responded to an early morning call about "an emotionally disturbed person" at the Plaza Hotel, a law enforcement source said at the time. Sheen's representative blamed an "adverse allergic reaction" to a medication. Sheen, the son of actor Martin Sheen, spent at least a month last year at a Malibu, California, rehab center, but it was never disclosed what he was treated for there. He was arrested in December 2009 after his wife, Brooke Mueller, told Aspen, Colorado, police that he threatened her with a knife at their holiday home. A Colorado judge allowed the actor to count his time at Promises of Malibu toward a 30-day jail sentence after he entered a guilty plea in August in that case. The plea deal reduced the charges from felony domestic violence to a misdemeanor third-degree assault count.

Kacey Jordan details what she says was actor's two-day binge . Sheen wanted to set up a house for porn stars to party, Jordan says . The porn actress says Sheen wanted her to watch his children . Sheen entered rehab last Friday .

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(CNN) -- The bombs used in the Boston Marathon attack were built in the apartment that suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev shared with his wife and child, a U.S. law enforcement official with first-hand knowledge of the investigation told CNN on Thursday. The official was not authorized to release the information. Katherine Russell, Tsarnaev's widow, has remained largely out of view inside her parents' North Kingstown home since her husband's death. It remains unclear what, if anything, Tamerlan's widow might have known or suspected, the source added. According to her attorney, Amato DeLuca, the 24-year-old widow knew nothing of plans to bomb the race, and reports of her husband's involvement came as an "absolute shock" to Russell and her family. Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, initially planned to carry out a suicide-bomb attack on July 4, a U.S. law enforcement official regularly briefed on the Boston bombing investigation told CNN. The source said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told investigators their bombs were ready earlier than they expected and they decided to move up the date. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told investigators that the Boston Marathon was chosen as a target only a day or two before the event, the source said. It is unclear which specific event would have been targeted but one of the biggest July Fourth celebrations in the country is held in Boston. The annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular hosts 500,000 spectators, according to the event's website. It is televised live nationally on CBS. The revelation comes the same day the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev was claimed by his family and later was picked up by a funeral home, according to Terrel Harris, spokesman for the Massachusetts office of the chief medical examiner. Harris declined to say which funeral home picked it up. Tsarnaev's cause of death will not be released until the death certificate is filed with the Boston city clerk, he said. The earliest that's expected to happen is Friday morning, Harris said. His parents in Dagestan will not bring the bombing suspect's body back to Russia and will not bury him until an "independent" autopsy is conducted, family spokeswoman Kheda Saratova said Friday. His body will be interred "somewhere in Boston," she said. One item that may yield some clues into the bombings case is now in the hands of federal officials. The FBI has a laptop belonging to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Tamerlan's younger brother, two federal law enforcement officials told CNN. The computer was turned over to investigators by one of his friends accused of obstructing justice. A lawyer for Dias Kadyrbayev tells CNN that his client "turned over the laptop to the FBI." He didn't say when the laptop was turned over. A law enforcement source confirmed the attorney's account. Three people died and more than 260 were wounded when two explosive devices fashioned from pressure cookers and other materials exploded in separate locations near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15. Four people have been charged in connection with the bombing, including Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is accused of carrying out the attack along with his brother, Tamerlan, 26. The older brother died April 19 after a firefight with police, hours after authorities released images of the suspected bombers. Azamat Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were charged Wednesday with conspiring to discard potentially incriminating items from Dzhokhar's dorm room, including empty fireworks containers, while Robel Phillipos was charged with making false statements to investigators. The Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry said Thursday it was offering consular services to Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov, who are citizens of that country and are in the United States on student visas. "We would like to emphasize that our citizens did not receive charges of involvement in the organization of the Boston Marathon bombings. They were charged with destroying evidence," the ministry said in a statement. Dzhokhar, who suffered gunshot wounds to the head, neck, legs and hands, is being held at a federal Bureau of Prisons medical facility in Devens, Massachusetts. He has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and could face the death penalty if convicted. Authorities have said they believe the brothers acted alone, but are investigating whether they could have learned from or been aided by terror groups, including groups overseas. Of particular interest has been Tamerlan Tsarnaev's 2012 trip to the semi-autonomous Russian republic of Dagestan, home to numerous Islamic militant groups that have warred against Moscow's rule. Russian authorities asked U.S. officials to investigate Tamerlan some months before the trip, saying they believed he was becoming increasingly involved with radical Islam. The FBI investigated, but found no evidence of extremist activity and closed the case. U.S. officials learned after the bombings that Russian officials had intercepted a 2011 phone call between the suspect's mother, living in Dagestan, and one of her sons in which they reportedly had a vague conversation about jihad, a law enforcement official told CNN earlier. Some lawmakers, particularly Republicans, have been critical of how law enforcement officials, intelligence agencies and the administration of President Barack Obama handled the Russian tip. While Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his mother were added to a terror database following the FBI investigation, Tamerlan was allowed to make his Russian trip in 2012 and return six months later. CNN's Susan Candiotti and Marina Carver contributed to this report.

NEW: The family will not bring Tamerlan's body back to Russia, spokeswoman said . Source: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev says plans changed days before bombing . Body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev has been claimed by family . Brothers considered a suicide attack on July 4, source tells CNN .

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(CNN) -- Real Madrid's Germany international defender Christoph Metzelder is returning to the Bundesliga after signing a three-year contract with title-chasing Schalke, the German club's official Web site has confirmed. The 29-year-old -- who has endured an injury-ravaged three seasons in Spain -- will be contracted to Felix Magath's side until June 2013. Metzelder, who spent some time at Schalke as a junior, made his name at the Blues' bitter rivals Borussia Dormund -- winning the Bundesliga title in 2002 and featuring in the Germany side that lost to Brazil in that year's World Cup final. He also played a crucial role in helping his country to third place on home soil in the 2006 World Cup finals, as well as featuring in the final of Euro 2008, where Garmany lost to Spain 1-0. Metzelder has won 47 international caps, but a succession of injuries since joining Madrid from Dortmund in 2007 means that he is unlikely to feature in the Germany squad for the South Africa 2010 finals. Magath revealed he had tried to sign Metzelder when he has in charge of Wolfsburg, telling the Kicker Web site: "At that time I got to know him and came to value him and I am ecstatic that he has chosen us. "He is not only a former Schalke youth player, but also a player with a real sense of responsibility, a leader." Schalke are level on points with Bayern munich at the top of the Bundesliga with just two matches left and guaranteed a place in the Champions League next season.

German international defender Christoph Metzelder has signed for Schalke . The 29-year-old agrees a three-year contract with Bundesliga title chasers . Metzelder has endured an injury-ravaged three-season spell with Real Madrid .

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(CNN Student News) -- March 23, 2010 . Download PDF maps related to today's show: . • Haiti • China . Transcript . THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Happy birthday, Roger Bannister -- first man to run the mile in less than four minutes. In more than twice that time, you'll be up to speed on today's headlines. I'm Carl Azuz. First Up: Health Care . AZUZ: First up, it's the biggest expansion of the United States health care system in more than forty years. And by a vote of 219-212, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a health care reform bill late Sunday night. This is the same bill that the Senate passed last December. This means that when President Obama signs it, it's law. The House also passed a set of changes to the Senate bill. We're gonna get back to that in just a second. But first, you know this health care issue has been controversial. We want you to check out some of the reaction to last night's vote. REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) HOUSE SPEAKER: Thirty-two million more Americans having access to health care. $1.3 trillion saved for the taxpayer and accountability for the insurance companies so they cannot come between patients and their doctors. REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Shame on us. Shame on this body. Shame on each and every one of you who substitutes your will and your desires above those of your fellow countrymen. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This legislation will not fix everything that ails our health care system, but it moves us decisively in the right direction. This is what change looks like. AZUZ: Okay, so the House passed the bill. Now what? Well, President Obama is expected to sign it today. Again, as soon as he does that, the Senate bill becomes law. But how about those changes passed by the House? Those still need to get through the Senate. That process can't start until the president signs the original bill. Some analysts are saying that the package of changes could inspire a pretty heated battle in the Senate. We're going to have more on that as the debate gets going. Another thing that's going to happen when the president signs the health care bill: lawsuits. At least ten states are planning to file suits arguing that parts of the health care bill are unconstitutional. President Obama's administration says it expects to win any lawsuits filed against the bill. Promo . AZUZ: Well, this debate, dominating headlines for months. You see our home page here, CNNStudentNews.com. Now that a health care bill has been passed, some people are calling it a milestone; others are calling it a mistake. That is what our blog, which you see right here, is asking: milestone or mistake? You can vote in our Quick Poll, comment on the subject. You know where to find it; it's at CNNStudentNews.com. In fact, I have a couple comments for you right now. Brian says "it is a good idea because it'll keep insurance companies from raising prices." Daniel, on the other hand, he's saying "it's not the answer to the problems our current system has." We want you to share your thoughts -- and firstnames only -- at our blog. Word to the Wise . TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: A Word to the Wise... subsidize (verb) to help or assist by providing money . source: www.m-w.com . Student Loan Reform . AZUZ: Sunday night, the House of Representatives also approved a plan for the government to be the main supplier of student loans. Right now, you can get loans from the government or from private companies. But the government actually subsidizes some of those private loans; it gives the companies money to guarantee them. This new proposal would cut those subsidies out. Ali Velshi gives us a little background on how loans work right now and how this would change the process. ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right now, the government provides about $31 billion in student loans. The private enterprise banks -- private banks, basically -- provide about $67 billion. In many cases, they're guaranteed by the government. But really, you can see the private enterprise gives about twice as many loans as the government does. Now the plan, according to the bill, is basically for the government to rub out the middleman, to stop sort of subsidizing or guaranteeing these loans and be the lender directly to people with loans. AZUZ: This proposal still needs to go through the Senate. It's not a done deal. Supporters argue that it would save the federal budget more than $60 billion over the next 10 years. One congressman said it would make college more affordable and keep jobs in America. But critics of the plan say it'll actually put jobs at stake, including thousands of employees at those private lending companies, those banks. Critics also argue that the change will cause delays in the loan process, because they say the government doesn't have enough people to handle all the loans. Shoutout . MATT CHERRY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! Who were the 42nd and 43rd presidents of the United States? Were they: A) Ronald Reagan & George H.W. Bush, B) George H.W. Bush & Bill Clinton, C) Bill Clinton & George W. Bush or D) Jimmy Carter & Ronald Reagan? We'll give you five seconds on this one -- GO! Bill Clinton was number 42 and George W. Bush was 43. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout! Haiti Relief . AZUZ: Those two former presidents are working together to try and help victims of January's devastating earthquake in Haiti. The natural disaster killed more than 200,000 people -- was completely catastrophic -- left more than a million others homeless. Presidents Clinton and Bush were in the Caribbean nation yesterday, meeting with government officials and others who are involved in the relief efforts. They were there on behalf of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, which they started to raise money for this recovery process. According to its Web site, the organization has raised more than $37 million so far. In addition to the meetings, Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton spent part of yesterday's visit touring some of the camps for Haiti's homeless. U.S.-Israel Relations . AZUZ: There's been some tension between the U.S. and Israel lately. You've heard about this on our show. It's especially focused over Israel's plans to build new settlements in East Jerusalem. This is an area that's disputed between Israelis and Palestinians. The U.S., which is trying to help create a Middle East peace plan, wants Israel to stop construction there. In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the U.S. has a responsibility "to give credit when it is due and to tell the truth when it is needed." But she said the relationship between the U.S. and Israel is still strong. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON: For President Obama and for me, and for this entire administration, our commitment to Israel's security and Israel's future is rock-solid, unwavering, enduring and forever. AZUZ: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke at the conference. He's scheduled to sit down with President Obama for a meeting at the White House sometime today. Google . AZUZ: A showdown could be looming between China and Google. Yesterday, the Internet company announced it has stopped censoring, or restricting, its search results in China. A company official said, "We very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision, though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services." Back in 2006, when Google launched Google.cn, its search engine in China, it agreed to a Chinese demand for the company to censor some of its search results. At the time, Google argued that offering Chinese users some information was better than nothing. But after alleged cyber-attacks against Google last December, the company stopped the self-censorship, although that only lasted for about a day. Now, it seems China will have to decide how it plans to react to this latest announcement. Blog Report . AZUZ: A list was posted temporarily at a Wisconsin middle school. It showed the names of students who had failing grades, and about 500 of you had something to say about it! Sabrina doesn't think "it's fair to post someone's grade where anyone can see it." She says "it's embarrassing and humiliating." A lot of you agreed with that. As you can see, our quick poll showed that about two-thirds of you oppose an F-list. Rachel says she doesn't "see this working at her school. The students would tell the parents; the parents would get angry and contact the principal." But Diana supports the idea, saying "the parents should help their students get off the list and not complain to the school." And Spencer writes, "The principal did the right thing. He motivated half the kids to get off the list. It hopefully gets the people who don't usually care to care about their grades." If you have no idea what we're talking about, watch this story in our archive. Go to CNNStudentNews.com. Click archive. Select the show from March 17th! Before We Go . AZUZ: And finally, if you have a fondness for fromage, you're gonna love today's Before We Go segment. Take a big whiff. You know what that smells like? Victory! That's because this is the world's best cheese! The Swiss gruyere took top prize at the 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest in Wisconsin. The judges praised the big cheese for its creamy texture and lightly fruity taste. After beating out 2,300 other entries... Goodbye . AZUZ: ...We guess this cheese stands alone. A muenster pun like that is as gouda way as any to end today's show. For CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz.

Find out what comes next after the passage of a health care reform bill . Learn about a proposal that would change how student loans are funded . Follow the steps that led to a showdown between China and Google . Use the Daily Discussion to help students understand today's featured news stories .

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Washington (CNN) -- Republican Scott Brown was sworn in Thursday as the new U.S. senator from Massachusetts to fill the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, and immediately signaled opposition to President Obama's spending plans. Brown's new Senate colleagues applauded after the ceremony on the floor of the Senate chamber conducted by Vice President Joe Biden, in his capacity as president of the Senate. Democratic Sen. John Kerry, also of Massachusetts, and Brown's wife, Gail Huff, accompanied Brown into the chamber. At a news conference after the ceremony, Brown thanked Massachusetts voters who gave him a surprise victory in the January 19 special election in a state that had not elected a Republican senator since 1972. "I can't promise I'll be right in every vote I make. I'm sure I'll make mistakes from time to time," Brown said. "But I will try to learn and grow and do the very best job I can on a day-to-day basis." Brown's election victory stripped Senate Democrats of their 60-seat Senate supermajority, imperiling the ability of Obama and Democrats to push major legislative priorities such as health care reform through Congress. The Republican upset in Massachusetts also raised fears among many congressional Democrats of a potential GOP landslide in November's midterm elections. A fiscal conservative who holds some moderate views, Brown was noncommittal on whether he would support a Republican filibuster in coming Senate consideration of some Obama nominees for government posts. He also said he needed to talk to generals in the field before deciding to support Obama's call, supported by top military leaders, to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding a ban on gays in the military. Brown made clear he opposes the spending policies of the Obama administration, stating that the $862 billion stimulus bill passed last year "didn't create one new job" in Massachusetts or across the country. He also said Congress should start over on health care with bipartisan talks, instead of continuing work on separate comprehensive bills passed by the House and Senate. That prompted a response later from Jay Carney, spokesman for Biden, who said, "Anyone can go to recovery.gov (on the Internet) and see that Massachusetts state and local government, businesses and community organizations have already reported directly funding over 9,000 jobs in the state last year -- and that's based on a only a portion of the total $8.4 billion in (stimulus) funds that have already gone to Massachusetts." He also said Congress should start over on health care with bipartisan talks, instead of continuing work on separate comprehensive bills passed by the House and Senate. At the same time, Brown said he would consider each piece of legislation on merit, rather than whether it was proposed by one party or another. "If I see a bill that's good for my state first, I don't care where it comes from," Brown said. "If it's good for Massachusetts, I'll consider it." Thursday's ceremony occurred a week earlier than originally planned. Massachusetts officials had said it would take a few weeks after the election to certify the result of Brown's victory. In a letter to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Secretary of State William Galvin on Wednesday, Brown's attorney said the senator-elect had planned on being sworn in on February 11, but had been told that several Senate votes would be held before then. "For this reason, he wants certification to occur immediately," attorney Daniel Winslow wrote. The certification occurred Thursday, allowing Brown to officially fill his seat later in the day. "There's no hidden agenda," Brown said of his push to get certified this week instead of next. "It's because I want to get to work." Asked why his daughters didn't attend the swearing-in, Brown explained one of them, Ayla, had a college basketball game to play Thursday and the other, Arianna, had a college exam. "The Bibles I used for today's swearing-in belong to my daughters, and I stacked them one on top of the other and took my oath on them," Brown said. Brown will be taking over Kennedy's coveted office space in the Senate Russell building. Sen. Paul Kirk, who was appointed to fill the seat after Kennedy's death, currently occupies the office and will move out. Several Senate sources tell CNN that the Senate Rules Committee, which assigns office space, decided to give Brown the office space as a matter of convenience. Because of his seniority, Kennedy had one of the most coveted office suites in the Senate complex. It is located in the Russell building, down the hall from the Rotunda, and has balconies that overlook the Capitol. CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash contributed to this report.

NEW: Newly sworn-in senator stresses opposition to President Obama's fiscal policies . NEW: Brown noncommittal on prospect of filibustering over some Obama nominees . Scott Brown is sworn into office Thursday, becoming crucial 41st GOP vote . Brown won a special election to fill the remainder of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's term .

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(CNN) -- Kevin Grosskreutz scored an 87th-minute winner to send last year's beaten finalists, Borussia Dortmund into the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday. The Bundesliga side finished top of Group F after beating 10-man Marseille 2-1 in the Stade Velodrome. Robert Lewandowski got Dortmund off to the perfect start with a goal in the fourth minute but German joy didn't last long as Marseille defender Souleymane Diawara equalized in 14th minute. Despite having a numerical advantage for two thirds of the game -- Marseille's Dimitri Payet was sent off in the 34th minute -- Dortmund couldn't find a winner until Grosskreutz drove home a low winner with three minutes remaining. "It was a great feeling to get the winning goal and put us through as group winners," Grosskreutz said. "It was amazing to celebrate the goals with the fans, we deserved to go through," the 25-year-old added. "We had lots of chances, but stayed patient and got our reward. I can't wait to get in the dressing room and soak up the atmosphere, there might be a few beers drunk as well." Dortmund's better head-to-head record against Arsenal ensured they finished first in the group while the Gunners clinched second place despite losing 2-0 away to Napoli. Gonzalo Higuain's 73rd-minute goal gave Rafa Benitez's side hope -- the big Argentine turning neatly on the edge of the area before unleashing a low left-foot shot into the bottom corner of Wojciech Szczesny's goal. Two minutes later, Arsenal were down to ten men when Mikel Arteta received a second yellow card. Worse was to come as Jose Callejon doubled the home side's lead in injury time. With news filtering through of Dortmund's late goal, Napoli's chances of progressing now rested solely on scoring an unanswered third, but Callejon's deft touch over an advancing Szczesny proved to be the last kick of the match. Napoli also finished the group stage with 12 points, but an inferior goal difference sees them drop down into the Europa League. At Stamford Bridge, Demba Ba's 10th minute goal proved the difference between Chelsea and Romania's Steaua Bucharest. The 1-0 win ensures the West Londoner's retained top billing in Group E. Jose Mourinho's side will be joined in the last 16 by Germany's Schalke after they beat 10-man Basel 2-0. The Swiss side's defender, Ivan Ivanov was sent off in the 31st minute with Schalke taking full toll of the extra man in the second-half. Goals from 20-year-old Julian Draxler in the 50th minute followed by Joel Matip seven minutes later ensured second place in the group for the Bundesliga side at the expense of their opponents. Violence mars Milan progress . Neymar scored a hat-trick as Barcelona thumped Celtic 6-1 to ensure top-dog status in Group H. Gerard Pique opening the scoring in the seventh minute, prodding the ball home from eight yards after Alexis Sanchez had his shot blocked by Celtic keeper Fraser Forster. Pedro made it 2-0 in the 39th minute with Neymar effectively killing off the contest with Barcelona's third and his first Champions League goal a minute before halftime. Three minutes after the break, the Brazilian scored again before completing his hat-trick in the 58th minute. Cristian Tello completed the rout with a sixth goal in the 72nd minute before Giorgos Samaras got a consolation for the Scottish champions two minutes before the end. The Catalans will be joined by AC Milan after they drew 0-0 with Ajax at the San Siro in a game that was marred by violence before kickoff. Italian news agency ANSA reported that three Ajax fans had been admitted to hospital after being stabbed outside the stadium prior to the match. One of the victims is in a serious condition after being stabbed in the stomach, ANSA reported. The incidents followed fighting between the two sets of supporters earlier in the day. Group G high-flyers Atletico Madrid made it five victories out of six with 2-0 win against Porto. Defeat for the Portuguese side means they lose out on qualification to Zenit St Petersburg who despite losing 4-1 to FK Austria Vienna are into the knockout stages. Galatasaray through to last 16 . A 85th minute strike from Wesley Sneijder earned Galatasaray a 1-0 win over Juventus on Wednesday as Tuesday's Group B Champions League match concluded after play had been suspended following a snowstorm on Tuesday night. The Dutch international's goal at the Turk Telekom Arena earns Roberto Mancini's side a place in the last 16 at the expense of their Italian visitors. With seven points, Galatasaray finished second to runaway group winners Real Madrid, while Juve had to settle for third place (on six points) and a place in the Europa League. The match, which resumed in the 32nd minute (the time when the referee stopped Tuesday's game), was played on a pitch bearing many muddy scars from the snow clearance. Mancini admitted afterwards that it may have been better not to play the game, but expressed satisfaction with the result. "It was a difficult situation, but the lads did well. The point we took from Turin served us well and today we deserved the win," Mancini told Sky Sports Italia. The draw for the first knockout stages of the Champions League will take place on Monday December 16 in Nyon, Switzerland. The full list of teams is as follows: . Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Galatasaray, Paris St-Germain, Olympiakos, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Chelsea, Schalke, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersberg, Barcelona & AC Milan. Club World Cup kicks off . Meanwhile in Morocco, FIFA's Club World Cup competition got underway as home side Raja Casablanca took on New Zealand's Auckland City FC in a playoff game to decide who will play Mexico's C.F. Monterrey in the quarterfinals. Raja won the match 2-1 with an injury-time winner. Read more: Manchester City end Bayern Munich's winning streak . Read more: New Camp? Barcelona considers leaving iconic stadium .

Last year's beaten finalists through to last 16 after late winner against Marseille . Arsenal lose to Napoli but still progress to knockout stages . Chelsea top Group E, Milan finish second to Barcelona in Group H . Violence before Milan's match against Ajax mars Italian side's progress .

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