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Arrests tied to three bombings in April, police tell Xinhua . China says suspects confessed; CNN could not confirm . Lhasa, Tibet was site of deadly unrest in March .

BEIJING, China Police in Tibet have arrested 16 Buddhist monks and are seeking three more for their alleged involvement in one bombing and two attempted bombings, authorities in Tibet told state-run media. Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers are shown in the streets of Lhasa, Tibet, on March 14. All three cases occurred in Tibet's Mangkam county during the first half of April, according to the Tibet Autonomous Regional Department of Public Security. The suspects confessed, police said, saying they had listened to foreign radio and were following separatist propaganda from the Dalai Lama, China's Xinhua news agency reported. CNN could not confirm whether the suspects confessed. The Dalai Lama has said he does not advocate violence or a separate and independent Tibet. He has said he wants a genuine autonomy that preserves the cultural heritage of Tibet. Beijing blames the Dalai Lama and his followers for violence that erupted March 14 amid anti-Chinese demonstrations in Tibet. Some protesters advocated independence from China while others demonstrated against the growing influence of ethnic Han Chinese in Tibet and other regions of China with ethnic Tibetan populations. The Chinese authorities cracked down on the protests, which began peacefully on the 49th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising. Widespread violence broke out across China's Tibetan region, especially in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, following a week of protests by hundreds of Buddhist monks. "Real Buddhists should learn Buddhist scriptures by heart, love their country and their religion, abide by the law, and bring happiness to people," said Dainzin Chilai, vice-chairman of the China Buddhist Association and vice-chairman of the People's Political Consultative Conference of Tibet Autonomous Region. "They should not involve themselves in cruel killing and sabotage." Both groups Chilai represents are affiliated with the Chinese government. The unrest resulted in the deaths of at least 18 civilians and one police officer, according to government figures. It also injured 382 civilians and 241 police officers and led to the looting of businesses and home and the burning of shops and vehicles. Tibet's self-proclaimed government-in-exile put the death toll from the protests at 140. At the time of the unrest, roughly 1,000 people hurled rocks and concrete at security forces, demolishing military trucks and pushing back riot police, a witness told CNN, and Tibetans seemed to be targeting shops and vehicles owned by Han Chinese, the predominant ethnic group in China.

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Gold cup stashed under bed for years is $100,000 ancient Persian artifact . Small urn went under the hammer at auction in southern England Thursday . Artifact acquired by junk dealer, grandfather of current owner, in the 1930s or 1940s . Experts say it is believed to date from the third or fourth century B.C.

DORCHESTER, England Englishman John Webber thought nothing of the small, shiny cup, passed down from his junk dealer grandfather and stashed under a bed for years, until appraisers said it was an ancient Persian artifact. The ancient Persian gold cup, thought to date from the third or fourth century B.C., fetched $100,000 at auction. The 5½-inch gold cup, which experts have dated to the third or fourth century B.C., fetched $100,000 at an auction in Dorchester, southern England, Thursday. The identity of the winning bidder wasn't immediately known. The relic features the double faced ancient Roman god Janus, the god of gates and doors who always looked to both the future and past and is often associated with beginnings and endings. The cup has two faces with braided hair and entwined snake ornaments at the forehead. Webber's grandfather, William Sparks, was a rag and bone man, the British term for a junk dealer, Duke's said, who established the iron merchants Sparks and Son in Taunton, Somerset, in southwestern England, in the 1930s. Sparks acquired the cup along with two other pieces, also up for auction, in the 1930s or 1940s, the spokeswoman said. Watch CNN report on the auction » . Before he died, Sparks gave the items to Webber, who didn't realize their value, the spokeswoman said. "Because he mainly dealt in brass and bronze, I thought that was what it was made from," Webber told the Bournemouth News and Picture Service. "I put it in a box and forgot about it. Then last year I moved house and took it out to have a look, and I realized it wasn't bronze or brass. "I sent it to the British Museum, and the experts there hadn't seen anything like it before and recommended I had it tested at a laboratory. So I paid quite a bit of money for it to be examined by a lab the museum recommended. And they found the gold dated from the third of fourth century B.C." Webber, who is in his 70s, said he remembers the cup from when he was a small boy. "It's been quite exciting finding out what it was," he told the agency. Webber brought the items to Duke's at the start of the year for potential sale, because he wanted to "realize some money," the auction house spokeswoman said. A spokeswoman for Duke's Auction House, which is selling the cup, said the cup is believed to be from the Archaemenid empire in ancient Persia. The other two items are a second century B.C. round gold mount with a figure, probably of ancient Greek hero Ajax, who besieged Troy, and a decorated gold spoon with an image of a Roman emperor. "He had a good eye for quality over the years," said the spokeswoman, who asked not to be named, "and anything interesting he'd put aside." Scientists analyzed trace elements of a gold sample taken from the cup to determine its age, and analysts from Oxford University concluded that they are consistent with Archaemenid gold and goldsmithing, Duke's said.

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Shintaro Tsuji, CEO of Sanrio speaks to Andrew Stevens in The Boardroom . Sanrio's most famous character is Hello Kitty, a moon-faced cat . Hello Kitty is responsible for more than half of Sanrio's billion dollar turnover .

From a country which brought the world brands like Sony and Toyota, there's another name that's crept quietly to global prominence. Hello Kitty, the moon-faced cat with a bow in her hair and no mouth. Shintaro Tsuji, CEO of Sanrio, famous for its Hello Kitty brand, speaks in The Boardroom. She's one of 450 characters developed by Japan's Sanrio Group, but she's by far most popular the embodiment of what's known in Japan as Kawaii, or the culture of cute. Her image adorns some 50,000 objects, from cute, of course, to downright crazy. But there's nothing cute about the numbers. Hello Kitty is responsible for more than half of Sanrio's billion dollar annual turnover. Her creator and founder of Sanrio is the effervescent 79-year-old Shintaro Tsuji. He told The Boardroom's Andrew Stevens what he thinks is the marketing secret behind a cultural icon. Tsuji: Selling something which people want to buy is one of the ways of doing business. But I thought, goods that I want are also something other people want. So we wanted to make goods which people want to send to somebody else as a gift. The idea is that goods are for social communication purposes and that has been accepted worldwide. In addition, to give Hello Kitty goods as a present is very thoughtful. Our three concepts of friendship, cuteness and thoughtfulness have been reaching out to people. It conveys the importance of being friendly. Such gestures are necessary for the Japanese nation. You care about other people by sending some gifts. Those concepts have been accepted worldwide. Stevens: My first question to you is Sanrio has developed something like 450 characters. Why it is Hello Kitty has stood out so much more than the others? What is the secret of its success? Tsuji: At first we were using characters which were created by outsiders, such as cartoonists or artists, but in this case we had to pay the royalty. So we decided to create our own characters. We hired many artists and asked them to create various characters. According to our own research, the most popular animal character was a dog then a white cat and the third one was a bear. Snoopy already existed as a dog character that's why we went for the second most popular character. We asked the artists to design a character based on a white cat. Stevens: Let me just ask you a question about your life, growing up. Reading your autobiography, you lost your mother when you were 13 years old. You went to live with your auntie. And you describe your life; your childhood, has been a quite lonely. How do you think that has shaped you in your business life? Tsuji: I felt that the most important thing in your life is to have someone whom you can open up your heart to and talk about anything; to have many friends whom you can talk with your heart is the most blessed thing in your life. Then I asked myself how can you make friends in what way people can make a friend with those people. That is not just to avoid behaving, which makes people uncomfortable. But do something, which makes people happy. In this way people can make friends. For example, when people are ill, you can say something to them, or when people did something for you, you say thank you to them. For those kinds of occasions, you send a small present rather than an expensive gift. It is important to show your appreciation since you are able to make good friends in this way. This idea has formed as a business. As a result, Hello Kitty was created. Hello Kitty has become known among everybody and it means that people are becoming friends. I am pleased with this phenomenon. Stevens: What, in your business career, is the most important lesson you think you've learnt? Tsuji: A good company means that, first of all, its sale increases each year and secondly it makes profits each year. This is what people call a quality company. But this is not my main concern. Obviously, a company shouldn't lose money. A company cannot contribute to a society easily. But for me, it is important to establish a company, which has a good reputation. Stevens: Much easier said than done, how do you remain true to your original ideas, though, because there are so many pressures from shareholders among other people to make those profits? Tsuji: The company shareholders actually say "Make more profits or dividends." But what I always say to them at the general assembly is that the shareholder should be someone who truly values my company and is proud of having my company's share. According to newspapers, there are companies which make a profit by polluting the environment or breaking laws. But this is not acceptable by our standard. I bet the company staffs want to have an increase in the wages. But I want my staffs to be proud of themselves, in particular, when their children ask them where they are working. In my view, that is very important. Stevens: What advice would you give to someone starting out their own company in 21st century? Tsuji: It is not only about making profits or establishing a huge corporation. A bigger country doesn't mean a better country. Having a larger military capacity doesn't mean a better thing. It will be ideal to establish a company which is a value to the world. It's not just about the money. So I would say "How about creating companies which people appreciate?" E-mail to a friend .

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Former Central Command chief William Fallon denies president sought third war . Fallon: Concern for confidence in chain of command led to resignation . "There are many other ways to solve problems" besides war, he says . Fallon: Best course in Iraq is to maintain confidence in Gen. David Petraeus .

Retired Adm. William Fallon resigned in March as leader of the U.S. military's Central Command after reportedly clashing with President Bush. Retired Adm. William Fallon told CNN he resigned to maintain confidence in the military chain of command. During an interview Tuesday on CNN's American Morning," Fallon denied a magazine article's assertion that he had been forced to resign over his opposition to a possible war with Iran. CNN's Kyra Phillips asked Fallon about his resignation and about U.S. policy regarding Iraq and Iran. Kyra Phillips: How were you informed that this was it? Who called you? Fallon: The story is the facts are that the situation was one that was very uncomfortable for me and, I'm sure, for the president. One of the most important things in the military is confidence in the chain of command. And the situation that developed was one of uncertainty and a feeling that maybe that I was disloyal to the president and that I might be trying to countermand his orders, the policies of the country. ... The fact that people might be concerned that I was not appropriately doing what I was supposed to do and following orders bothered me, and my sense was that the right thing to do was to offer my resignation. Watch Fallon break his silence » . Phillips: Do you feel you were pushed out? Fallon: What was important was not me. It wasn't some discussion about where I was with issues. It was the fact that we have a war in progress. We had a couple of hundred thousand people whose lives were at stake out in Iraq and Afghanistan and we needed to be focused on that and not a discussion on me or what I might have said or thought or someone perceived I said. That's the motivation. Phillips: [Esquire magazine writer] Tom Barnett made it appear that you were the only man standing between the president and a war with Iran. Is that true? Fallon: I don't believe for a second President Bush wants a war with Iran. The situation with Iran is very complex. People sometimes portray it or try to portray it in very simplistic terms we're against Iran, we want to go to war with Iran, we want to be close to them. ... The reality is in international politics that [there are] many aspects to many of these situations, and I believe in our relationship with Iran we need to be strong and firm and convey the principles on which this country stands and upon which our policies are based. At the same time demonstrate a willingness and openness to engage in dialogue because there are certainly things we can find in common. Phillips: Would have you negotiated with Iran? Fallon: It's not my position to negotiate with Iran. I was the military commander in the Middle East. I had responsibility for our people and their safety and well-being. It's the role of the diplomats to do the negotiation. Phillips: So when talk of the third war came out, a war with Iran, the president didn't say to you, "This is what I want to do," and did you stand up and say, "No, sir. Bad move"? Fallon: It's probably not appropriate to try to characterize it in that way. Again, don't believe for a second that the president really wants to go to war with Iran. We have a lot of things going on, and there are many other ways to solve problems. I was very open and candid in my advice. I'm not shy. I will tell people, the leaders, what I think and offer my opinions on Iran and other things, and continue to do that. Phillips: Do you think that cost you your job? Fallon: No, I don't believe so at all. It's a confidence issue of do people really believe the chain of command is working for them or do we have doubts, and if the doubts focus attention away from what the priority issues ought to be, then we've got to make a change. Phillips: We talk about your no-nonsense talk and the fact that you had no problems standing up to the president. Your critics say that Admiral Fallon is a difficult man to get along with. Are you? Fallon: You probably could ask my wife about that. She would have a few things to say. I think that what's really important here is that when I was asked to take this job about a year and a half ago, I believe it was because we were facing some very difficult days in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the region. I had some experience in dealing with international problems. I certainly had a lot of combat experience, and I was brought in in an attempt to make things better. That's what I went about doing. Again, there are things that are important and other things in life that are less so. A lot of the issues that became points of discussion to me were not really important items. The important items were the people, what they're doing, how to get this job done, how to get the war ended and get our people home. Phillips: Hillary Clinton [and] Barack Obama talk about pulling troops out by next year. John McCain says, no, we've got to stay the course. What is the best course for Iraq right now? Watch what the candidates say about war policy » . Fallon: I believe the best course is to retain the high confidence we have in General Dave Petraeus and his team out there. Dave has done a magnificent job in leading our people in that country. Again, this situation is quite complex many angles. There's a very, very important military role here in providing stability and security in this country, but that's not going to be successful, as we know, without lots of other people playing a hand. The political side of things in Iraq has got to move forward. That appears to be improving. People have to have confidence in their futures. They want to have stability. They would like to be able to raise their families in peace. They would like to have a job. They would like to look to tomorrow as better than today. It takes more than the military, but the military is essential to provide stability and security. The idea we would walk away from Iraq strikes me as not appropriate. We all want to bring our troops home. We want to have the majority of our people back and we want the war ended. Given where we are today, the progress that they've made particularly in the last couple months, I think it's very, very heartening to see what's really happened here. The right course of action is to continue to work with the Iraqis and let them take over the majority of the tasks for ensuring security for the country and have our people come out on a timetable that's appropriate to conditions on the ground.

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Hyundai Chairman Chung Mong-koo has escaped prison for embezzling . South Korean court ruled instead to impose a suspended five year sentence . In February, the 68-year-old executive was sentenced to three years in prison . Chung was accused of placing firm's money in fund to earn government favors .

SEOUL, South Korea Hyundai Chairman Chung Mong-koo escaped a prison sentence for embezzlement after a South Korean court ruled Thursday to instead impose a suspended five year sentence, according to a company spokesman. Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-Koo, center, leaves the High Court after his trial in Seoul in June. In February, the 68-year-old executive was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of embezzling money from the South Korean conglomerate. He appealed that verdict and on Thursday the company said Chung will now only be required to undertake community service. Chung was accused of funneling $106 million in company money into a slush fund to seek favors from the government and with breach of trust for incurring more than $300 million in damages to the company. Hyundai is the world's sixth-largest automaker and a pillar of South Korea's economy. Chung spent two months in jail after his arrest last April before being released on $1 million bail. He admitted using affiliated companies to set up slush funds, but said he knew no details of the arrangements. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Eunice Yoon contributed to this report.

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Robert West was inspired by family history to paint trains . Artist's grandfather was a Pullman train porter . "Visual historian" does a lot of research before painting .

ATLANTA, Georgia Artist Robert West is proud of his connection to the Pullman Company. His grandfather, Allen Parrish, was a Pullman Porter and helped inspire some of his train paintings. Robert West paints his latest project in his Atlanta, Georgia, studio. "When I was growing up, we would often take grandfather to work at the train station. I became impressed and mesmerized with trains through this experience. This passion ultimately led me to become a full-time railroad illustrator," West said. The Pullman Company was one of the largest employers of African-Americans in the 1920s and '30s. It hired them as porters in railroad sleeping cars to assist railroad passengers and make up beds. These jobs were once highly regarded in the black community because they offered the opportunity to travel and better pay and security than most jobs open to blacks at the time. West says trains have an important place in African-American history from symbolism in Negro spirituals to a real conveyance for the mass migration of blacks moving to the North in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. "Trains have so long symbolized hope, freedom and power what better metaphor could there be to represent our struggle and our assimilation into mainstream American life," West said. Many of West's paintings depict historical scenes with the now defunct Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, because that's where his grandfather worked for many years. Watch award-winning artist on trains and history » . West paints other trains, including the Steam, Gas turbine, Electric, as well as first through sixth Generation Diesel Electric Locomotives. He wears a conductor's hat as he works. "I think it's important that all the cultures in the United States look back at our history by way of the railroads," West said. "It was through our contributions to the railroads, that also pushed us forward as a nation and as a human race." West has been drawing and painting trains since the age of 2. In 1973, he decided to make railroad illustrating a profession. Through the years his work has won several awards in shows of national and regional scope. "I'm probably more of a visual historian more than anything else, because I conduct weeks, months, sometimes years of research prior to doing a painting," he said. West has painted more than 500 original works, which have sold across the United States and around the world. Train enthusiasts are his largest market. "When one looks at my paintings, I like for them to not only feel a sense of joy, but to feel good about times when times were happier, kinder, and gentler," he said. E-mail to a friend .

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NEW: Bush: Russia can't veto Georgia's, Ukraine's inclusion in NATO's MAP program . European countries share doubts that system is designed to deter Iran, North Korea . U.S. president says he will push for Ukraine, Georgia to join NATO . Analyst says both issues threaten to destabilize NATO .

KIEV, Ukraine A planned missile defense system in Eastern Europe poses no threat to Russia, President George Bush said Tuesday, responding to concerns that the U.S. might use interceptor missiles for offensive purposes. President Bush, with President Viktor Yushchenko, praised Ukraine's democratic and military reforms. "The missile defense system is not aimed at Russia," Bush said at a news conference in Kiev following talks with the Ukrainian president. "It's viewed as an anti-Russian device. Well, it's not." His comments came before he left Kiev for a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, that is expected to highlight divisions over the plan. The summit begins Wednesday. Russia and some European countries have expressed concerns about the missile defense system. While Poland and the Czech Republic have agreed to host parts of the system, others in Europe share Russian concerns that the defensive shield could be used for offensive aims. Outside the U.S. Embassy in Kiev on Monday, protesters gathered to denounce Bush's visit. They chanted, thrust signs into the air one reading, "Yankee Go Home" and burned an effigy of Bush in the street. Watch the demonstration » . The U.S. has tried to dissuade opposition over the plan. Washington offered to allow Russian monitors at the missile sites and to negotiate limits to the system over time. The United States also told Russia the system would not be operational until Iran test-fires a missile that could threaten Europe. Many European countries don't believe the U.S. assertion that the system is needed to guard against imminent threats from Iran or North Korea. Europe is dependent on Russia for at least 40 percent of its oil and is reluctant to upset the Kremlin. The issue will likely be divisive at this week's three-day NATO summit, where Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to make a rare appearance. Putin normally declines invitations to attend. Bush is slated to meet Sunday with Putin in the Russian resort city of Sochi on the Black Sea, according to RIA Novosti. It will be the last meeting between the two men before the outgoing Russian president steps down, the Russian news agency reported. Russia also is unhappy with NATO's eastward march. The alliance has already welcomed former Soviet republics such as Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Bush is pushing hard for Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO as well. Before leaving Tuesday for Bucharest, Bush said that Russia will not be able to veto Georgia's or Ukraine's inclusion into NATO. Bush said that both countries should be able to take part in NATO's Membership Action Plan, or MAP, which is designed to help aspiring countries meet the requirements of joining the alliance. "I strongly believe that Ukraine and Georgia should be given MAP," Bush said. "And there's no tradeoffs, period." The U.S. president further said he was working "as hard as I can" to ensure the two countries are accepted into the MAP and that Russia will have no power to block their inclusion. In remarks last month, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer told the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe that NATO "has long made clear that any decision regarding membership is between NATO and the country concerned, and not subject to veto by any third party." Russia is not a NATO member but works with the alliance via the NATO-Russia Council. Russia's concerns also align with those of some NATO members who oppose welcoming Georgia and Ukraine into the fold. Pifer said last month that NATO should strive to maintain good relations with Russia, but "should not allow Moscow a veto, either explicit or tacit, over relations between the alliance and third countries." Allowing Russia a say, Pifer said, "would encourage those in Russia who wish to reassert a Russian-led post-Soviet bloc rather than develop a relationship of cooperation and full partnership with Europe and the West." Bush said he phoned Putin recently to reassure him on both issues. "NATO is an organization that's peaceful. NATO is an organization that helps democracies flourish. And democracies are good things to have on your border," Bush said he told Putin. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said his country should be able to start the NATO membership process. "We are not speaking about joining NATO; we are only speaking about MAP," he said at the news conference. "Why should Ukraine be deprived of that sovereign right, since the principle of open doors is the basic principle for NATO?" Bush added that Ukraine already contributes to NATO missions, specifically in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo. Ukraine also has demonstrated a commitment to democracy, he said. Responding to a reporter's question, Bush denied that the United States might ease off on membership plans for Ukraine and Georgia if Russia acquiesces on the missile shield. Both issues threaten to destabilize NATO, said Jane Sharp of the Center for War Studies at King's College London, but she has heard particularly sharp criticism of the missile defense plan. "Somebody in the UK Ministry of Defense said to me, 'We are being dragged along on this missile defense thing to the American trough like pigs with rings in our noses,'" Sharp said. "It's a nuisance for Europeans, and I think they are irritated with the Czechs and the Poles for trying to do deals with the Americans." E-mail to a friend .

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Two men arrested in Spanish enclave of Melilla, near Morocco . One accused of involvement in bombing that killed 33 in Casablanca . The other is believed to have been trying to buy arms . Arrest warrants were issued after Morocco broke up terror network last February .

MADRID, Spain Spanish police Tuesday arrested two Moroccan men suspected of having links to Islamic terrorism, Spain's Ministry of Interior said, including one man wanted in connection with attacks in Casablanca in 2003. Mohamed El Bay is thought to have been trying to buy weapons and explosives. The arrests were made in Melilla, a Spanish enclave of about 68,000 people on Morocco's Mediterranean coast, with Spanish Civil Guards acting on international arrests warrants issued by Morocco, the ministry said in a written statement. Moroccan authorities have linked one of the suspects, Ali Aarass, to the Casablanca bombings in May 2003 that killed 33 bystanders and 12 suicide bombers. He is suspected of Islamic extremist activities during the past 16 years, the Spanish statement said. The other man, Mohamed El Bay, is wanted for alleged involvement with a terrorist network that Moroccan police broke up last February, when they arrested 30 people suspected of plotting attacks against Moroccan government targets, it said. Moroccan police seized numerous weapons in the February raids and later contacted European police for help in locating other suspects in the group. Morocco authorities believe El Bay may have been in charge of contacting Central European arms smugglers to get weapons and explosives for the alleged plot in Morocco, the Spanish statement said. Spanish police searched the homes of both suspects in Melilla and seized documentation, it said. Spain has arrested more than 300 suspected Islamic extremists since the Madrid train bombings of 2004 that killed 191 people, although not all of the suspects remain in jail. E-mail to a friend .

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Zimbabwe's main opposition alleges widespread irregularities in election . Opposition party says it will release its own election results Sunday . President Mugabe faces two challengers who have good chance of winning . Inflation is rampant in Zimbabwe, once called the breadbasket of southern Africa .

Zimbabwe's capital of Harare was quiet Saturday night after polls began closing for elections that will decide the future of longtime President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe campaigns in the capital of Harare last week. Results were not expected until Sunday. The main opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change, alleged widespread irregularities and promised to release its own election results, defying a government order. Critics of the government have predicted that the elections will be rigged or marred by fraud, though the government has promised that they will be "free and fair." At a news conference in Harare, Movement for Democratic Change Secretary-General Tenda Biti said that some of the party's agents have been chased away from polling stations. The party also said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission claimed to have lost the accreditation for agents at 19 stations and refused to let them in. Biti said there was a "massive" deployment of soldiers and police at most stations. Journalists inside the country reported a heavy presence of the army and police but disagreed with Biti's description of it as "massive." Police said they were investigating the bombing of a house in Harare belonging to a parliamentarian candidate from Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party. The bombing happened early Saturday, and it was not immediately clear whether it was connected to the elections, police said. No one was inside the home at the time. The Zimbabwean government has denied CNN and other international news organizations permission to enter the country to report on the elections. Read about reporting on the elections. The elections are posing one of the toughest challenges to Mugabe's 28-year rule. Two candidates, both from different factions of the opposition party, stand a good chance of unseating him. One opposition contender is Movement for Democratic Change founder Morgan Tsvangirai, who fought hotly contested challenges against the president in 2000, 2002 and 2005. The other is Mugabe's former finance minister, Simba Makoni. He was a member of the Zanu-PF party until he announced his bid to unseat Mugabe and the party kicked him out. Voter turnout was high after the polls opened at 7 a.m. (1 a.m. ET), journalists reported, but it tapered off throughout the day. Shortly before polls closed at 7 p.m. (1 p.m. ET), "there was a rush of people to put in their last-minute votes" in some places, media rights activist Reyhana Masters said. Biti also said police were assisting many voters in casting ballots. The opposition has spoken out against "assistance" in the voting booth, calling it an intimidation tactic, but Mugabe passed a presidential decree this week that said police could help those voters who are elderly or infirm. Watch Zimbabweans worry their vote won't count » . The government has warned the opposition not to release its own election results, saying that doing so is the role of the electoral commission and could spark violence of the kind seen in Kenya after elections there late last year. Some Zimbabweans reported irregularities in Saturday's voting. Eddie Matsangaise of the Zimbabwe Exile Forum said he had heard that the names of long-dead white colonialist leaders were on voter lists, but voters who thought they were registered were turned away. Iden Wetherell, editor of the newspaper Zimbabwe Independent, said the opposition had found large numbers of voters registered at one address where there isn't a building. Voter confusion was also a problem. The elections are not just for president but also for parliamentary, senate and local council seats, meaning voters have to cast a number of ballots in a limited amount of time. Limited voter education means many registered voters were not told which ward to go to and may turn up at the wrong polling stations. Watch claims of dead voters still on the rolls » . The absence of international media and independent observers has heightened critics' concerns. The United States this week warned of a possible unfair election, and New York-based Human Rights Watch warned this month that the elections were likely to be "deeply flawed." Human Rights Watch said in a report that Zimbabwe's electoral commission is partisan toward Zanu-PF and lacks both expertise and resources to run the elections properly. An MDC official said this week that leaked correspondence from the electoral commission showed it had asked for 3.3 million more ballots than there are registered voters, including 250,000 extra postal ballots for soldiers and police. Tenda Biti, the opposition's secretary-general, said it was an indication of fraud. A hero of the country's civil war against the white Rhodesian government, Mugabe became the country's first black prime minister in 1980. But nearly three decades later, he has consolidated his rule over all aspects of Zimbabwean life, and the country does not appear better for it. His country was once revered for offering its citizens some of the best education and health care in Africa, but now, schooling is a luxury and Zimbabwe has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world. Zimbabwe was once known as the breadbasket of southern Africa, but now it is difficult to get even basic food supplies. Inflation has skyrocketed to more than 100,000 percent while food production and agricultural exports have dropped drastically. Watch reasons for meltdown of Zimbabwe's economy » . Part of the economic freefall is traced to Mugabe's land redistribution policies, including his controversial seizure of commercially white-owned farms in 2000. Mugabe gave the land to black Zimbabweans who he said were cheated under colonialist rule, and white farmers who resisted were jailed. In 2005, Mugabe launched Operation Clean Out the Trash, in which he razed slum areas across the country. Mugabe denies mismanagement and blames his country's woes on the West, saying that sanctions have harmed the economy. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Robyn Curnow in Beitbridge, South Africa, contributed to this report.

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Iranian teenager loses appeal to remain in the Netherlands . 19-year-old had sought asylum in UK but is to be sent home . Mehdi Kazemi says he will face persecution in his homeland .

The Netherlands has rejected an asylum plea by a gay Iranian teenager trying to escape possible persecution in his homeland. Mehdi Kazemi believes he will face persecution if he is made to return to Iran. Mehdi Kazemi, 19, had originally sought asylum in Britain, where he was taking classes on a student visa, because, he said, his boyfriend had been executed in Iran after saying he and Kazemi had been in a gay relationship. Britain's Home Office rejected his request, prompting Kazemi to flee to Netherlands. Tuesday's decision by the Council of State the highest administrative court in the Netherlands means Kazemi could face deportation to Britain, which he fears will send him back to Iran. Council spokeswoman Daniela Tempelman said the council decided it must comply with the Dublin Regulation and return Kazemi to Britain. Watch how teenager has lost his right to remain. » . Under the Dublin Regulation, European Union member nations agree that an application for asylum submitted in any EU country would be handled by that country alone. The regulation seeks to ensures that an asylum seeker is not redirected from nation to nation simply because none will take responsibility. Kazemi's initial appeal for asylum in the Netherlands, made in October, was rejected. He then appealed unsuccessfully to a regional court in December. His last appeal was to the Council of State in January. Tempelman said that in order for the Dutch court to consider Kazemi's asylum application, he needed to prove that Britain did not handle his asylum application properly, but he wasn't able to prove any wrongdoing on the part of the British government. Kazemi now has exhausted his chances for appeal in the Netherlands and, according to Tempelman, could be returned to Britain on a short notice. The British government about six months ago accepted the Dutch request to take him back. Kazemi's lawyer will have the option of taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights to request an "interim measure" that could allow Kazemi to stay in Europe until further notice. "If anybody signs his deportation papers and says, look, he's got to be deported to Iran, that means they have signed his death sentence," said Kazemi's uncle Saeed, who asked CNN to withhold his last name over safety concerns. Gay rights activists in Europe and Iran are also researching Kazemi's case. "When Britain is prepared to send a young man back to possible execution, that is inhumanity on a monumental scale," said Peter Tatchell, an activist for gay campaign group OutRage. "And I hang my head in shame, as a British citizen." In a written statement, Britain's Home Office said that even though homosexuality is illegal in Iran and homosexuals do experience discrimination, it does not believe that homosexuals are routinely persecuted purely on the basis of their sexuality. E-mail to a friend .

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Austrian father confesses he held daughter prisoner for nearly 24 years First images emerge of the cellar dungeon in which she, three children held The rooms include a sleeping quarters, a kitchen and a bathroom . Police are still trying to understand the purpose of all the rooms in the cellar .

The building in Amstetten, eastern Austria, seems innocuous enough. But it is underneath this family home - now known as "the house of horror" that a woman was held for nearly 24 years by her father and repeatedly raped, giving birth to seven children as a result. The bathroom used by the woman, who was held captive for more than two decades, and her three children. Now the first images have begun to emerge of the series of rooms in which 73-year-old man Josef Fritzl says he imprisoned his daughter, and three of her surviving children, in a basement 50-60 meters square that he converted himself. Police and authorities who have been down into the cellar after Fritzl gave them the electronic combination say that the rooms are very low, less than five-and-a-half feet high. The rooms included a sleeping quarters, a kitchen and a bathroom, all of which are said to be "very dark, narrow and damp," reports CNN correspondent Fred Pleitgen. Watch a report on details of the case » . Elisabeth Fritzl has told officers that conditions were "dire" and that she and her children had little food and clothing. None had seen the light of day during their entire time in captivity, she told police. One photograph shows the white-tiled walls and floors of the bathroom and some token attempts to introduce some semblance of normality. A small child-like cutout of a yellow snail has been stuck over the sink, while a large plastic elephant sits atop the green bathroom cabinet. Above that, as elsewhere in the bathroom, droops a small plastic plant. Other accoutrements of everyday life litter the scene, including a hot water bottle, a small wooden chair and a towel. What looks like a wooden glass-framed door has been painted red; through the doorway is the bath itself, crammed in next to a toilet with a green seat. Above the bath is what looks like a large image of a flower, aside other decorations that appear to have been put on the walls. But the overwhelming sense from the images is one of grimness. The only evident light in this windowless room comes from the small bulb set into the bathroom cabinet; despite the whiteness of the walls, floor and bathroom fittings, it is a room that cannot hide its oppression as one of the few rooms that the three children, if reports are correct, have ever known. Other pictures convey the grimness of the dungeon still further. A narrow corridor, just over the width of a floor tile, leads down from what seems to be a kitchen area to sleeping quarters. A table in the foreground appear to have a cloth over it; a dressing gown hangs from the hook. But the spartan conditions and cramped conditions cannot belie the rooms' true purpose. A third image shows a corner of the dungeon with a wooden wall and construction materials piled up in a heap. A set of tiles has been fixed to the wall in what seem to be two sides of a doorway, blocked by what looks like a white rectangular board. Police at a press conference Monday said that this image showed the exit from the dungeon, controlled on the other side by an electronic keyless lock. E-mail to a friend .

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iReporters share their thoughts on how the Iraq war has affected their lives . "Having [my husband] gone is the worst kind of pain," one woman says . Wife: Invasion changed wedding plans, hubby missed most of first pregnancy . iReport.com: Tell us how the war has impacted you and your family .

She'll never forget the day her 17-year-old son, John, asked her permission to enlist in the U.S. military. "Mom, I owe this to my country." Samantha Schroeder of Chester, Maryland, worries about her 19-year-old son, John, who is deploying to Iraq. Now, at age 19, her son is a Marine preparing to deploy to Iraq. "He doesn't care if you do or don't understand his choice; he isn't concerned with political views, religion or race. His greatest concern is doing the job he is asked to do with skill and pride, protecting those abroad and at home and standing up to the standards he has set for himself," Samantha Schroeder said. iReporters shared an array of stories about how the Iraq war has affected them over the past five years. One man said he met his wife, a fellow service member, while serving in Iraq. Others described the pain of having fathers so far away, especially when new children are born. Some military wives said they often keep their true feelings to themselves, fearing that they would affect their husbands' morale in the field. See photos, hear stories of sacrifice » . Below are a selection of responses from iReporters, some of which have been edited for length and clarity. Angela Fritz of Fort Hood, Texas "Having [my husband] gone is the worst kind of pain. It is the burden I chose to bear but am not happy to. On the outside, I have to stand strong. I have to support my country and my husband, regardless of what I feel. That is the Army way. I am so proud of him for having the courage to step up and serve his country. On the inside, I am angry and worn thin. Of course, I want my husband home, but it's so much more than that now." Samantha Schroeder of Chester, Maryland "I am the mother of a 19-year-old Marine. He joined while still in his senior year. When he came to me to sign his enlistment papers, I was hesitant. No, I was downright, 'Not in a million years.' He was only 17. How could I give him permission? Just wait, I asked, and think about it some more. He looked at me with a mixture of fear in thinking I might not sign and anger in knowing I didn't understand. And what he said next has stuck in my head through all his training, and now he leaves in a week for Iraq. He told me, 'Mom, I owe this to my country.' ... "Now, as he prepares for Iraq deployment, I am a little better prepared for what the future holds mentally. But to me, he and most of the men who will accompany him are so young. They still seem like boys to me, but I know they are men. Willing to serve their country. I remember 9/11 like it was yesterday, and I also remember the fear that was on that seventh-grader's face when he was bused home early that day and watched the events unfold on the TV. And now he stands as a Marine, willing to sacrifice his everyday freedoms to assure we are safe here at home." Katherine Shigekane of Virginia Beach, Virginia "The Iraq war has changed our lives in many ways. My husband has been serving in the Navy for 16 years, and since March 2003, he has been on four different deployments. Our lives have been affected in many ways. Our wedding plans were changed due to the invasion. He missed most of my first pregnancy. He was able to be home for the birth of our twins but left again when they were a year old and was gone until after their second birthday. He is now gone again. ... As a family I think we have learned to appreciate the time we do spend together." joshM "While serving in Iraq with the United States Marines, I met my wife. She is in the United States Army. We met while on R&R in Qatar. We did long distance for the remaining time that we had left of our deployment and then another year while I was still stationed in Cherry Point, North Carolina. She is still stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. After I separated from the Marines as a corporal, I moved to Kentucky to be with her. We are now happily married, and she is on her third tour to Iraq. So even though the news shows all the bad things of war, some good really does come from it." ChristopherM "I am a soldier in the U.S. Army. I am a 20-year-old combat veteran. I returned home this past summer and enrolled in college with hopes of going to law school. Unfortunately, with future deployments likely to postpone my schooling, I will be in college long past traditional college years. That is just a minor nuisance compared with the fact that relating to my family and friends is infinitely more difficult since I've returned. I find myself zoning out and going back to the war during family functions and when I'm out with my friends, I apparently talk in my sleep about the war and occasionally sleepwalk." Sierra Derrick of Waymart, Pennsylvania "This is the second time my husband is deploying to Iraq, and trust me, it only gets harder!! The first time, I was 17 years old, two months pregnant and a brand-new bride. (We got married literally the day before he left.) Now, exactly four years later, we are in the same situation, although things are a little different. Together we have two amazingly beautiful little boys, Connor and Carson, ages 3 and 1. Needless to say, he is their hero as well as mine. "The impact that this war has had on our family has been extraordinary. We are so incredibly proud of him in ways that civilian families couldn't comprehend. We have been brought closer because of these deployments, and the support we have is absolutely phenomenal. "In that sense, I believe it has been worth it." E-mail to a friend .

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Jurors see video evidence in the trial of three men charged with conspiracy . One video shows explosion seconds after train leaves Liverpool Street Station . Videos also show three of four suspects in London transport bombings .

LONDON, England Videos of the chaos and horrified reactions after the July 7, 2005, London transit bombings were shown to jurors Thursday in the trial of three men charged with conspiracy in the case. Smoke and dust fill the platform area at Liverpool Street Station on July 7, 2005, after a bomb exploded. One of the videos shows the explosion of a train seconds after it leaves the Liverpool Street Station heading for Aldgate East. As dust and smoke fill the tunnel, people on the platform rush away, and police head toward the blast. Another shows bystanders running and ducking for cover after one of the bombers detonated his rucksack on the No. 30 bus. Riders on a nearby bus jump from their seats. Four bombs were detonated on underground trains at Liverpool Street, Russell Square and Edgware Road, and on a double-decker bus at Tavistock Square. Fifty-two people and the four bombers were killed, and at least 900 people were injured. Watch commuters flee as the bombs explode » . Links to the edited videos were posted on the Web site of London's Metropolitan Police, and were played in Kingston Crown Court where Mohammed Shakil, 31, Waheed Ali, 24, and Sadeer Saleem, 27, are accused of aiding the bombers . A series of videos show three of the bombers Siddique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer and Jermaine Lindsay practicing their moves in various locations on June 28, 2005. The fourth bomber was Hasib Hussain. One video shows Tanweer and Khan meeting Lindsay outside Luton Station, where the three linger near the ticket counter and one of them stands in line. Security cameras also captured images of the three men at other blast locations. Two weeks after the July bombings, an attempted second wave of bombings struck other trains and a bus, but the devices failed to explode properly. More than a dozen people were arrested afterward. Metropolitan Police said some clips were not released, to protect the identities of members of the public. E-mail to a friend .

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Illinois political power broker Tony Rezko convicted in corruption case . Rezko was accused of demanding kickbacks for state business contracts . Rezko made contributions to Obama campaign, sold him land .

CHICAGO, Illinois Political powerbroker Tony Rezko, whose links to presidential contender Barack Obama dropped him into the national spotlight this year, was convicted of money laundering, fraud and bribery charges by a federal jury Wednesday. Tony Rezko, left, leaves federal court with his family Tuesday during deliberations in his corruption trial. Rezko who has contributed thousands to the campaigns of the Illinois senator and other Democrats was accused of demanding kickbacks from companies seeking Illinois state business. He was convicted of 16 of 24 charges, including 12 counts of wire and mail fraud, two counts of aiding and abetting bribery and two counts of money laundering. He was acquitted of attempted extortion. Testimony at Rezko's trial in federal court brought up ties between Obama and Rezko, with a witness putting Obama at Rezko's house for a party where the guest of honor was Iraqi-British businessman Nadhmi Auchi. Obama has said he doesn't recall ever meeting Auchi, who was convicted of fraud in France. Amid the controversy, Obama acknowledged he had accepted contributions from Rezko and bought a strip of land from Rezko, a Chicago real-estate developer. Obama, who has not been accused of wrongdoing in the case, has vowed to give up the contributions, and called the purchase a mistake. He has already donated to charity at least $80,000 in campaign contributions linked to Rezko. Obama won enough delegates Tuesday to clinch the Democratic Party's nomination for president.

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International Criminal Court: Sudan "taken no steps" to arrest Darfur war criminals . One suspect now in charge of humanitarian affairs for Sudanese government . Allegations stem from 2003 counter-insurgency campaign by Sudanese government . United Nations estimates about 300,000 people have died in Darfur region .

KHARTOUM, Sudan Sudan's entire state apparatus has been mobilized "to plan, commit, and cover up crimes" in the war-torn area of Darfur, a prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Thursday. The United Nations estimates 2.5 million people have been forced from their homes in Darfur. The prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, made the observation in a progress report to the U.N. Security Council into its probe of crimes in Darfur and the status of two men indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region of Sudan. He said the Sudanese government "has taken no steps to arrest" the men, one of whom is now in charge of the government's humanitarian affairs. The other is a militia leader. "For the last five years the whole Darfur area has been a crime scene. Girls are raped, schools are bombed. ... And they are covering up these crimes," Moreno-Ocampo said at a news conference at the United Nations Thursday. The court says Darfurians are attacked in their villages and in camps, citing rapes, bombings of schools and arrests of community leaders. "Crimes being committed today in Darfur cannot be denied, or minimized. Decisions to commit crimes, to deny crimes, to disguise crimes are taken at the highest level. Denial of crimes, by the authorities that vowed to protect Darfurians, is an additional harm to the victims," the report said. The ICC cases are against Ali Kushayb, a militia leader, and Ahmad Harun, former minister of state for the interior in Sudan, who is now in charge of humanitarian affairs for the Sudanese government. Both face charges of murder, rape, forced displacement and other offenses during the Darfur crisis, which the United States characterizes as a genocide. Harun's present role gives him power over how and whether aid agencies can deliver food, medicine and shelter to victims of chronic violence and deprivation in Darfur. "He attacks the people he has the responsibility to protect," the International Criminal Court said in a statement. "He hampers the delivery of relief to the victims. He is involved in obstructing deployment of the peacekeepers." Alleged crimes in the region stem from a brutal counter-insurgency campaign the Sudanese government conducted after rebels began an uprising in the Darfur region of western Sudan in 2003. The authorities armed and cooperated with Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur on a campaign of killing, torture and rape, according to the United Nations, western governments and human-rights organizations. The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels draw strength. About 300,000 people have died in Darfur, the United Nations estimates, and 2.5 million have been forced from home. In 2005, the Security Council cleared the way for possible war crimes prosecutions by the International Criminal Court, a permanent tribunal set up to handle prosecutions related to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court is based on a treaty signed by 106 nations excluding Sudan. Prosecutors are investigating offenses in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and the Central African Republic. Once the court indicts someone, authorities in one country or another have the power to detain the indicted person for trial at The Hague. That has not happened in the case of Harun and Kushayb. An arrest warrant for Harun charges that he was involved in the murder, rape, torture and forced displacement of civilians. The court also says he encouraged such illegal acts in public speeches during his tenure as minister of state for the interior. The criminal court says Kushayb led several thousand militia members and personally participated in attacks against civilians. An arrest warrant outlines numerous cases of murder, rape and inhumane acts. In Sudan, however, senior government leaders told CNN that reports of atrocities in Darfur were exaggerated. "Yes, there has been a war and some people have died, but it's not like what has been reflected in the media," said Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid. Musa Halil, an adviser to Sudan's president, has been accused by the United States of leading a militia responsible for atrocities. And the U.N. Security Council has frozen his assets. Yet he denies any wrongdoing. "There is no genocide," he told CNN. "Most people came to the refugee camps because of the pressure and were used there for political marketing." Others told a different story. In Darfur, eyewitnesses spoke of government airplanes and helicopters attacking defenseless civilians just four months ago. They said the government struck in coordination with militiamen riding horses and camels a classic pattern that has unfolded around Darfur in recent years. More than 115 people were killed in that attack, they said, and nearly 58,000 people fled. CNN's Nic Robertson contributed to this report .

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Cyclist's Olympic record: 1 gold medal, 2 silver medals, 1 bronze medal . Cyclist was born October 31, 1958, in Annency, France . By 1988 Longo-Ciprelli was a three-time road race world champion .

Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli would be remembered as the greatest female cyclist of her generation even if she had never been an Olympic champion. Longo-Ciprelli: Fourth time lucky in Atlanta in 1996. For much of her career, the Olympic gold was the one honor to elude the French rider. Misfortune, it seemed, was to be her fate every four years, regardless of how many world championships she won in between. In 1984 the first women's Olympic road race coincided with Longo-Ciprelli's rise to dominance in the sport. Well-placed going into the final lap, she appeared set to challenge in the sprint, only to be knocked off in a collision. By 1988, Longo-Ciprelli was a three-time road race world champion, as well as a double winner of the women's Tour de France, and the clear favorite for gold in Seoul. But a broken hip a month before the Games derailed her preparations. Although she recovered enough to ride the road race, she could manage just 21st place. Tactical error More disappointment followed in Barcelona in 1992 as Longo-Ciprelli paid the price for a tactical error. With three kilometers to go, she raced away from the peloton and crossed the line in celebration. But she had failed to realize that Kathy Watt, an unheralded Australian, had slipped away from the lead group apparently unnoticed with a lap to go, and finished 20 seconds further in front. Four years later, in Atlanta, Longo-Ciprelli, finally cracked her Olympic jinx. At 37, Longo-Ciprelli was no longer the dominant presence she had once been, but she still possessed the ability to raise her performance for the biggest races, as she had proven by winning her fourth road race world title in 1995. Her preparations were typically unorthodox while her rivals were acclimatizing to the Atlanta heat, Longo-Ciprelli trained alone in the mountains of Colorado, arriving just two days before the race. The race itself was run in a sudden downpour, which sent many riders crashing and skidding and had the rest struggling to stay on their bikes. Unruffled, Longo-Ciprelli broke clear with two other riders and then launched her gold-winning solo attack 11 kilometers from the finish. Longo-Ciprelli was back for her fifth and final Olympics in Sydney in 2000 at the age of 41, this time claiming bronze in the time trial and event in which she had also won silver in 1996. E-mail to a friend .

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Work by Colombian sculptor at London's Tate Modern is crack in concrete floor . Doris Salcedo refuses to reveal how she created the huge work of art . "Shibboleth" represents gap between white Europeans and the rest of humanity .

LONDON, England A Colombian sculptor has created a mystery at London's Tate Modern gallery by refusing to reveal how she seemingly managed to crack open a concrete floor. "Shibboleth" is Colombian artist Doris Salcedo's first public commission in the United Kingdom. The work by Doris Salcedo begins as a hairline crack then widens and deepens as it snakes across the full 167 meters (548 feet) of the former power station's Turbine Hall. Salcedo said "Shibboleth," a statement about racism, took her more than a year to make but has revealed little else about its construction. She apparently created it elsewhere and spent the past five weeks installing it in the Tate, on the south bank of the River Thames. She refused to say how she managed seemingly to crack open a concrete floor. "What is important is the meaning of the piece. The making of it is not important," she said. Asked how deep the crack goes, she replied: "It's bottomless. It's as deep as humanity." Visitors meanwhile are warned not to trip on the crack. Tate director Nicholas Serota insisted the work was no optical illusion. "This sculpture has been made in the most painstaking, meticulous way by Doris and her team before it was slowly inserted into the Turbine Hall," he told the Press Association. "It has taken five weeks of work here with very considerable disruption to the hall. It's not an illusion - it's there, it's real. "From the Tate's point of view, there were only two questions: could we realize it in the way Doris envisaged? And once the piece was created, would it damage the structural integrity of the building forever? "The answer to the first was yes, and to the second was no." He declined to elaborate further. The installation will be removed next April by filling in the crack. Serota said: "There is a crack, there is a line, and eventually there will be a scar and that scar will remain. It will remain as a memory of the work and also as a memorial to the issues Doris touches on." The artist said the work of art represents the gap between white Europeans and the rest of humanity. Wire mesh is on show because it is "the most common means of control used to define borders and divisions." Salcedo said of the work: "It represents borders, the experience of immigrants, the experience of segregation, the experience of racial hatred. "It is the experience of a Third World person coming into the heart of Europe. "For example, the space which illegal immigrants occupy is a negative space. And so this piece is a negative space." E-mail to a friend .

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French move will help NATO meet Canada's Kandahar commitment . Canada agreed to extend commitment as long as other NATO members helped . The bulk of recent fighting has been done by U.S., Canadian, UK and Dutch troops .

BUCHAREST, Romania France has agreed to send a battalion of troops to eastern Afghanistan, a NATO spokesman has said. Canadian NATO-led soldiers walk patrol near Kandahar, Afghanistan. James Appathurai told reporters at a briefing that the move will help NATO meet Canada's requirement that it send more troops to the volatile southern province of Kandahar, where Canadian troops are based. Canada agreed this month to extend its commitment of about 2,500 troops until 2011 so long as NATO contributes more troops to Kandahar. There is a "clear unity in the alliance" that the mission in Afghanistan must succeed, Appathurai said. Though 25 NATO allies and 13 other countries have contributed forces, the bulk of the recent fighting has been done by U.S., Canadian, British and Dutch troops. Appathurai also said Thursday that he did not expect NATO applicants Georgia and Ukraine to be put on a membership action plan this summit but, he said, the general sense in terms of membership for the two countries is not "whether, but when." Further discussions regarding those two countries is to resume Thursday, he said. U.S. President George W. Bush has pushed for the admission of Ukraine and Georgia to the military alliance. However, Russia which is not a NATO member has expressed concerns about the former Soviet republics joining NATO, which has already made members of other former Soviet countries Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Appathurai also said a general consensus could not be reached on Macedonia's bid, because of Greece's objections. Greece has threatened to veto Macedonia's bid if its northern neighbor does not agree to change its name. Athens has long argued that the name Macedonia implies territorial claims on its northern province of the same name the birthplace, also, of Greece's most revered ancient warrior, Alexander the Great. The name issue must be resolved by the two countries, Appathurai said. E-mail to a friend .

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FDA investigators find "a heparin-like compound -- that is not heparin" Tests did not pick up the contaminant because it reacts like heparin . FDA: It's not clear whether the contaminant was added accidentally or deliberately . At least 19 deaths have been linked to the drug since 2007 .

U.S. health officials said Wednesday they have found a contaminant in a blood-thinning drug produced by Baxter Healthcare Corp. that has been linked to more than a dozen deaths in the United States. The drug can keep potentially life-threatening blood clots from forming in the veins, arteries, and lungs. In early February, the Food and Drug Administration launched an investigation and then a recall of some forms of the product. The scrutiny began after a spike in reports of health problems associated with heparin, a drug made by Baxter from pig intestines at plants in China and Wisconsin. Though the cause of the problems has not been determined, FDA investigators found "a heparin-like compound that is not heparin present in some of the active pharmaceutical ingredients" in both facilities, said Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. The contaminant, which made up 5 percent to 20 percent of each sample tested, "reacts like heparin in some of the conventional tests used for heparin," which explains why it was not picked up, she told reporters in a conference call. No causal link between the contaminant and the adverse events has been established yet, Woodcock said. She added that it was not clear whether the contaminant was added accidentally, as part of the processing or deliberately. It also was not clear whether the contaminant was introduced in the company's plant in Wisconsin or the one in China, Woodcock said. Though she said the exact structure of the contaminant has not been identified, "it is similar to heparin glycans." Glycans are polysaccharides, a complex class of carbohydrate. She added it was unclear whether other heparin products used outside the United States might also contain the product. Later this week, the agency will release recommendations on how manufacturers and regulators can screen for the contaminant, she said. Last year, pet food made in China was found to be tainted with an ingredient that replaced more expensive protein and that initial tests did not identify as a contaminant. Asked if the heparin contamination could be a similar case, Woodcock said, "It's possible." Doctors have used the blood-thinner for 60 years with "no history of any problems whatsoever," said the FDA commissioner, Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach. Its intravenous use can keep potentially life-threatening blood clots from forming in the veins, arteries and lungs. Von Eschenbach said it would be "disingenuous" to expect the agency would be able to inspect "every institution in every case." Over the last fiscal year, the agency reported having inspected more than 1,000 foreign plants, a record. Since the agency issued its report that 19 deaths had been linked to the drug since January 1, 2007, it has received word of another 27 deaths, "but many of those do not fit our definition of this type of event," Woodcock said. In all, the FDA has received 785 heparin-linked reports of adverse events including difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, excessive sweating and plummeting blood pressure that can lead to life-threatening shock. "They're continuing to come in fairly rapidly because there has been a lot of reporting of this," she said. In a written statement, Baxter said its tests have suggested "that the root cause may be associated with the crude heparin, sourced from China, or from the subsequent processing of that product before it reaches Baxter." Meanwhile, Scientific Protein Laboratories LLC, which supplies the company with the active pharmaceutical ingredients, issued a statement saying it is working with the FDA, Baxter and outside experts to identify the cause of the adverse events. "Thus far, no conclusions have been reached about the root cause," it said. "It is premature to conclude that the heparin active pharmaceutical ingredient sourced from China and provided by SPL to Baxter is responsible for these adverse events." It said that its voluntary recall of suspect product was being made as a precaution. E-mail to a friend .

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NEW: Talks end with laughter, host Sen. Dianne Feinstein says . NEW: Aide to Sen. Barack Obama calls private meeting "cordial" NEW: Sen. Hillary Clinton to endorse Obama on Saturday, top Senate Democrat says .

WASHINGTON Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton met privately Thursday night at the Washington home of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a key supporter of Clinton's presidential campaign, Feinstein said Friday. Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama speak Wednesday at the AIPAC meeting. She left them in her living room with nothing other than water and comfortable chairs for what she called a positive meeting. No one else was in the room, and no one is giving details of what was discussed. "They talked. I went upstairs and did my work," Feinstein said Friday. "They called me when it was over. I came down and said, 'Good night, everybody; I hope you had a good meeting.' "They were laughing, and that was it." The meeting began at 9 p.m. and lasted about an hour, Feinstein said. "I think the opportunity to sit down, just the two of them, was positive," she said. It was the two Democratic candidates' first meeting since Obama became the party's presumptive nominee Tuesday. "They talked about how to come together and how to unify this party and move forward because what we have at stake in November is so important," Robert Gibbs, the Obama campaign's communication director, said Friday on CNN's "American Morning." Watch Gibbs explain the secret meeting » . "And what unites us as a party far exceeds what might divide either of these two candidates." A joint statement from the candidates said only, "Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November." Gibbs would not say whether the senators discussed the possibility of Clinton becoming Obama's running mate.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democratic superdelegate from Nevada, said Friday that he told Clinton he intended to support Obama. But he didn't shed any light on whether Clinton would have a place on the ticket. "Hillary is going to endorse Barack [on Saturday]," Reid said on "American Morning." "She's a very good woman. She's been a great senator. And she's going to be a great help to us in this [election], no matter what role she has in the campaign." On Thursday, reporters on Obama's press plane learned that the candidate was not aboard when it departed Virginia, where he had been campaigning. Aides said staff members had "scheduled him some meetings" in Washington. The meeting originally was believed to be at Clinton's Washington home. "It wasn't at her house, and it was not at Dick Cheney's undisclosed location," Gibbs said jokingly. Also Thursday, Clinton thanked supporters in an e-mail and pledged to help Obama capture the White House after eight years of Republican control. Clinton also plans to thank supporters Saturday at a Washington event. "I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Sen. Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise," the e-mail read. "This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Sen. Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Sen. [John] McCain and the Republicans." Read Clinton's message to supporters Clinton plans to suspend her campaign within days, her campaign said. By suspending instead of dropping out, Clinton technically would remain a candidate, entitled to keep statewide pledged delegates and district-level delegates. Democrats nationwide have coalesced around Obama since he received enough delegates to win the nomination Tuesday evening. The New York Democratic congressional delegation embraced Obama's candidacy Thursday on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. iReport.com: Should Obama pick Clinton? On Friday, Democratic leaders in New York, including state legislators and City Council members, endorsed Obama at New York's City Hall, sources said. Obama earned enough delegates Tuesday to clinch the nomination, but Clinton did not concede defeat that night. Instead, she asked supporters to visit her Web site and give her advice on how to proceed. Obama has named Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President Kennedy, and former Deputy U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to a vice presidential selection team led by former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson. CNN's Ted Barrett and Candy Crowley contributed to this report.

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NEW: Hospitalized incest daughter's condition is grave but stable, police say . Fritzl imprisoned and raped daughter, also fathered her children, police say . Wife of Josef Fritzl was too scared to question him, her sister says . Fritzl's wife focused on keeping family healthy, according to her sister .

Austrian investigators Monday released more details about the elaborate underground cellar where Josef Fritzl kept his daughter imprisoned for 24 years, along with three of their children. Josef Fritzl admitted to authorities he raped his daughter and fathered her children. Investigators believe Fritzl planned to build the cellar as early as 1978, shortly after, according to his daughter, he began raping her at age 11 or 12, said police spokesman Franz Polzer. The 73-year-old Austrian began building the dungeon as part of an addition to his home that year, and simply added the hidden space which was not recorded in any building plans Polzer said. It took Fritzl until 1983 to finish the addition, Polzer said. Investigators recently discovered another door to the dungeon prison, which was blocked by a 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) steel and concrete door that Fritzl probably stopped using when he later constructed an electronic door for a second entrance, Polzer said. Fritzl, who police believe was the only one with access to the cellar, had to travel through an elaborate maze to get to the prison. "You would have to open up a total of eight doors, and ... (for the) last door which would go into this space (where the family was imprisoned), you would also have to use electronic opening apparatus," Polzer said. "We will have to find out perhaps later from now if perhaps there are other spaces we haven't discovered yet, and perhaps maybe there is something else interesting." Fritzl was recently arrested and confessed to holding his daughter, Elisabeth, captive in the dungeon under the Fritzl home for decades, repeatedly raping her and fathering seven children six of whom survived. Three of the children were adopted by Josef Fritzl and his wife after he concocted the ruse that Elisabeth had left the babies on their doorstep. The story of the family's imprisonment began to unravel more than two weeks ago, when one of the children still in the dungeon, 19-year-old Kerstin Fritzl, fell seriously ill with convulsions. The father agreed to take her to a hospital, the first time she was allowed out of the prison where she had spent her entire life with her mother and two brothers. Dr. Albert Reiter, who is treating Kerstin, said Monday that while her condition is still "grave," it "has improved somewhat." "She has become more stable, but despite that we have to continue to keep her under sedation and give her respiratory help," Reiter said, noting it is not clear how long she will be kept under sedation. Elisabeth and her two sons were reunited with her mother, Rosemarie, who police say knew nothing about the basement prison. They were also reunited with the three children that Josef had taken from Elisabeth. The reunited family is living in secluded quarters at a psychiatric clinic, where they are finding a daily routine and adjusting to sunlight something the two boys had never seen according to the clinic's chief doctor. "The mother and the smallest child have, in just the last couple of days, increased their sensitivity to light," Dr. Berthold Kepplinger said. "So we have been able to equip them with protective sunglasses." Five-year-old Felix is "getting more and more lively," Kepplinger said. "He's fascinated by everything that he sees around him the fresh air, the light, and the food all of these things are helping them," he said. "Slowly the color of their skin is changing back to a more normal ." He also said the family members are still getting to know each other and live together as a family. Kepplinger praised Elisabeth for having provided a daily living routine for her children during their captivity. He said the family is getting into a new routine in which the mother and the grandmother make breakfast for the family, and the children make their beds. However, he said there is a noticeable difference between the pace of life of the children held in captivity and that of those who grew up in Fritzl's home. He said the mother, Elisabeth, takes breaks and naps several times a day. The health of the family members is satisfactory and hospital staff have been able to let more and more light into the rooms where the family is staying, Kepplinger said. Kepplinger said the children, after being confined to a small space their entire lives, are finding it increasingly easy to be in larger spaces. Initially the dungeon where Fritzl held his daughter was only 35 square meters. In 1993, around the time Elisabeth was pregnant with her fourth child, Fritzl decided to add to the dungeon, building another room that increased the entire living space of the family to about 55 square meters. On Wednesday or Thursday, prosecution authorities will attempt to question Fritzl who is no longer talking to police following his initial confession, state prosecutor Gerhard Sedlacek said. A warden at the St. Poelten jail, where Fritzl is being held, told CNN that Fritzl appears to be doing well, but he is refusing to go on walks outside the building where he is detained. E-mail to a friend .

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Indian woman accused of being witch is tied to a tree and beaten by a mob . Journalist filmed incident, aired on Friday, and then called the police . Police say woman's hair partially cut and she was slapped, but no serious injuries . Six arrested, including the man who admitted to hiring her services as a witch .

NEW DELHI, India An Indian woman accused of being a witch was tied to a tree and beaten by a mob, with television footage of the incident aired in India on Friday. Villagers tied the woman to a tree after a man accused her of practicing black magic. Nishant Tiwari, a police official in northeastern India, said a journalist who filmed the beating called him Thursday to report the incident, which took place in the village of Dumaria in central eastern Bihar state. He arrived to find the woman tied to a tree, her hair partially cut and her complexion ruddy from being slapped. She had no serious injuries. "I was appalled at what I saw because people should be more socially responsible than to do this," Tiwari said. Authorities arrested six people, including the man who admitted to hiring her services as a witch. They were due to appear before a magistrate on Friday. Ram Ayodhya, who could face up to seven years in prison for his role in the attack, told police he was justified in beating the woman, Tiwari said. Graphic content warning: Villagers beat woman » . Ayodhya said he paid her to use magic and prayer to improve his wife's health. When his wife's condition deteriorated, Ayodhya accused her of performing black magic, Tiwari said, and a crowd soon gathered and tied her to the tree. The woman seen being attacked is expected to testify when the suspects appear before the magistrate. Tiwari said he was disturbed by the fact that a journalist filmed the incident before contacting authorities. "The media filmed the incident, then called the police instead of the police first," Tiwari said. CNN's partner network, CNN-IBN, reported that the incident took place close to the local police station. It reported that there had been other such occurrences of mob justice in the state. In Bhagalpur district in August 2007, a man caught trying to snatch a woman's chain was beaten up, with police looking on, and later tied to a motorcycle and dragged around by a police officer. In September, in Lucknow's Wazirganj area, an angry mob beat a man to death after a 2½-year old girl was allegedly found sexually assaulted and murdered in his house. E-mail to a friend .

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Croatia beat Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria 1-0 in opening Group B match . Luka Modric scores fourth-minute penalty after striker Ivica Olic is fouled . Austria battle back in the second half but miss a series of late chances . Croatia next play Germany on Thursday, while Austria take on Poland .

Croatia held off a furious late onslaught from Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria to win 1-0 in their opening Group B match in Vienna on Sunday. Emmanuel Pogagtetz, left, fouls Croatia striker Ivica Olic to concede the match-winning penalty. The Croatians took the lead in the fourth minute when midfielder Luka Modric coolly slotted home from the penalty spot after Emmanuel Pogatetz clumsily body-checked striker Ivica Olic in the area. Slaven Bilic's team dominated the first half, and should have gone further ahead in the 35th minute but Olic's strike partner Mladen Petric blazed over the bar with a left-foot volley after beating the offside trap to run on to Vedran Corluka's cross. Austria's main threat had come from set-pieces, but they were not able to capitalize on a string of corners. However, the home players kept battling in the second half and squandered a series of chances to level the score in the final 15 minutes. Martin Harnik fired over the bar on 78 as Croatia scrambled to clear the danger, then substitute Ivica Vastic had a powerful header well saved by goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, who then kept out another low effort by the veteran midfielder. Pletikosa also had to deny a driven shot from Umit Korkmaz, who also came off the bench, while another substitute in Roman Kienast flicked a header just wide from a free kick in the third minute of time added on. Croatia went into the tournament as one of the outside bets, having qualified top of their group ahead of Russia with a victory away to England which eliminated the British team. However, their chances of success were dealt a massive blow when top scorer Eduardo da Silva was ruled out of the tournament due to a broken leg. None of Croatia's strikers managed to score in the warmup matches, and the Arsenal forward's goal-poaching ability was sorely missed on Sunday. The winning goal came after Modric and Olic combined down the left wing from a throw-in, and Pogatetz clearly impeded the striker well away from the Austria goal. The Middlesbrough defender was booked for protesting the referee's decision, but he could have no complaints with the ruling. Austria are the lowest-ranked of the 16 teams at the tournament in 92nd place, but showed great courage against a 15th-seeded Croatia side stacked with attacking talent. But they joined fellow co-hosts Switzerland in losing their opening match, following the Czech Republic's 1-0 victory on Saturday. Croatia next play Germany on Thursday, when Austria take on Poland. Coach Bilic was delighted to start with a victory, but was not so impressed with his team's performance. "Some players were overwhelmed by playing at a great tournament but we started off with the best possible way with a win," Bilic told reporters. "In the first 35 minutes we played excellently, of course the early lead contributed to that. "They exerted more pressure in the second half and I'm sure that is not to do with a lack of strength from our players. But we confined ourselves to our penalty area too early. "The last 15 minutes or so when they play all or nothing, you can do that but we started in the 60th minute or so. I didn't think the players were happy when they got back in the dressing room. I turned on the CD player and said they should sing because they won." Austria coach Josef Hickersberger was left frustrated by his side's failure to take their chances. "This was the worst possible start you can have in an opening match of a major tournament," he said. "We took some time to recover, during the first 30 minutes we were nervous. "For the rest of the match we were playing the way we should have been playing. We even dominated in the second half of the match. We had good opportunities but unfortunately we weren't able to score a goal, so we are empty-handed. In our remaining games we need four points to go through." Austria: Jurgen Macho; Sebastian Proedl, Emanuel Pogatetz, Martin Stranzl; Joachim Standfest, Rene Aufhauser, Andreas Ivanschitz, Jurgen Saumel, Ronald Gercaliu; Martin Harnik, Roland Linz. Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa; Ivan Corluka, Robert Kovac, Josip Simunic, Danijel Pranjic; Darijo Srna, Niko Kovac, Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar; Ivica Olic, Mladen Petric.

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NEW: Sierra Club says border waivers are unconstitutional . Homeland Security chief: Waivers will enable security projects to move forward . Environmental, land-management laws will be bypassed for U.S.-Mexico fence . Michael Chertoff says Congress has given him the authority to bypass laws .

WASHINGTON The Department of Homeland Security will bypass environmental and land-management laws to build hundreds of miles of border fence between the United States and Mexico, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Tuesday. A border fence stands at Juarez, Mexico. More than 360 miles of fence are supposed to be finished by year's end. "Criminal activity at the border does not stop for endless debate or protracted litigation," Chertoff said. "These waivers will enable important security projects to keep moving forward." Chertoff cited a congressional requirement that 361 miles of fence be completed by the end of the year. He also pointed out that Congress had given him the authority to bypass laws. But the executive director of the Sierra Club, an environmental group, said the move "threatens the livelihoods and ecology of the entire U.S.-Mexico border region." "Secretary Chertoff chose to bypass stakeholders and push through this unpopular project on April Fools' Day. We don't think the destruction of the borderlands region is a laughing matter," said Carl Pope. The Sierra Club says the waivers will affect a range of federally protected lands, including national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges, forests and wilderness areas. The Sierra Club says the waivers themselves are unconstitutional and has asked the Supreme Court to rule on the question. This is the fourth set of waivers issued by the department, and is the most sweeping. Chertoff's orders Tuesday affect two areas. First, the department proposes to place fencing, towers, sensors, cameras, detection equipment and roads along a 470-mile stretch of the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Second, it plans to integrate a concrete wall into proposed levee reinforcements along a 22-mile section of the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County, Texas. The department said it is committed to working in an environmentally sensitive manner and cooperating with resource agencies so it does as little damage as possible. E-mail to a friend .

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Officials: 2,000 troops to go to border in response to wave of drug violence . Majority of troops will be near the northern border of Mexico, in Juarez . Violence has increased in large part to competing drug cartels .

MEXICO CITY, Mexico The Mexican government has ordered 2,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to a wave of drug-related violence that is blamed for 200 deaths since January, officials announced Thursday. Mexico has ordered troops to move near Juarez, shown here with El Paso, Texas, in the distance. The troops are expected to depart Friday. The majority will be near the northern border of Mexico, in Juarez. Juarez sits across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. Officials said the violence in Mexico has increased in large part to competing drug cartels. "In this battle we will show that no criminal group is capable to resist the strength of the Mexican government," Interior Minister Juan Mourino said at a news conference Thursday. Defense Secretary Guillermo Galvan said 2,026 soldiers, 180 military tactical vehicles, three airplanes and more than a dozen drug detection devices would be employed in the military operation. "Violence, and this needs to be stressed, generates organized crime of drug trafficking," said Mexican Attorney General Medina Mora. "It's not in any way a sign of strength, but a sign of weakness, deterioration and decomposition." E-mail to a friend . CNN en Espanol's Ariel Crespo contributed to this report.

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Manchester City step up efforts to sign Brazilian Ronaldinho . Club representatives visit South America to talk to him . City also expect to signe Brazilian striker Jo from CSKA Moscow .

Manchester City have sent representatives to Brazil in the hope of persuading Ronaldinho to sign for them. A move to City could make Ronaldinho the Premier League's highest paid player. City chairman Garry Cook told BBC Radio Five Live on Sunday that Ronaldinho's Spanish club Barcelona had given City permission to speak to the player about a move to Eastlands. "We have people in Brazil," said Cook. "We are nowhere near completing a deal It's a tenuous stage and I don't want to give too much away, but Barcelona gave us clearance to talk to him. "Ronaldinho wants to show that he is one of the greatest footballers in the world. The Manchester City fans would love to see him kick off the new season with us and I am holding out hope on that happening." City owner Shinawatra Thaksin is thought to be ready to provide £50 million ($98.47 million) for new manager Mark Hughes to sign players, with around $29.5 million set aside to bring in Ronaldinho, who could well become the English Premier League's highest paid player. Shinawatra, who sent previous manager Sven-Goran Eriksson packing at the end of last season, despite a marked upturn in the team's fortunes, said last week: "Ronaldinho - you know, he is a great player. Whatever the club in your heart, you would want to see this player in England, wouldn't you? "It is not a risk. Sponsors will contribute. It will not damage our wage structure." New manager Hughes knows that he will be expected to produce instant results. Shinawatra said: "I am 59 next birthday, so I am not a man who can wait for many years to see my dreams come true." Ronaldinho had a poor season in Spain but City's owner said:"Ronaldinho is 28. He has much still to offer, he is a star. You need a combination of new players, existing players, quality, young and old. "I admit also you need a player who is more than just winning the match. You need a star who can play on the pitch, but who can achieve much more for the club. Ronaldinho is that player. "I am hearing good things about his hunger. I have spoken to his brother (and agent). Ronaldinho wants the new challenge, the chance to play his best football again, to return to the days when he was really, really famous. The magic is still in his boots. Let us hope we can bring him." City also expect to snap up another top Brazilian, striker Jo from CSKA Moscow, within the next seven days.

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Turkish troops fire artillery shells into northern Iraq . At least 16 rounds fired on uninhabited area in Iraq's Irbil province . Latest action comes a week after Turkey completes eight-day ground offensive .

BAGHDAD, Iraq Turkish troops fired artillery shells into northern Iraq on Wednesday nearly a week after Turkey completed its eight-day ground offensive targeting Kurdish militants, an Iraqi official told CNN. Turkish troops patrol near the border with Iraq during the February offensive. Jabbar Yawer, spokesman for Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government security forces, said at least 16 rounds were fired on Dashti Barzji an uninhabited area in Iraq's Irbil province located about 12 miles from Iraq's border. Irbil is one of the three provinces compromising Iraq's Kurdish region. The Turkish military in Ankara had no immediate comment about the report. Yawer said Turkish helicopters were seen in the area during the strike but said that the choppers were not involved in the attack. The border conflict has wider implications for the Middle East and Asia, with the United States concerned that prolonged cross-border fighting would serve to destabilize the region, where Kurdish separatists pose challenges to power in Iran and Syria, as well as Turkey » and Iraq ». The Turkish military for months has been conducting cross-border airstrikes and artillery fire in northern Iraq against members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK militants who have been launching attacks against Turkey from bases in northern Iraq. Turkish troops launched a ground offensive on the evening of Feb. 21 "to prevent the region from being used as a safe haven by the terrorists and to contribute to the internal peace and stability of Iraq in the long run." It was the first significant Turkish ground offensive into Iraq since the 2003 overthrow of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and it ended after Iraqi and U.S. officials urged Turkey to make the foray as brief as possible. A total of 240 rebels, 24 troops, and three village guards were killed, the Turkish military said. The PKK has spent two decades fighting for autonomy for Kurds in southeastern Turkey, with some of its attacks launched from inside northern Iraq. Turks regard the PKK militants as terrorists and point to indiscriminate PKK attacks against civilians as well as police and military targets over the years. The United States and the European Union also label the PKK a terrorist organization. U.S. officials have shared intelligence with Turkey. The Iraqi government opposes the PKK presence, but it views the Turkish military incursion as a violation of its sovereignty. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq in Baghdad and Talia Kayali in Atlanta contributed to this report .

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At least four people hurt in Pensacola, Florida . Tornado hits day care, but children OK, sheriff's spokesman says . Storm skips over high school, hits mall, official says . Tornado kills couple in Missouri, CNN affiliate says .

A tornado pummeled Pensacola, Florida, Thursday, severely damaging a church with an attached day care center, destroying homes and leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power, the mayor said. Christy Fayard took this photo of an overturned car in the parking lot of a store Thursday in Pensacola, Florida. "We had about 15 or 20 minutes notice from the weather service that Doppler radar indicated that there was, in fact, a rotation in this one severe thunderstorm," Mayor John Fogg said. "We aren't used to tornadoes in this area." The day care center next to the Greater Little Rock Baptist Church "took a direct hit," but the children already had been moved to a safer location, said Glenn Austin, spokesman for the Escambia County Sheriff's Office. Video showed frantic, tearful parents rushing into the building to get their children. Christie Fayard said she and her co-workers saw the tornado from their building about two miles away. "We took cover. We just went to a break room and let it pass," said Fayard, who is the sister of CNN correspondent Ed Lavandera. After the storm passed, Fayard left work and saw a vehicle overturned in a Target store parking lot. "We had ample warning," Fayard said. "I think the local media did a great job [warning people]." Another Pensacola resident who saw the twister pass said it made a frightening noise. "It sounded creepy, like a bunch of cars were driving over my house," Leeann Franzonne told The Associated Press. The tornado was spotted about 9 a.m. and dissipated about 40 minutes later, Austin said. It moved roughly from southwest to northeast, with the biggest apparent damage in the southwest, where older suburbs are located. The twister followed a skipping pattern, sporadically receding into the clouds and then touching down again. Watch where the storm ripped through Pensacola » . It battered many buildings downtown, blew the roofs off sections of Cordova Mall northeast of downtown, and damaged Pensacola Junior College, where classes were canceled for the rest of the day. See more photos of the violent storm » . Four houses were destroyed and more than 80 were damaged, according to Escambia County officials. Several people were taken to hospitals in the Pensacola area, with what seemed to be minor injuries, Austin said. Four people were treated for minor injuries at Baptist Hospital, and released, said spokeswoman Candy McGuyre. "Here at the sheriff's office, we were evacuated down to the basement at one point," Austin said. Officials have a system in place to deal with hurricanes, but not tornadoes, Fogg said. Still, shelters were quickly set up Thursday for the homeless, he said. At least 6,800 homes and businesses were without power, according to Gulf Power spokesman John Hutchinson, who advised that it may take some time to restore electricity because of the continuing storms. More stormy weather may be on its way. Florida's emergency management officials issued a statement warning residents and visitors in north Florida that storms and isolated tornadoes were expected during the evening and overnight through Friday. Earlier Thursday, two people died in their mobile home when high winds from a possible tornado hit northeastern Missouri, CNN affiliate KMBC reported. Other tornadoes struck the southwestern part of the state but did not cause much damage, KMBC added. Wednesday night, two tents were blown down at Tulsa, Oklahoma's, Oktoberfest, sending 21 people to hospitals, Tina Wells, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Emergency Medical Services Authority, told The Associated Press. Oktoberfest organizer Michael Sanders said he and about 2,000 other people went into a beer garden tent as a light rain started to fall on the festival. "Soon as I got in there, within seconds, without warning, there was this huge gust of wind ... and the tent started collapsing," Sanders said. The thunderstorms damaged about 25 mobile homes and travel trailers in a mobile home park near Oologah, northeast of Tulsa, the Oologah-Talala Emergency Medical Services District said. None of the five injuries reported was believed to be life threatening, officials said. Trees and power lines were down throughout the area. Four victims had been in one mobile home that was destroyed, AP reported. Wind gusts in Kingfisher County reached 86 mph, Emergency Management Director Steve Loftis told the AP. A tornado damaged six homes in a rural area near Mount Vernon, Missouri, Lawrence County Sheriff's Lt. Brad Delay said. Delay said he followed the tornado in his patrol car. About 4 inches of rain brought flash flooding and high stream levels in Kansas City, Missouri, CNN affiliate KMBC reported. A teenage boy was swept away by water rushing through a culvert, but he managed to pull himself to safety before rescuers arrived, KMBC reported. Flooding from the same storm system is threatening the autumn harvest in Iowa, where high water also ruined farmers' first plantings in the spring, CNN affiliate KETV in Omaha, Nebraska, reported. E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard confirms he expects Ronaldinho to leave club . The Brazil forward has been in talks with AC Milan but no fee has been agreed . Rijkaard says Ronaldinho may make a farewell outing if he recovers from injury .

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has confirmed that he expects AC Milan target Ronaldinho to leave the Nou Camp at the end of this season. Brazil forward Ronaldinho is expected to join Italian club AC Milan during the summer transfer window. The Brazilian's agent has had talks with the former European champions, but Barcelona have yet to agree a fee for the player. Rijkaard, whose own position is under some doubt after a poor domestic season, told Catalan television channel TV3 that Ronaldinho may feature in Barca's final Spanish league home match against Real Mallorca on May 11 if he recovers from injury. "Yes, it could be then," said the Dutchman. "He could yet play in the last game of the season in the Nou Camp. If he is to play again, he has to be fit," added Rijkaard. When asked whether former Paris St Germain star Ronaldinho would leave in the summer, Rijkaard replied: "You would have to think so. "I don't want people to forget what he's done for this club. I hope that he leaves with his head held high and that he demonstrates to the world of football just who he is." Ronaldinho has been sidelined by injuries several times this season, with his latest problem a hamstring complaint which has kept him out since the start of April. "One must remember everything the way it happened. I did not over-protect him. He is a player that never caused any problems," Rijkaard said, denying suggestions that he had fallen out with the two-time former World Player of the Year. When asked about his own job, Rijkaard said he was waiting for talks with the Barca board. "I am very excited and want to complete my task. Then we shall see. The club has always helped me a lot, but we will have to see what is best for everyone," he said. Barcelona's only hope of winning silverware this season is in the Champions League, with the club taking on Manchester United in the second leg of the semifinals at Old Trafford on Tuesday night. United held on to draw the first leg 0-0 at the Nou Camp last Wednesday after Cristiano Ronaldo missed an early penalty for the English champions. "It is a difficult place to go and they have a strong team, but I believe we can qualify. United are a team that will not be afraid. They play like they know and have a strong mentality and a lot of talent," Rijkaard. "They do not complicate things. They will go forward more than in the Nou Camp and that could give us chances. Defending is not our style. We need to worry only about the way we play." United may be missing England striker Wayne Rooney and Serbia defender Nemanja Vidic. Both sat out Monday's training session after suffering injuries during Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Premier League title rivals Chelsea. Vidic, who missed the first leg because of a stomach problem, lasted just eight minutes at Stamford Bridge before being stretchered off after being accidentally kneed in the face by Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. Rooney injured his hip before scoring the equalizer his 18th goal this season and was replaced in the 63rd minute by Cristiano Ronaldo. E-mail to a friend .

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NEW: Cristiano Ronaldo wins English writers' award for second year in a row . He headed off Liverpool's Fernando Torres and Portsmouth's David James . Manchester United winger also retained his Player of Year award from peers . Portugal star, 23, has dominated UK awards for the past two seasons .

Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has completed a notable awards double after being named Player of the Year by the English Football Writers' Association for the second year in a row. In-form Cristiano Ronaldo has won both major English awards for the 2007-08 season. The Portugal winger followed up his second successive victory in the Professional Footballers' Association awards, where he was voted Player of the Year by his peers on April 27. He topped the writers' poll ahead of Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and Portsmouth goalkeeper David James. The 23-year-old, who has scored 38 goals in all competitions this season, emulated the feat of Barcelona's former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry the last man to collect the FWA award twice in a row, in 2003 and 2004. "Ronaldo's award is no surprise after his brilliant form this season and incredible goal-scoring record 38 at the moment and he is, of course, essentially a winger," said chairman of the FWA, Paul Hetherington. "Cristiano was an overwhelming winner and, given his age, he has the potential and ability to dominate this award for years in an unprecedented way." Ronaldo has this season has helped take United to within touching distance of a second successive Premier League title with two matches to play, and into a Champions League final against Chelsea in Moscow on May 21. He will receive his award at the FWA's gala dinner at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on May 15. E-mail to a friend .

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Demario James Atwater, 21, charged with first-degree murder . Police are also seeking Lawrence Alvin Lovett Jr., 17 . Eve Carson was the popular student body president at the university . Police had released photos of person using victim's ATM card .

One suspect has been charged and police are hunting for another in connection with the killing of University of North Carolina student Eve Carson, police said Wednesday. Demario James Atwater, 21, was arrested early Wednesday at a residence in Durham, North Carolina. Authorities were watching the home after receiving a tip that Atwater was inside. He was charged with first-degree murder in Carson's death. Atwater is believed to be the man in a convenience-store photograph released by police. A second suspect, Lawrence Alvin Lovett Jr., 17, is being sought in Carson's death, police said. He also faces a first-degree murder charge. Lovett could be armed and dangerous, police told CNN affiliate WRAL. Police believe Lovett was the man seen in a surveillance-camera photo possibly using Carson's card at an ATM, Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran said. The pictures showed a young man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and baseball cap. There also appeared to be a large, shadowy form of another person in the back seat of the vehicle, which may have been Carson's SUV. Police believe Atwater was in the back seat, Curran said. He would not comment on whether physical evidence links the two suspects to the crime. Atwater was taken to a hospital as part of the evidence collection process, he said, and brought back to make an initial court appearance. "As encouraging as the developments today are, we are still a community in grief," Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy told reporters at a news conference announcing the arrest. "We also still must offer comfort to a family in mourning, Eve's family." Carson, 22, was found shot to death about 5 a.m. March 5. The medical examiner told police that her body showed no signs of sexual assault or other injury, Curran said. Carson's killing "feels like a random crime," Curran said Saturday. On Sunday, more than 1,000 people crowded the First United Methodist Church in Carson's hometown of Athens, Georgia, for her funeral, the Athens Banner-Herald reported. The UNC-Chapel Hill board of trustees had pledged $25,000 to the Crime Stoppers program in the area for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible in Carson's slaying. Carson was a student member of the board and student body president. The young woman was a pre-medicine student who was double majoring in political science and biology. She received the university's prestigious Morehead Scholarship and was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, according to UNC. E-mail to a friend .

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Federal Aviation Administration currently allows pilots to work a 14-hour day . NTSB said pilot fatigue has contributed to plane crashes and near-crashes . "They can't just keep pushing pilots until they drop," pilots group president said . FAA plans to hold a symposium on fatigue management next week .

WASHINGTON Responding to recent accidents linked to pilot fatigue, federal safety officials hope reduce airline pilots' logging 14-hour days. The FAA currently allows pilots to log 14-hour workdays, which the NTSB says contributes to accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded in a report out Tuesday that pilot fatigue was a probable cause in a runway landing accident during bad weather in Michigan last winter. There were no fatalities. The Federal Aviation Administration currently allows a 14-hour workday with eight hours of logged airtime. "It's a critical issue; it's an insidious issue. Many times, the pilots themselves don't even recognize that they are fatigued when they get into that cockpit," NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker said. And Rosenker made the same points about air traffic controllers more than a year ago, in April 2007. In a letter to the FAA, Rosenker said that four other plane incidents "provide clear and compelling evidence" that controllers are sometimes operating while fatigued because of their work schedules and poor use of rest periods. "That fatigue has contributed to controller errors," Rosenker wrote in 2007. "Fourteen hours is still a very long day," NTSB board member Debbie Hersman said. Her conclusion is backed by 40 years of airline accident statistics compiled by the FAA and cited Tuesday at an NTSB hearing. "After a duty period of about 10 to 12 hours, the number of observed accidents increased exponentially," NTSB staff member Malcolm Brenner said. In February, the cockpit crew of a passenger plane operated by Mesa Airlines failed to answer air traffic controllers for 18 minutes, missed the flight's destination in Hawaii and continued for another 15 miles at 21,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean. The investigation has shown that "both pilots unintentionally fell asleep during cruise flight," NTSB staff member Jena Price said during a presentation to the safety board. The crew of Go! Flight 1002 eventually answered concerned calls on the radio from ground controllers, turned around and safely landed. The NTSB report called for analysis of sleep quantity, sleep quality, performance, errors and incidents traced to schedules that disrupt sleep patterns, perhaps while stretching workloads to the maximum allowed. "They cannot just keep pushing pilots until they drop," said the head of the Air Line Pilots Association, Rory Kay. He said during a break in the NTSB hearing that "pilot pushing" is an issue. "We are in tough economic times, we're being asked to do more with less, and we have to support the pilot when he makes the determination that it's time to call it quits," he said. After reviewing some possible remedies against fatigue in the cockpit, board members unanimously approved the proposal to the FAA, which would be responsible for developing guidance for the airlines to carry out. The FAA plans to hold a symposium on fatigue management next week with representatives from the aviation industry. "I want the FAA to have a complete overhaul of the flight time/duty time regulations" that presently allow a 14-hour day with eight hours of flight time, Kay said.

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To this day, nobody knows exactly when Jack Daniel was born . Daniel's "uniform": formal knee-length coat, vest, tie, and a wide-brim planter's hat . Origin of "No. 7": Daniel was assigned a district tax assessment number of 7 . Daniel died from complications of gangrene from an injury to his foot .

(Mental Floss) The legend of Jack Daniel reaches all the way back to the moment he was born. Unfortunately, nobody knows exactly when that was. Jack Daniel believed the more memorable his image, the more memorable his whiskey. Some records show that Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel came into the world on September 5, 1846. His tombstone, however, says 1850. Strange, because his mother died in 1847. All of this might not normally matter, but Jack's birth date is important to his overall legend, which proudly proclaims him "the boy distiller." So perhaps it's best we begin when Jack was first introduced to whiskey, which we know was early in life. Leaving home at a young age, Jack struck out on his own with nothing more than a handful of items valued at $9. He ended up at the home of Dan Call, a preacher at a nearby Lutheran church and the owner of a general store. There, Reverend Call also happened to sell whiskey that he distilled himself. Jack quickly became determined to learn the craft. In fact, many storytellers claim the boy wonder bought the still from Call and began pursuing the business full-time at the ripe age of 16. If that legend is true, then Jack began selling his own Tennessee whiskey only three years later; the famous black labels on the company bottles proudly pronounce, "Established and Registered in 1866." In reality, no documents support that myth. Jack may have been a teenage moonshiner, but he didn't register his business with the federal government until 1875. And by then, Jack would have been the more booze-appropriate age of 29. The maker makes his mark . Whatever legends exist, one thing is certain: Jack Daniel had a brilliant mind for marketing. Even as a youngster, Jack understood that if people remembered him, they would remember his whiskey. To that end, he decked himself out in a formal knee-length coat, a vest, a tie, and a wide-brim planter's hat, and was never caught out of "uniform" again. Jack also established the Jack Daniel's Silver Cornet Band a 10-member outfit solely devoted to promoting his whiskey across the countryside. With uniforms and instruments from the Sears & Roebuck catalog and a specially designed wagon for traveling, Jack made sure the band played every saloon opening, Fourth of July celebration, and political rally around. But perhaps Jack's most brilliant decision concerned how to present his whiskey. From the beginning, Jack had been one of the first sellers to stencil his distillery name on his whiskey jugs. Next, he upgraded to round, custom-embossed bottles. But when a glass salesman showed him a prototype square bottle in 1895, Jack realized he'd stumbled upon something unique. The new bottles not only stood out from the crowd, but also had a shape that would prevent them from rolling around and breaking during transport. In addition, the square look reinforced the idea that Jack was a square dealer who put honest work and high standards first. Whatever effort Jack Daniel put into his marketing, he never let quality slip. In 1904, the distiller decided on a whim to enter his whiskey in the taste competition at the St. Louis World's Fair. It came as little surprise when he won. Lucky No. 7 . Perhaps Jack's greatest coup was the name he gave his high-quality product Old No. 7. Naturally, nobody seems to know why. The official historian at the Jack Daniel Distillery today says it's the most oft-asked question on factory tours. As you might imagine, many theories have been advanced. Jack had seven girlfriends. Jack believed the number seven was lucky. Jack was honoring a merchant friend who owned seven stores that distributed Jack's liquor. Jack misplaced a batch of whiskey for seven years and, upon finding it, labeled it "Old No. 7." None of these stories, however, makes as much sense as the less-than-sexy explanation from Jack Daniel biographer Peter Krass. Simply put, Jack was originally assigned a district tax assessment number of 7. But when the IRS consolidated districts within Tennessee, they arbitrarily reassigned him the number 16. Jack didn't want to confuse his loyal consumers, and he certainly didn't want to bend to the government, so he began labeling his bottles "Old No. 7." More than 125 years later, this act of defiance still makes his labels stand out. Jack without Jill . Jack Daniel never married. Some say it's because he was married to his work; others say it's because he never found a girl who measured up to his high standards. Or perhaps it's just that he was too busy catering to the greater Lynchburg population throwing elaborate Christmas feasts, hosting exquisite costume parties in his second-story ballroom, and donating money to every church in Moore County. But by all accounts, Jack was quite a ladies' man. He was a perfect dance partner, a polite conversationalist, and a fantastic gift-giver. Unfortunately, he also gravitated toward girls young enough to be his daughter (or even granddaughter). Once, Jack even asked for a woman's hand in marriage, but her father denied him partly because Jack enjoyed keeping his own legend alive and always hesitated to reveal his true birth date. When Jack proposed, her father made it clear that any man unwilling to disclose his age was "a little too old for such a young girl." The early bird gets the gangrene . Hard as it might be to believe, in the end, the great distiller actually died from getting to work too early. As the story goes, one morning in 1906, Jack arrived at his office before anybody else. He tried to access the company safe, but had a terrible time remembering the code. After a few frustrating minutes, he kicked the safe as hard as he could. He badly bruised his left foot and immediately began to walk with a limp. The limp only grew worse with time, and he later discovered the injury had led to blood poisoning. Then came gangrene, then amputation, and then, five years later, death. It's not the happiest ending for the story, or the clearest cut, but it is the best, because it adds to the mystery and mystique of Jack Daniel. As they say, where facts cannot be found, legends fill the empty space and that's perfectly fine for the keepers of the company flame. After all, as Jack himself believed, the more memorable his image, the more memorable his whiskey. For more mental_floss articles, visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC. All rights reserved.

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Authorities investigate calls by girl alleging abuse by male relative . Calls reportedly similar to those that sparked raid at Texas polygamist ranch . Arizona polygamist sect also led by jailed "prophet" Warren Jeffs . More than 400 children removed from sect's compound in Texas .

COLORADO CITY, Arizona A 16-year-old girl in Arizona has alleged sexual abuse in a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints community, sources in Arizona told CNN Friday. Warren Jeffs is the jailed leader of FLDS groups in Arizona, Utah, Texas and elsewhere. Authorities are investigating calls made by a teenage girl alleging abuse in her home by a male relative, according to the sources, who said the calls were similar to those made last week to Texas authorities from the polygamist sect's ranch in Eldorado, Texas. The Texas calls prompted a law enforcement raid in which more than 400 children were taken into state custody. The sources told CNN the Arizona calls came from a teenager in an FLDS household. Church members openly practice polygamy in Colorado City and in Hildale, Utah two towns straddling the Arizona-Utah state line. Warren Jeffs, the 52-year-old leader and "prophet" of the 10,000-member sect, was convicted in Utah last year on two counts of being an accomplice to rape, charges related to a marriage he performed in 2001. He faces trial in Arizona on eight charges of sexual conduct with a minor, incest and conspiracy. Critics of the sect say it forces girls as young as 13 into arranged marriages. E-mail to a friend .

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Each actress in "Cashmere Mafia" has own style . Lucy Liu likes 1940's silhouettes . Miranda Otto wears scads of jewelry . Bonnie Somerville is wearing belts on and off screen .

(InStyle.com) Toss that basic black and indulge in a fashion fantasy this year. We asked the four gorgeous stars of ABC's new TV show "Cashmere Mafia" to take part in a little experiment: If you could slip into a different guise for a day, what would it be? Frances O'Connor in Zac Posen silk gown, José and María Barrera rhodium-plated earrings with Austrian crystals. Frances O'Connor glams it up . Understated when it comes to her own style and buttoned up in banker stripes as Zoe on Cashmere Mafia, Frances O'Connor, 40, has been hankering for an infusion of pure glamour. "I love the idea of wearing a dress that's a work of art in itself," says the actress, who slipped easily into a red-carpet fantasy with a mouthwatering cherry-hued gown by Zac Posen. O'Connor's "safety first" approach to fashion means living mostly in simple Marc Jacobs pieces, but it's a sensibility that doesn't offer much in the way of frippery which suits her just fine. "I don't like to stand out too much," says the willowy Anglo-Aussie beauty. Still, Posen's fluttering cascades of silk offer both a role reversal and a respite. "A fantasy has to move you to feel like a different person," she says. "That's fun for a day. Then I like to put my jeans back on and go home." Lucy Liu relives the forties . Few decades enthrall Lucy Liu like the 1940s. "I like the idea of updating a traditional silhouette from that era in a fresh way," says Liu, whose character, Mia, reigns over a New York publishing fiefdom in power looks by Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Rachel Roy. Despite its abstract floral print, the ruffled organza dress by Christian Lacroix would seem right at home on the cover of a World War II-period glossy, yet Liu imbues it with a distinctly modern verve. "There was something really elegant and erotic about women back then, with their girdles and cinched-in waists," she says. On the set the 39-year-old star relishes watching costume designer Patricia Field work her sartorial sorcery with a swirl of offbeat textures and trimmings. "The other day my character was wearing a gold lamé striped dress with a coffee-hued belt, black leggings and green earrings. It's contagious," says Liu, who finds herself mixing and not matching more freely these days. Miranda Otto indulges in gems . Famous for playing a Middle Earth maiden in the Lord of the Rings movies, Aussie actress Miranda Otto found herself dressing a little like one offscreen too, in muted, ethereal garb. But her arctic complexion and fiery tresses are the perfect canvas on which to throw splashes of drama. "Shooting Cashmere Mafia [the 40-year-old beauty plays steely hotelier Juliet] has made me lust for accessories," she says. Presto: Otto is resplendent in scads of jewelry. "Wearing stacks of the stuff makes it more interesting," she adds. There's just one catch to donning such beguiling accents: "My 2-year-old daughter, Darcey, wants everything." Bonnie Somerville goes for fifties bombshell . Bonnie Somerville longs for the bygone days when women were perennially polished. "In the fifties you'd never leave the house without your hair done, your face on, and a nice dress. Me, I have my staple uniform of jeans, tank tops and flats." To resolve her clothing ennui, the actress chose a dazzling yellow Lela Rose number that is equal parts Bond Girl and Palm Beach socialite. "It's something I never thought I could wear for daytime," says the Brooklyn, New York-bred singer and actress who plays Cashmere's trendy cosmetics exec, Caitlin. A skinny metallic belt gives the look more of a now vibe. "On the show, with everything we wear, Patricia Field says, 'Put a belt on it!'" says Somerville, 33. "Now I'm buying belts in my real life, which I never did before." E-mail to a friend . Get a FREE TRIAL issue of InStyle - CLICK HERE! Copyright © 2008 Time Inc. All rights reserved.

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Off-duty Israel Defense Forces officer fatally shot attacker . Gunman went into Jewish seminary in Jerusalem with little apparent notice . Police spokesman: "There was no alert or warning about this attack" The violence comes a day after announcement of renewed peace talks .

JERUSALEM The U.N. Security Council failed to reach a consensus when it met to consider condemning an attack that killed eight people at a prominent Jewish seminary as an act of terrorism. Ambulance workers put one of the casualties from the seminary attack into an ambulance. The council said Libya a new, nonpermanent member blocked the statement on Thursday night. Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said the attack on the school was no different than Israeli military offensives against militants in Gaza. But Dan Gillerman, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, said he saw no connection between Thursday's shooting and Israel's operations in Gaza. "This is not a story of retaliation," he said. "These people have been terrorizing Israel for years, have been carrying out suicide bombings and indiscriminate attacks for years." A gunman broke into the Jewish seminary about 8:30 p.m., spraying automatic-weapons fire, authorities said. Most of the victims were students in their teens and 20s, medical officials said. At least nine others were wounded before an off-duty Israel Defense Forces officer fatally shot the gunman, Jerusalem District Police commander Aharon Franko said. The gunman was carrying an AK-47 and a pistol and had time to swap weapons during the massacre. Police are trying to identify the gunman and figure out how he managed, while drawing little notice, to enter the large three-story school in a bustling residential neighborhood. "There was no alert or warning about this attack," Franko said. Watch the immediate aftermath of the attack » . A first responder said the bodies were on the floor of the study hall surrounded by holy books. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Video from Thursday's scene showed a frantic crowd of rescue workers carrying bloodied victims into ambulances. Dozens of police officers were scouring the campus and streets around the yeshiva in case there were other gunmen. Outside the school, scores of Israeli men gathered from surrounding neighborhoods, demanding justice for the attack. Authorities are calling the incident at west Jerusalem's Merkaz Harav yeshiva an act of terrorism. The school is one of the largest seminaries in Israel, with about 500 students in the yeshiva and 200 in an advanced graduate program. "Israel is at the forefront of the struggle against terrorism and will continue to defend its citizens, who are exposed to this threat on a daily basis," Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a written statement. "Israel expects the nations of the world to support it in its war against those who murder students, women and children, by any means and with respect for neither place nor target." President Bush backed Israeli leaders in a statement issued Thursday, saying, "I condemn in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack in Jerusalem that targeted innocent students at the Merkaz Harav yeshiva. This barbaric and vicious attack on innocent civilians deserves the condemnation of every nation." But Libya's Dabbashi compared the attack with "bloodshed in the Palestinian territory." "For us, the human lives are the same. We judge the incident itself," Dabbashi told reporters after the Security Council meeting. "When we have to condemn the killing of the Israeli civilians, we also have to look at what's happening in Gaza." Jerusalem security increased . Security was bolstered, with thousands of additional officers across Jerusalem and the rest of Israel, authorities said. Meanwhile, celebratory shooting took place in Gaza City after the news of the attack, with hundreds chanting and clapping in the streets. But Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas criticized the killings. "The Palestinian Authority condemns any attack on innocent civilians," Abbas' office said in a written statement. The shootings came just a day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who met with both Israelis and Palestinians, announced that peace talks will resume between the two sides. Abbas suspended peace negotiations last week after fierce fighting broke out between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, but he agreed to resume negotiations after meeting with Rice. Israel will continue peace talks with the Palestinians regardless of the attack in Jerusalem, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aryeh Mekel said Thursday. Israel conducted a large-scale operation in Gaza to hunt down Palestinian militants who have been firing dozens of rockets into Israel. At least 70 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed during the operation, Israeli and Palestinian sources said. Militants also fired at least 25 rockets toward Israel, wounding at least two civilians. "This operation came directly after the attack committed inside Gaza. This operation is a normal response," said Fawzi Barhoom, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza. Watch Barhoom's reaction to the attack » . Gillerman said the Security Council should condemn the attack. "They are so, so quick sometimes to criticize Israel for defending itself. I would like to see those members convene as we speak in order to condemn this in the strongest possible terms." Thursday's attack was the worst inside Israel since April 17, 2006, when a suicide bombing outside a falafel restaurant in Tel Aviv killed nine people. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for that attack. Attacks in Jerusalem are rare. Eight people were wounded August 10 in the Old City when a Palestinian resident grabbed a security guard's gun and fired; and four Israeli security guards were wounded May 26 when two Palestinian gunmen began firing in east Jerusalem. All three of the assailants were killed. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Ben Wedeman and Atika Shubert contributed to this report.

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Attack on Awakening Council official leaves 7-year-old dead . Al Qaeda in Iraq leader is killed, U.S. military says . Minibuses attacked in Baghdad, Nineveh province . Trial of Saddam Hussein-era officials resumes .

BAGHDAD, Iraq Attackers launched assaults across Iraq over the past 24 hours, killing 11 police recruits and six civilians, including a 7-year-old. Iraqi and U.S. troops conduct a joint patrol Monday in the northern city of Mosul during a push against insurgents. Also, the U.S. military said it killed an al Qaeda in Iraq leader in northern Iraq. The violence erupted as a peace agreement was taking hold in Baghdad's Sadr City, for weeks the scene of battles between Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias. A suicide bomber exploded his vest outside the house of an Awakening Council leader, Sheikh Mutleb al-Nadawi, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Baquba in Diyala province, the military command in Diyala said. Al-Nadawi was in the house and escaped injury, but a 7-year-old was killed and two of al-Nadawi's bodyguards were wounded. Awakening Councils are the U.S.-backed Sunni groups that oppose al Qaeda in Iraq. A mortar round landed on a busy outdoor market in Balad Ruz, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Baquba. Three civilians were killed, and nine were wounded. A bomb exploded Tuesday inside a minibus in southeastern Baghdad's Rustumiya district, killing two passengers and wounding five, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said. Insurgents also attacked a minibus filled with police recruits Monday in Baaj, a Nineveh province town near the Syrian border, killing 11 people, according to Mosul police. Iraqi security forces arrested 15 people in connection with the attack. Backed by U.S. soldiers, Iraqi forces have been conducting an offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq in Mosul and the rest of Nineveh province. American-led coalition troops killed a senior al Qaeda in Iraq leader east of Samarra in northern Iraq on Tuesday, the U.S. military said. Meanwhile, the agreement forged to end the weeks of fighting in the capital's Sadr City is taking hold, government officials and witnesses said. Thousands of soldiers and police officers have moved deep inside the restive neighborhood without resistance from Shiite militia members who have been fighting Iraqi and U.S. troops. The troops have been clearing mines and soon will begin the process of confiscating weapons, officials said. No violence has been reported in the area since Monday. Much of the earlier fighting involved the Mehdi Army militia of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and security forces dominated by a rival political party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. The latter is the leading party in the government's United Iraqi Alliance bloc. The agreement, hammered out between the United Iraqi Alliance and the Sadrists, is intended to clear the neighborhood of weaponry and outlaws and restore stability to the area. Tahseen al-Sheikhly, civilian spokesman for Baghdad's security plan, said there has been great cooperation among residents, Sadrist supporters and government forces. Gen. Qassim Atta, the military spokesman of Baghdad's security plan, said Tuesday that checkpoints and patrols have been established and coalition forces are ready to help Iraqi troops, but they have not entered Sadr City. Elsewhere in Baghdad, the trial of Saddam Hussein-era officials Tariq Aziz, Ali Hassan al-Majeed also known as Chemical Ali and six others resumed Tuesday. They are facing charges in connection with the executions of 42 Iraqi merchants in 1992. CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

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Ohio-based distributor says valves aren't working properly, could cause accidents . Tech International estimates that just 8,600 of 6 million are defective . Snap-in tire valve, Model TR413, was made between July and November 2006 . Continuing to drive on underinflated tires can cause them to burst .

An Ohio distributor is recalling about 6 million Chinese-made tire valve stems after concluding that some of them were improperly made and could increase the risk of accidents. An Ohio distributor is recalling 6 million Chinese-made car tire valve stems. Tech International, the part's Johnstown, Ohio-based distributor, estimates that just 8,600 of roughly 6 million of those valves are defective. The valve is a replacement snap-in tire valve Model No. TR413 manufactured between July and November 2006. It was imported by Tech International from manufacturer Shanghai Baolong Industries Co. in Shanghai, China, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to the recall, the rubber part of the valve may crack after being in use for about six months, causing a gradual loss of tire pressure. Continuing to drive on underinflated tires can cause them to burst, possibly leading to crashes. Tech International told the NHTSA that the company doesn't have records of the final purchasers of the valve stems. According to the company, the defect was identified after "a small number" of the valves were reported by customers and one distributor to have failed. The samples were shipped to China, and, in March, Baolong concluded that some valves could be defective. "The cause of the defect is likely improper mixing of the rubber compound in the manufacturer's facility," Tech International wrote in a letter to the transportation safety authority.

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Until two years ago, Air India allowed an attendant's weight to vary within 6.6 pounds . Weight-discrimination lawsuits forced U.S. carriers to do away with weight limits . In India, the attendants are not deemed medically unfit -- just over the weight limit .

NEW DELHI, India Flight attendant Sheela Joshi is 5 feet, 4 inches and 148 pounds. Air India has strict weight parameters that all attendants must meet. When they don't, the airline grounds them. Her employer, Air India, says she is too fat to fly. Joshi, 50, has been an air hostess as they are still called in India for the national airline for 26 years. But she's been grounded because the airline has done away with its wiggle room on weight. Until two years ago, Air India allowed an attendant's weight to vary within 6.6 pounds (3 kilograms) of a specified limit. It has since put in place strict weight parameters that all attendants must meet. When they don't, the airline grounds them without pay until they shed the excess pounds. The airline says that someone who is Sheila's age, height and weight should weigh 143 pounds (65 kilograms). She misses the mark by 5 pounds. "It's very demoralizing," Joshi told CNN. "And ... it's quite humiliating." "Weight is always on my mind," she added. "They can tell you, 'You look overweight. Please go.'" Joshi and 12 other grounded attendants sued the airline for weight discrimination. Air India fought back, saying the employees knew the job requirements when they signed up and didn't express concern. Watch airline defend its position » . Furthermore, it said, appearance and physical fitness are vital parts of an attendant's job. " safety concern is also there," said Air India's lawyer, Rupinder Singh Suri. "Because it's a high action job. And in case of emergencies, the person has to accelerate and move at a very, very fast pace." Weight used to be a consideration for airlines in the United States, as well. Then, a series of weight-discrimination lawsuits forced carriers to do away with it. Now "most airlines want candidates with weight proportionate to height," according to the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Outlook Handbook. In the India case, the airline hasn't deemed any of the attendants medically unfit just over the weight limit. Their attorney contends the move is actually about getting rid of older, well-compensated women in favor of younger ones who will do the job for less money. "They have spent their entire life working for Indian airlines," said lawyer Arvind Sharma. "They were small girls when they came in now. They are 45-plus and they feel bad." The Delhi High Court recently sided with Air India in the case. Joshi's attorney has vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, Joshi and some of her colleagues say they aren't taking any chances. They are going on diets to get airborne again.

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English football star Wayne Rooney and sweetheart marry in lavish ceremony . Glen Scanlon says media have launched bitter attacks on the couple . Working-class background appears to be critics' greatest annoyance, he says .

LONDON, England Nothing says true love like releasing a caged butterfly, don't you think? Wayne Rooney and Coleen McLoughlin are to be paid $5 million for the picture rights to their wedding. The butterflies are reported to be the piece-de-resistance of England's most anticipated celebrity wedding of the year. Wayne Rooney, the best English footballer of his generation, and Coleen McLoughlin, his High School sweetheart, were to marry in an estimated $10 million ceremony in Italy Thursday. As they kiss, guests are apparently meant to open boxes and release the butterflies. The moment has been pilloried widely in the British media, tacky and over the top they all think, but is it just sour grapes? It has been a long and, at times, bumpy road for the couple to the altar. One littered with fierce criticism from the British press, which has enjoyed nothing more than lampooning Rooney and McLoughlin for being 'common.' The Daily Mail once even asked: "Is this Britain's ghastliest couple?" Rooney has been dubbed "Shrek" and "Mr Potato Head" due to his looks and his background as the son of a school dinner lady who grew up on a council estate is often referred to in a disparaging way. McLoughlin, meanwhile, has been subjected to page upon page of bitter stories about her weight, shopping sprees and her lack of closeness to Victoria Beckham. There has also been fierce criticism over the fact she has managed to become a millionaire in her own right. It's all down to Rooney apparently, and nothing to do with her appearing to be quite a decent person, who did well at school and has cleverly managed to parlay some of her fame into various media and advertising projects. Anyone who has seen her television show Coleen's Real Women can see she is a decent, bubbly person, who is very good at putting people at ease. Much to the media's fury, the couple have sold the rights to cover the wedding to OK magazine for a record $5 million. However they're not pocketing all the cash themselves, with an undisclosed sum from the fee to be donated to the Claire House children's hospice in Cheshire where McLoughlin's disabled foster sister Rosie is cared for. The queen's grandson, Peter Phillips and his bride Autumn Kelly, recently received $1m from Hello magazine to cover their wedding but they didn't receive an eighth of the opprobrium now directed at the more generous, but lower class, Rooney and McLoughlin. Moreover, in lieu of presents, Rooney and McLoughlin have also asked guests to donate money to the Alder Hey children's hospital in Liverpool. The wedding might be over the top, with a private yacht and luxury jet for guests (they are covering the guests' costs), expensive plonk and a $200,000 wedding dress, but at least the couple have worked hard for what they have. Their success despite a working-class background appears to be the greatest source of frustration for critics. It's just not on that someone who wasn't born into privilege and didn't go to a posh school can enjoy their wealth. That would be ugly. If anything, the couple's relationship and success is a triumph over adversity. They have known each other since McLoughlin was 12, but she spent two years fending off Rooney's entreaties to go out on a date. He finally got his chance when he saw her struggling to fix a broken bicycle chain. He rode over to help, popped the question again and got a yes. Surely they should be congratulated for creating their own modern fairytale complete with butterflies? The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

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Three people dead, at least 84 injured after earthquake hits Japan . U.S. Geological Survey reports 7.0 magnitude quake on Japanese island of Honshu . Quake struck at around 8:43 a.m. Saturday .

TOKYO, Japan Three people were killed and at least 84 were injured Saturday morning when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northeastern Japan, Japanese officials said. The quake struck at about 8:43 a.m. north of Sendai, Japan. Another five people were missing, national police said. Officials said the earthquake led to the buckling of highways and caused some bridges to collapse. Bullet trains were also stopped in the affected areas. Two nuclear power plants in the region were not affected, officials said. Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said one man was killed when he was buried in a landslide in Fukushima Prefecture and the other was struck by a truck as he rushed out of his house in Iwate Prefecture. Officials have not yet released details of the third death. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda sent priority orders for rescue operations, Machimura said. The quake, which struck at about 8:43 a.m. (11:43 p.m. GMT Friday), was centered 100 km (60 miles) north of Sendai in southern Iwate prefecture. The Japanese Meteorological Agency said several strong aftershocks followed the initial quake. The Iwate government office said it had received reports that eight children and a teacher were injured by breaking windows at a preschool and that the earthquake produced landslides in some areas. The Miyagi fire department said there had been some injuries caused by falling furniture, and some bus passengers were injured when the vehicle bounced on a bridge. Two houses collapsed, the fire department said. East Japan Railway suspended Shinkansen bullet trains in the Tohoku region, and many other train lines in the region suspended operation as well. Expressways in Miyagi were also closed. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said that operations at nuclear power plants in Fukushima prefecture were not affected, Kyodo said. There were no tsunami warnings issued after the quake. Local governments, fire departments and police were working to gather damage reports. CNN's Junko Ogura and Yoko Wakatsuki contributed to this report.

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President Robert Mugabe says war veterans will fight to prevent change . Opposition party's No. 2 facing treason charge after return to country . MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was detained twice Thursday .

HARARE, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has warned that veterans he commanded in his country's liberation war will take up arms again to prevent the opposition party from taking power. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe says war veterans do not want the opposition in power. Mugabe Zimbabwe's only leader since that struggle ended in 1980 faces a June 27 runoff with Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change . Mugabe told supporters that Tsvangirai would turn the country back over to white control if he won the runoff. The veterans he led in a successful effort against a government dominated by the white minority were not prepared to recognize a Tsvangirai victory, Mugabe said. "They said they got this country through the barrel of gun, so they cannot let it go by a ballot," Mugabe said Thursday at a campaign rally in Murehwa. Tsvangirai was arrested twice Thursday. He was released Friday, but police impounded his two campaign buses. In the general election on March 29, the opposition won a plurality in parliament. Weeks after the election, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced that Tsvangirai won a plurality against Mugabe but that he failed to get the needed majority, making a runoff necessary. Human Rights Watch issued a report this week declaring the presidential election to be dead on arrival because of violence and intimidation by Mugabe's followers including war veterans - against opposition supporters. Mugabe, at a rally in Chikomba District about 120 miles (200 km) south of Harare seemed to support that conclusion. Learn more about Zimbabwe » . "These areas, where the party lost on March 29, need to be cleansed and I am confident this would be done on June 27 when we go to the polls." Mugabe said the MDC was a party "for whites and not blacks." He also said the party was created and funded by the British. "You saw the whites after the March elections running around thinking that they would repossess the farms," Mugabe said. "They thought they had won." He said the opposition would not be allowed to "give it back to whites." "Guard your country jealously," Mugabe told supporters. Meanwhile, Zimbabwean authorities put more pressure on opposition figures Thursday, seizing a top leader and accusing him of treason. Police and the MDC confirmed Tendai Biti's arrest and the charges he will face. Biti, secretary general of the MDC, was arrested when he arrived in Harare, Zimbabwe, from South Africa. Zimbabwe's national police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena told CNN that Biti would be charged with treason and the communication of false information. The treason charge relates to a document published by the MDC before the March 29 vote which, the state alleges, contains subversive statements authored by Biti.

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Graeme Le Saux says an "undercurrent of prejudice" exists in football . Ex-England star endured homophobic abuse amid false rumors he was gay . Le Saux says football needs to do more to tackle prejudice, homophobia .

LONDON, England Graeme Le Saux played more than 400 matches for Blackburn, Chelsea and Southampton, winning a Premier League title and 36 international caps. CNN's Don Riddell talks to the former England star about homophobia and racism in the game. Graeme Le Saux, pictured here playing for Chelsea, endured homophobic abuse throughout his career due to false rumors he was gay. Don Riddell: Graeme, you're happily married with two children but during your football career everyone thought you were gay and the experience was pretty miserable. Graeme Le Saux: The culture of football back in the 80s was very different, something I found very hard to relate to and subsequently I found myself a little bit isolated and ostracized from certain people. That eventually led to rumors being spread that I was gay. In the context of modern life that's not defamatory but in terms of the dressing room culture that existed then and to an extent now it was very difficult for me to deal with and had the potential to damage my career. I think that the joke very quickly got out of hand. And I think where I was at fault was that I was probably a little sensitive about it, because I could actually see the potential of this sort of thing to get out of control. And it did. We played in a game at West Ham and the terraces started singing something particularly defamatory about me and I remember being, you know, really, really shocked that it got to that level so quickly. DR: And that carried on as well and the most notable incident is the one involving Robbie Fowler. Tell me about that? GS: It all culminated in a game that we played at Stamford Bridge against Liverpool and Robbie Fowler, he stood in front of 40,000 people and he bent over and invited me to perform a homosexual act upon him... That's the politest way I can put it! That really was the point at which it couldn't get any worse. It wasn't just people singing on the terrace, it was a colleague an international colleague humiliating you in front of all those people, an international audience. He will maintain to this day that it was just a laugh but that is exactly the point. If you look at anything like this, whether it is racism or homophobia or whatever, as if it is just a laugh that can be a very serious issue. I'm all for a good laugh but when you offend someone and you are damaging relationships then it goes way beyond being a laugh and you can't hide behind that as an excuse. DR: It's thought that only one professional soccer player in the world has ever declared himself to be gay. That was the Englishman Justin Fashanu and he committed suicide a decade ago. John Amaechi became the first gay player to be associated with the NBA last year, but such declarations are extremely rare. In many cases homosexuality remains pro sport's last taboo. GS: It's such a terrible reflection on a sport that has so much positive impact across the globe that there is still this issue about gay people within the sport. If you look at so many other professions in terms of business and politics, across the board the gay community is represented but in football it still isn't and I find that disappointing. There may not be many gay players in the game but the sport should be grown up enough to be able to support those people in the football environment. DR: Football's obviously made great strides, certainly in Britain, in the last 10 years with regards to racism, but how much prejudice is there generally in the game? Do you think we'll ever be free of it? GS: I think there's always going to be an undercurrent of prejudice. But ultimately I think it's important for any business really to be responsible, inclusive and representative of its employees. And football is in a very privileged position and can lead by example. And so I hope that, you know, the people in authority really make some serious attempts, I suppose to create parity between all walks of life. DR: We've come across a couple of black footballers who say that fans who shout racist abuse aren't really racist, they are just trying to put us off our game. How much do you buy into that approach? GS: Well, I can't speak for individual black players! But sometimes I think the perception of people it is not happening to is different to the individual. It used to baffle me when I first started playing that you'd have Chelsea fans being racist to black players from the opposition but there would be three or four black players on the Chelsea's team. And if you spoke to them or confronted them about it, they would be like, "Oh yeah, but we know them... they are, you know, they are fine." And it's like, well how do you pick the bones out of that? Because there is just no logic. But then you know prejudice is built on ignorance. You know it really is. I think that sometimes you know individuals have to take responsibility for themselves and actually take a step back and look at what they are doing and not use ignorance as an excuse and say, "Well, would I like to be on the receiving end of this sort of abuse?"

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First ladies can wield enormous influence . Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain have sharply different backgrounds . But both are well-educated and successful in their own careers .

A big part of being president is making decisions, and one of the key decisions a would-be president can make is who he or she marries. Cindy McCain has a master's degree in special education. She is part owner of her father's business. It's not like deciding whether to press the nuclear button, but first ladies in the United States can wield enormous influence in politics and in society. They're not elected. They're not paid. There's no precise job description. But whether it's an elegantly dressed Jacqueline Kennedy giving Americans a tour of the White House, Eleanor Roosevelt speaking on civil rights or Hillary Clinton saying "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies," first ladies are praised, criticized, adored and scorned but never ignored. The two women poised for the job, 54-year-old Cindy McCain, wife of Republican Sen. John McCain, and 44-year-old Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, come from strikingly different backgrounds. Watch the different styles of potential first ladies » . McCain is the only child of a wealthy Arizona businessman, James Hensley, founder of Hensley & Co., a major distributor of Budweiser beer. Her stake in the business is estimated to be at least $100 million. She refused to release her full tax returns, saying "I am not the candidate," but later provided summary pages of her 2006 taxes without details. Cindy McCain has a master's degree in special education. She met John McCain in 1979 when he was the U.S. Navy's liaison to the Senate. He was 18 years older than she. He divorced his wife and married Cindy in 1980. The McCains have four children, including a daughter adopted from an orphanage in Bangladesh. A tall, striking blonde with blue eyes, Cindy McCain has had health issues including a near-fatal stroke in 2004 and a battle with prescription drugs that she says is behind her. In an interview with CNN, McCain said her priority in life is charity. "I've been internationally involved in many, many things," she said. "Land mine removal, children's health care, poverty around the world and I will continue that." On the campaign trail, always dressed impeccably, she stays "on message" but did take a swipe at Michelle Obama after her statement, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country." "I don't know about you," McCain said in February, "...I'm very proud of my country." Michelle Obama has a blunt style and a wry, quirky sense of humor that goes over well with supporters. She doesn't mince words. In an interview with CNN, she said, "I think race is always still, in this country, it's always on the table." Michelle Obama was raised in a working-class family in Chicago, Illinois, but educated at some of America's elite universities: Princeton and Harvard Law School. She was hired by a top-flight law firm in Chicago and met Barack Obama when she was assigned to mentor him. They married in 1992 and have two young daughters. Michelle Obama cuts an impressive figure tall, slim and dressed in Jackie-Kennedy-like sheath dresses. If her husband is elected, she will make history as the first African-American first lady. She has given insights into her husband's domestic behavior: He doesn't pick up his socks. Cindy McCain praises her husband as a fighter who won't give up. Will we learn more of substance? Their husbands offer starkly different views of what they would do in office and Americans often look to their first ladies as a window into the thinking of the president. We're all ears.

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Queen's April birthday is celebrated in June to enjoy good weather . Parade, military ceremony will mark royal birthday . Troop inspection, flyover by Royal Air Force, part of ceremonies .

LONDON, England Britain's Queen Elizabeth celebrates her 82nd birthday Saturday with a parade and military ceremony known as "Trooping the Color." Britain's Queen Elizabeth attends the Derby Festival at Epson Downs horse race course on June 7. The queen's birthday is actually April 21, but she officially celebrates it every year on a Saturday in June when good weather is more likely, according to Buckingham Palace. During the ceremony, which is open to the public, the queen inspects the troops. They then march past the queen, who rides in a carriage back to the palace. The Royal Air Force then conducts a colorful fly-past over Buckingham Palace while the queen and her family watch from the balcony. The queen has attended Trooping the Color every year of her reign except for one 1955, when a national rail strike canceled the event, the palace says. The ceremony gets its name from a tradition where colors of the battalion were carried, or "trooped," down the ranks so they could be seen and recognized by the soldiers, Buckingham Palace says.

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The majority of the troops will be based in Juarez, Mexico . Juarez sits across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas . Drug-related violence has claimed some 200 lives since the beginning of the year . Mayor: Two rival drug cartels tried to push each other out of the city .

MEXICO CITY, Mexico Helicopters were bringing 2,000 Mexican troops into the U.S.-Mexican border city of Juarez on Friday to quell a wave of drug-related violence blamed for 200 deaths since January, the city's mayor said. Mexico has ordered troops to move near Juarez, shown here with El Paso, Texas, in the distance. "Two rival drug cartels tried to push each other out of the city," Jose Reyes Ferriz told CNN. Among those killed were about 20 police officers representing the state, the military and the federal and city governments, he said. "Many [people] say the drug cartels targeted specifically the heads of the police departments," he said. "The violence got extremely bad in the city." He said no uninvolved civilians have been injured. "The two rival drug cartels in Mexico, one's from the Gulf, one's from the Pacific and Juarez being right down the middle, they tried to push the other one out of the area," he said. Watch police clash with suspected drug smugglers » . Juarez sits across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. The majority of the troops will be based in the city. Defense Secretary Guillermo Galvan said Thursday 2,026 soldiers, 180 military tactical vehicles, three airplanes and more than a dozen drug detection devices would be used in the military operation. Mexican Attorney General Medina Mora stressed that the violence that goes along with drug trafficking is "not in any way a sign of strength, but a sign of weakness, deterioration and decomposition." E-mail to a friend . CNN's Ariel Crespo contributed to this report.

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NEW: FEMA chief: Louisiana said it didn't want the supplies . CNN story revealed last week that FEMA gave away 121 truckloads of supplies . Katrina supplies were declared surplus property, offered to federal, state agencies .

WASHINGTON The director of Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sunday defended giving away an estimated $85 million in hurricane relief supplies, blaming Louisiana officials for turning down the stockpiles. A New Orleans charity keeps goods in trash bags in an empty church. FEMA never told it about the free items. "We still have quite a few left if Louisiana needs those," David Paulison said. "But we did find out, we did ask Louisiana, 'Do you want these?' They said, 'No, we don't need them.' So we offered them to the other states." A CNN investigation revealed last week that FEMA gave away 121 truckloads of material the agency amassed after 2005's Hurricane Katrina. The material was declared surplus property and offered to federal and state agencies including Louisiana, where groups working to resettle hurricane victims say the supplies are still needed. Paulison told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" his agency distributed more than 90,000 "living kits" to people in Louisiana whose homes were destroyed or damaged by Katrina. The kits included cleaning supplies, mops, brooms, pots and pans. After CNN reported on the giveaway, Louisiana officials asked that the supplies be redirected to the state, which originally passed on them. John Medica, director of the Louisiana's Federal Property Assistance Agency, told CNN he was unaware Katrina victims still needed the items because no agency had contacted his office. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, an outspoken critic of FEMA's response to the hurricane, told CNN the supply giveaway was "just a shame." "It's just another example of the failings of the federal bureaucracy," said Landrieu, who wrote Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff last week to request an explanation. "We're still trying to fix it. It's going to take a lot more work." Paulison said much of the stockpile included "things we don't normally store refrigerators, stoves, coolers, diapers, things like that." States, meanwhile, were requesting those items, he said. "It didn't make any sense for FEMA to sit on this much stuff and supplies we normally don't even keep. We have plenty of supplies in place if we have another disaster. We can duplicate that type of commodities and get them for people in need," he said. The agency's chief spokesman, James McIntyre, had declined a request for an on-camera interview and told CNN the giveaway was "not news." Paulison said the story "just really missed the mark" that the supplies given away were not exclusively for Katrina victims, but were "donated from disasters all around the entire country." But e-mails from McIntyre and from the General Services Administration, which manages federal property, contradict Paulison's account. In an e-mail sent in April, McIntyre told CNN "in many cases, items were purchased in the field by FEMA." And in a phone interview with CNN, McIntyre said, "That is property that was purchased in response to Katrina. We purchased most of that equipment because of the catastrophic nature of that disaster." General Services Administration spokeswoman Viki Reath wrote the supplies given away were "surplus from the Katrina and [hurricane] Rita disasters... some purchased by FEMA, some donated by foreign countries and federal government agencies." McIntyre said FEMA's storage costs were running more than $1 million a year, and that GSA officials wanted to tear down the Fort Worth, Texas, warehouses in which the stockpiles were being kept. CNN's Abbie Boudreau and Scott Zamost contributed to this report.

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Report reveals medical evidence of torture, including beatings and electric shock . Study calls on U.S. government to issue a formal apology to tortured detainees . Rights group gives list of demands to Bush administration .

WASHINGTON Former terrorist suspects detained by the United States were tortured, according to medical examinations detailed in a report released Wednesday by a human rights group. A U.S. serviceman with his dog watches a detainee at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003. The Massachusetts-based Physicians for Human Rights reached that conclusion after two-day clinical evaluations of 11 former detainees, who had been held at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in Afghanistan. The detainees were never charged with crimes. "We found clear physical and psychological evidence of torture and abuse, often causing lasting suffering," said Dr. Allen Keller, a medical evaluator for the study. In a 121-page report, the doctors' group said that it uncovered medical evidence of torture, including beatings, electric shock, sleep deprivation, sexual humiliation, sodomy and scores of other abuses. The report is prefaced by retired U.S. Major Gen. Antonio Taguba, who led the Army's investigation into the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in 2003. Watch why a rights group says there's evidence of torture » . "There is no longer any doubt that the current administration committed war crimes," Taguba says. "The only question is whether those who ordered torture will be held to account." Over the years, reports of abuses at Abu Ghraib and allegations of torture at Guantanamo prompted the Bush administration to deny that the U.S. military tortures detainees. Since only 11 detainees were examined "the findings of this assessment cannot be generalized to the treatment of all detainees in U.S. custody," the report says. However, the incidents documented are consistent with findings of other investigations into government treatment, "making it reasonable to conclude that these detainees were not the only ones abused, but are representative of a much larger number of detainees subjected to torture and ill treatment while in U.S. custody." Four of the men evaluated were arrested in or taken to Afghanistan between late 2001 and early 2003 and later were sent to Guantanamo Bay, where they were held for an average of three years before being released without charge, the report says. The other seven were detained in Iraq in 2003 and released within a year, the report says. All the subjects told examiners that they were subjected to multiple forms of torture or ill treatment that "often occurred in combination over a long period of time," the report says. While the report presents synopses of the detainees' backgrounds based on interviews with them, the authors did not have access to the detainees' medical histories. Therefore, there's no way to know whether any of the inmates may have had medical or mental problems before being detained. Among the ex-detainees was an Iraqi in his mid-40s, identified only as Laith, whom U.S. soldiers took into custody in October 2003 and who was released from Abu Ghraib in June 2004. According to the report, Laith was subjected to sleep deprivation, electric shocks and threats of sexual abuse to himself and his family. "They took off even my underwear. They asked me to do some movements that make me look in a very bad way so they can take photographs. ... They were trying to make me look like an animal," Laith told examiners, according to the report. According to the report, Laith said the most "painful" experiences involved threats to his family: "And they asked me, 'Have you ever heard voices of women in this prison?' I answered, 'Yes.' They were saying, 'Then you will hear your mothers and sisters when we are raping them.' " The examiners concluded in the report that "Laith appears to have suffered severe and lasting physical and psychological injuries as a result of his arrest and incarceration at Abu Ghraib prison." Another detainee, Youssef, was detained by U.S. soldiers nearly seven years ago when he tried to enter Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan without a passport, the report says. He initially was held in an Afghan prison, where he describes "being stripped naked, being intimidated by dogs, being hooded and being thrown against the wall on repeated occasions," the report says. A few months later, he was taken to the Guantanamo Bay facility, where he was subjected to interrogators who would enter his cell and force him to lie on the floor with his hands tied behind his back to his feet, the report says. Youssef said the interrogators wanted him to confess of involvement with the Taliban, the report says. Based on its investigation, the report calls on the U.S. government to issue a formal apology to detainees subject to torture and ill treatment by the military since fall 2001 in Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. The rights group also demands that the Bush administration: . • "Repudiate all forms of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment"; . • Establish an independent commission to investigate and report publicly the circumstances of detention and interrogation at U.S.-run prisons in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay; . • Hold individuals involved in torturing detainees accountable through criminal and civil processes; and . • Monitor thoroughly the conditions at U.S.-run prisons all over the world. CNN Radio contributed to this report.

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Sen. Obama offers plan to spend $10B on schools, $60B on infrastructure . Democratic presidential candidate would spend $150B on renewable energy . Obama rejects protectionist trade polices, says U.S. workers can compete . Sen. McCain's campaign says higher taxes to pay for programs would hurt economy .

FLINT, Michigan Sen. Barack Obama Monday proposed spending billions to revitalize the nation's economy, a plan the campaign of his likely Republican opponent said would slow economic growth with higher taxes. Sen. Barack Obama wants to spend $60 billion on America's infrastructure. During an economic speech in Flint, Michigan, Obama promised to spend billions to improve America's education, infrastructure, energy and health care systems. To improve America's competitiveness, the senator from Illinois said he wants to spend $10 billion on childhood education, $150 billion over 10 years on developing alternative energy and $60 billion over 10 years to build "21st century infrastructure." Obama said he would pay for these programs by ending the war in Iraq, reducing government waste, charging polluters for greenhouse gas emissions and ending the Bush tax cuts for wealthy individuals. During his speech in Michigan, a state hard hit by the decline of the American automobile industry, Obama also rejected protectionist trade polices that many unions say would help protect American jobs, saying "it is impossible to turn back the tide of globalization." Watch Obama call for America to compete in the global economy » . Obama said he disagreed with those who want to "build a fortress around America; to stop trading with other countries, shut down immigration, and rely on old industries." "Not only is it impossible to turn back the tide of globalization, but efforts to do so can make us worse off," Obama said. "Rather than fear the future, we must embrace it. I have no doubt that America can compete and succeed in the 21st century." A McCain spokesman attacked Obama's plan, saying the Democrat's "agenda to raise taxes and isolate America from foreign markets will not get our economy back on track or create new jobs." "To help create jobs in America, we need to lower taxes and open up foreign markets to American goods," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds. "Americans cannot afford Barack Obama's 'change' that takes us back to the failed policies of the past." But Obama said now was the time to commit to long-term investments in America's future and blasted McCain for wanting to continue President Bush's economic policies, saying "there is a clear choice in this election. Instead of reaching for new horizons, George Bush has put us in a hole, and John McCain's policies will keep us there. I want to take us in a new and better direction. "I reject the belief that we should either shrink from the challenge of globalization or fall back on the same tired and failed approaches of the last eight years," he said. "It's time for new policies that create the jobs and opportunities of the future a competitiveness agenda built upon education and energy, innovation and infrastructure, fair trade and reform." The two campaigns have been sparring over who would be a better steward of America's ailing economy, and both candidates have been reaching out to blue-collar voters, many of whom backed Republican President Ronald Reagan over the Democrats, in part, because of cultural issues. "I believe that there are stark differences between myself and Sen. Obama. ... And I believe that the same appeals that President Reagan made to the so-called Reagan Democrats will succeed there," McCain said during a campaign stop in Arlington, Virginia. Watch McCain vow to win Reagan Democrats » . A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Thursday suggested voters favor Obama over McCain to handle the economy 50 percent to 44 percent. The poll, conducted June 4-5, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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UK Foreign Office: Terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks in the UAE . It added that attacks could be "indiscriminate and could happen at any time" U.S. State Department has not issued any warnings about the UAE . UAE is a key ally in the United States' "war on terror"

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates The British Foreign Office has warned its nationals traveling to or living in the United Arab Emirates about the increased threat of a terrorist attack. In 2006 over one million Britons visited the United Arab Emirates, according to the UK Foreign office. The alert, posted on its Web site, urged Britons in the oil-rich Gulf kingdom to be vigilant especially in public places because of a "high threat of terrorism." The UAE is among the most moderate Gulf states and is home to thousands of expatriates. "We believe terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks in the UAE," the Foreign Office statement read. "Attacks could be indiscriminate and could happen at any time, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travelers such as residential compounds, military, oil, transport and aviation interests." By Monday, the U.S. State Department had not issued any warnings about the UAE. The UAE, slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maine, is in the midst of a building boom to position itself as one of the world's premier tourist destinations. It is already home to the world's largest mall, the world's largest tower, and despite being in the Middle East boasts the largest indoor snow park in the world. According to the British Foreign Office, more than a million British visitors traveled to the UAE in 2006, while over 100,000 British nationals live there. The country is an ally in the United States' "war on terror," and its ports host more U.S. Navy ships than any port outside the U.S., according to the U.S. State Department. Two of the attackers who took part in the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington came from the UAE. And it was among a handful of countries that recognized the fundamentalist Taliban regime before the September 11 attacks.

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Banner ad on Islamist Web sites says al Qaeda leader will release message soon . It is not known exactly when the message will come . Bin Laden's last communication was an audiotape released March 20 .

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden will address the West in a new message, according to a banner ad from the group's production wing posted on Islamist Web sites known to carry messages from al Qaeda and bin Laden. This image accompanied a message from Osama bin Laden in November. "To the western nations, soon, God willing, A new speech by the Lion of Islam Sheikh Osama Bin laden, The reasons of the struggle in the 60th anniversary of the Israeli Occupation," the banner reads. It was not known whether the message would be audio or video or when it might be posted. In the past, messages were available from an hour to two days after the initial posting. Bin Laden's last message came March 20, when in an audiotape he called Iraq "the perfect base to set up the jihad to liberate Palestine." In an audiotape released the previous day, bin Laden condemned European countries for siding with the United States in Afghanistan and for allowing the publication of cartoons considered insulting to Islam's prophet, Mohammed.

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Woman's stillborn baby kept in jar for four years by hospital . Jo-Ann Burrows believed for years that her son had been cremated . The mother-of-five is now taking legal action against the hospital authorities .

A woman who gave birth to a stillborn boy was left distraught after she discovered his body was kept in a jar for four years by the hospital. Jo-Ann Burrows believed for years that her son had been cremated before making the grim discovery about his fate. The mother-of-five is now taking legal action against the hospital authorities in Hampshire, southern England, the UK's Press Association reported Thursday. PA reported that Ms Burrows had daughter Ellie in April 2004 at the Hythe Birthing Centre, in Hampshire, but gave birth to the stillborn twin two days later at home. She said that an ultrasound scan taken the previous December had not revealed that she was carrying a twin, according to PA. After the stillbirth, Ms Burrows, 44, was taken to the Princess Anne maternity hospital in Southampton, also in southern England, where she gave her consent for the body to be cremated. PA reported that she has spent the past four years asking for the funeral papers and ashes. The 44-year-old is now organizing a naming ceremony and funeral for the stillborn, whose twin sister survived. Ms Burrows was quoted in her local newspaper, the Southern Daily Echo, as saying: "This experience has made me suicidal, if it wasn't for my friends and family I wouldn't be here. "I kept asking for my baby's funeral papers because I was always worried that he might be in a jar somewhere. I still couldn't believe it when I found out." She was informed through her solicitor in February that the hospital still had the baby and has now filed a medical negligence claim against Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust. It claims the Trust failed to "exercise reasonable care and skill when performing the ultrasound and also focuses on Ms Burrows' repeated requests for confirmation of the cremation," PA reported. A Trust spokeswoman told the news agency: "Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust confirms that legal proceedings have been brought against it by Ms Jo-Ann Burrows. "The chief executive has already written to Ms Burrows apologizing for shortcomings in the treatment provided to her and, in particular, for the circumstances which led to Ms Burrows' second twin not being cremated in 2004 as they had previously advised and for the distress this discovery may have caused."

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Andre Berto wins the vacant WBC welterweight title . He halts Miguel Rodriguez in seven rounds . Mikkel Kessler becomes WBA super-middleweight champion . Amir Khan successfully defends the Commonwealth lightweight title .

Andre Berto claimed the vacant World Boxing Council welterweight title when he halted Miguel Rodriguez in the seventh round in Memphis. Berto took the WBC belt vacated when Floyd Mayweather retired. Berto (22-0, 19 KOs) picked up the WBC belt that became vacant when Floyd Mayweather retired. Rodriguez's record dropped to 29-3 with 23 KOs. Berto floored Rodriguez with an uppercut in the seventh round and when Rodriquez went down a second time referee Lawrance Cole intervened at 2:13. Dane Mikkel Kessler knocked out Dimitri Sartison in the 12th round in Copenhagen, to become World Boxing Association supermiddle champion . Kessler (40-1) dominated throughout in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at the Brondby Hall. Sartison, who was born in Kazhakstan but grew up in Germany, suffered his first loss after a 22-0 start in his pro career. Kessler won the WBA title in November 2004 by stopping Manny Siaca of Puerto Rico. He also lifted the the WBC super middleweight crown two years later when he knocked out Markus Beyer of Germany in the third round. But he surrendered both belts when Joe Calzaghe of Wales ended his unbeaten run in Cardiff last November. Britain's Amir Khan was floored before successfully defending his Commonwealth lightweight title with a fifth round stoppage of Michael Gomez in Birmingham. Khan, who has won all 18 of his fights since turning professional after winning a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, knocked Gomez down in the first round but found himself on the canvas in the second in a brief but rugged contest. Khan said: "This was one of my toughest fights but I learned from my mistakes. I will watch the video and work on them and continue my journey to the world title." Khan was on target with a powerful right uppercut in the first round and a combination of punches floored Gomez, who retaliated in the second round. A left hook over the top of a jab put Khan down and he had to take a standing count and looked unsteady on his legs for several seconds afterwards. Gomez landed a damaging hook to the ribs in the fourth but early in the fifth Khan put his opponent down again with a powerful body shot. Gomez began to take a lot of punishment and referee John Keane stopped the contest. Gomez looked disappointed but appeared to be all but out on his feet.

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Michelle Obama refining her speeches to emphasize family, upbringing . She has been criticized for coming across as angry, unpatriotic . She is co-hosting on "The View;" also on cover of Us Weekly . Her spokeswoman says this is not an "image makeover"

Michelle Obama, wife of Sen. Barack Obama, is honing her message for the fall, aides say. Sen. Barack Obama and wife, Michelle, have been thrust into the public eye. "Michelle wrote her own stump . And you know, she's refining it now I think as we're going into the general election," said senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. "We have an opportunity for her to kind of step back and think about the message she wants to deliver. So she's really working on it as we speak." Her new speeches will include more details about her family and humble upbringing on Chicago's South Side, aides said. Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, was a vice president at the University of Chicago and landed a job as a health care executive making $275,000 a year. But along with her success has come criticism that's she's too angry, too negative and too sarcastic. Now, the woman who would become the first black first lady is trying to connect with voters on a more personal level. Watch experts weigh in on how Michelle Obama is perceived » . On Wednesday, she made an appearance as a guest co-host on ABC's "The View," and later this week, she and her husband will grace the cover of Us Weekly. The magazine is headlined "Michelle Obama: Why Barack Loves Her," and includes details about her love for Target, "Sex and the City" and her daughters' recitals. Asked Wednesday while on "The View" if she's going through a makeover, she said she realizes "I wear my heart on my sleeve" and that "it's a risk you have to take." She said she thinks people will change their perception of her as they see her family more. Michelle Obama's spokeswoman, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, said earlier there is no "image makeover" in the works. Watch what Michelle Obama would be like as first lady » . "She has staff engaged in simply part of the process of growing to a general election campaign and putting a strategy together to help people get to know her," Lelyveld said. "It's what you do as you move from primary voters to general election voters." Carl Sferrazza Anthony, a first ladies historian, said it's important for Michelle Obama to define herself before others define her. "One comment made off-hand ... might be easily misinterpreted by the opposition," he said. Michelle Obama saw that in February when a Republican ad used a snippet from a campaign event in which, referring to record voter turnout in the Democratic primaries, she said, "for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country." Obama's campaign says she was just excited about the grassroots support, but her words still provided fodder for her husband's opponents. The day after the comments, Cindy McCain, wife of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, introduced her husband saying, "I don't know about you, if you heard those words earlier I am very proud of my country." Michelle Obama has been a vocal advocate for her husband while on the campaign trail, delivering sometimes impassioned speeches on his behalf. Robin Givhan, fashion editor with the Washington Post, said people see Michelle Obama in different ways. "Some people will see confidence, and others might see cockiness. I think some people will see strength. Others might see arrogance," she said. "She comes across as someone who is extraordinarily independent and very much a force to be reckoned with." Behind the scenes, she maintains that independence. According to the campaign, Michelle Obama picks out her own clothes. She received a lot of attention for the sleeveless purple dress and pearls she wore the night her husband became the presumptive Democratic nominee. Beyond her style, though, a sense of dignity may be what most defines a first lady. It's a job that requires the ability to strike a balance between queen and commoner. Exactly how Michelle Obama refines her approach on the stump remains to be seen, staffers said. "We'll see," Jarrett said. "She's learned a lot of stories along the way from the American people, I think she may incorporate some more of the stories that she's heard that resonate with what she's seeing in terms of the direction that people want the country to take. But the rest is up to her. We'll see what she comes up with." CNN's Randi Kaye contributed to this report.

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Coach Zico is leaving Turkish club Fenerbahce . He has been unable to reach agreement over a new contract . Media reports suggest that Spain coach Luis Aragones will replace him .

Brazilian coach Zico is leaving Turkish club Fenerbahce, after failing to reach an agreement over a new contract. Zico guided Fenerbahce to a league and Super Cup double intheir centenary year . Fenerbahce recently suspended negotiations over a fresh deal with Zico because of reportedly high demands by the Brazilian. The Anatolia press agency published a club statement which said: "The contract of Arthur Antunes Coimbra has now come to an end. " We would like to thank him for the successful work he has done with the club, and wish him all the best for the future." Last season Zico led Fenerbahce to the quarterfinals of the Champions League where they were defeated by Chelsea. Reports claimed that after that achievement Zico sought a new annual salary of $4.9 million. He has been earning $2.9million.. Zico, 55, joined the club in July 2006 on a two-year deal and he guided them to a league and Turkish Super Cup double in 2007, their centenary year. Spanish media reports have said that Fenerbahce have lined up current Spain coach Luis Aragones as a replacement. Aragones has led Spain to the semifinals of the Euro 2008 finals .

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"I'm hiding in a clothes rack," a caller says . A rapid burst of gunshots can be heard in another call before the line goes dead . Robert Hawkins killed six employees and two customers before taking his own life . "I see him laying by the gun," a woman tells the dispatcher .

OMAHA, Nebraska Dozens of calls flooded the Omaha Police Department's 911 emergency line after a gunman opened fire inside the city's Westroads Mall, with witnesses calling in tones that ranged from almost matter-of-fact to near terror. Police make their presence known at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, Thursday. "I haven't seen anything. I'm hiding in a clothes rack," a woman said after a dispatcher asked her for a description of the shooter. "I mean, there's been like 50 gunshots." In one of the recordings, provided to CNN by the police department, a rapid burst of three gunshots can be heard, followed by two more a moment later before the line goes dead. A dispatcher asked one caller to move away from a woman shouting in the background. "Oh Lord God help us," the woman can be heard screaming. Hear some of the 911 calls » . "She said there is a bunch of people shot," the caller says. Robert Hawkins, 19, killed six employees and two customers of Von Maur department store on Wednesday before turning his AK-47 rifle on himself. Two employees remained hospitalized Thursday, one with critical injuries and one in serious condition. A woman who called 911 before ducking into a security office in the store said she heard the gunman demand that a vault be opened near the store's customer service area. Police have not described the shooting as a robbery attempt, saying Thursday they don't know why Hawkins chose the store as a target. The caller described the shooter as having "a very large gun" and said he came out of an elevator on the store's third floor and began firing shots into the air. "I heard the gunshots and I got down as soon as possible because I've got kids," she said. Later, she told the dispatcher she'd moved into the security office where she appears to have seen Hawkins' dead body on a surveillance camera. "Oh my gosh! It looks like the gun is laying over by customer service it looks like he might have killed himself," she said, breaking into tears. "I see him laying by the gun!" Police said Thursday that Hawkins had had "some mental health problems," including thoughts of suicide. He had lost his job and recently broken up with his girlfriend, according to a family friend. E-mail to a friend .

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Nepalese authorities arrest at least 650 Tibetan exiles over China protest . Police forcefully dragged some of the protesters to awaiting vans . Protestors voice opposition to China's policies in Tibet .

KATHMANDU, Nepal Nepalese authorities Thursday detained at least 650 Tibetan exiles protesting against China's policies in the province ahead of this weekend's Olympic torch relay in Tibet, security officials in Kathmandu said. A protester is grabbed by Nepalese police during a demonstration in Kathmandu. Police also arrested and charged three local Tibetan community leaders with organizing the protest, after seizing them from their homes Thursday morning. It is the largest single-day round-up of Tibetan protesters in Nepal since the demonstrations broke out in March following China's bloody crackdown on protesters in Tibet. It is also the first time that Nepalese authorities have charged any Tibetan exiles in connection with the protests. Nepalese police forcefully dragged some of the protesters to awaiting vans and drove them to police stations across the capital. Tibetan exile groups said 900 protesters were detained Thursday. Authorities said the three arrested leaders two women and a man were responsible for the near-daily protests since March and will be held for 90 days under Nepal's public security act. "They have been arrested for damaging the diplomatic relations between Nepal and China," said civilian security officer Jaya Mukunda Khanal. The two women arrested and charged for organizing the protests were Ngwang Sangmo, president of Tibetan Women's Association, and Tashi Dolma, vice president of the association. Also charged was Kelsang Chung, director of the Tibetan Reception Center, which helps Tibetan refugees in Nepal emigrate to India, where the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, lives in exile. While they are the first Tibetan exiles formally arrested, protesters have previously been detained and released hours later. The crackdown comes days before the Olympic torch relay in Tibet. The torch relay wrapped up in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Wednesday, and will continue in Tibet's capital of Lhasa on Saturday, according to China's Olympic Web site.

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Toobin: Ruling falls in line with recent court decisions on death penalty . Justice Kennedy, in decision, said it would not be fair to place burden on child victim . Public support for executions down in recent years, Toobin said .

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday morning that child rapists cannot be given the death penalty, effectively reserving the punishment only for murderers. CNN's Jeffrey Toobin said the court's ruling falls in line with other decisions on the death penalty. The 5-4 decision stems from a Louisiana case in which Patrick Kennedy, 43, was sentenced to die in 2003 for the sexual assault of his 8-year-old stepdaughter. Proponents of Louisiana's law, which allowed child rapists to be eligible for the death penalty, say that besides murder, no crime is more deserving of the death penalty than child rape. Kennedy would have been the first rapist in 44 years to be executed for a crime in which the victim was not killed. In the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said "evolving standards of decency" forbid capital punishment for any crime other than murder. CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, spoke with CNN's Heidi Collins outside the Supreme Court about the impact of the ruling. Collins: This is a huge decision here. What do you make of it? Toobin: It was just high drama in the court today. It's always dramatic at the end of the Supreme Court term. Here it was literally life and death, one of the big open questions in constitutional law about the death penalty: Can you execute someone for a crime other than murder? Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote on so many cases, decided this case, it was 5-4. ... He didn't diminish the seriousness of the crime, but he said the risks of expanding the death penalty are simply too great. He pointed out that there are more than 5,000 child rapes every year in the United States. All of them would raise the possibility of the death penalty. There are only a handful of states I think it was six that allow the death penalty for child rape. Forty-four states and the federal government say no. He said there is a national consensus that this is not an appropriate punishment. So, this really rules out not just the death penalty for child rape, but any crime other than murder. So it's a major, major decision. See more about the reach of the decision » . Collins: A national consensus except those six states. It's interesting when you look at the court of public opinion. How do you think this decision is going to go down in public? Toobin: Well, I think it's a tough call because support for the death penalty nationwide in the past 10 years has actually been going down. But child rape is such a horrendous crime and all of us have such a natural revulsion towards it that you're never going to get a lot of support for any sort of reduction in sentence. But I think, given the fact that this is a Supreme Court that said no death penalty for murderers under 18, no death penalty for the mentally retarded, this decision is consistent with a certain restriction on the death penalty, which is reflected in the court but also in a kind of national change that's going on. Collins: And in Sean Callebs' piece that we had, I don't know if you heard it. Toobin: I saw it, yeah. Collins: One woman, who actually brought up a very interesting point, when you think about all of this and when you think about the child, the victim, she said, you know, if they know they're going to die for this crime, why would they leave a living witness? Toobin: Justice Kennedy made precisely that point in the opinion. He said, allowing the death penalty here would create a perverse incentive for child rapists to murder their victims. He also pointed out what a difficult moral choice it would put child victims in testifying, giving children literally the power of life and death in their testimony over their attackers. That is something that he wanted to relieve children of that burden. Collins: Will they always have to testify? Toobin: Yeah, pretty much. There have been rare examples ... if a child, for example, is simply too young to testify. There are horrible cases of rapes of babies and things like that. But by and large there has to be some sort of testimony from a child. It can be in a noncourtroom setting. It can be sort of in a deposition, not in front of the jury. But you do have to have the child testify. Collins: It's just such a tough decision all around. 5-4 on that one, very interesting.

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FDA: Tomatoes suspected in salmonella outbreak traced to farms in Mexico, Florida . Tomatoes may have been contaminated after leaving the farm . Outbreak stands at 552 cases since April in 32 states, District of Columbia .

Investigators looking for the source of a salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes will focus on farms in Mexico and Florida, federal health authorities said Friday. Since April, more than 500 people have contracted the same strain of salmonella, linked to raw tomatoes. The tracebacks "have taken us from point of consumption all the way back to certain farms in Mexico and Florida," said Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the Food and Drug Administration. The agency will send teams of investigators to farms in both locations this weekend as well as to the pathways from those farms in an attempt to determine where the contamination occurred, he said. The tomatoes may not have been contaminated on a farm, he stressed; the contamination could have occurred in a packing shed, warehouse, supplier chain or distribution center. "We are going to all of those places to see if there are any problems that could indicate how or why these tomatoes got contaminated," he said. The reported advance in the investigation came as the toll mounted, with 552 people identified as having contracted the strain of Salmonella Saintpaul since April in 32 states and the District of Columbia. It is one of the biggest outbreaks of tomato-caused illness in history, officials said. See where the cases have been reported » . Though the number of reported victims has risen dramatically in recent days, that does not signify a large number of new infections, Acheson said. Instead, he credited improved surveillance and laboratory identification of previously submitted strains for the increased number. The bulk of the new reports were in Texas, which tallied 265 cases, according to Ian Williams, chief of the OutbreakNet Team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 53 of the victims, whose ages range from 1 to 88 years, have been hospitalized. The victims are almost evenly split between males and females. Though no deaths have been officially attributed to the outbreak, a man in his 60s in Texas who had cancer also had the infection, which may have contributed to his death, Williams said. The outbreak began April 10, and the latest case was reported June 10.

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NEW: Senate votes 80-14 to approve measure over Bush's objections . President Bush vetoed $300 billion farm bill for second time . Bush says bill is too generous to wealthy farmers . Version originally sent to White House had 34 pages missing .

WASHINGTON Congress passed a $300 billion farm bill over President Bush's veto for a second time Wednesday, a step made necessary by a clerical error when the original bill passed. Congress overrode President Bush's second veto of a $300 billion farm bill. The Senate voted 80-14 to approve the measure over Bush's objections, following a 317-109 vote in the House of Representatives. Both votes were well above the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto, which Bush delivered Wednesday morning. Congress overrode an earlier veto of the farm bill last month, even though lawmakers had discovered that 34 pages were missing in the version originally sent to the White House. In spiking the latest version, Bush said he objected to its continued subsidies for the wealthy and its use of budget gimmicks to hide a $20 billion increase in spending. But Sen. Kent Conrad, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said the measure actually saves the government $110 million. "This bill does not add to the deficit or debt, because this bill is paid for," he said. "That is not my claim. That is the finding of the Congressional Budget Office." The discovery of the missing section, Title III, prompted concerns from House Republicans that the override vote was improper. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the sections of the bill that were originally sent to the president had become law after Congress voted to override Bush's first veto. But to put Title III into effect, Congress re-passed the entire legislation, including the missing pages, and resent it to Bush. The House voted 306-110 at the end of May. The Senate voted 77-15 for the bill at the beginning of June. Two-thirds of the $300 billion in spending for the farm bill will go for nutrition programs such as food stamps. Another $40 billion will go toward farm subsidies, and $30 billion is allocated for payments to farms to keep land idle and other environmental programs. After vetoing the latest version of the farm bill, Bush scolded Congress on Wednesday for not "modifying certain objectionable, onerous and fiscally imprudent provisions. ... I am returning this bill for the same reasons as stated in my veto message." When he vetoed the first version of the farm bill, Bush said it "continues subsidies for the wealthy and increases farm bill spending by more than $20 billion, while using budget gimmicks to hide much of the increase." The president said it would hurt efforts to improve American farmers' access to overseas markets. Congress has passed one other bill over Bush's objections: legislation for a $23 billion water project that the president vetoed in 2007. CNN Capitol Hill producer Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

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Luke Russert says he learned of his father's death while he was in Italy . He thanks family, friends for helping him get through trying times . Politics "was just something that I always grew up around," he says . He says it "felt great" to vote for the first time, urges young people to get involved .

LOS ANGELES, California Luke Russert, son of journalist Tim Russert, was part of a panel Wednesday that discussed youth voting on CNN's "Larry King Live." Luke Russert says dinner table political discussions were part of his upbringing. Besides the youth vote, Russert discussed his father's death, his upbringing and his own future in journalism and political commentary. Tim Russert, 58, was the host of NBC's "Meet the Press" and one of America's leading political journalists. He died of a heart attack after collapsing at the network's Washington bureau on June 13. The following is an edited version of the show's transcript. Watch video of the discussion » . Larry King: How did you learn of your dad's passing? Luke Russert: I was in Florence, and I was at an Italian sports bar watching the Italy versus Romania game, and I got a call from my dad's secretary that said he had fainted, and could I get in touch with my mother. Luckily, I was right across the street from the hotel where my mom was. I ran up to her room and said, "Dad has fainted." And we kind of learned in increments of what exactly happened. So it was basically about a half-hour after first hearing that he fainted that we actually knew he collapsed and had a heart attack. And at first, I was upset that I was so far away and removed. And I really wanted to be there. But in reality, it was really a blessing to be an ocean away, because it allowed my mother and me to have some real private time to collect our thoughts, to grieve in private, and not be inundated with all the media coverage and all the phone calls. So, you know, it was something that it was difficult, but to have that little cocoon, I think my mother and I really used it to our benefit. King: Must have been a long flight back. Russert: It was. It was a long nine-hour flight. But my mother has been so strong through this. And my family has been there for me every step of the way. My girlfriend has been wonderful. So I can't thank everybody enough. And obviously this happened, but it has made it a lot easier to have such good friends at NBC and all through Washington and my family personally. King: Were you brought up talking politics? Russert: I was. It was always something that was always talked around the dinner table with my father and my mother from a very young age. One of my earliest memories is being a young toddler and remembering Ronald Reagan's face on television. My dad was watching a press conference, most likely at that time on CNN. And it was just something that I always grew up around. And we also talked a lot of sports. We talked a lot of culture. But politics was something that I guess has been engrained in me at a very, very young age. King: Did he pick the brains of you and your friends? Russert: He did. We would actually have some fun discussions where I would assume the role of who his guest would be on Sunday and try to answer the questions that he threw at me. And sometimes, if I could answer a question pretty well, he'd say, "That question's too easy, I've got to get rid of it." So sometimes, I was a guinea pig for politicians. But it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed doing it. And he would also pick the brains of some of my friends. Some did pretty well, and some didn't. But he was always kind to all of us. King: When did you first vote? Russert: I first voted when I was 18, which would have been 2004. And I registered at the same time I registered for the Selective Service, which I think they do here in the District of Columbia. So I've been a registered voter since 2004, and that's the first time I cast an official ballot. King: How did it feel to vote? Russert: It felt great. It kind of felt like you became a man or at least an adult in some capacity. That your decision your decision became part of the country and its leadership. And I'll never forget the way I voted was I was in college my freshman year, 2004, so I had to go by absentee ballot. And I was going to meet my father in South Bend, Indiana, for the Notre Dame/Boston College game. And I said, "Dad, I'd rather you bring the ballot personally so it doesn't have to go through the mail, send it up to me in Boston." So he brought the ballot, and I filled out my absentee ballot in a South Bend, Indiana, hotel room, and he brought it back and put it right in the FedEx for me. King: We have an e-mail question for you from David in Cary, North Carolina. "Luke, my condolences," it said. "You've shown great strength and character in recent days. Any chance we'll see you reporting or doing commentary about the 2008 election?" Russert: Oh yes, you just might. It's something that I'm definitely interested in. I think that I will probably be part of the peacock network. But you never know. I still have the sports show on XM Radio and Carville, and I kind of go into politics. But I wouldn't mind. King: What if CNN made a bid for you? Russert: I'd be your assistant, Larry? King: You got it. You could come to work for us. I think I can speak for management. In fact, they'll probably talk to you tomorrow based on just how well you're handling yourself tonight. Russert: Well, I appreciate it. Everyone has been so kind. I'd love to have the opportunity to come out here and talk about something that is important to me. And it was important to my father, which was young people getting involved. That really is the important issue tonight. Not me. That's important.

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The Mars Phoenix Lander landed on Mars on Sunday . Phoenix mission is to analyze planet's soils to find signs of life . Experts weren't optimistic about a smooth landing . Getting lander on Mars was dubbed the "7 minutes of terror"

The first pictures from NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander, which successfully touched down near Mars' north pole Sunday, showed a pattern of brown polygons as far as the camera could see. The Mars Phoenix Lander took this image of the planet's surface at its landing site Sunday. "It's surprisingly close to what we expected and that's what surprises me most," said Peter Smith, the mission's principal investigator. "I expected a bigger surprise." The landing on the Red Planet's arctic plains which ended a 296-day journey was right on target, a feat NASA's Ed Weiler compared to landing a hole-in-one with a golf ball from 10,000 miles. The landing dubbed the "seven minutes of terror" was a nerve-wracking experience for mission managers, who have witnessed the failure of similar missions. In mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, they celebrated the lander's much-anticipated entry. "It was better than we could have imagined," Barry Goldstein, project manager for the Phoenix mission, told CNN. Watch the celebration at mission control » . The Phoenix's 90-day mission is to analyze the soils and permafrost of Mars' arctic tundra for signs of past or present life. The lander is equipped with a robotic arm capable of scooping up ice and dirt to look for organic evidence that life once existed there, or even exists now. "We are not going to be able to answer the final question of is there life on Mars," said principal investigator Peter Smith, an optical scientist with the University of Arizona. "We will take the next important step. We'll find out if there's organic material associated with this ice in the polar regions. Ice is a preserver, and if there ever were organics on Mars and they got into that ice, they will still be there today." The twin to the Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, Phoenix was supposed to travel to Mars in 2001 as the Mars Surveyor spacecraft. They were originally part of the "better, faster, cheaper" program, formulated by then-NASA Administrator Dan Goldin to beef up planetary exploration on a lean budget. But Polar malfunctioned during its descent into Mars' atmosphere in 1999 and crashed. An investigation concluded that as many as a dozen design flaws or malfunctions doomed the spacecraft. The failure of that mission, as well as another spacecraft called the Mars Climate Orbiter the same year, led to NASA to put future missions on hold and rethink the "better, faster, cheaper" approach. Mars Surveyor went to the warehouse. Watch the challenges the mission faced » . But all was not lost. In 2003, Smith proposed a plan to re-engineer the Mars Surveyor and fly it on a mission to look for signatures of life in the ice and dirt of Mars far North. Mars Phoenix, literally and figuratively, rose from the ashes of Surveyor. Engineers set to work, testing and retesting the onboard system to ferret out and fix all the flaws they could find. iReport.com: Send your photos, video of space . "We always have to be scared to death," Goldstein said. "The minute we lose fear is the minute that we stop looking for the next problem." The team was concerned about the Phoenix landing system. NASA had not successfully landed a probe on Mars using landing legs and stabilizing thrusters since the Viking missions in the late 1970s. The other three successful Mars landings Pathfinder in 1997 and the Spirit and Opportunity rovers in 2004 used massive airbags that inflated around the landing craft just before landing to cushion the impact. Learn about NASA's past missions to Mars » . The Phoenix doesn't have airbags because the lander is too big and heavy for them to work properly. Its landing site was targeted for the far northern plains of Mars, near the northern polar ice cap. Data from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft indicate large quantities of ice there, likely in the form of permafrost, either on the surface or just barely underground. "Follow the water" has become the unifying theme of NASA's Mars exploration strategy. In 2004, the rover Opportunity found evidence that a salty sea once lapped the shores of an area near Mars' equator called Meridiani Planum. Astrobiologists generally agree that it's best to look for life in wet places. CNN's Kate Tobin contributed to this report.

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Harare mayor's wife found bludgeoned to death, opposition says . Mayoress one of five people found murdered Thursday, according to MDC . Government strongly denies any involvement in latest deaths . U.S. says President Mugabe sponsors efforts to kill opposition supporters .

HARARE, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe's opposition party said four of its activists and the wife of Harare's mayor an opposition member have been killed by supporters of President Robert Mugabe, just days ahead of next week's presidential runoff. President Robert Mugabe says war veterans will take up arms again if Tsvangirai wins. Thursday's report came as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused Mugabe of sponsoring efforts to starve, beat and kill supporters of his opponent Morgan Tzvangirai so he can win the election. Rice was speaking on the same day that Tendai Biti, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change's secretary-general, was charged with treason after being held in jail without charges for a week. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. His arrest and treason charges have been criticized by African and international leaders who characterize it as a ploy by Mugabe supporters to intimidate the opposition party before his June 27 runoff against Tsvangirai. A spokesman for the MDC blamed Mugabe's Zanu-PF party for the five most recent deaths, saying they brought to 70 the number of MDC party members killed since a bitterly contested election three months ago. The body of the mayor's wife, 27-year-old Abigail Chiroto, was found in a mortuary close to the couple's house north of Harare. She had been beaten so severely with rocks and iron bars that her face was almost unrecognizable, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said. Watch CNN's Nkepile Mabuse report on the violience » . Chiroto was kidnapped, along with her 4-year-old son, on Tuesday. Some of her kidnappers wore military uniforms, Chamisa said. Chiroto's son was released unharmed. Her husband, Emmanuel Chiroto, is an MDC member who was recently elected mayor of Harare. He was not home at the time of the kidnapping. Also Thursday, the MDC said that four other activists were found dead in Chitungwiza. The victims' bodies showed evidence that "they were heavily tortured until they died," an MDC statement said. "It's unbelievable the way people are being killed or murdered," Chiroto said. "It's almost mass butchering." Police confirmed the deaths of the activists but did not link the victims to any political party. Mugabe's party denied any part in the deaths, saying MDC officials made such accusations frequently. "They are claiming anyone who dies. They phone CNN," said Bright Matonga, a Zanu-PF spokesman. "Whenever someone dies in the hospital, they rush to claim them." Matonga said Harare was run by a commission. "There is no MDC mayor in Zimbabwe," he said. "There is no newly elected mayor in Harare." Learn more about Zimbabwe » . In New York, Rice convened a meeting about the situation in Zimbabwe at the United Nations on Thursday. "Mugabe is increasing violence against [the] opposition. ... President Mugabe has squandered the promise of the very nation that was hailed as the jewel of Africa," Rice said at a roundtable discussion attended by representatives from many international governments. "Clearly we have reached a point where broader, stronger, international effort is needed," she added. On Friday, a magistrate judge will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed with a trial against Biti. The judge also will determine whether Biti will be granted bail or will continue to be jailed until the trial. Biti was charged Thursday with treason, communicating false information prejudicial to the state, bringing the office of the president into disrepute and causing disaffection among armed forces, according to a journalist who was in the Harare courtroom. He denies all the charges. Watch Biti arrive for his court hearing » . Biti, wearing a red jacket and looking exhausted, held his head in his hands as the proceedings took place in the packed courtroom. "I think that one must express very serious objection to the manner in which this whole case is being handled," said Tsvangirai, who was in court. "The accusations are frivolous." Three of the charges stem from a document titled "The Transitional Strategy," which Biti is said to have written ahead of the March 29 election. Biti is denying that he wrote the document, and his lawyers described it as "doctored." The fourth charge of communicating falsehoods alleges that Biti announced that Tsvangirai had won the March presidential election by an outright majority, meaning no runoff vote would be needed. In recent weeks, opposition groups and churches have reported numerous cases of kidnappings, torture and other violence in the country targeting opponents of Mugabe. Zanu-PF members have been suspected of being behind the acts. Zanu-PF claims that the MDC is behind the violence. It said MDC members attacked the mayor of Kadoma, a city 140 km (87 miles) southwest of Harare. It also accused MDC activists of causing millions of dollars damage to private business. Last week, Mugabe warned that veterans he commanded in his country's liberation war nearly three decades ago would take up arms again if Tsvangirai won. Watch an ad vilifying Tsvangirai » . The MDC is using word of mouth and file-sharing sites such as YouTube to disseminate its campaign advertisements, claiming that they are banned by state media. The group sent advertisements to supporters via e-mail, asking them to forward them to their friends and relatives. "Since the regime has denied the MDC access to state media, please send the adverts to as many people as you can," the e-mail says. "A new Zimbabwe is near. The dictator is finished. Let's finish it!" Mugabe has been Zimbabwe's only leader since the war ended in 1980 but is blamed for the economic collapse of a country once considered a regional breadbasket. Zimbabweans increasingly are unable to afford food and other essentials, with agriculture paralyzed by land reform and the world's highest rate of inflation. Police have arrested Tsvangirai several times in the weeks leading up to the runoff, most recently on Saturday, with 11 other officials and supporters from his party. South African President Thabo Mbeki met Mugabe and Tsvangirai on Wednesday in the hope of quelling tensions. Mbeki was visiting in his capacity as mediator with the 14-nation Southern African Development Community, the South African government said Wednesday. He is under domestic and international pressure for his perceived conciliatory stance toward Mugabe, but the South African leader recently said he would continue his quiet diplomacy despite recent events. CNN's Nkepile Mabuse contributed to this report.

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Five European divers battled Komodo dragon before rescue . Group found at Mantaolan, on the island of Rinca off Komodo National Park . Missing divers included three Britons, one Frenchwoman and a Swede .

JAKARTA, Indonesia Five Europeans rescued Saturday after an Indonesia diving trip went wrong had to fight off a Komodo dragon while they were waiting to be found, according to reports. Rescued diver Kath Mitchinso embraces fellow diver Ernest Lewandowsky as they arrive on Flores island. The group was found at Mantaolan, on the island of Rinca off the Komodo National Park, after going missing Thursday. The divers three Britons, a Frenchman and a Swede spent two nights on the deserted island, which is home to the large Komodo dragon, before rangers found them Saturday. Frenchman Laurent Pinel, 31, said the group had to fight off one dragon with rocks and scavenged for shellfish as they waited to be rescued, Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported. "On the beach a Komodo dragon came amongst us [Friday] afternoon," Pinel said, describing how the group had to pelt the dangerous reptile with rocks to scare it away. "We had nothing to eat. We ate some kind of mussels scraped from the rocks," Pinel told the newspaper. The husband of one of the other divers said he was told they were in good condition, although dehydrated. "I'm just so relieved," said Mats Kohler, husband of Helena Neva Lainen. They are both from Sweden. An official said they were being taken to a hospital for examination. Searchers using boats located the missing divers at 11 a.m. Saturday (11 p.m. ET Friday), the official said. They arrived at a hospital in Labuan Bajo, on the western tip of the island of Flores, about two hours later, an official said. Watch a report on the discovery of the missing group » . They were one of two groups of divers who entered the water off Komodo National Park on Thursday and were supposed to be gone for an hour, said an employee of the dive company, Reef Seekers. The second group came back after the hour passed, but the first group failed to resurface, she said. Earlier, an official with the Komodo Divers Association said the group that returned comprised six snorkelers. Among those who went missing was one of the owners of the dive company, Kathleen Mitchinson, the employee said. The seas that the divers were in are known to be dangerous because of their strong tides, and that's one theory being investigated in the divers' disappearance, the employee said.

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New Yorker article says Congress authorized up to $400 million for covert ops in Iran . Journalist Seymour Hersh says program is being staged from Afghanistan . U.S. officials decline comment, deny the U.S. is launching raids from Iraq . Iranian general says troops are building graves for invaders in the event of war .

WASHINGTON The Bush administration has launched a "significant escalation" of covert operations in Iran, sending U.S. commandos to spy on the country's nuclear facilities and undermine the Islamic republic's government, journalist Seymour Hersh said Sunday. An Iranian flag flies outside the building containing the reactor of Bushehr nuclear power plant, south of Tehran. White House, CIA and State Department officials declined comment on Hersh's report, which appears in this week's issue of The New Yorker. Hersh told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that Congress has authorized up to $400 million to fund the secret campaign, which involves U.S. special operations troops and Iranian dissidents. President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have rejected findings from U.S. intelligence agencies that Iran has halted a clandestine effort to build a nuclear bomb and "do not want to leave Iran in place with a nuclear program," Hersh said. "They believe that their mission is to make sure that before they get out of office next year, either Iran is attacked or it stops its weapons program," Hersh said. The new article, "Preparing the Battlefield," is the latest in a series of articles accusing the Bush administration of preparing for war with Iran. He based the report on accounts from current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. Watch Hersh discuss what he says are the administration's plans for Iran » . "As usual with his quarterly pieces, we'll decline to comment," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told CNN. "The CIA, as a rule, does not comment on allegations regarding covert operations," CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said. Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, denied U.S. raids were being launched from Iraq, where American commanders believe Iran is stoking sectarian warfare and fomenting attacks on U.S. troops. "I can tell you flatly that U.S. forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran, in the south or anywhere else," Crocker said. Hersh said U.S. efforts were staged from Afghanistan, which also shares a border with Iran. He said the program resulted in "a dramatic increase in kinetic events and chaos" inside Iran, including attacks by Kurdish separatists in the country's north and a May attack on a mosque in Shiraz that killed 13 people. The United States has said it is trying to isolate Iran diplomatically in order to get it to come clean about its nuclear ambitions. But Bush has said "all options" are open in dealing with the issue. Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed at providing civilian electric power, and refuses to comply with U.N. Security Council demands that it halt uranium enrichment work. U.N. nuclear inspectors say Tehran held back critical information that could determine whether it is trying to make nuclear weapons. Israel, which is believed to have its own nuclear arsenal, conducted a military exercise in the eastern Mediterranean in early June involving dozens of warplanes and aerial tankers. The distance involved in the exercise was roughly the same as would be involved in a possible strike on the Iranian nuclear fuel plant at Natanz, Iran, a U.S. military official said. In 1981, Israeli warplanes destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor. Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, warned other countries against moves that would "cost them heavily." In comments that appeared in the semi-official Mehr news agency Sunday, an Iranian general said his troops were digging more than 320,000 graves to bury troops from any invading force with "the respect they deserve." "Under the law of war and armed conflict, necessary preparations must be made for the burial of soldiers of aggressor nations," said Maj. Gen. Mirfaisal Baqerzadeh, an Iranian officer in charge of identifying soldiers missing in action. Journalist Shirzad Bozorghmehr in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

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NEW: Obama vows to never question the patriotism of others in the campaign . NEW: Obama camp: "Of course [Obama] rejects yesterday's statement" by Clark . NEW: McCain's campaign launches a Truth Squad to defend his military record . McCain unveils new campaign airplane .

Sen. Barack Obama defended his patriotism Monday, telling a crowd in Independence, Missouri, that his "deep and abiding love for this country" is the reason he is running for president. Sen. Barack Obama's speech on patriotism comes days before the Fourth of July. "At certain times over the last 16 months, I have found, for the first time, my patriotism challenged at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears and doubts about who I am and what I stand for," he said in President Harry Truman's hometown, just days before the Fourth of July. Obama vowed to never question the patriotism of others in the campaign, adding "I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine." Obama has been defending his patriotism ever since the beginning of the primary season, when he was first criticized for not wearing a flag pin which he now does much more frequently and when false rumors began circulating that he did not say the Pledge of Allegiance. Watch excerpts of Obama's speech » . A widely distributed photo also seemed to show him failing to place his hand over his heart during a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Obama's wife, Michelle, also was criticized about her patriotism, after telling an audience at a campaign event, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country." Obama's campaign said she was just excited about the campaign's grassroots support, but her words still provided fodder for her husband's opponents. At his appearance Monday, Barack Obama appealed to unity. "Given the enormous challenges that lie before us, we can no longer afford these sorts of divisions," he said. "None of us expect that arguments about patriotism will, or should, vanish entirely; after all, when we argue about patriotism, we are arguing about who we are as a country, and more importantly, who we should be. "But surely, we can agree that no party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism. And surely, we can arrive at a definition of patriotism that, however rough and imperfect, captures the best of America's common spirit." Obama said that for him, "patriotism starts as a gut instinct, a loyalty and love for country that's rooted in some of my earliest memories." Obama described how as he grew up, his patriotism matured to something that "would survive my growing awareness of our nation's imperfections: its ongoing racial strife; the perversion of our political system that were laid bare during the Watergate hearings; the wrenching poverty of the Mississippi Delta and the hills of Appalachia." Obama said he learned that "what makes America great has never been its perfection, but the belief that it can be made better." Patriotism, he said, must involve the willingness to sacrifice. He called attention to the service of John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate. McCain's campaign has been calling on Obama to condemn comments from retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who said this weekend that McCain's service in Vietnam did not necessarily mean that he was qualified to serve as commander-in-chief. Read about what Clark said . Clark is a military adviser for Obama. In his speech Monday, Obama did not directly address Clark's comments, but after calling attention to McCain's service, he said "no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters of both sides." "We must always express our profound gratitude for the service of our men and women in uniform. Period," he said. Just as Obama was finishing his speech, his campaign released a statement about Clark's remarks. "As he's said many times before, Sen. Obama honors and respects Sen. McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by Gen. Clark," Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said. Meanwhile, McCain's campaign announced Monday it was launching a new Truth Squad to defend the Arizona senator's military record. Leaders of the latest group include McCain's fellow Vietnam prisoners of war Air Force Col. Bud Day and Marine Lt. Col. Orson Swindle, along with former Navy pilot Carl Smith, who served with him. McCain said Monday he was proud of his record of service. Watch McCain's response to Clark's comments » . "The important thing is that if that's the kind of campaign that Sen. Obama and his surrogates and his supporters want to engage in, I understand that," he said. "But it doesn't reduce the price of a gallon of gas by one penny. It doesn't achieve our energy independence or make it come any closer ... and it certainly doesn't do anything to address the challenges that Americans have in keeping their jobs, their homes and supporting their families." Obama was to follow up Monday's speech on patriotism with an address Tuesday about faith and remarks later in the week on service. He will spend his Fourth of July in Butte, Montana, campaigning with his family. McCain on Monday was campaigning in Pennsylvania, a battleground state in the general election. He was scheduled to speak with reporters in Harrisburg before holding a town hall meeting in Pipersville. McCain leaves for Colombia on Tuesday and will travel to Mexico later in the week. His campaign on Monday unveiled his new campaign airplane, a Boeing 737-400. The aircraft shares its name the "Straight Talk Express" with McCain's campaign bus, which has been a staple of the candidate's 2000 and 2008 campaigns. The 95-seat plane with seats for the candidate, his staffers and the press has the "Straight Talk Express" logo emblazoned on its fuselage. CNN's Tasha Diakides and Chris Welch contributed to this report.

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Bangladesh police have detained or arrested 18,000 people in 11 days . Human rights groups decry the actions as politically motivated . Round-ups began after parties refused to cooperate with military government .

Bangladesh police have detained or arrested more than 18,000 people in the last 11 days in a crackdown on crime they say is aimed at improving security ahead of December elections. People arrested by Bangladesh police in their latest round-up arrive at a jail in Dhaka. Human rights groups decry the actions as politically motivated. The round-ups began May 28, days after the two main political parties said they would not cooperate with the military-backed caretaker government on organizing the elections. Police told CNN that by Saturday 16,916 arrests had been made, while local media reported another 1,548 were arrested Sunday. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party said hundreds of their party members had been taken into custody. "The timing and targets of the arrests are a dead giveaway they are politically motivated," Brad Adams of the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement. "It's obvious that they are paying the price for the political parties' refusal to accept the government's conditions to participate in the elections." The government rejects the allegations. The detentions, it said, are part of a planned sweep to rid the country of criminals. "Our IGP [Inspector General of Police, or chief of police] categorically said this special drive was being conducted to create a congenial atmosphere before the general election," said Kamrul Ahsan, a spokesman for Bangladesh Police. "It is not politically motivated," he said. "The intention is not to harass anybody politically." The crackdown began after the Awami League and the BNP said they would not cooperate with the government to develop a roadmap toward democracy unless it first releases the parties' leaders. The two women who head the parties Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and Khaleda Zia of the BNP are in police custody on corruption-related charges. Hasina is charged with bribe-taking. Zia is being held on charges of graft for improperly awarding a multi-million dollar government contract. The current political crisis in the Muslim-majority South Asian country of 150 million can be traced, in large part, to the lingering animosity between the two women, political observers say. Their rivalry runs so deep that the women are known in the country as the "Battling Begums." Begum is an honorific given to women of rank in the country. Since the country's independence in 1972, the Awami League or the BNP has ruled Bangladesh for all but eight years. Both women have served as prime minister at one point or another. After its last stint in power ended in 2006, the BNP handed over rule to a caretaker government to conduct elections, as mandated by the country's constitution. But the Awami League refused to recognize the neutrality of the interim government. Hasina accused Zia of stocking it with BNP backers. Supporters and party members took to the streets in months of deadly clashes. To stem the tide of violence, a military-backed government took control in January 2007 and imposed an indefinite state of emergency. It also postponed elections until it said it could clean up the country's graft-ridden politics. The caretaker government adopted the Emergency Powers Rules. The rules allowed authorities to arrest people without a warrant as long as there was reasonable suspicion that he or she was connected to a crime, Human Rights Watch said. A wave of detentions followed. By some estimates more than 90,000 people were detained before some were released and others charged with crimes. Among those arrested were more than 150 top politicians, including Hasina and Zia leading to the current political stalemate. The government wants to hold elections in the third week of December, and said the crusade on crime is part of its plan to ensure trouble-free balloting. The political parties allege the arrests are intended to pave the way for the election of pro-government candidates. They want their leaders set free before they sit down and talk with the government about a roadmap toward a successful election. They also threatened to organize mass movements to secure their leaders' release. "It's kind of an impasse," said Taleya Rehman, founder and executive director of the Bangladesh-based non-profit Democracy Watch. "The government is conducting political dialogue with small parties. But they are of no significance. They need the two major parties." On Monday, the government announced it was releasing Hasina from custody on medical grounds so she can go abroad for treatment. A similar release for Zia was also expected. Party members say the government's move is a ploy to sideline the pair from the elections by sending them out of the country. Hasina has a damaged ear resulting from a bombing attack that targeted her four years ago. Zia is believed to have arthritis. Meanwhile, the detentions continue almost 1,800 a day. In addition to political party members, the crackdown has also swept up several journalists. "That actually makes the arrests suspicious in some people's minds," said Sultana Kamal, executive director of the legal aid group, Ain o Salish Kendro (Law and Adjudication Center). "If you just arrest any Tom, Dick and Harry saying this person may have arms, then people will legitimately raise questions about the mode of the whole operation."

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Paris court orders eBay to pay $63 million in damages to luxury group LVMH . The group sued eBay over sale of fake luxury goods online . Brands affected include Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi and Givenchy . eBay said LVMH was trying to protect uncompetitive commercial practices .

A Paris court has ordered eBay to pay $63 million damages to luxury goods company LVMH for allowing copies of its goods to be sold on the Web auction site. Louis Vuitton took eBay to court for selling a range of fake luxury goods online. The fashion company home to brands including Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Fendi, Emilio Pucci and Marc Jacobs complained it had been hurt by the sale of fake products on eBay. Pierre Godet, an adviser to LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, said the court's decision was "an answer to a particularly serious question, on whether the Internet is a free-for-all for the most hateful, parasitic practices." eBay said LVMH was trying to crack down on Internet auctions because it was uncomfortable with its business model, which puts sellers rather than brands in control. "If counterfeits appear on our site, we take them down swiftly," eBay spokeswoman Sravanthi Agrawal said. "But today's ruling is not about counterfeits. Today's ruling is about an attempt by LVMH to protect uncompetitive commercial practices at the expense of consumer choice and the livelihood of law-abiding sellers that eBay empowers every day." She said eBay intended to appeal the ruling. The case pit two pillars of their industries one old, one new in a country whose courts often challenge Internet companies on matters protected elsewhere by freedom of speech. The ruling faulted eBay for "guilty negligence" for not doing enough to prevent fake goods from being sold on its site. The court also ruled that eBay was responsible for the "illicit sale" of perfumes from the LVMH empire, which can be sold only through the brands' "selective distribution networks." The court barred eBay from running ads for the perfume and cosmetic brands or face a fine of $79,000 per day. Heather McDonald, partner at law firm Baker Hostetler, said: "eBay has policies and procedures in place where they will intervene in an action between a buyer and seller if there's a problem, and they profit directly on the basis of every item that is sold on their Web site. "This gives them an affirmative obligation to take steps to make sure that illegal goods aren't sold, and they certainly have the ability to do that. "They have been able to make sure that you can't buy a handgun and they have been able to make sure that you cannot buy pornography or prescription narcotics or other medicines on eBay. "They have the ability to do this, they have just chosen not do and to rest the entire burden of policing eBay on the shoulders of the trademark and copyright holders whose rights are being infringed here."

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Tens of thousands of South Koreans protest imports of U.S. beef . Beef imports largely banned since 2003 when mad cow disease found in U.S. Protests essentially paralyzed the government of President Lee Myung-bak .

SEOUL, South Korea Tens of thousands of South Koreans were demonstrating Saturday on the streets of the capital to protest the government's decision to import what they say is unsafe U.S. beef. South Korean protesters protest against government's policy on U.S. beef imports on Saturday. South Korean police estimate that the crowd in Seoul is about 50,000. No clashes were reported between the protesters and riot police, although ongoing protests have at times turned violent. South Koreans have protested regularly since April when the government announced it would resume importing beef from the United States after a five-year ban. That ban was instituted over a case of mad cow disease in the United States in 2003. The widespread public protests essentially paralyzed the government of President Lee Myung-bak, who replaced seven top aides this month and plans to reshuffle his Cabinet. Tens of thousands of auto workers in South Korea went on strike Wednesday to oppose the government's lifting of the ban. After a series of negotiations, Seoul and Washington came up with a revised agreement on June 21 one that limits imports to cattle younger than 30 months old. Animals older than 30 months old are considered at a greater risk for mad cow disease, which can be transmitted to humans. The revised agreement also excludes the import of certain parts believed more susceptible to mad cow disease. The initial deal would have allowed the import of all U.S. beef imports. Scientists believe mad cow disease spreads when farmers feed cattle recycled meat and bones from infected animals. The U.S. banned recycled feeds in 1997. Eating meat products contaminated with the illness has been linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal malady in humans. Until the 2003 ban, South Korea was the third-largest market for U.S. beef exporters. South Korea's new pro-U.S. president agreed to lift the import ban in April before a summit with U.S. President George W. Bush. But the move provoked a backlash over health concerns spurred in part by false media reports about risks, along with a sense that South Korea had backed down too easily to American pressure. The government has vowed to get tough with the rallies. In Washington, the White House announced that Bush would visit South Korea on August 5-6 before heading to the Beijing Olympics. Bush had originally been expected to go to Seoul next week when he visits Japan for the G-8 summit, but the trip did not materialize amid the protests. CNN's Sohn Jie-ae contributed to this report.

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Celebrities, statesmen gather in London to celebrate Mandela's 90th birthday . Mandela at outdoor concert in his honor in London's Hyde Park . Crowd of 46,664 sing "Happy Birthday" led by Will Smith . Performers include Amy Winehouse, Queen, Annie Lennox, Simple Minds .

LONDON, England Hollywood star Will Smith led a crowd of 46,664 in a chorus of "Happy Birthday" to Nelson Mandela on Friday at a party for the South African prisoner, president and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Nelson Mandela had a smile and a message. Smith introduced Mandela to the London crowd celebrating Mandela's life with the words "The one, the only, the birthday boy, Nelson Mandela, Nelson Mandelaaaaaaaaaa." London was the scene of a concert 20 years ago to celebrate Mandela's 70th and to raise awareness of his imprisonment. Mandela told cheering fans, "Your voices carried across the water to inspire us in our prison cells far away. Tonight, we can stand before you free. "We are honored to be back in London for this wonderful occasion. "But even as we celebrate, let us remind ourselves that our work is far from complete. "Where there is poverty and sickness, including AIDS, where human beings are being oppressed, there is more work to be done. Our work is for freedom for all." Watch Mandela at the party » . As Mandela walked on stage, Smith led the crowd in a chorus of "Happy Birthday." Proceeds from the concert in London's Hyde Park will go toward the 46664 Campaign, which Mandela founded in 2003 to raise awareness about the impact of AIDS, especially in Africa, and to promote HIV-prevention measures around the world. The name of the charity represents Mandela's prison number when he was incarcerated at Robben Island. Organizers put 46,664 tickets up for sale. The finale of the concert was scheduled as Queen, Amy Winehouse and Jerry Dammers performing "Free Nelson Mandela," a 1980s hit from the Specials that quickly became an anti-apartheid anthem, but pretty much every act joined them on stage. Dammers was also one of the driving forces behind the London concert in 1988 to awareness of Mandela's long imprisonment by the South African authorities. The former South African president turns 90 on July 18. Watch the crowd celebrate » . Speculation surrounded whether Winehouse would perform after being hospitalized with lung problems last week. More than a dozen African artists, including Johnny Clegg and the Soweto Gospel Choir, performed. Smith, music legend Quincy Jones and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton were among the stars introducing acts. Other guests at the concert included British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former U.S. President Clinton, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and actor Robert De Niro. Mandela served as his country's first democratically elected president from 1994 to 1999. In recent years, he has campaigned on behalf of HIV and AIDS awareness and has long called the battle against AIDS a basic human right. In 1964, a court sentenced Mandela to life in prison for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. He spent the first 18 years at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town, South Africa, and later spent time at Pollsmoor prison and Victor Verster Prison, closer to the mainland. While in prison, Mandela became recognized as the most significant black leader in South Africa, and he became a potent symbol of resistance in the anti-apartheid movement. Mandela consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom. South African President F.W. de Klerk released Mandela in February 1990 after 27 years in prison. Mandela was elected president of the African National Congress the following year, and in 1994, he was elected president of his country.

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Company finds what may be largest gold deposit found in Britain or Ireland . More than one million ounces of gold may lie below rolling Irish countryside . With price of gold near historic highs, find could be worth as much as $300m .

A mining company has found what may be the largest gold deposit ever found in the British Isles, the company's chairman said Tuesday. The price of gold is at historic highs, making new prospects very valuable. Drill samples indicate more than 1 million ounces of gold may lie below what is now rolling Irish countryside, said Richard Conroy, the chairman of Dublin, Ireland-based Conroy Diamonds and Gold. With the price of gold near historic highs, the find could be worth as much as $300 million on the market, Conroy told CNN. The company has been working for 10 years to find gold in a 1,500-square kilometer (600-square-mile) area spanning the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, he said. The site where the company found the gold is near Clontibret, a village in the northern part of Ireland, he said. "I think it's a major development in Ireland that we now have a significant gold resource," Conroy said. "It's the largest amount of gold, the largest number of ounces, that's ever been reported in Ireland, or indeed in either Britain or Ireland." The price of gold is currently around $900 an ounce on global commodities markets. Factoring in costs for mine construction and operation, Conroy said, the gold near Clontibret could fetch roughly $300 million. The company now plans to do more drilling at the site and conduct feasibility studies before moving ahead, he said. An analyst cautioned, however, that the reported amount of gold is still only an estimate. "Until you've actually mined the stuff, there's always a moderate level of uncertainty," said William Tankard, a senior analyst at metals consultancy GFMS in London. One million ounces, if confirmed, would be significant for both Conroy and Ireland, Tankard said. Ireland has small precious metal deposits but nothing as large as Conroy's reported find, Tankard said. Conroy said only one gold mine is currently active in Ireland. "By no means is it world-leading, but a million ounces is certainly worth thinking about," Tankard said. Tankard added that the quality of the gold including grade and how concentrated it is will also affect its value.

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Sens. Clinton and Obama hold a unity rally in Unity, New Hampshire . Crowley: A "day of togetherness that Barack Obama had wanted" "It was not entirely believable, but politics is the art of pragmatism," Crowley adds .

UNITY, New Hampshire The day began with a kiss. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama leave Washington on Friday for a rally in New Hampshire. Sen. Barack Obama, on the tarmac at Reagan Washington National Airport, reached out to shake Sen. Hillary Clinton's hand and leaned down to kiss her cheek. It went on from there. Wearing a tie that matched her suit, he put his hand on her back, guiding the way up the plane steps. They sat side-by-side for the flight up to Manchester, New Hampshire, chatting amiably. One overheard conversation was about the plane. Clinton had used it during the primary season. They hopped on a souped-up bus for the 1½-hour ride to Unity, New Hampshire. The honorary mayor of Unity introduced the pair, admitting that he was a Republican who voted for John McCain in the primary. He didn't seem so sure about the general election. They walked onstage to the tune of "Beautiful Day." Arms around each other's waists, they smiled and waved at the crowd. Every camera angle had UNITY signs, big and little, in the backdrop. She said she wants to help elect him president. He gave an ode to Hillary: "She rocks." Watch more from Unity » . One woman stood at the back, periodically yelling, "Hillary for VP!" A few others, older women, stubbornly held up tattered Hillary For President placards. But the vast majority cheered her, "Thank you, Hillary!" and him, "Yes, we can!" They held new signs for the new times: "UNITY FOR CHANGE." As the dynamic duo glowed onstage, a Clinton staffer circulated through the press corps with word that Hillary and Bill Clinton had gone online to give the maximum contribution allowed by law to the Obama for President campaign. It was the picture-perfect day of togetherness that Barack Obama had wanted. It was not entirely believable, but politics is the art of pragmatism.

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One baby dies in Texas hospital's neonatal intensive care unit . Hospital says medication mix-up apparently occurred in hospital pharmacy . Up to 17 babies receive too-concentrated form of blood thinner heparin . Last year, Dennis Quaid's twins given overdose of heparin at Los Angeles hospital .

A Corpus Christi, Texas, hospital is investigating how up to 17 babies in a neonatal intensive care unit received overdoses of the blood thinner heparin. One of the babies died. Officials at Christus Spohn Hospital South say corrective action was taken after the discovery of the overdoses. The infant was one of 17 who may have received a more concentrated form of heparin than was prescribed, Christus Spohn Hospital South said in a statement. Heparin is an anticoagulant often used to clean the IVs of patients and prevent blood clots from forming in the lines. It came into the public spotlight last year when newborn twins of actor Dennis Quaid nearly died after receiving an overdose at a Los Angeles hospital. Nursing staff at the Corpus Christi hospital discovered the problem Sunday two days after the medication is believed to have been first administered, according to Bruce Holstien, president and CEO of Christus Spohn Health System. The hospital said it took corrective measures after the discovery. A preliminary investigation concluded that "the medication error occurred during the mixing process within the hospital pharmacy," Holstein said in a statement. The baby who died "was seriously ill, and we do not know at this time what role, if any, the higher than expected concentration of heparin played in this baby's death," Dr. Richard Davis, chief medical officer for the health system, said Tuesday. "Our deepest sympathy goes out to this family," he said. Twelve of the 16 other babies remain in stable condition in the neonatal intensive care unit, which cares for ill newborns. Three have been discharged, and one is critical and unstable as that baby has been since admission to the unit, Davis said. In November, Quaid's 12-day-old twins, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, were undergoing intravenous antibiotic treatment for a staph infection at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. According to standard procedure, nurses were supposed to clean the infants' IV lines with Hep-Lock, a drug containing a small dose of heparin, to allow the lines to flow freely. However, instead of the 10 units of heparin they were supposed to receive, the twins received 10,000 units 1,000 times the prescribed amount. The babies survived, apparently with no permanent injury, Quaid later told members of a House committee on government oversight, although there is no way to know whether they will show any long-term effects.

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NEW: Half of Paradise's 26,000 residents have been forced to evacuate . NEW: The blaze has torched 40 homes in the area, officials say . Wind gusts, high temperatures make task harder for firefighters . More than 614,000 acres have burned in California in past few weeks .

BIG SUR, California Thousands of people living in Paradise are fleeing their small northern California town Wednesday as wildfires charge into the area, officials said. A fire captain looks at the fire burning in southern Santa Barbara, California, on Tuesday. More than half the town's 26,000 residents have been evacuated as firefighters struggled to battle growing wildfires in the area, authorities said. Residents of the nearby town of Concow had already been told to leave their homes. As of 10 a.m. about 14,000 people had been evacuated from Paradise, said Chuck Rough, director of the emergency operations center in the town. "We don't have much containment," said Rough, who said thick smoke in the area had made it impossible to fight the fire by air Tuesday. "Today we are holding our breath literally and figuratively." The blaze one of several in Butte County has already torched 40 homes. It's just one of the 1,780 wildfires that have scorched more than 614,000 acres in the state in the last few weeks. Most of the fires have been caused by lightning strikes. There were still 323 active fires Wednesday that were being battled by about 20,000 federal, state and local firefighters, authorities said. The fires near Paradise, which is about 90 miles north of Sacramento, California, threatened thousands of homes, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. Residents streamed to shelters in the area, some not knowing if their homes had been destroyed, said Jeannine Olson, a volunteer nurse at Neighborhood Church in the nearby city of Chico. Olson said the church shelter was filled to capacity with about 150 people, and 20 more were living in their cars in the church parking lot. "People are a little scared and are wondering what is going on," she said. "But people here are trying to handle this the best they can." Wind gusts of more than 40 mph pushed the fire dangerously close to many residential communities in the area, said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant. Watch TV crew driven into fire » . "We were lucky that the winds did not pick up last night as it was predicted," he said. "But there are still some immediate threats." Watch what's left of burned home in Big Sur » . Conditions seemed to be getting a little bit better in the fight against a wildfire near the central California coastal community of Big Sur. iReport.com: Share your photos, videos of the fires . The mandatory evacuations in that area had been downgraded to an advisory Tuesday, according to local and federal fire officials. But the Basin Complex Fire was only 27 percent contained Wednesday, according to federal fire authorities. It has torched more than 86,700 acres, and containment is not expected until the end of the month. Watch why fires could be related to global warming » . The nearby Indians Fire, in the Ventana Wilderness, was 97 percent contained after burning more than 81,000 acres, the U.S. Forest Service said. Further south, in coastal Santa Barbara County, the Gap Fire, which has burned 9,710 acres, was 55 percent contained, the Forest Service said.

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Argentine president says export tax will fund massive public works program . Farm leaders urge calm as they plan response to president's announcement . The 44 percent tax has caused a 3-month standoff between farmers, government . Analyst suggests president's plan could turn public tide against farmers .

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina Argentine farmers are planning their next move after the country's president announced plans to fund a public works program with revenues from a controversial agrarian export tax. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has rejected demands for the repeal of an export tax. Eduardo Buzzi, president of the Argentine Agrarian Federation, said the organization's directory board will meet Friday to discuss what steps it plans to take in response to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's announcement. "We call on farmers across the country to stay calm but to stay on the alert," the organization said on its Web site Tuesday. The 44 percent export tax, which applies to soybeans, wheat, corn and sunflower seeds, has caused a three-month-old standoff between the government and farmers. Argentina is the world's second-largest corn exporter and third-largest soybean exporter. On Monday, farmers suspended roadblocks that had snarled traffic across the country, though reports indicated that groups in some rural areas were still blocking roads Tuesday. Kirchner has argued that the tax, which was implemented March 11, pays for increases in seniors' pensions and financial assistance for the poor. She has rejected the farmers' demands for a repeal of the export tax as "extortion." Monday marked the first time Kirchner revealed details of how the government plans to use profits from the tax, which has generated about U.S. $1.5 billion, to lift people out of poverty. "It is impossible to attack the problem of the poor without distribution of revenue and without touching extraordinary profits," she said in a televised address. Kirchner said the Social Redistribution Program will include the construction of 30 hospitals and more than 300 health-care centers, as well as investments in the country's rural roads and in housing. In an apparent criticism of the farmers, she lamented "the reaction of some who refuse to contribute in the redistribution" to "those who have least." She apologized, however, at the close of her speech for offending anyone. Analysts suggested that the tax was a "strong attack" on on the farmers and their arguments against it. Claudio Loser, a visiting senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue policy analysis center, said it could result in Argentine society being "less sympathetic to the farmers," noting that it was "surprising" that the government didn't come up with the plan until the tax was three months old. Loser, who is from Argentina, also predicted that a continuation of the tax would provoke farmers into not investing. Externally, the standoff has had a two-pronged effect on Argentina, he said. "The conflict has resulted in a loss of market for Argentina," he said, as other countries have gone elsewhere for products. Loser also said foreign investors may be more reluctant to invest in Argentina now. CNN's Carolina Cayazzo and Taylor Gandossy contributed to this report.

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Barack Obama denounces remark, then says to "put it behind us" Hillary Clinton's camp says Obama intentionally stoking controversy . Clinton says in editorial she knows the odds are against her getting nomination . Obama mentions Robert Kennedy in imploring Wesleyan graduates to volunteer .

Sen. Hillary Clinton said Sunday some people are using her controversial reference to Robert F. Kennedy's assassination to suggest that she meant something "completely unthinkable." Sen. Hillary Clinton says her supporters urge her to stay in the race until it is over. Her campaign also accused the rival Obama campaign of "inflaming" the situation and purposely taking her words out of context. But the Obama campaign said it was not trying to "stir the issue up." In an editorial in the New York Daily News, the Democratic presidential hopeful also acknowledged her dwindling chances of winning the nomination, saying she is aware of "the odds" against her. Headlined "Hillary: Why I continue to run," the editorial began with an explanation of her reference to the assassination when she was speaking to the Argus Leader newspaper in South Dakota. She said she was pointing out that presidential primary campaigns have continued into June. "Almost immediately, some took my comments entirely out of context and interpreted them to mean something completely different and completely unthinkable," she wrote. Watch Hillary's camp insist the remark had nothing to do with Obama » . Clinton said the newspaper's editor and Bobby Kennedy Jr. issued statements arguing that was the meaning of her remark. No other member of the Kennedy family has issued a public statement on the matter. "I realize that any reference to that traumatic moment for our nation can be deeply painful particularly for members of the Kennedy family, who have been in my heart and prayers over this past week," she said, in a reference to Sen. Edward Kennedy's diagnosis with brain cancer. "And I expressed regret right away for any pain I caused. "But I was deeply dismayed and disturbed that my comment would be construed in a way that flies in the face of everything I stand for and everything I am fighting for in this election." Some people particularly a number of bloggers have suggested she was imagining the possibility that Sen. Barack Obama, the likely nominee, could be assassinated. After Clinton's initial remarks to the newspaper were reported, the Obama campaign issued a statement saying the comment "was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign." But Obama himself later said, "I don't think that Senator Clinton intended anything by it," and that "we should put it behind us." Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe, in an interview Sunday, criticized the Obama campaign's first move. "It's unfortunate a hyped-up press over Memorial Day weekend, the Obama campaign inflaming it, tried to take these words out of context," he told "Fox News Sunday." Asked about the remark by Obama himself, McAuliffe responded, "That's great, but Friday they were all part of this process. The press secretary came out and attacked Senator Clinton and got it going so the story would be around for three days." Howard Wolfson, a Clinton adviser, told CBS' "Face the Nation" that the Obama campaign's first statement critical of Clinton was "unfortunate." But Obama's chief strategist David Axelrod told ABC's "This Week" that "we take her at her word," and he added, "We're beyond that issue now, so certainly we're not trying to stir the issue up." The program's host, George Stephanopoulos, noted that a member of Obama's staff sent to the media Saturday a "searing commentary" by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann slamming Clinton for her remark. "Mr. Olbermann did his commentary and he had his opinion," Axelrod responded, adding, "As far as we're concerned, this issue is done." On another front, Axelrod slammed Clinton for suggesting she leads Obama in the popular vote. Clinton has been making that argument, based on figures that include Florida and Michigan, even though Obama took his name off the ballot in Michigan and neither candidate campaigned in Florida. The Democratic Party discounted both states' primaries before they took place. "It would take some very tortured math and tortured logic to say that she's ahead in the popular vote," Axelrod told ABC. He added, "This isn't 'American Idol,' OK? This is a nominating process. We have rules. We elect delegates state by state." In her column, Clinton said she believes she can still "win on the merits." "I am not unaware of the challenges or the odds of my securing the nomination but this race remains extraordinarily close, and hundreds of thousands of people in upcoming primaries are still waiting to vote," she wrote. She added that her parents "did not raise me to be a quitter and too many people still come up to me at my events, grip my arm and urge me not to walk away before this contest is over." She also said she is running "because I believe staying in this race will help unite the Democratic Party. I believe that if Senator Obama and I both make our case and all Democrats have the chance to make their voices heard in the end, everyone will be more likely to rally around the nominee." She repeated her vow to campaign for Obama if he gets the nomination, and wrote, "No matter what happens in this primary, I am committed to unifying this party." Obama was in Middleton, Connecticut, where he was standing in for the ailing Edward Kennedy who was scheduled to deliver the commencement at Wesleyan University. Watch Obama tell graduates they have an obligation » . The theme of Obama's speech was service, and the senator asked graduates to volunteer their time at home and abroad to fight poverty, preserve peace and protect the environment . "But I hope you'll remember, during those times of doubt and frustration, that there is nothing naive about your impulse to change this world," he said. "Because all it takes is one act of service one blow against injustice to send forth that tiny ripple of hope that Robert Kennedy spoke of."

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North Korea's negotiations driven by economic need, desire for survival, experts say . China, embarrassed by nuclear test, has prodded North Korea, expert says . Deceit possible, experts say, but nation's best interest is to be on West's good side .

North Korea's apparent cooperation with nations seeking to end its nuclear weapons ambitions six years after a deal collapsed and two years after testing a bomb may lead to questions about why it would play ball now. Some signs show North Korean leader Kim Jong Il does intend to drop his nuclear weapon program, experts say. One school of thought: The communist nation, in desperate economic straits, has long been willing to drop its program for better relations with the United States. But mistakes on both sides interfered, according to Jim Walsh, a national security analyst. North Korea could be trying to achieve survival through deceit, intending to keep its nuclear weapons as blackmail for better treatment, analysts suggest. But those making a case for North Korea's sincerity, Walsh said, would say it must "do the things economically that [it needs] to do to avoid collapse." "Having nuclear weapons when the regime is collapsing won't do them much good," said Walsh, a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. North Korea, following a 2007 agreement with five nations including the U.S., handed over a declaration of its nuclear program on Thursday. The nation also took steps to disable a reactor that officials acknowledge helped extract plutonium to build nuclear weapons. On Friday, it destroyed the reactor's cooling tower significant because the tower would take a year or longer to rebuild. Watch the tower being demolished. » . After North Korea's declaration, President Bush said Thursday that he intends to move North Korea from the U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism. Down the line, North Korea would receive economic and energy assistance if the U.S. and other nations agree it is complying with other efforts to dismantle its nuclear program. North Korea has been heavily sanctioned in the past because of its nuclear program. Stephen Hadley, the U.S. national security adviser, told reporters Thursday that the terror list was one incentive for North Korea to drop its nuclear ambitions. "I think it is important to them not to be on a list that says 'enemies' and not to be on a list that says 'supporters of terror,'" Hadley said. Walsh said North Korea has been weakened by sanctions and its lack of arable land, leading to a population unable to feed itself. "It can't grow enough food," Walsh said. "And they've got to attract foreign investors." He said North Korea was better off in the days of the Soviet Union, when it had an ample amount of communist nations with which to trade. But the Soviet Union collapsed, and many other nations turned away from communism, leaving North Korea increasingly isolated. "Geostrategically, North Korea was growing weaker, and everyone around them was growing stronger," Walsh said. In 1994, North Korea pledged to the U.S. that it would freeze and eventually dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for international aid, including help building two power-producing nuclear reactors. By 2000, however, North Korea was complaining that not all the aid was coming as promised. In 2002, the U.S. accused North Korea of working on a secret nuclear weapons program, and the U.S. said North Korea admitted doing so. Countries including the U.S. halted oil supplies, and North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. It conducted an underground test of a nuclear weapon in 2006. Walsh said both sides haven't fully lived up to previous agreements. The U.S., he said, promised normalized trade at one point but didn't follow through. Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' international security program, said North Korea has been "remarkably consistent" regarding its reactions to U.S. positions. "When we've engaged them directly, they have responded. And when we have reduced our commitment, to our engagement ... they have responded negatively," Wolfsthal said. Wolfsthal said China which provides oil and food aid to North Korea has been instrumental in getting North Korea to cooperate. "China has gone from being an uninvested ... mediator to being a true participant in this process from a country that originally wanted to help the U.S. and North Korea work out their differences to a state that has worked to convince North Korea to meet its obligations," Wolfsthal said. Wolfsthal said he believes China was embarrassed by North Korea's nuclear test, and shifted course. "I think that over time, the United States has helped China see that North Korea's unpredictable behavior destabilizes their own backyard," he said. Walsh and Wolfsthal said another theory has it that North Korea is only playing with negotiators and intends to keep its nuclear program and weapons as a security blanket. Expanding on that possibility, Wolfsthal said North Korea leader Kim Jong Il could keep the country's nuclear arsenal but agree not to produce any more nuclear weapons. "Everybody's speculating. None of us has met Kim Jong Il," Wolfsthal said. Walsh said the West doesn't have hard evidence to determine North Korea's intentions. "But so far, the evidence is pretty strongly on the side of North Korea wanting a real bargain," Walsh said.

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NEW: Sen. Barack Obama, Iraqi prime minister reportedly hold "productive" talks . Sens. Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel accompany Obama on trip . Obama has talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday . Obama says part of his strategy is "taking the fight to al Qaeda in Afghanistan"

BAGHDAD, Iraq Sen. Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday discussed a "general time horizon" for any American troop withdrawals from Iraq, al-Maliki's office said. Sen. Barack Obama rides in a helicopter Monday with Gen. David Petraeus in Baghdad, Iraq. Obama who has made ending the Iraq war a cornerstone of his run for office engaged in what were described as productive talks with al-Maliki during a trip to Iraq. The Iraqi government has been pushing for the United States to set a general timetable to spell out troop withdrawals. Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi also met with Obama Monday and told reporters afterward they discussed the security agreement. "I told Sen. Obama Iraqi and American negotiations regarding this are ongoing, and today new Iraqi-American negotiations on this agreement have started with Iraqi written proposals and have a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq," he said. The Bush administration has opposed timetables for troop withdrawals. But al-Maliki and President Bush last week agreed to a "general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals" on troop cuts. The prime minister reiterated that principle with Obama, according to a statement from al-Maliki's office. "Developments of the situation and the circumstances is what will decide the presence of foreign troops in Iraq, but without keeping open-ended dates," al-Maliki said, according to a statement from his office. "With the developments on the ground, we can set a vision and clear horizons regarding this issue, and this is a view both sides agree on in the ongoing negotiations." Al-Maliki's office quoted Obama as saying he is "supportive and committed to preserving the gains achieved by the Iraqi government" under al-Maliki's leadership and that he admires the prime minister's courage. Obama has proposed withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office. Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the Iraqi government's "vision" is that most U.S. combat troops would be out of Iraq by 2010. Asked if that stance is part of the current negotiations, al-Dabbagh said, "No. This is the Iraqi vision." iReport.com: Tell us the most important thing the next president needs to know about Iraq . A German magazine on Saturday quoted al-Maliki as saying he backed Obama's proposal, but al-Dabbagh has said that his remarks "were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately." In a statement Sunday, the magazine, Der Spiegel, said it "stands by its version of this interview." In the magazine interview, al-Maliki did not indicate that he was endorsing Obama over Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee. McCain does not think American troops should return to the United States until Iraqi forces are capable of maintaining a safe, democratic state. He has been a strong advocate of the "surge" the 2007 escalation of U.S. troops and has said troops should stay in Iraq as long as needed. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal who's been mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick for McCain on Monday criticized Obama's push to remove troops in 16 months as an "arbitrary timetable based on politics versus a plan based on the actual results on the ground." "One of the reasons I'm supporting [McCain] he has made it clear he would rather lose an election than lose a war. He's made it very clear let's listen to the commanders on the ground," Jindal said on CNN's "American Morning." McCain last week chided Obama for laying out his plans for Iraq and Afghanistan before talking to Gen. David Petraeus, the head of U.S. troops in Iraq. Obama met with Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, in Baghdad on Monday. He also met with Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni Arab who is one of Iraq's two vice presidents; Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq; British Maj. Gen. Barney White Spunner, commander of Multi-National Division South East; and Maj. General Abdul Aziz, the Iraqi army's 14th Division commander. Obama's stop in Iraq marks his second visit to the country. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's trip abroad began in Kuwait and Afghanistan and will go on to Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, Germany, France and Britain. The senator from Illinois first visited Iraq in 2006. See the stops on Obama's trip » . Obama arrived Monday afternoon in the southern city of Basra, according to U.S. Embassy spokesman Armand Cucciniello. Obama is traveling with Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a leading Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee and is an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. Obama has said that if he's elected, he would commit more troops to Afghanistan and would order the military to end the war in Iraq, which he has called a "dangerous distraction" from the Afghan battle. Obama spent Saturday and Sunday in Afghanistan, where he met with U.S. troops at three bases and with Afghan President Hamid Karzai a leader the Democratic senator has criticized for doing too little to rebuild the war-torn nation. Watch Obama meet Karzai, U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan » . The fight in Afghanistan recently has become a more pressing issue on the political radar. More coalition forces have died in Afghanistan than in Iraq in May, June and so far in July. Last week, in a major address laying out his foreign policy position, Obama said, "As should have been apparent to President Bush and Sen. McCain, the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was." He said part of his strategy would be "taking the fight to al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan." CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, Frederik Pleitgen and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

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Bush defends decision to attend next month's Olympics opening ceremony . Bush spoke as G-8 leaders arrived in Japan ahead of summit starting Monday . Climate change expected to be focus of three-day summit . G-8 leaders also expected to discuss global economy, Zimbabwe .

TOYAKO, Japan President Bush on Sunday defended his decision to attend next month's Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, saying that to boycott "would be an affront to the Chinese people." President Bush speaks with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda at a Sunday news conference in Toyako, Japan. Speaking to reporters ahead of this week's summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in Japan, Bush said he did not need to skip the ceremony to show his position on religious freedom and human rights in China. He said if he failed to attend the Games it would "make it more difficult to be able to speak more frankly with the Chinese leadership." Bush said he would raise concerns when he meets Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Olympics, but he was also "looking forward to cheering the U.S. athletes." He said it was good for them "to see their president waving that flag." Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda also said he would attend the opening ceremony despite concerns about human rights in China that prompted some other European leaders to boycott the event. Bush and Fukuda took questions from reporters at the picturesque lakeside resort of Toyako on the northern island of Hokkaido, where the G-8 summit will begin Monday. Watch Bush, first lady arrive in Japan » . Bush said he and Fukuda discussed the United States' recent decision to lift some sanctions against North Korea and remove the communist nation from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terror. Bush assured Japan that the issue of North Korea's past kidnappings of Japanese citizens will not be ignored by the United States. He told Fukuda that he was "fully aware of the sensitivity of the issue in your country" and that "the United States will not abandon you on this issue." North Korea has admitted to abducting 11 Japanese citizens to teach its spies Japanese language and culture but had insisted the abduction issue was resolved. Holding a book about a young Japanese girl abducted by North Korea, Bush said as the father of two girls he "can't imagine what it would be like to have a daughter disappear." Bush said North Korea's recent destruction of a water-cooling tower at its now-defunct nuclear facility and its declaration outlining its plutonium program are positive steps, but there are "more to be taken." Lifting sanctions would not weaken the pressure on North Korea to be forthcoming on the abduction issue or in nuclear negotiations, the U.S. president said. Bush said North Korea remains the most sanctioned nation in the world and that "delisting did not get rid of their sanctions." Fukuda, who is chairing the G-8 meetings, said global warming would be high on the agenda but that he could not predict what might result from this week's talks. Fukuda said he believes the United States "has not lost its sense of direction" on the issue. "Our views are gradually converging," he said. Bush said the United States "will be constructive" in the global warming talks "but if China and India do not share that same aspiration, we're not going to solve the problem." Bush said the United States and Japan leads the world in research on clean technologies. He said Japan's advances in battery technology will some day mean that Americans "will use batteries in cars that look like cars, not golf carts." As world leaders began arriving for the summit, more than 1,000 people protested in northern Japan against the event. Demonstrators urged leaders to take urgent measures to stop global warming, grant indigenous people greater rights, combat world poverty and battle discrimination. Watch police tangle with protesters » . Soaring oil and food prices and possible steps against Zimbabwe were also likely to be high on the agenda at the summit. With fewer than 200 days left in his term, Bush says he will press other G-8 leaders to follow through on their commitments from earlier summits, but has warned there is nothing he or anyone else can do in the short term about oil prices. Bush's main economic goal at the summit may be defensive, said David Gergen, former adviser to presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. "What's essential in this summit for George W. Bush is to make sure the world economy does not spin downward," he said. Bush has downplayed what he and other G-8 leaders can accomplish on the economic front. "One thing we need to make clear when I'm with our partners is that we're not going to become protectionists, that we believe in free trade and open markets," Bush said Wednesday. A former administration official who served on the National Security Council under Bush says the G-8's purpose is not to come up with quick solutions. "This is not a meeting of heads of state that leads to a treaty. It's really kind of public opinion shaping and trying to get people to agree that issues are important," said Michael Green, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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Feds: Violations by Utah mine's operator led to 2007 collapse that killed six . Bad design, improper mining led to Crandall Canyon collapse, feds say . Mine operator fined more than $1.5 million .

The U.S. government Thursday announced its highest penalty for coal mine safety violations, $1.85 million, for a collapse that killed six miners in Utah last year. Supervisory Mining Engineer Joe Zelanko on Thursday describes the earth movements at Crandall Canyon mine. Insufficient pillar support and activity in areas that should not have been mined caused the August Crandall Canyon mine collapse, federal investigators found. The government fined the mine operator, Genwal Resources, $1.34 million "for violations that directly contributed to the deaths of six miners last year," plus nearly $300,000 for other violations. The government also levied a $220,000 fine against a mining consultant, Agapito Associates, "for faulty analysis of the mine's design." The mine's owner had insisted that earth movement detected at the time of the collapse had caused the disaster. But investigators found instead that the collapse caused the earth movement. "It was not and I repeat, it was not a natural occurring earthquake," said the government's top mine safety official, Richard E. Stickler. Stickler, the acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, said, "pillars failed under excessive load and ejected coal very violently." Stickler also said the mine's operator "was taking more coal than allowed from the barrier pillars and the floor." "This dangerously weakened the strength of the roof support," Stickler said. In addition to the six miners killed in the initial cave-in August 6 in northwest Emery County, three would-be rescuers died 10 days later in a subsequent collapse. The bodies of the six miners killed in the initial collapse were never recovered. Richard Gates, the lead investigator for the government, said the pillars in the mine "simply were not large enough to support the load." That resulted in a "catastrophic failure of pillars over a broad area," as large as half a mile, he said. University of Utah scientists said in June that the collapse was not the result of an earthquake. "As seismologists, we're as certain as we can be that the seismic event registered as a magnitude-3.9 shock was due to the collapse of the mine and not a naturally occurring earthquake," said Walter Arabasz, director of the university's Utah Seismograph Stations, in a written statement. Earlier this year, a Labor Department report criticized Mine Safety and Health Administration officials for approving plans for a risky mining technique, known as retreat mining, that was in use before the collapse. In the process, miners remove pillars of coal that support the roof of a chamber one by one, allowing the roof to collapse behind them. Mine owner Bob Murray repeatedly denied in the days after the disaster that his company practiced retreat mining at Crandall Canyon. He later admitted that the practice had been used at the mine but said it was not being done at the time of the disaster.

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NEW: House votes 383 to 41 to override President Bush's veto . NEW: Senate votes 70-26 to enact the law over Bush's objections . Medicare payment bill sent to Bush after Senate filibuster battle . Bill would stop 10.6 percent cut in what Medicare pays doctors .

WASHINGTON Congress voted to halt planned cuts in Medicare payments to doctors Tuesday, overriding President Bush's veto in a battle that pitted health insurers against physicians. President Bush says he objects to the bill because it takes choices "away from seniors to pay physicians." The new law stops a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors, part of a scheduled cost-saving formula that went into effect July 1. The money for the doctors will be taken from the government-subsidized Medicare Advantage program, which the Bush administration strongly supports. Bush spiked the bill Tuesday, telling lawmakers they would be "taking choices away from seniors to pay physicians." "I urge the Congress to send me a bill that reduces the growth in Medicare spending, increases competition and efficiency, implements principles of value-driven health care and appropriately offsets increases in physician spending," he said in his veto message. The Senate voted 70-26 to enact the law over Bush's objections, the third time in his presidency that Congress has overridden his veto. The margin in the House of Representatives was a lopsided 383-41, well beyond the two-thirds majority needed. The American Medical Association lobbied heavily for the bill, warning that its members could be forced to curtail seeing Medicare patients if the cuts went into effect. But insurers, which receive government subsidies to offer Medicare Advantage plans, warned that 2 million seniors could lose health benefits if it passed. A total of 21 Senate Republicans joined 47 Democrats and two independents in the override vote. Supporters broke a GOP-led filibuster of the bill last week, aided by the dramatic return of Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. Kennedy's vote came in his first appearance on the Senate floor since surgery to remove a brain tumor in early June. Though he did not vote Tuesday, Kennedy praised his colleagues for overriding the "misguided" veto. "It's a great vote, and a great day for America's seniors," he said in a written statement. Those Republicans who opposed the bill argued that it would roll back many of the changes made to Medicare in 2003, when Congress created privately run, government-subsidized prescription drug coverage and expanded the role of private insurers in other coverage. "These are not pro-patient policies," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona. "Rather, the bill reduces access, benefits and choices for Medicare beneficiaries." But critics of the 2003 reforms say Medicare Advantage subsidies end up costing more than the government would pay to cover the same people through regular Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill will reduce federal spending by $12.5 billion by 2013, largely by reducing Medicare Advantage enrollment. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, said the bill also made "vital improvements" by supporting rural health care and lowering fees for mental health care. "Today, we can stand up for Medicare," she said. "We did it last week, when we came together and voted for this measure by a veto-proof margin, and I believe we can do it today by overriding that veto." Congress had passed only two bills over Bush's objections: a $23 billion water-project legislation that the president vetoed in 2007 and a $300 billion farm bill he spiked in May. The Medicare system pays for the health care of roughly 40 million elderly Americans. Rising health care costs have made Medicare a growing part of the federal budget, and the stress on the system is increasing as more baby boomers reach retirement age. While the debate was raging over the bill, the AMA said the cuts could lead to a "meltdown" of the government's health care system for the elderly. A recent survey by the group found that 60 percent of physicians will be forced to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can take on if the cuts go into effect. "We stand at the brink of a Medicare meltdown. ... For doctors, this is not a partisan issue; it's a patient access issue," AMA President Nancy Nielsen said in a statement after last week's Senate vote. The AMA ran radio and TV ads over the July Fourth congressional recess targeting 10 Republican senators, seven of whom are up for re-election. The AARP, the nation's largest organization of retired people, and other groups also are weighing in against the cuts. Gerald Harmon, a family physician who practices in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, said the cuts could lead to doctors taking fewer Medicare patients, making it difficult for the program's elderly patients to get the care they need. "This Medicare access problem is a real issue, not just a political football," said Harmon, who said 35 percent of his patients were eligible for Medicare. "It affects your dad when he's sick. It affects my patients in my practice. This has to be addressed." CNN's Elaine Quijano and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

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iReporters got up early, stayed up late to see "The Dark Night" Christina Perez got to the theater four hours early . "Best movie I've ever seen," Jessica Lang said . Send your review: Share photos and videos .

"The Dark Knight" opened early Friday to huge crowds and rave reviews. Colorado teen Christina Perez says she painted her face like the Joker as a tribute to Heath Ledger. Much of the praise has gone to Heath Ledger's dark and disturbing portrayal of the Joker. Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose before the movie was finished. iReporter Chelsea Itson, a 23-year-old student, went to the 12:15 a.m. showing in Perrysburg, Ohio, and couldn't sleep afterward. "It still has me kind of jittery," she told CNN. Itson saw the first "Batman" movie, but wasn't a big fan of the series, or Heath Ledger, but said her friend wanted to go. iReporter hasn't been to sleep since seeing film » . "It was completely different from Jack Nicholson [as the Joker]," she said. After the movie, she said, the audience was silent. "I've never left a movie shaking before," she said. Christina Perez, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and her friends went to the theater four hours early to make sure they got a good seat. "There was already a line going along the side of the theater, but we managed to get good seats anyway," she said. The 17-year-old says she's more of a Heath Ledger fan than a Batman fan, and she wore Joker make up as a tribute to him. "I thought he was amazing. I felt really sad that he died while filming this, his role was so amazing," she said. Jessica Lang, 15, of Mankato, Minnesota, said she wasn't expecting much from the movie and pretty much went only because her brother and some friends wanted to go. "It was amazing, there were no words for it, it was so good, it was probably the best movie I've ever seen," she said. Jenni Smith went to the 3 a.m. showing in Las Vegas, Nevada, even though she had to be at work that day. She and her friends went straight to bed after work Thursday, then got up at 1 a.m. "I'm a big comic book fan, and I've been reading comic books since I was 5. And I'm also a big movie fan, and we tend to go to a lot of movie openings." Her friend Mario Carrillo also dressed up as the Joker, and she made a custom shirt for the event. "One of the things I just really love is the energy of the crowd on opening day. I find that people are more willing to laugh out loud and cheer. ... It's worth staying up for," the 32-year-old publications manager said. Below is a sampling of iReporters' impressions of "The Dark Knight." Some have been edited for length or clarity: . sanjeeva7 of Alpharetta, Georgia: Believe the hype. The Dark Knight lived up to the hype, especially Heath Ledger's role as The Joker. I really felt he was crazy. One of the best villain portrayals of all time and well deserving of an Oscar nomination. Geno Walker of Charlotte, North Carolina: "Unless you hate yourself, you should go see this movie immediately. Stop reading this right now and go to the nearest movie theater. It doesn't even matter if the show has already started. Buy a ticket, walk in halfway through, sit down and wait for the next showing to start. See it soon and see it often. You'll love yourself more if you do." mrRG: "A haunting experiment into the human psyche is the only way I can describe the unequivocal depth that Ledger was able to reach with this portrayal of one the most evil characters ever brought to the screen. It was definitely Bale's story, but the late Heath Ledger's movie. sonnyjc9: Wife and I watched this yesterday 17 July here in Bangkok, Thailand. Heath Ledger is AWESOME as the Joker. 154 minutes of pure entertainment, and you will be giggling to yourself from Heath's performance. It is sad to think he will never reprise this role, but what a farewell. Must see. Zandz: We went to the premiere of this movie last night and thought the movie was only good. However, Heath Ledger did an excellent job portraying the the Joker. The way Heath Ledger plays the Joker is different than how Jack Nicholson plays the character. Both have their unique styles Nicholson's Joker was more comical, but Ledger's was more dark (while trying to be funny). The makeup artists also did a great job on this Joker's face.

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War Powers Act is "ineffective" and should be repealed, blue-ribbon panel says . Former secretaries of state James Baker and Warren Christopher led the study . They say the project was not prompted by any specific war . Panel proposes new law requiring president to consult with Congress .

WASHINGTON The United States needs a new law requiring that the president consult with Congress before going to war, a blue-ribbon panel led by two former secretaries of state said Tuesday. James Baker, left, and Warren Christopher led a panel that recommended a new War Powers Act. The current War Powers Resolution is "ineffective, and it should be repealed and it should be replaced," James Baker said in a joint appearance with Warren Christopher, announcing the results of the study they led. The recommendation follows failed efforts by Democrats in Congress to put a stop to the war in Iraq or to put conditions on President Bush's conduct of it. Congress passed a joint resolution to authorize armed force against Iraq in 2002, but some Bush opponents say it should not have been interpreted as a blank check for the United States to invade and occupy the Persian Gulf nation. Baker, who served in George H.W. Bush's administration, and Christopher, who served under President Bill Clinton, said their project was not prompted by any specific war, with Christopher adding that the commission had "tried very hard not to call balls and strikes on past history here." "We didn't direct this report at any particular conflict," Baker added. The existing law, the War Powers Resolution of 1973, has been regarded as unconstitutional by every president since it was passed as a response to the Vietnam War, Baker and Christopher said. It requires presidents to report regularly to Congress about ongoing conflicts, but the provision has been flouted. "No president has ever made a submission to Congress pursuant to the War Powers Resolution since 1973," former Sen. Slade Gorton, a Republican member of the committee, said Tuesday. The panel, formally called the National War Powers Commission, said a new law should be created requiring the president to consult with key members of Congress before sending troops into combat expected to last more than a week, or within three days of doing so in the case of operations that need to be kept secret. It should also make clear exactly who the president needed to consult. The panel suggests that the president talk to "a joint Congressional committee made up of the leaders of the House and the Senate as well as the chairmen and ranking members of key committees." The new committee would have a permanent professional staff with access to intelligence information, Baker and Christopher said. Congress, in turn, would have to declare war or vote on a "resolution of approval" within 30 days, they said. If a resolution of approval failed, any member of Congress could introduce a "resolution of disapproval," but it was not clear that such an act would stop a war in progress. Christopher was unable to say in the news conference what practical effect congressional disapproval would have. Baker said the commission had been in touch with the presidential campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, as well as leaders of Congress. He declined to reveal what they thought of the proposal, but said: "We haven't gotten a negative reaction." Congress has not officially declared war since 1942, when the United States entered formal hostilities with the Axis powers in World War II. But since then, presidents have sent troops into countries including Korea, Vietnam, Grenada and Iraq. The Constitution makes the president the commander in chief of the armed forces, but gives Congress the power to declare war and approve military budgets. Baker and Christopher's group included both Republicans and Democrats and held seven meetings over 14 months.

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President of United Arab Emirates agrees to cancel all Iraq's debts to the nation . West has urged nations to forgive billions in Iraqi debt . UAE Cabinet nominates Abdullah Ibrahim al-Shehhi to be ambassador to Iraq .

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Dubai has forgiven the nearly $7 billion Baghdad owes it, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced Sunday. UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has promised to appoint an ambassador to Iraq. UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan promised to "put out these debts," appoint an ambassador to Baghdad, and "help Iraq building the holy shrines that were targeted by the terrorists," al-Maliki said in a written statement. Al-Maliki and the sheikh met Sunday, the first day of a two-day official visit. Al-Maliki was accompanied by the Iraqi ministers of Interior, Commerce and Industry. "Our biggest challenge is now the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the economic situation and to provide services to our citizens," al-Maliki said. Debt relief is a major issue for Iraq, and the United States has urged other nations to forgive Iraqi debt, most of which is held by Arab states, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt said in late May. Also, the UAE Cabinet on Sunday nominated Abdullah Ibrahim al-Shehhi to be the country's ambassador to Iraq. Al-Shehhi, who previously served as the Emirates' ambassador to India, is to travel to Iraq after his nomination is confirmed. An official government source said the UAE intends to reopen its embassy in Baghdad by the end of the year. The United States and other nations have urged Arab countries to post ambassadors to Iraq, reopen embassies and forge closer relationships with Iraq's government. The UAE mission in Iraq hasn't been active since a UAE diplomat was kidnapped and released two years ago. The year before that, two Iraqis working for that mission were killed. No ambassador from an Arab country has been stationed permanently in Iraq since July 2005, when Egypt's ambassador, Dr. Ihab al-Sherif, was abducted from a Baghdad street and slain. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the assassination, saying it had killed al-Sherif because of Egypt's foreign policies and its alliances with the United States and Israel. The UAE's announcement Sunday came a month after its foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, visited Baghdad. During that visit, al-Nahyan extended the official invitation that brought al-Maliki to Dubai. Iraq's government said that al-Nahyan's one-day visit was the first to Iraq by a Gulf Cooperation Council foreign minister since the 2003 U.S-led invasion that toppled the regime of President Saddam Hussein. The Gulf Cooperation Council also includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Prior to al-Nahyan's visit, only Syria and Jordan had sent foreign ministers to Iraq in the post-Saddam Hussein era. The Arab League's secretary-general has also visited. War and the Sunni-Shiite rivalry in Iraq and the Muslim world have slowed the Arab world's re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Iraq. Iraq's mixed population is mostly Arab with some Kurds and Turkmens, and mostly Shiite Muslim, with a Sunni Muslim minority. Most Arab countries including the UAE are Sunni-ruled. Iraq's government is Shiite-dominated and it is forging a close relationship with its neighbor, the non-Arab Shiite nation of Iran a development that concerns Arab nations wary of Iran's Islamic Republic government. Al-Maliki's government is seeking to develop close ties to all countries of the region. CNN's Caroline Faraj in Dubai and Mohammed Tawfeeq in Baghdad contributed to this report.

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"Mad Men" and "Damages" earn best drama nominations . HBO miniseries "John Adams" receives 23 nominations . Emmys snub "The Wire," "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" Ceremony will be broadcast on ABC on September 21 .

"Mad Men" and "Damages" found themselves on top when the nominations for the 60th Annual Primetime Emmys came out Thursday morning but, again, there was no love for HBO's "The Wire." Emmy nominee Jon Hamm stars as ad exec Don Draper in "Mad Men," which earned 16 nominations. AMC's "Mad Men" and FX's "Damages" made Emmy history Thursday as the first basic-cable series to be nominated for best drama. The pair, which had made the 10-series Emmy shortlist, have been widely hailed by critics and have received good ratings for basic-cable series though "Damages" star Glenn Close said she hopes the Emmys help boost the show's audience. "We need all the help we can get," she told The Associated Press. On the other hand, HBO's "The Wire" which concluded its fifth and final season this year once again came up empty in the best drama nominations. It did receive one nod, for writing. The series, though much praised and dissected by a hard-core group of fans, has received little recognition from the Emmys, with just one previous nomination also for writing in 2005. Check out some of the top Emmy nods this year » . Indeed, HBO has struggled to find a drama to take the place of the much-lauded "The Sopranos," which won best drama last year after a storied run. "Mad Men," which has made AMC into a player, was allegedly turned down by the cable giant, and shows such as the quickly canceled "John From Cincinnati" and "Rome" haven't had the same impact. On the other hand, "In Treatment" received a nomination for Gabriel Byrne's performance as a therapist, and the network's comedies, particularly "Entourage," have performed strongly. Moreover, the network's short-form programming, such as the miniseries "John Adams" and the TV movie "Recount," dominated their Emmy categories: "John Adams" led all nominees with 23 nominations, and "Recount," about the 2000 presidential election battle, received 11. "The network has made up for [its lack of drama series success] in other forms," Variety TV editor Michael Schneider told CNN. "It's still the most nominated network and has the most nominated program." HBO led all networks with 85 nominations. Among broadcast networks, ABC led with 76 nominations. Among regularly scheduled TV series, "30 Rock" earned 17 nominations and "Mad Men" received 16. The 17 nominations for "30 Rock" were a record number in a single year for a comedy series. Newcomer "Pushing Daisies," the whimsical series on ABC, received 12 nominations. Given that the show only aired nine episodes and hasn't been on the air in months due to the writers strike its recognition was a surprise, Schneider said. "It was nice that voters still remembered it," he said. Along with "Damages" and "Mad Men," nominees for best drama include "Boston Legal," "Dexter," "House" and "Lost." Comedy series nominees are "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Entourage," "The Office," "30 Rock" and "Two and a Half Men." Cable series dominated the dramatic acting nominations, with four of the six actors and three of the five actresses appearing on basic or pay cable. Best actor in a drama nominees are Byrne ("In Treatment"), Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"), Jon Hamm ("Mad Men"), Hugh Laurie ("House") and James Spader ("Boston Legal"). "Dexter," which originated on Showtime, earned a short run on CBS following the writers strike. The nominees for best actress in a drama are Close ("Damages"), Sally Field ("Brothers and Sisters"), Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"), Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace") and Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer"). A number of familiar names were included among nominees for comedies. The nominees for best actor in a comedy are Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock"), Steve Carell ("The Office"), Lee Pace ("Pushing Daisies"), Tony Shalhoub ("Monk") and Charlie Sheen ("Two and a Half Men"). Only Pace is a newcomer. The nominees for best actress in a comedy are Christina Applegate ("Samantha Who?"), America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty"), Tina Fey ("30 Rock"), Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") and Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds"). Sarah Silverman earned three nominations, all for different programs: one for a guest shot on "Monk," another for contributing to "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and a third for producing her own "The Sarah Silverman Program." Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris and TV academy Chairman John Shaffner announced the nominations Thursday. Chenoweth was particularly bubbly, throwing in a non sequitur about once dating "Survivor" host Jeff Probst and declining to sing "Happy Birthday" because "the Emmys can't afford me to sing that song" due to licensing arrangements. Both Chenoweth ("Pushing Daisies") and Harris ("How I Met Your Mother") were nominated in supporting actor categories. Two highly rated shows, "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives," were snubbed. "Grey's," a regular nominee for best drama, was left off that list, though star Sandra Oh was nominated for best supporting actress. "Housewives," which won six Emmys its debut season, was ignored in both best comedy series and best actress in a comedy series categories. Two guest stars did receive nominations. Stephen Colbert, nominated for individual performance in a variety or musical program, put everything in perspective. "What an honor, unless I don't win," he told the AP. The Emmy Awards ceremony will be held September 21 and broadcast on ABC. Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Army history of Iraq war's first two years says U.S. was unprepared for chaos . U.S.-led coalition didn't have enough troops after Saddam Hussein's fall, report says . "This is a recipe for disaster," one general recalls saying of one decision .

The U.S. Army's official history of the Iraq war shows military chiefs made mistake after mistake in the early months of the conflict. Iraqis watch as a statue of Saddam Hussein is toppled in Baghdad in 2003. Failures to recognize the chaos engulfing the country and to send in enough troops to restore order after the 2003 invasion have long been highlighted by critics, but a new report shows the Army assessing itself. Frank opinions from officers serving in the 18 months from the start of war to Iraqi elections in January 2005 reveal there were concerns at the time, not just about assumptions made by planners but at decisions taken once U.S.-led coalition forces had control of Iraq. "I flipped," Gen. Jack Keane, then the Army's deputy chief of staff, told the historians of his reaction to a June 2003 decision to transfer control of all coalition troops away from the land forces command that had been preparing for the mission. He recounted a conversation with Gen. John Abizaid, who succeeded the invasion's architect, Gen. Tommy Franks. "I said, 'Jesus Christ, John, this is a recipe for disaster. We invested in that headquarters. We have the experience and judgment in that headquarters." Keane said it took the U.S. command between six and eight months to get the new headquarters up and running. During that time, troops in the field saw the mood of ordinary Iraqis turn against Americans and watched the insurgency take root. "By the time we got a plan together to resource everything, the insurgents had closed that window of opportunity quickly," Col. David Perkins, a brigade commander in the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, told the historians. "What we started doing in September was probably a good idea to have done in April 2003." Franks, who would soon retire and be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, said he ordered the transition to force the Pentagon to get leaders into the field to work with civilian occupation officials. "That is a task that John Abizaid and I very simply laid on Washington and said, 'Figure it out. Do it fast. Get me a joint headquarters in here. We have a lot of work to do and [civilian administrator of Iraq] Jerry Bremer has a lot of responsibility and he needs help,' " he recalled. The 720-page report compiled by the Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, details the effects of having too few coalition troops on the ground when the reality after the fall of Baghdad was "severely out of line" with the anticipated conditions. Previous experience "should have indicated that many more troops would be needed for the post-Saddam era in Iraq," historians wrote in the report, "On Point II: Transition to a New Campaign." "The coalition's inability to prevent looting, to secure Iraq's borders and to guard the vast number of munitions dumps in the early months after Saddam's overthrow are indicative of the shortage," the study found. About 150,000 U.S. and allied troops were in Iraq after the invasion, at a time when war planners were assuming that Iraq's government would remain functional after Hussein's ouster and that there would be no mass insurgency. "These factors were in line with prewar planning for a quick turnover of power to Iraqis and a quick withdrawal of U.S. forces, leaving Iraqis to determine their own political future options that proved impossible to execute," the historians wrote in the report released over the weekend. "We had the wrong assumptions, and therefore, we had the wrong plan to put into play," Gen. William Wallace, who commanded the Army's V Corps during the invasion, told the authors. But some of the most critical decisions were made between May and August 2003, which some participants called a "window of opportunity that could have been exploited to produce the conditions for the quick creation of a new Iraq." Among those decisions were the frequently criticized dissolution of the Iraqi army and the order that barred former members of Hussein's Baath Party from public life as well as the change in plan over the joint headquarters.

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Edgar Patino was arrested Tuesday, charged in death of pregnant soldier . Patino, also a soldier, was father of Megan Touma's unborn baby, police say . Touma's body was found in hotel bathtub on June 21 . Friends of Touma say she and Patino had dated, served together in Germany .

A North Carolina man charged with killing a pregnant Fort Bragg soldier was the father of her unborn child, authorities said Wednesday. Sgt. Edgar Patino faces first-degree murder charges in the slaying of Megan Touma. Army Sgt. Edgar Patino is linked to two anonymous "confession" letters sent in what police believe was an attempt to derail the investigation into Megan Touma's death, police said. Patino, 27, was arrested at his Hope Mills, North Carolina, home Tuesday night without incident. Patino, who is stationed at Fort Bragg's JFK Special Warfare Training Center, faces first-degree murder charges in the slaying of Touma, 23, who was seven months pregnant. Touma's decomposing body was found in the bathtub of a hotel room near Fort Bragg on June 21. Authorities said Wednesday that they believe she died late June 13 or early June 14. Although her death has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Wednesday that the state medical examiner has not made a final determination of how she died. Watch officials discuss the case » . Patino has admitted being in Touma's hotel room June 13, and investigators found that the room's electronic key card was last used on that day, police said Wednesday. However, Patino has not admitted killing Touma. Patino wore red jail coveralls in his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon. He spoke only to answer the judge's questions, acknowledging that he understood he was charged with first-degree murder and that the charge carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison without parole. He also requested that an attorney be appointed for him. Fayetteville, North Carolina, police Chief Tom Bergamine said Wednesday that Patino, who is married, was the father of Touma's fetus. Police also said evidence links Patino to a letter received June 25 by the Fayetteville Observer newspaper. In it, the writer claimed to have killed Touma and said more killings were planned. The letter was signed with a circular symbol similar to one used by the Zodiac killer in California in the late 1960s. At the request of police, the newspaper withheld information regarding the letters and delayed publishing a story for several days to allow police to conduct an investigation, Bergamine said. Police also received a similar letter. Fayetteville police Sgt. Chris Corcione said both letters were postmarked June 24 and sent from Fayetteville. Patino purchased a typewriter the day before the letters were sent, Corcione said. That typewriter is now in police custody. Police, however, stopped short of saying Patino wrote the letters, saying only that evidence links him to them. Two of Touma's friends, who are also female soldiers and asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said Touma and Patino had been stationed together in Germany and had dated. They said Patino had proposed to Touma in Germany, but when the two returned to North Carolina, she discovered that he was married. Police said Wednesday that Patino was a person of interest from the early days of their investigation. Corcione said his initial interview with authorities could be described as "deceptive," and officials had little other contact with him until his arrest. Police have found no criminal record for him. "We felt like from the beginning, there was no major concerns of a serial killer being out there," Bergamine said. Patino was being held without bail at the Cumberland County Detention Center, Bergamine said. Asked what police believe the motive to be, Fayetteville police Detective Joshua Carter said, "Right now, the motive is going to be held close. There's still several months of investigation left to be conducted." "I think one of the things that folks need to understand is that scientific evidence, things that have to go to the lab, they're going to take time," Bergamine said. "This is not the world of television and 'CSI.' Things don't get settled within a hour." Touma, a five-year Army veteran, had served with the U.S. Army Dental Activity Clinic in Bamberg, Germany, and in Fort Drum, New York, before her stint at Fort Bragg. She is the second female soldier from Fort Bragg to die under suspicious circumstances since June. Army 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc was killed in early July. Her Fayetteville apartment was torched July 10, and her charred body was found nearby a few days later. Her husband, Marine Cpl. John Wimunc, was charged with arson and first-degree murder in connection with the death. Another Marine, Lance Cpl. Kyle Alden, was charged with arson and felony accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, also had a homicide case involving a female service member this year. The charred body of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, was found in the backyard of another Marine stationed at the base, Cpl. Cesar Laurean. Lauterbach was eight months pregnant when she died. Laurean, who has been charged with first-degree murder, was arrested in Mexico in April, but because he holds citizenship in the United States and Mexico, he cannot be immediately deported and must go through an extradition process. Authorities have said that if he chooses to fight extradition, it could take two years to return him to North Carolina. CNN's Marylynn Ryan contributed to this report.

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Canada to send 440-foot frigate to help aid reach ports safely . Mission must be authorized by Somalia's transitional government . 80 percent of U.N.'s food aid to Somalia sent by ship . Heavily armed pirates frequently hijack cargo ships off Horn of Africa .

Canada announced Wednesday that it will dispatch a warship to Somalia's coast to protect U.N. aid ships from pirate attacks. The Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec will escort ships carrying food aid to Somalia. "Canada is stepping up to the plate by tasking Ville de Quebec with the role of escorting World Food Programme ships to ensure their safe arrival at designated ports," Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said in a government news release. The United Nations hunger program praised Canada for answering its call for help, and said it hoped other governments would step forward to take over from Canada once it completes its mission in a few weeks. The HMCS Ville de Quebec is a 440-foot frigate armed with torpedoes, surface-to-air missiles and other weapons, and carries a twin-engine Sea King anti-submarine helicopter. Ville de Quebec, which can travel at speeds greater than 27 knots, will be dispatched after Somalia's transitional government formally authorizes the mission, the government's news release said. WFP asked the world's naval powers in mid-June to help its ships reach the more than 2 million people in need of aid. It put out the request weeks before French, Danish and Dutch warships ended their escort missions, which began in November. Pirate attacks on unescorted ships have been a growing problem in Somalia. Three European freighters were hijacked off the Horn of Africa in June, adding to the 27 other reported attacks this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy. WFP delivers 80 percent of its aid to Somalia by sea, and WFP spokesman Peter Smerdon said that if there are no warships to escort the food supply, the program will have to rely on ground or air travel to deliver the food. But both are dangerous and expensive. The agency said that if there is no assistance from naval powers, piracy will increase, and so will death and malnutrition. Smerdon said that although Somalia's food crisis hasn't yet reached the devastation of the early 1990s, "We're worried it will be."

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NEW: Another passenger from bus crash in northern Texas dies of injuries Bus had a recapped tire on the right front, a federal investigator says . The bus was operating illegally, federal agency says . Survivor describes chaos during and after accident .

SHERMAN, Texas A seventeenth person has died from injuries suffered in Friday's bus crash in northern Texas, a hospital spokeswoman said Sunday. The damaged bus is hauled from the crash scene on a flatbed truck Friday in Sherman, Texas. The driver of the bus, which was carrying dozens of Vietnamese people on a church trip, apparently lost control on northbound U.S. 75 early Friday. The bus smashed into a guardrail before rolling on its side and sliding into a gully. The accident happened near the Texas-Oklahoma state line. Twelve people were declared dead at the scene, and four others died at hospitals, officials said. Police estimated that, in addition to the deaths, 33 to 39 of the 54 passengers and the driver suffered mild to serious injuries. Watch what investigators are learning about the accident » . The bus was operating illegally, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The National Transportation Safety Board has begun investigating the crash. On Friday, NTSB member Debbie Hersman told reporters that the right front tire of the bus had been retreaded, in violation of safety rules. The blown tire was the only one that was recapped, and it was the only one whose tread separated, she said. Asked what caused the Goodyear tire to lose its air, she said, "we don't know the answer to that question; that's why we're here." The bus itself was made in 2002 by Motor Coach Industries. The trip to Carthage, Missouri, had been scheduled by the Vietnamese Catholic Martyrs Church in Houston, though some of the passengers may have belonged to other churches, Hersman said. The 52-year-old driver had his commercial driver's license, but his medical certificate had expired, she said. Late Friday, police were assisting NTSB investigators with gathering evidence and mapping the scene, documenting the location of witness marks and scars on the highway and bridge rail over an overpass, she said. Preliminary evidence suggests that the bus hit a rail on the right side of the bridge and then traveled 1,809 feet before coming to a stop on its right side in the earthen median between the highway and a frontage road, Hersman said. "As it dropped off the bridge rail, the bus rolled to the right ... where it came to rest." Watch as the fire chief describes the crash scene » . She noted that the bus was not equipped with seat belts, which are not required on motor coaches. In a written statement, motor carrier agency Administrator John H. Hill said investigators noted "certain irregularities ... about whether the bus was operating under the name Angel Tours or Iguala Busmex. It is important to note that neither of these domestic entities is authorized to operate as a U.S. passenger carrier in interstate commerce at this time." He added that the agency identified Angel Tours "as being a high-risk carrier due to safety violations detected during roadside safety inspections and was subjected to an FMCSA compliance review in May 2008." "This review resulted in FMCSA placing Angel Tours' operations out of service," Hill said. "To date, Angel Tours has not provided the agency with evidence of satisfactory corrective actions to the problems discovered and remains out of service." In addition, "FMCSA has not granted Iguala Busmex authority to transport passengers because it has failed to fully comply with federal safety requirements." He said police have been asked to stop any of the companies' buses. Both companies are owned by Angel de la Torre. A man who answered the phone at Angel Tours office said the owner was meeting with his lawyers and was unavailable. Massage therapist Leha Nguyen, 45, was a passenger. She was traveling by herself on the bus when she departed Houston at 8:30 p.m. Thursday for what was to have been her fourth trip to Carthage, Missouri. After sandwiches were passed around, the group said prayers, and Nguyen began to drift off to sleep in her window seat next to an older woman, four rows behind the driver, she said. iReport.com: Were you there? Send photos, video . About 11:45 p.m., the bus passed Dallas, "and as soon as we passed Dallas we were on the two-way freeway and I feel the bus ride a little bit fast and I have a feeling, not a safe feeling," she said. She added, "I feel a little bit shaky, but I just let myself at peace and then go to sleep." Her sleep didn't last long. "As I opened my eyes, I see the chair falling off and I was sitting right below the TV and I felt that somebody was laying on my leg and then right next to me there was a lady, she got her arm really crushed up and on top of her there was another lady, she cannot move." Although her head hurt, Nguyen who left Vietnam in 1975 as a refugee was in better shape than many of her fellow riders. She accepted an ambulance ride to the hospital, where she learned that her seatmate had died. Once her scalp was sewn up, she aided in translating for other Vietnamese patients whose English was not as good. CNN's Susan Roesgen contributed to this story from Sherman, Texas.

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Connie Nielsen made her name playing Lucilla in Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" She has appeared in movies dealing with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq . Nielsen speaks seven languages and is passionate about art and literature .

COPENHAGEN, Denamrk What makes someone decide to become an actor? It sometimes seems as if the average Hollywood star is motivated mainly by the promise of a fat pay check. Connie Nielsen shot to fame playing Lucilla in "Gladiator." Or perhaps they're drawn to the celebrity lifestyle. Maybe they crave the love of an adoring public, or perhaps they see the movies as a way to leave their mark on the world, to be immortalized on celluloid. For Danish actress Connie Nielsen it was something quite different. For her, being an actor means being an outsider. "As an artist you actually do have to make a choice to be an outsider. If you're an outsider you have the freedom to say what people on the inside don't dare to say," she told CNN. So Connie Nielsen is not your typical movie star. As a 5-foot-10-inch blonde Scandinavian beauty she has the looks of a classic silver screen siren, but she has steadfastly resisted a career as Hollywood eye candy and rejected the lifestyle that goes with it. "I absolutely refuse the fame part of my business," she says. "I refuse even the money side of my business. I try to do as good work as I can do, I try to grow in my art and reach for truth," she says. Raised in Elling, a small coastal village in Denmark, she is fluent in seven languages and studied acting in France and Italy, making her screen debut in French comedy "Par Où T'es Rentré? On T'a Pas Vu Sortir" (U.S. title "How Did You Get In? We Didn't See You Leave") in 1984. She appeared in more French and Italian movies before landing a role opposite Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in "The Devil's Advocate" in 1997. But it wasn't until 2000, when she was cast in Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning "Gladiator", that Nielsen landed a role that really let her show her acting ability. As Lucilla, the sister of the villainous Emperor Commodus, Nielsen brought some much-needed subtlety to the swords-and-sandals epic and held her own sharing the screen with Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe. The movie made Nielsen an international star and she scored other successes with "One Hour Photo" in 2002, and "The Hunted" in 2003. But while the success of "Gladiator" opened doors for her, it also meant she had to fight the kind of typecasting that would try to limit her to playing "the love interest" to a male lead who got all the good lines. Nielsen has in the past been critical of Hollywood for its lack of female roles, saying "you think once you've shown what you can do, and your movies have been successful, that snap, you work. So to discover the difference between guys' roles and girls' roles made me plain mad. It's unjust." But Nielsen has refused to be pigeonholed, seemingly drawn to difficult roles in controversial movies. She appeared in French movie "Demonlover", which dealt with pornography, violence and corporate amorality, while more recent films have taken on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Danish drama "Brødre" (U.S. title "Brothers") is about a soldier who returns from Afghanistan a broken man, unable to communicate his experiences from the conflict. Playing his wife, Nielsen put in a powerful performance that won her awards and served to highlight how Hollywood had underused her talents. "The Situation" in 2006 was billed as the first film to be made about the Iraq war and told the story of ordinary Iraqis caught up in the conflict, while "Battle of Seattle" examined how peaceful protests erupted into riots when the World Trade Organization met in Seattle in 1999. Of her choice of subject matter, Nielsen says that rather than making a political point she is trying to show the human aspects of the conflicts. But Nielsen makes it clear that her career is not the focus of her life and she stresses the importance of making time outside the movies. She is passionate about literature and art and she is currently dating Lars Ulrich, drummer of rock group Metallica. She had a son with him in 2007 and has another son from a previous relationship. "I will always find something that I want to try and become better at. I always love to spend more time with my friends, more time with my family, my extended family. I always want to read more books," she says. Perhaps her commitment to her art, her interest in social issues and her disavowal of fame simply reflect her Danish upbringing, but there's no doubt that compared to many other Hollywood stars Connie Nielsen is a breath of fresh air.

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Three aid workers have been shot over the last day in Somalia, two of them fatally . One victim worked for aid agency, DBG, which has suspended operations . Four World Food Program drivers of relief supplies killed this year . Somalis dependent on humanitarian aid since 1993 famine, ongoing war, drought .

Three aid workers have been shot over the last day in Somalia, two of them fatally, Somali media reports said. Somalis prepare Monday to bury murdered Osman Ali Ahmed, the head of the U.N. Development Program. The first fatality was a Somali, Mohamed Mohamud Qeyre. He was the deputy director of the group Daryeel Bulasho Guud , funded by a German company and affiliated with the group Bread for the World. Qeyre was shot in the Somali capital of Mogadishu Friday night in what appeared to be a targeted attack, the reports said. He was shot by three gunmen outside the facility where aid distribution is coordinated. The gunmen may have been staking out the facility waiting for Qeyre to exit. The head of DBG, in Nairobi, Kenya, said he will suspend all aid operations in Somalia for the time being. The second fatality was a member of the Sodra nongovernmental organization, which is helping with humanitarian efforts in Somalia. Officials said it appears that Ali Baashi was also specifically targeted by gunmen. Earlier this week, the World Food Program said a truck driver carrying its relief supplies was killed the fourth WFP driver killed in Somalia this year. Ahmed Saalim was shot when fighting broke out between convoy escorts and militiamen at a checkpoint, the U.N. aid agency said. A growing percentage of the Somali population has become dependent on humanitarian aid. A severe famine swept the nation in 1991-1993, devastating crops, killing up to 280,000 people and displacing up to 2 million, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The situation has been exacerbated by drought, continual armed conflicts in central and southern Somalia and high inflation on food and fuel. Journalist Mohamed Amin contributed to this report.

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NEW: Police say suspect is in custody, no charges have been filed . AP: Witness says attacker seemed normal before slaying, appeared to be about 19 . Man repeatedly stabbed and then decapitated sleeping seat mate, witness says . Trucker helped passengers trap knife-wielding man on bus, witnesses say .

As horrified travelers watched, a Greyhound Canada bus passenger repeatedly stabbed and then decapitated a young man who was sitting and sleeping beside him, a witness said Thursday. Police investigate the scene near Portage la Prairie, Canada, on Thursday. "There was a bloodcurdling scream. I was just reading my book, and all of a sudden, I heard it," Garnet Caton, who was sitting in front of the two men, said of the Wednesday night incident west of Portage la Prairie in Manitoba. "It was like something between a dog howling and a baby crying, I guess you could say," Caton said. "I don't think it will leave me for a while." Passengers exited the bus, and a trucker who stopped provided wrenches and crowbars to several of them so they could keep the suspect on the bus until police came, witnesses told Canadian TV. The suspect was seized with the help of negotiators, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Steve Colwell said. Watch Colwell discuss the case » . He said no formal charges had been filed, and he declined to identify either the man in custody or the victim, who were among 34 passengers. There was no immediate indication of what prompted the attack, Colwell said. He said he didn't know how many times the victim was stabbed. Witnesses described the weapon as a large butcher-type knife. Caton told The Associated Press that the victim appeared to be about 19 years old and had gotten on the bus in Edmonton. Colwell praised the "extraordinary" level-headedness and bravery of the bus driver and passengers. "What you saw and what you experienced would shake the most seasoned police officer. And yet I'm told that each of you acted swiftly, calmly and bravely," Colwell said. "As a result, no one else was injured." The police received a call reporting the attack at 8:30 p.m. By the time they arrived at the scene, everyone except the knife-wielder and his victim had left the bus, Colwell said. The incident ended about 1:30 a.m. The bus was traveling along the Trans-Canada Highway from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was about 45 minutes from its destination when the attack occurred, Greyhound spokeswoman Abby Wambaugh said in Dallas, Texas. Caton said the victim was sleeping with his head leaning against the window when the attack happened. Caton said he shouted at the other passengers, many of whom also were sleeping, to leave. Watch Caton describe what he saw » . "Everybody got off the bus. Me and a trucker that stopped and the Greyhound driver ran up to the door to maybe see if the guy was still alive or we could help or something like that," Caton said. "And when we all got up, we saw that the guy was cutting off the guy's head. ... When he saw us, he came back to the front of the bus, told the driver to shut the door. He pressed the button and the door shut, but it didn't shut in time, and the guy was able to get his knife out and take a swipe at us," Caton said. Caton told the AP that the attacker didn't sit near the victim when he first got on the bus, about an hour before the attack. "He sat in the front at first; everything was normal," Caton said. "We went to the next stop, and he got off and had a smoke with another young lady there. When he got on the bus again, he came to the back near where I was sitting. He put his bags in the overhead compartment. He didn't say a word to anybody. He seemed totally normal." Half an hour later, the attack began, Caton told the AP. "There was no rage or anything. He was like a robot, stabbing the guy." The incident occurred on the first of two Greyhound Canada buses that were traveling together, Wambaugh said. The bus was carrying 37 passengers. As many passengers as possible among those not directly involved in the incident were transferred to the second bus, she said. Others were taken to a hotel in Brandon, where they were met by Greyhound managers and police, Wambaugh said. Once they are released, Greyhound will take them by bus to Winnipeg, and "we will do whatever is required to help them, and that includes counseling," she added. Wambaugh declined to comment further. "I don't want to compromise the investigation," she said. Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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NEW: Few reports of damage or injury from "moderate" earthquake . NEW: Experts, officials say earthquake is a reminder to be prepared . 11:42 a.m. PT quake's epicenter was about 32 miles east of Los Angeles . More than 30 aftershocks were recorded, largest was 3.6 .

LOS ANGELES, California A magnitude-5.4 earthquake shook the Los Angeles metropolitan area Tuesday, leaving residents rattled but causing no serious damage or injuries. Bricks and other debris clutter an alleyway in Pomona, near Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon. However, the temblor served as a warning to southern Californians who had not experienced an earthquake in some time: the "Big One" remains a possibility. "This is a sample, a small sample," said Kate Hutton, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. "This is somewhere between small and moderate." She said there is a 5 percent chance the quake could be a precursor to a larger earthquake. After 24 hours, she said, that chance will drop to 1 percent. "Every earthquake relieves some stress," Hutton said. "It's usually only a drop in the ocean. In other words, the amount of stress released by this earthquake is minuscule compared to the amount that's built up and is building up for the Big One when it happens some day in the future." Watch Hutton say Tuesday's quake was a sign of bigger ones to come » . And when will that be? "From a geologist's point of view, the answer has to be soon," she said. "But geologists are used to thinking on millions of years and thousands of years time scale, so I don't think that gives any useful information for people, except be prepared at any time because it could happen at any time." A 5.4 magnitude quake is considered by the USGS to be "moderate," which can cause slight damage to buildings and others structures. So far this year, 39 "moderate" earthquakes of between magnitude 5.0 and 5.9 have occurred in the United States, and 790 globally. The last moderate quake to strike California was a magnitude 5.4 in April in the northern part of the state. A magnitude 4.4 struck the greater Los Angeles area in August 2007. There is a 99 percent chance of California experiencing a quake of magnitude 6.7 or larger within the next 30 years, according to the Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Geological Survey and the Southern California Earthquake Center and published in Science Daily in April. "This earthquake reminds us to be prepared," said California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "We were very fortunate that there were no serious injuries or property damage." He said he believes the state is "as prepared as anyone can be. We have continuous discussions about that. We are fanatics about emergencies and to be ready." The largest earthquake in recent years in California was a magnitude 7.1 in 1999, Hutton said. But it was centered in the desert, near Twentynine Palms, in a sparsely populated area. Tuesday's quake struck about 11:42 a.m., according to the USGS. Its epicenter was about 2 miles southwest of Chino Hills and about 5 miles southeast of Diamond Bar. The epicenter was about 7.6 miles deep, making it a fairly shallow quake, according to CNN meteorologist Chad Meyers. In general, earthquakes centered closer to the surface produce stronger shaking and can cause more damage than those further underground. But most Southern California earthquakes tend to be fairly shallow, officials said. More than 30 aftershocks were recorded. Hutton said the largest was a magnitude 3.6. Los Angeles police said a downtown hotel sustained some structural damage, but no one was injured and the building was not evacuated. There were some unconfirmed reports of minor injuries. The White House was also monitoring the situation, said spokeswoman Dana Perino. Despite the absence of serious damage or injuries, some Los Angeles-area residents were left rattled. The quake was felt as far south as San Diego, California, and the USGS said it received reports of light shaking as far north as Rosamond, California, about 55 miles north-northeast of Los Angeles. Reports from those who felt the quake poured into CNN. Did you feel the quake? "My house was like a fun house. Everything was moving," said Danny Casler, 28, of Huntington Beach. He said he was sleeping when his house began shaking, and some things fell in the living room. He said he ran out of the house in his boxer shorts. Attorney Kevin Crisp said he was on the phone with his law partner in Riverside, 65 miles away, who burst out, "Big quake!" Crisp said he felt it about five seconds later. "This was very impressive. Long and very uniform. Really had the building going." He said doors were swinging on the hinges and bottles of wine were rolling back and forth on his shelf. "It just started with a really strong jolt," said Wendy Criner. "I ran and got my daughters from different rooms, and we squatted in the living room. I did have stuff fall off the shelf, some books in my daughters' room and some things in the kitchen." The quake knocked out a ground radar system at Los Angeles International Airport, but that has not interfered with operations, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Technicians were working to restore the system, which helps controllers monitor traffic on the ground. Also, tiles fell from the ceiling in one terminal as water flowed from a burst pipe. The calculation of the quake's magnitude fluctuated as seismologists reviewed the data. Initially classified as a magnitude 5.8, the quake's intensity was reduced to a 5.6 and then to a 5.4. Because the earthquake magnitude scale is exponential, a 5.8 magnitude quake is four to five times more intense than a 5.4. Two nuclear plants are in the vicinity of the quake's epicenter near Chino Hills, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The closest to the epicenter is in San Onofre, 50 miles south, but an NRC spokesman said, "this is well below the threshold for any conceivable damage to the plants." "In the U.S. particularly in California, buildings are generally built well enough that it takes about a 5.5 for there to be some damage, so we do have the potential for damage," said Don Blakeman, an analyst for the USGS. "It depends on the structures [and] the ground the building is built on." He said he would expect objects to be knocked from shelves and some windows broken. "It's kind of on the margin where you'll get some structural damage from these. We may find that some of the older homes and buildings that weren't retrofitted suffer more damage than the newer structures. "I would expect some cracked buildings," he said. "There is the potential for injuries, but hopefully we won't have too much of that." Blakeman's comments came before the quake's magnitude was dropped to a 5.4. However, he said afterward that the change does not affect his expectations, although obviously there is less potential for damage. Still, the quake jolted the nerves of many Californians. "I've lived in California, I've lived through several of them," Margot Wagner of Santa Barbara told CNN. "It's always a little unnerving." Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Survey: Republicans change view more than others on church and politics . Small majority of Americans think churches shouldn't endorse candidates . Researcher: Survey doesn't mean basic conservative philosophy is changing .

WASHINGTON A slim majority of Americans think churches should stay out of politics, according to a new survey. John McCain, the Rev. Rick Warren and Barack Obama together for a CNN broadcast forum on faith. The survey suggests that for the first time in more than a decade, there has been a shift away from the view that religious groups should influence social and political issues. Fifty-two percent of poll respondents said churches should stay quiet, while 46 percent said churches should express political views. The biggest shift has come among Republicans, one of the authors of the poll said. "Overall, the number of people who say churches should not endorse political candidates is up slightly, but among Republicans it is up 11 points, and among white evangelical Republicans it is up 19 points," said Greg Smith, a research fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. "There is a slight uptick, from 40 percent to 46 percent, among people who are uncomfortable to have politicians talking about religion, but it is up 10 points among Republicans," he added. Four years ago, seven out of 10 conservatives approved of religious institutions expressing political views. But five out of 10 conservatives in Thursday's poll said it was appropriate. It seems that the more important social issues are to conservatives, the more likely they were to say that religion and politics should not mix. Among people who said gay marriage was a very important issue, the number saying houses of worship should keep out of politics doubled, from 25 percent to 50 percent. Among those who said it was not important, the number was essentially unchanged. Respondents were also more likely to say houses of worship should not meddle in politics if they considered the major political parties to be hostile to religion. The new figures bring Republican views into line with those of Democrats and independents. A 14-point gap between Republican and Democratic views on the subject in August 2004 fell to one point in the new survey. But Smith cautioned against reading the survey to mean basic conservative philosophy was changing. "It appears to be frustration with the contemporary political landscape more than an underlying philosophical shift," he said. "It is not the case the conservatives are uncomfortable with a political role for religion, but we do see increasing discomfort with churches getting involved with politics." "Voting intentions among white evangelicals have not changed at all," Smith added. Republican candidate Sen. John McCain "has a huge lead even among younger evangelicals." But social conservatives are lukewarm about McCain as compared to President Bush. Nearly seven out of 10 white evangelical Protestants and conservatives said they supported McCain; the number was slightly higher for Bush in August 2004. But four years ago, 57 percent of them said they backed Bush strongly. The number is 28 percent for McCain this year, with 40 percent saying they backed him, but not strongly. The number of people who think religious groups have too much influence over political parties grew for both Republicans and Democrats as did the percentage of people who are uncomfortable hearing politicians talk about how religious they are. Americans continue to see the Republican Party as more friendly to religion than the Democrats, although the Democrats closed the gap somewhat since reaching a low point in 2006. Other survey results showed little change from the past. Two out of three Americans continue to say churches should not endorse candidates for president, and most still feel a president should have strong religious beliefs. The survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center for People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life by interviewing 2,905 adults nationwide by phone between July 31 and August 10. On Saturday, Obama and McCain answered questions that had religious overtones at a forum hosted by the Rev. Rick Warren. The pastor of Southern California's Saddleback Church is author of the best-selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life." Asked when life begins, McCain was quick to say "at the moment of conception." McCain's response was met with huge applause from the audience. "I have a 25-year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate, and as president of the United States, I will be a pro-life president, and this presidency will have pro-life policies," he said. When Obama was asked about when life begins, the pro-choice candidate said that decision is "above my pay grade." The response garnered criticism from liberal and conservative thinkers who said Obama tried to dodge the issue. Obama said although he's pro-choice and supports a woman's right to abortion, his goal is to reduce the number of abortions in America. "On this particular issue, if you believe that life begins at conception ... and you are consistent, then I can't argue with you on that," he said. "What I can do is say, 'Are there ways we can work together to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies?' "

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Cuba's Angel Matos kicks referee in the face during bronze medal match . Matos was furious with Sweden's Chakir Chelbat after being disqualified . Matos and his coach are facing life bans from taekwondo .

Former Olympic champion Angel Matos of Cuba faces a life ban after kicking a referee flush in the face during his taekwondo bronze medal match in Beijing. Matos reacted in extraordinary fashion to being disqualified by Chelbat. Matos, who took gold in Sydney in 2000, was winning 3-2, with just over a minute left in the second round, when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov. Matos lay down, awaiting medical attention, but was then disqualified by referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden for taking too much injury time. A furious Matos reacted by pushing a judge, then pushed and kicked Chelbat in the face. It left the Swede with blood pouring from his lip while Matos spat on the floor and was then escorted out of the arena. "We didn't expect anything like what you have witnessed to occur," said World Taekwondo Federation secretary general Yang Jin-suk. "I am at a loss for words," he told the Associated Press. Matos' coach, Leudis Gonzalez, is also in hot water for his angry reaction and claiming the Kazakhs had tried to fix the match. "This is an insult to the Olympic vision, an insult to the spirit of taekwondo and, in my opinion, an insult to mankind," Yang added. Although the arena announcer said Matos and his coach were banned effective immediately, Yang said due process must be followed before officially banning the two. It was not the only controversial moment in the four-day taekwondo competition, which was marred by several protests against judging decisions. Earlier Saturday, China's double gold medalist Chen Zhong crashed out in the quarterfinals after initially being declared the winner. She was fighting Britain's Sarah Stevenson, who scored with a clear head kick worth two points in the final seconds of their bout. That would have put Stevenson ahead and into the semifinals, but the judges ruled Stevenson's kick wasn't solid enough for points, and Chen was declared the winner 1-0. After Britain protested, the result was changed to put Stevenson in the semifinal. She lost that to jeers from the partisan Chinese crowd, but later won a bronze medal match. It was the first time a match result has been overturned since taekwondo became an official Olympic sport. Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Family of Esmin Green says they will sue the city, hospital for $25 million . Relatives says hospital employees failed to render help, attempted to falsify records . Surveillance camera captured Green convulsing on floor for an hour before she died .

The relatives of a woman who died on the floor of a New York hospital say they plan to file a $25 million lawsuit against the city and the facility where Esmin Green died. Esmin Green's daughter, Tecia Harrison, says disciplinary action against hospital workers is not enough for her. Green's family is also calling for criminal charges against hospital workers, who they say failed to help her and then attempted to cover up the circumstances of her death. "My sister was killed twice," said Brenda James, Green's sister. "First, by those who neglected to offer her the needed health care. Secondly, she was killed by those who tried to cover up this criminal action." The family has retained a lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, to file the suit. Green, a Jamaican immigrant, had been involuntarily admitted to the Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, on June 18 for what the hospital described as "agitation and psychosis." Surveillance camera footage captured the mother of six sliding off of a chair and onto the floor of waiting room of the hospital's psychiatric emergency department, where she lay convulsing for more than a hour before anyone helped her. The footage appears to capture several employees passing by her as she lay on the floor struggling. The New York Civil Liberties Union said last week that the hospital falsified medical records for the timeframe covering Green's visit, describing her as awake and going to the bathroom when she is seen on the video. Watch Green's family after seeing video » . Seven workers, including doctors, nurses and security guards, have been fired or suspended since Green's death, the city's Health and Hospitals Corporation said. It's not clear whether any of the employees have appealed the disciplinary actions against them. The agency said it referred the matter to law enforcement and is cooperating with the investigation. "We failed Esmin Green and believe her family deserves fair and just compensation," it said in a statement. Autopsy results have not been released. Green's daughter, who reluctantly watched the footage for the first time this week, says disciplinary action doesn't make up for her family's loss. "Firing is not enough for me, for my brothers. They don't know this wonderful woman they took away from us," said Tecia Harrison, who traveled to New York from Jamaica to attend her mother's funeral Sunday. "We want them to pay for it," she said. CNN's Mary Snow contributed to this report .

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Moyo received 110 votes, opponent Paul Themba-Nyathi received 98 votes . Themba-Nyathi represented the splinter MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara . MDC's Shuwa Mudiwa and Elia Jembere arrested outside parliament building . Ruling ZANU-PF party lost majority in 210-seat parliament in March elections .

HARARE, Zimbabwe Zimbabwean lawmakers on Monday narrowly voted for Lovemore Moyo as speaker of the parliament making him the first opposition lawmaker to hold the position in the country's history. Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC faction has a slim majority following parliamentary elections. "This is historic as it ceases to be a rubber-stamping house," Moyo said after winning the position. "It will ensure that progressive laws are passed. I promise to be professional." Moyo the national chairman of the main Movement for Democratic Change party received 110 votes while his only opponent, Paul Themba-Nyathi, received 98 votes. The speaker of the parliament is the fourth most powerful post in Zimbabwe. Themba-Nyathi represented the splinter MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara, but he had support of President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party. The vote took place hours after Mugabe swore in lawmakers, five months after they were elected. Two members of the main MDC led by presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai were arrested as they arrived at the opening session, but they were released after a short time, according to a government spokesman. An MDC official said the arrests were part of the "sinister agenda of this regime" to "tilt the balance of numbers in their favour during the voting for the speaker of parliament." One of those detained Shuwa Mudiwa appeared back in parliament, but the other member Elia Jembere was not seen, according to sources. Government spokesman Bright Matonga said Jembere had been accused of rape, but that he has been released from custody. A third member Elton Mangoma escaped an arrest attempt when other party members came to his rescue, MDC officials said. Attendance at the session of parliament is important since the membership is closely divided between the MDC and the Mugabe's ZANU-PF. The ruling ZANU-PF party lost its majority in the 210-seat parliament in elections in March, but vote recounts and political violence have delayed the body from convening until now. Final results gave 100 seats to an MDC faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai, the party's presidential candidate. President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF got 99 seats. An offshoot of the main MDC party, led by Arthur Mutambara, won 10 seats. An independent candidate won one seat. Tsvangirai, who was locked in a bitter presidential contest with Mugabe, had objected to Mugabe's decision to convene parliament, saying it could "decapitate" power-sharing talks that have been on hold for the past two weeks. Still, Tsvangirai said he would attend the swearing-in ceremony. MDC party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said all MDC members elected to parliament were expected to attend "except those few MPs who are still in hiding." CNN's Nkepile Mabuse in Johannesburg, South Africa contributed to this report.

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NEW: House minority leader calls for immediate vote on offshore drilling . House speaker says she'd be open for a vote on drilling as part of a larger package . Pelosi: Releasing oil from strategic reserves would quickly reduce gas prices . "We should be using that money to invest in renewable resources," Pelosi says .

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reversed her opposition to a vote on offshore drilling on "Larry King Live" on Monday night, saying she would consider a vote if it were part of a larger energy package. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urges the release of oil from strategic reserves as a way to bring down gas prices. Pelosi and fellow House Democrats have staunchly opposed Republicans' request for a vote on the drilling. Some Republicans stayed in chambers after Congress adjourned for the session, making speeches on energy policies, in an attempt to get Democrats to come back for a vote. Reacting to Pelosi's remarks, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the speaker should call the House of Representatives back from its summer recess immediately if she is sincere about a vote on off-shore drilling. "Our message to Speaker Pelosi is very simple: We are ready to vote on more energy production and lower gas prices right now, and we should not wait one more day to begin giving the American people the relief they expect and deserve," Boehner said. "If you meant what you said last night, we welcome you and your Democratic colleagues to join us in our historic call to action on American energy." On Monday night, Pelosi said the vote would need to be part of a larger discussion that would include investing in renewable energy resources and releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Those options would help bring both immediate and long-lasting solutions to the energy crisis, she said. In her interview with King, Pelosi talked about what the government and country needs to do to avert the energy crisis and quickly bring down gas prices. The following is an edited version of the interview: . Larry King: OK, Madam Speaker, author of "Know Your Power," why don't you bring [Congress] back? Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Well, it's interesting to hear Sen. [John] McCain talk about bringing Congress back. He wasn't even in Congress this last session when we really had two very important bills on energy one to give tax credit for wind, solar and other renewable resources, and another about hybrid cars and the rest. So he wasn't in to vote when were in session and now he's saying call it back in. And then one of the others said to the president, call Congress back in. And the president said no. The president said no. But the point is this: The American people are suffering. We have to do what is best for them. How do we bring down the prices at the pump? We have said to the president, the fastest way to do this if in 10 days the price can come down if you will free our oil. Over 700 million barrels of oil the president is sitting on of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. No. 1, free our oil. No. 2, they want to drill. If they want to drill, we have 68 million acres in the Lower 48 that they can drill in that are permitted and all the rest. Three, stop the speculation. Four, renew invest in renewable energy resources, which will bring a faster return than drilling offshore, which will take 10 years and produce 2 cents' reduction in 10 years off the price at the pump. And then use natural gas. Natural gas is so plentiful. It's better for the environment, and it is cheaper. So there are things that Congress can do, and we have voted on this over and over again. But the Republicans and the president have resisted. Instead, they have this thing that says drill offshore in the protected areas. Well, we can do that. We can have a vote on that. But it has to be part of something that says we want to bring immediate relief to the public and not just a hoax on them. King: Would you vote yes on a package that includes drilling? Pelosi: I would not. It depends how the drilling is put forth. But I don't that is not excluded, let me say it that way. It depends how that is proposed, if the safeguards are there. Now, mind you, 68 million acres 10 million more acres in Alaska where they can drill. But if there's if we can get some great things, in terms of renewable energy resources: a renewable electricity standard, wind, solar, biofuels and the rest in that context, because if you make a decision only to go with the offshore drilling, you are increasing our dependence on fossil fuels, and you will never free yourself of that addiction unless you invest in the renewable energy resources that are good for the environment, cheaper for the consumer and will reverse global warming. And the consumer is our first responsibility. The American taxpayer owns this oil offshore, by the way. Let me make this one final point. This oil is owned by the American taxpayers. The oil companies drill. We give them money to drill there. But we get very little in return. So I think as we have this debate, which is a very healthy one to have and I welcome it; we have to review and realign the relationship between our oil, Big Oil's profits and what it means to the consumer and the taxpayer. King: Do you expect do you suspect the oil companies of having a lot of clout here, influence over the Republicans? Pelosi: Of course. Yes, they rule. And that's what we'll find out. King: They rule? Pelosi: When we have this vote, when we really define it and where the choice is clear to the American people I mean, do you know what Exxon Mobil, their last quarter, their profits were historic. Last year, they were historic. They outdid themselves this year already in this second quarter. And they insist that we pay them to drill. They need an incentive to drill in order to make over $11 billion in one quarter. And it just doesn't make sense. We should be using that money to invest in renewable resources, tax credit for wind and solar, etc. and invest in the technologies that will develop the battery and the rest, instead of giving Big Oil more profits. King: Do you expect to get a big enough majority in the Senate and House for the Democrats to overcome anything and get through your proposals? Pelosi: Well, I hope we can do some of it before we even leave this session. I think we can hopefully, we can do something before December. I will not subscribe to a hoax on the American people that if you drill offshore, you're going to bring down the price at the pump. Even the president says that's not true. Ten years, two cents we're saying 10 days, bring down the price, if the president would free our oil from the Strategic Petroleum [Reserve] from our stockpile owned by the taxpayers, purchased by the taxpayers. In the next election, I know that we will strengthen our majorities, increase their numbers, and we will have a Democratic president in the White House, and we will be able to address more fully really what I think is the challenge to our generation energy security and global warming.

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FDIC taking control of the $32 billion IndyMac . OTS accuses Sen. Charles Schumer of sparking a bank run . Schumer: IndyMac "one of the most poorly run and reckless of all the banks" Schumer rejects any suggestions of responsibility for IndyMac's collapse .

NEW YORK Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday the Bush administration is trying to "blame the fire on the person who calls 911" by suggesting he had a role in one of the costliest U.S. bank failures. Sen. Charles Schumer said the OTS "ought to stop pointing false fingers of blame." Federal regulators with the Office of Thrift Supervision were "asleep at the switch" when it came to IndyMac's "reckless" behavior, the New York Democrat complained. The OTS announced Friday that it was taking over the $32 billion IndyMac and transferring control to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The OTS pointed the finger directly at Schumer for the failure, accusing him of sparking a bank run by releasing a letter that "expressed concerns about IndyMac's viability." Watch what's next for IndyMac » . "In the following 11 business days, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion from their accounts," the OTS said in a statement announcing the California-based lender's takeover on Friday. The statement included a quote from OTS Director John Reich saying, "Although this institution was already in distress, I am troubled by any interference in the regulatory process." Schumer, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, chairman of Congress' Joint Economic Committee and the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, rejected any suggestions of responsibility for IndyMac's collapse . "OTS ought to stop pointing false fingers of blame and start doing its job to protect the future of the banking system, so that there won't be other IndyMacs," he said. Schumer's June 26 letter said he was "concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers." In a Sunday news conference, he said everything in his letter was already known to the public. "IndyMac was one of the most poorly run and reckless of all the banks," he said. "It was a spinoff from the old Countrywide, and like Countrywide, it did all kinds of profligate activities that it never should have. Both IndyMac and Countrywide helped cause the housing crisis we're now in." The embattled Countrywide Financial Corp. was recently purchased by Bank of America. Schumer argued that the "breadth and depth" of the problems at IndyMac were "apparent for years, and they accelerated in the last six months." But OTS, he said, "was asleep at the switch and allowed things to happen without restraint. "And now they are doing what the Bush administration always does: Blame the fire on the person who calls 911." The White House had no immediate response. Schumer said OTS is "known as a weak regulator," and added, "my job was to try and toughen them up and that's what I tried to do." IndyMac, with assets of $32 billion and deposits of $19 billion, is the fifth bank to fail this year. Between 2005 and 2007, only three banks failed. And in the past 15 years, the FDIC has taken over 127 banks with combined assets of $22 billion, according to FDIC records. IndyMac will reopen Monday with a new charter and a new name IndyMac Federal Bank.

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New Zealand rout Samao 101-14 in rugby union Test in New Plymouth . All Blacks run in 15 tries as they warm up for Tri-Nations decider against Australia . Flyhalf Dan Carter passes 2,000 first class points during match .

New Zealand warmed up for their Tri-Nations decider against Australia with a 101-14 rout of Samoa in a one-off rugby union Test on Wednesday in New Plymouth, running in 15 tries. Conrad Smith touches down for one of his two tries in the All Blacks win. Fullback Mils Muliaina scored three tries in the first half, center Conrad Smith and winger Richard Kahui touched down twice and nine other players added their names to the New Zealand scoresheet as the All Blacks beat a weakened Samoan team by a record margin. New Zealand led 47-7, seven tries to one, at halftime and added eight tries, including a penalty try, in the second spell to surpass their highest score against Samoa. The All Blacks had a 26-0 lead after 16 minutes and set their record score against Samoa surpassing the 71-13 in 1999 despite being held scoreless for periods of 18 minutes in the first half and 10 minutes in the second. It was the fifth time New Zealand had reached 100 points in a match, with the All Blacks' record being the 145-17 win over Japan at the 1995 World Cup. Samoa was forced to pick a severely under-strength side because many of its leading and most-experienced players are involved with European club sides. Most of the players who took the field Wednesday were young and Samoa-based and playing against the All Blacks for the first time. Although outgunned by an All Blacks team which overwhelmingly controlled territory and possession, Samoa played with great spirit and scored a try in each half. Flyhalf Uale Mai scored and converted his own try after 28 minutes and flanker Alafoti Faosiliva touched down off a break by Uale Mai four minutes before fulltime. "What can you say? 100 points," Samoa captain Filipo Levi said. "It shows the All Blacks are on fire at the moment. They've showed in the Tri-Nations competition that they're a very consistent team. "For some of our boys it was a big step up from playing club rugby in Samoa but, having said that, it was a big learning curve." Flyhalf Daniel Carter converted six of the All Blacks' first-half tries, surpassing 2,000 points in first-class rugby, and his replacement Stephen Donald scored his first Test try and converted seven of New Zealand's eight second-half tries. The match was scheduled to help the All Blacks bridge the three-week gap between their most recent Tri-Nations clash with South Africa and their next, against Australia, at Brisbane on September 13. The Brisbane match will decide the outcome of the Tri-Nations tournament. Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.