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(CNN)Anthony Ray Hinton is thankful to be free after nearly 30 years on Alabama's death row for murders he says he didn't commit. And incredulous that it took so long. Hinton, 58, looked up, took in the sunshine and thanked God and his lawyers Friday morning outside the county jail in Birmingham, minutes after taking his first steps as a free man since 1985. He spoke of unjustly losing three decades of his life, under fear of execution, for something he didn't do. "All they had to do was to test the gun, but when you think you're high and mighty and you're above the law, you don't have to answer to nobody," Hinton told reporters. "But I've got news for you -- everybody that played a part in sending me to death row, you will answer to God." Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Laura Petro had ordered Hinton released after granting the state's motion to dismiss charges against him. Hinton was convicted of murder in the 1985 deaths of two Birmingham-area, fast-food restaurant managers, John Davidson and Thomas Wayne Vason. But a new trial was ordered in 2014 after firearms experts testified 12 years earlier that the revolver Hinton was said to have used in the crimes could not be matched to evidence in either case, and the two killings couldn't be linked to each other. "Death Row Stories": Hard questions about the U.S. capital punishment system . The state then declined to re-prosecute the case. Hinton was 29 at the time of the killings and had always maintained his innocence, said the Equal Justice Initiative, a group that helped win his release. "Race, poverty, inadequate legal assistance, and prosecutorial indifference to innocence conspired to create a textbook example of injustice," Bryan Stevenson, the group's executive director and Hinton's lead attorney, said of his African-American client. "I can't think of a case that more urgently dramatizes the need for reform than what has happened to Anthony Ray Hinton." Stevenson said the "refusal of state prosecutors to re-examine this case despite persuasive and reliable evidence of innocence is disappointing and troubling." Amnesty report: Executions down but death sentences on the rise . Dressed in a dark suit and blue shirt, Hinton praised God for his release, saying he was sent "not just a lawyer, but the best lawyers." He said he will continue to pray for the families of the murder victims. Both he and those families have suffered a miscarriage of justice, he said. "For all of us that say that we believe in justice, this is the case to start showing, because I shouldn't have (sat) on death row for 30 years," he said. Woman who spent 22 years on death row has case tossed . Hinton was accompanied Friday by two of his sisters, one of whom still lives in the Birmingham area. Other siblings will fly to the area to see him soon, Stevenson said. His mother, with whom he lived at the time of his arrest, is no longer living, according to the lawyer. Hinton planned to spend at least this weekend at the home of a close friend. He will meet with his attorneys Monday to start planning for his immediate needs, such as obtaining identification and getting a health checkup, Stevenson said. The plan now is to spend a few weeks to get oriented with freedom and "sort out what he wants to do," Stevenson said.

Anthony Ray Hinton goes free Friday, decades after conviction for two murders . Court ordered new trial in 2014, years after gun experts testified on his behalf . Prosecution moved to dismiss charges this year .

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(CNN)Blues legend B.B. King was hospitalized for dehydration, though the ailment didn't keep him out for long. King's dehydration was caused by his Type II diabetes, but he "is much better," his daughter, Claudette King, told the Los Angeles Times. The legendary guitarist and vocalist released a statement thanking those who have expressed their concerns. "I'm feeling much better and am leaving the hospital today," King said in a message Tuesday. Angela Moore, a publicist for Claudette King, said later in the day that he was back home resting and enjoying time with his grandchildren. "He was struggling before, and he is a trouper," Moore said. "He wasn't going to let his fans down." No more information on King's condition or where he was hospitalized was immediately available. B.B. is short for Blues Boy, part of the name he used as a Memphis disc jockey, the Beale Street Blues Boy. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and has 30 Grammy nominations. King, 89, has used various models of Gibson guitars over the years, and named each one of them Lucille. In the 1980s, Gibson officially dropped the model number on the guitar he used last and most. It became a custom-made signature model named Lucille, manufactured exclusively for the "King of the Blues." Some of his hits include "The Thrill Is Gone," which won him his first Grammy in 1970, "There Must be a Better World Somewhere" and "When Love Comes to Town," a collaboration with U2. Last year, the bluesman suffered from dehydration and exhaustion after a show in Chicago, forcing him to cancel the remainder of his tour. CNN's Greg Botelho and Sonya Hamasaki contributed to this report.

B.B King is now out of the hospital and back at home . Bluesman suffered from dehydration and exhaustion after a 2014 show in Chicago . B.B. is short for Blues Boy, part of the name he used as a Memphis disc jockey .

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(CNN)Anyone who has given birth -- or been an observer of the event -- knows how arduous it can be. But to do it live on the Internet? With two hooves sticking out for several minutes in the midst of labor? Luckily, Katie -- a giraffe at the Dallas Zoo -- is a champ. In an hour-long labor captured by 10 cameras and streamed live by Animal Planet, Katie gave birth to a not-so-little baby (about 6 feet tall) early Friday evening. There was no immediate word on the newborn's gender or condition. But there were good signs, as seen on the live stream and Dallas Zoo's Twitter feed -- like its ears moving, its efforts to stand, and its nursing (or at least trying to nurse) from mom. "We're so proud," the zoo tweeted. The newcomer's debut was a long time coming, especially when you count for Katie's 15-month gestation period -- average for a giraffe, according to Animal Planet. The baby joins a sister, 4-year-old calf Jamie. It wasn't immediately known how many people online saw Katie go into labor and give birth. But the giraffe definitely did have watchers in the form of fellow giraffes who saw the scene unfold from an abutting barn, one of them being Katie's BFF Jade. The fact that the spunky Katie held up so well under the spotlight isn't a total shocker. The zoo describes her as the "diva" among a herd of 12 giraffes at the zoo who loves to "toss her head around" when she doesn't like something. As Animal Planet noted, "She's one of the only giraffes at the Dallas Zoo who can stick her long tongue out on cue." CNN's Justin Lear contributed to this report.

Animal Planet captures Katie the giraffe's labor and delivery . The new baby wiggles its ears, rises, tries to nurse from its mom .

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(CNN)Do you remember the talk about plans for Iraqi-led force to try to take back Mosul this spring? Well, you might want to forget it. Nearly three months after a U.S. official said up to 25,000 Iraqis troops were expected to return to the key northern Iraqi city in April or May, a senior official in President Barack Obama's administration said Thursday that Washington is "not putting a timeframe on" a possible invasion. It "might be some time from now. Might be soon," another senior administration official said. Mosul has long been the big prize in the Iraqi government's fight -- aided by a U.S.-led military coalition, which has carried out airstrikes for months -- to defeat ISIS. It has also long been a source of embarrassment, considering how it fell after Iraqi troops dropped their weapons, abandoned their posts and ran for their lives when militants arrived last June. The senior administration officials who talked to reporters Thursday stressed the Iraqis and their allies are making progress in their fight against the group that calls itself the Islamic State. In fact, officials insist that ISIS has been degraded substantially thanks to a combination of air power and ground combat. The biggest and most recent example of this came with the recapture a few weeks ago of Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein that is located some 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Iraqi forces aided by Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen took that northern city, the same place where ISIS allegedly massacred Iraqi troops last year. Still, Mosul isn't Tikrit. For one thing, it has a lot more people -- about a million, one Obama administration official noted. And it's more important not only to Iraq, but ISIS, meaning the terrorist group has all the more reason to go all-out to defend it. In some ways, the campaign for Mosul has begun, according to officials. There are no plans for U.S. combat troops involvement in an eventual operation, they say, but airstrikes have already targeted ISIS positions in the area. Just because the area has been softened up some from the air, though, doesn't mean a full ground assault is imminent. Calling for "patience," an administration official said that winning Mosul is a complex endeavor. It will "take a lot of capacity," the official said, "and some time to build."

U.S. official said in February that Iraqi troops could go into Mosul in April or May . Officials say now that there's no timetable, an invasion could come sooner or later . They note that recapturing Mosul from ISIS could be a complicated endeavor .

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(CNN)Where do you go from here? The fourth season of "Game of Thrones" saw massive battles, major deaths (Tywin!) and White Walkers, but what can fans expect Sunday as we head into a fifth season of one of the most popular shows in HBO history? It's the most high-profile premiere yet, airing simultaneously in 170 countries for the first time. (HBO is a Time Warner company, like CNN.) We sought out "Thrones" aficionado Doug Gross, a writer for Nerdwallet and a former CNN employee, who had a few thoughts on the matter (beware, TV fans, he has read the books). "We're going to start seeing some of the show's major story arcs coming together," Gross said (as confirmed by the executive producers). "Already, Stannis has shown up at the Wall to save Jon Snow and the rest of the Night's Watch from the wildlings," he said. "Now we'll see how his quest for the Iron Throne collides with the Watch's supposedly non-political role protecting the realm." Tyrion's path should cross with Daenerys' this season, according to the trailers. "Season five also will be unique in that some of the major story arcs will clearly be moving ahead of where George Martin is in the 'Song of Ice and Fire' books," Gross pointed out. Executive producer David Benioff told Rolling Stone, "We are starting to build to a crescendo, which means the battles have to get bigger and things have to get more dramatic." Indeed, this fifth season means we're past the halfway point, with the show currently set to end after seven years. The Stark daughters, Arya and Sansa, will be the characters to watch this season, as will Cersei. The world of Westeros is constantly plagued by war, but is there a time when people have just had enough? "Wars are waged by the nobles, but it's the common folk who suffer," Gross noted. "And, this season, we'll get a glimpse of what happens when those common people have had enough."

The smash hit series "Game of Thrones" returns for a fifth season Sunday . Major story arcs should start to converge this year .

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(CNN)A popular Chinese television host known for impromptu satire is now the subject of controversy after being caught on camera cursing the late Chairman Mao Zedong. Bi Fujian, who works for state-run China Central Television, was filmed at a dinner party singing a revolutionary song that eulogizes the Communist Party's early years when he started going off script. "The Communist Party, Chairman Mao. Don't mention that old son of a b***h. He made us suffer so bad," went Bi's improvised lyrics. The other dinner guests burst into laughter. Bi later apologized. "My personal speech has led to grave social consequences, and I feel remorseful for that. I hereby sincerely apologize to the public. As a public figure, I shall learn the lesson from this incident, adhering to strict self-discipline," he posted on Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platform. Making disrespectful references to China's leaders in public is considered a taboo in China, even today. And Bi's comment was directed at the man regarded by many as the country's founding father -- despite his controversial reputation. The 75-second video clip, seemingly filmed on the cellphone of another dinner guest, was uploaded on Monday. Since then, it has been removed from video-sharing sites inside China, although it was still accessible on Weibo. It's unclear when the incident occurred, or what the relationsip was between the camera person and Bi. CCTV said it would investigate. "As a CCTV presenter, Bi Fujian's speech in the online video has led to grave social consequences," the network said in a statement posted on its Weibo account. CCTV did not respond to a CNN request for comment. Fondly known as "Grandpa Bi," the 56-year-old TV personality was born and grew up in the Mao era. The song Bi riffed on was part of a "red" Peking opera that was first performed in the late 1950s. It was popularized during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s -- which was launched by Mao -- when China was torn apart by violence and social unrest. The video quickly divided China's online community. Critics said Bi, as an influential public figure, deserved a harsh punishment. But others rushed to his defense, arguing that Bi was simply enjoying himself in a private setting and was set up by whoever uploaded the clip. The video also emerged just a day before the new head of CCTV started his job, leading some to wonder if it were a case of "a new broom sweeps clean." Mao still divides opinion in China. His giant portrait hangs on Beijing's Tiananmen Gate, and thousands flock to see his embalmed body at his mausoleum in Tiananmen Square in the heart of the Chinese capital. But despite this reverence, Mao's is a deeply flawed legacy. Many remember him as a brutal dictator who inspired fear, paranoia and famine, and whose actions resulted in tens of millions of deaths. CNN's Shen Lu contributed to this report.

Bi apologizes on social media: "My personal speech has led to grave social consequences" Chinese TV star filmed cursing the late Chairman Mao Zedong . Making disrespectful references to China's leaders in public is still taboo .

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(CNN)Rebekah Gregory blinked back tears as she thought about the verdict. It had been almost two years since Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother planted bombs at the Boston Marathon, setting off deadly explosions that wounded her and hundreds of others. In court last month, she testified that one of the blasts on that day in 2013 left her lying in the street, staring at her own bones. Now, jurors have found him guilty on all 30 counts he faced for the deadly bombings and their aftermath. But no verdict can ever totally make up for the pain, she said. "I don't believe that there will ever be justice brought to this, no mater if he does get the death penalty or he remains in prison for the rest of his life," she said, crying as she spoke to reporters outside her Texas home. "I do believe, however, that he should be held accountable for his actions. And I'm very thankful for each of the jury members that are making him do that." Gregory, who wrote a widely publicized letter to Tsarnaev after testifying, said the trial has left her and other victims reeling from a flood of emotions as they relive horrifying memories, but it's an important step. "Everything is being brought up again full force. Our lives will never ever be the same, but I hope with this we can move forward and remember that we are still here for a reason, that there's a bigger plan," she said. "I may be standing on one fake leg, but I'm standing here, stronger than ever, because someone tried to destroy me, and he failed." For Gregory and others who lived through the 2013 attack, Wednesday's verdict brought a mix of emotions, from triumphant vows to move forward, to expressions of gratitude, to debate over whether Tsarnaev should be sentenced to death. There were no outbursts inside the federal courthouse in Boston. In fact, there was barely any peripheral noise as people sat on the edges of their seats. As Tsarnaev fidgeted and scratched the back of his head, some survivors and victims' family members lowered their heads and dabbed tears. As CNN's Alexandra Field noted from inside the courtroom, "They've waited a long time for this." The family of Sean Collier, a 26-year-old police officer shot to death in his patrol car on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, were terrorists who "failed monumentally" in striking fear in people. "While today's verdict can never bring Sean back, we are thankful that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be held accountable for the evil that he brought to so many families," the Collier family said in a written statement. To Richard "Dic" Donohue, an MBTA police officer left in a pool of blood after being wounded in a shootout with the Tsarnaevs in Watertown, the verdicts show that "as a society, ... terrorism will not prevail, and we will hold those accountable for their acts against our nation." "Justice has been served today," Donahue tweeted. Survivor Karen Brassard said she needed to attend the trial to help her heal. She doesn't believe Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's brother Tamerlan, now dead, persuaded him to take part in the plot, as the defense contended. Dzhokhar, in her view, was "all in." "Obviously we are grateful for the outcome today," Brassard tolder reporters. "It's not a happy occasion, but it's something that we can put one more step behind us." That sense of turning the page was echoed by Bruce Mendelsohn, who is among those who rushed to save lives at the marathon finish line. The verdicts mean that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is no longer a bombing suspect -- he is now officially a "convicted killer." You can't call it celebration. But there is a newfound peace of mind, at least, in and around Boston. This was a community that suffered greatly after the bombing and subsequent manhunt. And they got through it by rallying around each other, a deep bond reflected in the mantra "Boston Strong." That feeling was reaffirmed all around the city by Wednesday's verdict. And it's evident in people like Heather Abbott, who lost her left leg below the knee. Since then, she's become a living example of someone who wasn't stopped by the terror -- learning not only to walk again, but to run again. "Nothing can ever replace the lives that were lost or changed forever," Abbott said Wednesday on Facebook. "But at least there is some relief in knowing that justice is served and responsibility will be taken." That view was commonly shared. For those hurt -- physically, mentally, emotionally -- by the horrors of 2013, Wednesday was key to their progression. But it's not the end of the road. Just ask Jeff Bauman. The picture of him, bloodied, being rushed through the streets of Boston by good Samaritan Carlos Arredondo, became a symbol of the carnage and heroism from this attack. Even after losing both his legs, Bauman has become a symbol since of resilience -- moving on with his life, by marrying and fathering a child. On Wednesday, Bauman said the verdict "will never replace the lives that were lost and so dramatically changed." "But it is a relief," he added, "and one step closer to closure." CNN's Ann O'Neill and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.

Survivor Jeff Bauman stresses "we will never replace the lives that were lost" A man who was at the finish line is glad Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is now a "convicted killer" "Justice has been served today," says a once wounded police officer .

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(The Hollywood Reporter)Richard Dysart, the Emmy-winning actor who portrayed the cranky senior partner Leland McKenzie in the slick, long-running NBC drama "L.A. Law," has died. He was 86. Dysart, who also played Coach in the original 1972 Broadway production of Jason Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winning "That Championship Season," died Sunday at home in Santa Monica after a long illness, his wife, artist Kathryn Jacobi, told The Hollywood Reporter. The acclaimed "L.A. Law" — created by Steven Bochco (who eventually handed off the series to David E. Kelley) and Terry Louise Fisher — aired for eight seasons from 1986 to 1994. For playing the founder of the firm McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak, Dysart was nominated for the Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for four straight years, finally winning the trophy in 1992. "I always had him in mind for that role," Bochco said in a 2002 interview with the Archive of American Television. "He's so avuncular. So I reached out to him. You know, Dick is sort of an old hippie. So he went into his closet and tried to find a lawyer outfit, and he came to meet us wearing a suit and tie. He was perfect." "We got together, mapped out the character's past to give us a basis from which to work, and it's all gone smoothly since then," Dysart said in a 1990 interview with The Seattle Times. "Sometimes I worry — it's all been going too well — a role I love to play in a series that's about as good as you can get. Something's wrong!" Perhaps Dysart's most memorable character arc on the show was when he was found in bed with power-hungry competitor Rosalind Shays (played by Diana Muldaur). He was one of the few actors to appear in every episode. Dysart's range of authority -figure parts ran right to the top. He limned Harry Truman in the CBS telefilm "Day One" and in the ABC miniseries "War and Remembrance," both of which aired in 1989, and he was Henry L. Stimson, the 33rd U.S. president's Secretary of War, in the 1995 HBO telefilm "Truman," starring Gary Sinise. Similarly, he played the Secretary of Defense in "Meteor" (1979). Hollywood Reporter: Most powerful people in N.Y. media . Dysart also performed extensively in the medical- (movie) field, performing enough doctor roles to, perhaps, qualify to practice. His two most memorable came in classic satires: in Paddy Chayevsky's scathing "The Hospital" (1971), starring George C. Scott (a good friend), and in "Being There" (1979), as Melvyn Douglas' doctor. He also was a doctor who died a gruesome death in John Carpenter's "The Thing" (1982) and a physician in such films as "The Terminal Man" (1974), "The Falcon and the Snowman" (1985) and "Warning Sign" (1985). Dysart portrayed J. Edgar Hoover in the 1993 USA telefilm "Marilyn & Bobby: Her Final Affair" and in Mario Van Peebles' "Panther" (1995). Dysart also excelled as cranky coots and shifty sorts. He portrayed a motel receptionist in Richard Lester's "Petulia" (1968); was the bad guy who battled Clint Eastwood in "Pale Rider" (1985); stood out as a power player in Oliver Stone's "Wall Street" (1987); and sold barbwire in "Back to the Future III" (1990). Dysart was born March 30, 1929, in Boston and raised in Maine. Following high school, he attended the Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine, for a year, served in the U.S. Air Force and attended Emerson College, where he graduated with a master's degree in speech communications. At the time, he was interested in a career in radio (he became fascinated with the medium in first grade, when he was bedridden for a year because of rheumatic fever) but was soon tempted by acting. He moved to New York on a whim and was able to land minor roles on TV and a part in an off-Broadway production of "The Iceman Cometh" opposite Jason Robards. In the mid-1960s, he joined the American Conservatory Theater and toured the country doing plays, then landed roles on Broadway in "All in Good Time," "The Little Foxes" and "A Place Without Doors." He received a Drama Desk Award for his performance in "That Championship Season." Hollywood Reporter: Q&A with Liz Smith . Dysart's credits include an eclectic array of movies, including "The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder" (1974), "The Day of the Locust" (1975), "The Hindenburg" (1975), "An Enemy of the People" (1978), "Prophecy" (1979), "Mask" (1985) and "Hard Rain" (1998). On television, he was top-notch in the telefilms "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" (1974), "The People vs. Jean Harris" (1981), as Dwight D. Eisenhower in "The Last Days of Patton" (1986) and as studio chief Louis B. Mayer in "Malice in Wonderland" (1985). Survivors also include his stepson Arie and daughter-in-law Jeannine Jacobi, mother-in-law Lenore, brother and sister-in-law Nadine and John Jacobi and grandchildren Abby and Levi. A private memorial is being planned. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, an outdoor theater in Topanga Canyon in the Los Angeles area. Dysart and Jacobi had a second home in the forests of British Columbia. He was lured out of retirement for his last onscreen appearance, the "L.A. Law" reunion telefilm of 2002. "They remain timely, with cases about points of law that are still current," he said of watching "L.A. Law" reruns in a 2002 interview with The Bangor Daily News. "[The show] was also one of the fathers of yuppiedom. It was very much of the times, and very Los Angeles. It holds up as well as any series I know." People we've lost in 2015 . ©2015 The Hollywood Reporter. All rights reserved.

Richard Dysart best known for Leland McKenzie in "L.A. Law" Dysart had many TV and film roles, including spots in "Being There" and "The Thing" Actor won Drama Desk award for performance in theatrical "That Championship Season"

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(CNN)The outlines of a nuclear deal with Iran are in place. Unfortunately, it seems like too many in President Barack Obama's administration have forgotten that the only reason this terrorist-supporting state came to the negotiating table in the first place was because of tough sanctions imposed by the U.S. Congress. Indeed, the reality is that President Obama is giving up enormous leverage in his nuclear deal with Iran -- and I worry we will lose it for good. Bleeding money, and faced with falling oil prices, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei gave his government rare permission to bargain with the "Great Satan" -- the United States. But just as U.S. and European sanctions were forcing Iran to the nuclear crossroads, President Obama has given Tehran an easy exit. For Khamenei, the "framework" announced last week looks like a win-win: He gets to keep his nuclear infrastructure, and in return gets billions of dollars in sanctions relief. Congress offered a better strategy when the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel, and I introduced a bill to hit Tehran with its toughest sanctions yet. Unfortunately, this bill -- which passed the House in a 400-20 vote -- was blocked in the Senate last year, despite the fact that it would have sharpened the Ayatollah's choice: Dismantle your nuclear weapons program or see your economy collapse. President Obama once had a tougher line, when in 2012 he said: "The deal we'll accept is they end their nuclear program. It's very straightforward." But the framework announced last week does nothing of the sort. Negotiated between Iran and the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, the framework concedes that Iran can maintain "a mutually defined enrichment program," operate thousands of centrifuges, and continue its research and development of nuclear technologies. The deal currently on the table would hand Tehran billions of previously sanctioned funds, filling the coffers of the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism, with strongholds in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. Meanwhile, the strictest restrictions on Iran's enrichment will expire in only 10 years, despite the President receiving a letter from 367 Members of Congress -- both Democrats and Republicans -- in which we insisted that "verifiable constraints on Iran's nuclear program must last for decades." The President admitted as much when he conceded that "in year 13, 14, 15, they have advanced centrifuges that enrich uranium fairly rapidly, and at that point the breakout times would have shrunk almost down to zero." But as bad as these concessions are, the most concerning aspect of the April 2 deal is that it lacks tough safeguards to stop Iran from cheating. The key question is this: Will the inspectors at the International Atomic Energy Agency be allowed to inspect these military sites without warning? Because if the IAEA cannot conduct "anytime, anywhere" inspections, Iran will be able to "sneak out" to a bomb. It has been done before. Remember, in 1994, when President Bill Clinton told us he had struck a deal with North Korea that would "make the United States, the Korean Peninsula, and the world safer"? President Clinton sounded a little too much like the current Secretary of State John Kerry, when he promised that the North Korea agreement "does not rely on trust" and that "compliance will be certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency." Twelve years after these assurances, North Korea detonated its first nuclear bomb. Iran could easily do the same. The best predictor of its future behavior is its past behavior -- between 2004 and 2009, the Iranian government built a huge centrifuge facility named Fordo under a mountain deep in the Iranian desert. Luckily for the world, Western intelligence agencies discovered Tehran's deception. But we cannot rely on such luck in the future, particularly when Iran still hasn't come clean about its history of secret weapons development and is still dodging basic questions from the IAEA. Let's not forget the other things Iran has been doing while its diplomats have been bargaining with the U.S. and its partners. While Iran was showing its friendly new face to the world, it has simultaneously been helping Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad kill his own people, training and funding the terrorist group Hezbollah, which aims to annihilate Israel, and supporting the Houthis, who started a civil war and overthrew the government in Yemen -- one of America's more reliable counterterrorism partners in the region. If President Obama is going to hand over billions of dollars to a regime that behaves like this, run by a man who publicly declares: "Death to America," it has to be a better deal. The framework we have before us keeps Iran's nuclear door well and truly open.

Ed Royce: Best predictor of Iran's future behavior is its past behavior . New framework keeps Iran's nuclear door well and truly open, he says .

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(CNN)The VII Summit of the Americas was supposed to be all about the symbolic handshake between the United States and Cuba. But insert Venezuela into the mix and Panama City, Panama, quickly turns into a "triangle of tension." Heads of state from 35 countries in the Western Hemisphere have met every three years to discuss economic, social or political issues since the creation of the summit in 1994. Cuba has historically been the wrench in the diplomatic machinery, with some Latin American leaders threatening not to attend the Summit of the Americas if the United States and Canada didn't agree to invite President Raul Castro. The tide changed December 17, 2014, when President Barack Obama and Castro announced that more than five decades of Cold War rivalry was ending. Diplomats from both countries immediately began negotiations to establish embassies in Havana and Washington, and the attention immediately focused on the Summit of the Americas, where for the first time since the about-face, Obama and Castro would come face-to-face. The much anticipated handshake between Obama and Castro would steal all the headlines if it wasn't for Cuba's strongest ally, Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro recently accused the United States of trying to topple his government and banned former President George Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and Senators Bob Menendez and Marco Rubio from entering Venezuela. "They can't enter Venezuela because they're terrorists," Maduro said, blaming the American politicians for what he called terrorist actions in Iraq, Syria and Vietnam. The U.S. State Department said the allegations of U.S. involvement in a coup plot against Maduro were "baseless and false." Later, Obama issued an executive order sanctioning seven Venezuelan officials for human rights violations and saying the country was a "threat to national security." White House officials said every executive order includes that language, but it has sparked a fiery response from Maduro, who has been collecting millions of signatures demanding the repeal of the order. He also asked for repeal in full-page ads in The New York Times and in a Panama City newspaper. Maduro didn't stop there; he has been rallying other Latin American leaders, including Bolivian President Evo Morales, Ecuador's Rafael Correa and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega. But perhaps most damning for the United States -- and creating the "triangle of tension" at the summit -- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has sided publicly with Maduro. "We reiterate our strong condemnation of the unacceptable and unjustifiable unilateral sanctions imposed against the sister nation of Venezuela and the continued foreign interference with the purpose of creating a climate of instability in that sister nation. We ratify our firmest support to the Bolivarian Revolution and the legitimate government headed by President Nicolás Maduro," Rodriguez said. While the world watches for the photo-op of Obama and Castro, it's unclear if more Latin American diplomats will side with Maduro, and for America, the VII Summit of the Americas could go from "mi casa es su casa" to a walk into the lion's den.

U.S., Venezuelan relations threaten to overshadow Obama, Castro meeting . Venezuelan President says United States moved to oust him; he has the support of the Cuban foreign minister .

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Waterloo, Iowa (CNN)Martin O'Malley and Jim Webb share little in common. Both Democrats are toying with a presidential run, both are facing long odds in that endeavor, and both shared a stage at the Polk County Democrats Awards Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday night. But, as was evident at the dinner, that is where the similarities end. O'Malley is a former mayor and Maryland governor who seems most at home when he is pressing the flesh at events and introducing himself to anyone who would extend their hand. Webb, on the contrary, is a decorated Vietnam War veteran and former senator from Virginia who comes across as more stoic and, at times, uncomfortable with retail politics. Before the event, O'Malley confidently cruised the union hall. He took selfies with young environmental activists and chatted with sometimes tepid supporters who admitted their other political allegiances. "It is a marathon, not a sprint," one man told O'Malley, a nod to his long odds in the 2016 Democratic nomination process. "Yes, it is; it's a marathon," O'Malley responded. "Welcome to Iowa," said another man. "We hope to see you here more." O'Malley smiled, "Thanks a lot. I hope you do, too." Webb wasn't nearly as active, opting instead to stay close to his seat near the front of the venue and chat with a small group of people around him. As Webb cut into his sizable helping of pork, O'Malley was standing directly behind him, shaking hands. The former Virginia senator, after possibly seeing O'Malley making the rounds, did stand up and shake hands with a few of the diehard Democratic activists in the room. "Seven months old," Zach Smith, a new father, said of his baby boy, Noah. "I have a bunch of kids. The youngest one is 8 years old," Webb said. The baby looked up at the senator. "He is pretty calm," Webb remarked, himself calm. Despite coming from bordering states, Webb and O'Malley don't know each other. When they passed each other in a Des Moines hotel lobby on Friday morning, it was the first time the two had met. That said, the two Democrats find themselves in the same position. Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state who is set to announce her presidential bid Sunday, leads every national and state poll of the Democratic field. She has begun to build a sizable staff and is expected to have massive amounts of money to win the nomination. O'Malley and Webb are both looking up at her. In a March CNN/ORC poll (PDF) of national Democrats, only 1% said O'Malley and Webb were their top choice. In a January poll from Bloomberg Politics and the Des Moines Register (PDF), O'Malley was at 1% among Iowa Democrats, while Webb found himself at 3%. The speaking portion of the night further showed Webb and O'Malley's differences. Webb, who spoke before the governor, gave a more subdued, biographical speech that mentioned three areas he would focus on if he ran for president: Basic governance, economic justice and criminal justice reform. To the approval of the audience, Webb promised to come back to Iowa regularly. "I am committing to you right now," he said, "we are going to go over the whole state." And the biggest applause came near the end of his speech, when he urged his party to get back to talking about issues. "Money is ruining our political process," Webb said to a chorus of applause and "hear hear." O'Malley, on the other hand, gave a speech littered with intentional applause lines. At points, the governor would deliberately stop to allow for the silence to be filled with clapping hands. "When the American Dream is denied, our lives shrink, our hopes fade, and our days unfold not in the light of possibility but in the darkness of fear," O'Malley said, delivering the same stump speech he usually gives. "To make the dream true again, we must fight for better wages for all workers, so that Americans can support their families on what they earn." As the event wound down, Webb and O'Malley stuck around to shake more hands and meet people. O'Malley, who spent the previous day in Iowa, left Friday night for New York. Webb, who is in the midst of a four-day trip to Iowa, stayed in Des Moines and headlined a veterans event on Saturday morning in Waterloo. Webb regularly speaks about his service and appeared more at home at the event. He told war stories with young and old veterans and spoke at length about how the government could be doing more for veterans. He also touted his work on passing the 21st Century G.I. Bill of Rights, a 2008 act that expanded education benefits for veterans, and stressed that more needed to be done. "You want the next greatest generation, give them the same opportunity the the greatest generation had," Webb said to applause. "If you really want to thank them, hire a vet." After the event, Webb shook hands with people veterans who told stories about dropped benefits and problems with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He occasionally smiled and thanked people for coming on a sunny Saturday morning. Asked whether he enjoys the retail politics that is crucial in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire, Webb smiled. Skepticism of retail politics is not new for Webb. As a one-term Democratic senator, Webb was rumored to loathe the burdens that came with campaigning, namely fundraising and retail politics. This time, he put on a rosy view. "This is the good part of it, "Webb said, with a laugh. "Talking to the media, that is not always the good part."

There are few similarities between Democrats Martin O'Malley and Jim Webb . But they find themselves in a similar position as long-shot presidential hopefuls .

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(CNN)Mullah Mohammed Omar is "still the leader" of the Taliban's self-declared Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. That appears to be the primary message of a biography, just published by the Taliban, of the reclusive militant who is credited with founding the group in the early 1990s. The Taliban's "Cultural Commission" released the 11-page document in several different translations on the movement's website, ostensibly to commemorate the 19th anniversary of an April 4, 1996, meeting in Afghanistan's Kandahar province when an assembly of Afghans swore allegiance to Omar. Several Afghan observers say the biography is aimed at dispelling rumors of Omar's demise. "There have been a lot of rumors lately about him. Some people are saying that he is not alive," said Sayyed Muhammad Akbar Agha, a former Taliban insider who has written an autobiography about his days with the movement. "I think the Taliban thought it was an important time to release his biography to give assurances that he is alive and present," Agha told CNN in a telephone interview. Bergen: Why U.S. must stay in Afghanistan past 2016 . The biography also appears to be an attempt to remind the world of the Afghan's jihadi leadership credentials, at a time when ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has declared himself "caliph" of the world's Muslims. "The Taliban has a huge leadership problem at a critical political moment," said Graeme Smith, a Kabul-based analyst for the International Crisis Group. "Another caliph has announced himself to the world, and the Taliban has been silent. And that is getting noticed by militants across South Asia." Omar was famously camera-shy during the Taliban's six-year rule over most of Afghanistan. To this day, there are only a handful of photographs of the one-eyed leader. "He never was actively involved in any of these propaganda campaigns. No publicity. No interviews. He never used the Internet," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Pakistani journalist and expert on Afghanistan who once interviewed Osama bin Laden. Omar then all but disappeared after a U.S.-led bombing campaign routed the Taliban from Kabul in 2001. Washington has offered a $10 million reward for his capture. The Taliban have released written statements purportedly made by the leader-in-hiding. But years without any video or audio recordings of the fugitive have led to growing speculation that Omar may have died. The biography challenges rumors of Omar's death by offering a description of his daily work schedule, which begins with prayers, study of the Quran, and then delivering "orders in a specific way to his Jihadi commanders." The publication also seeks to fill in some of the gaps about the militant's early years, including the detail that his "preferred weapon of choice" was the RPG-7, a rocket-propelled grenade. According to the biography, Omar was born in 1960 in a village called Chah-i-Himmat in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. His father, a "well-known and respected erudite and social figure," died only five years later, apparently of natural causes. Omar studied at a religious school, or madrassa, run by his uncle. The rise of the Communist Party in Afghanistan, and the subsequent 1979 Soviet invasion, interrupted the young man's studies and propelled him into the arms of the armed Afghan opposition known as the mujahedeen. For the next decade, Omar commanded rebel groups "against the invading Russians and their internal communist puppets," according to the biography. Along the way, he was wounded a number of times and was blinded in his right eye. In one battle, the biography claims, Omar and a fighter named Mullah Biradar Akhund destroyed four Soviet tanks, even though they were armed with only four RPG rounds. The Taliban biography makes no mention of the fact that the U.S., allied with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, helped arm and bankroll the mujahedeen until the Soviet army withdrew in defeat in 1989. Afghan historians have documented the rapid rise of the Taliban in the chaotic years after the communist government in Kabul collapsed in 1992. The movement of warriors who identified themselves as religious scholars emerged to bring order to a country being ripped apart by rival mujahedeen warlords who battled one another for power. The Taliban biography says that Omar and his compatriots "launched their struggle and fight against corruption and anarchy" after an initial meeting in Kandahar in June 1994. Two years later, the Taliban captured Kabul and began imposing its austere interpretation of Islamic law on the rest of the country. While the document denounces the Taliban's post-9/11 overthrow at the hands of a U.S.-backed coalition of rival Afghan fighters, it makes no mention of the Taliban's alliance with bin Laden and al Qaeda. During a decade in exile, the Saudi-born bin Laden continued to release periodic video and audio statements until he was killed by U.S. raid on his hideout in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in 2011. Though Taliban militants have continued to battle the U.S.-backed government across Afghanistan, Omar has not been seen or heard from in years. The movement claims he continues to oversee a Taliban leadership council, judiciary and nine executive commissions, as well as military commanders who operate in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Exclusive: ISIS 'recruits Afghans' in chilling video . CNN's Masoud Popalzai contributed to this report from Kabul, Afghanistan.

Mullah Omar, the reclusive founder of the Afghan Taliban, is still in charge, a new biography claims . An ex-Taliban insider says there have been rumors that the one-eyed militant is dead .

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(CNN)#UporDown? That's the trending question on social media, thanks to a photo of a cat coming down some stairs. Or is it going up some stairs? (And you thought you were done with this kind of optical illusion free-for-all after #TheDress.) The picture was apparently uploaded on Imgur a few days ago and has caught fire thanks to a post on the website 9gag.com. Some people are noting the apparent motion of the cat. Others are commenting about the construction of the stairs. (Nobody has mentioned that some cats we could name would be more likely to stop in the middle of the steps and play with a mousie.) Of course, where there's public debate, there are advertisers waiting to take advantage of the situation. Taxes? Now, those are REALLY confusing.

The Internet is raging about a cat going #UporDown . The debate is fueled by an optical illusion photo . The story brings to mind the furor over #TheDress .

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(CNN)Tornado sirens blared Wednesday night in Kansas as several storms brought reports of twisters. Spotters reported a tornado about 6 miles northwest of Goddard, which is less than 15 miles west of Wichita. That storm moved to the northeast, missing the city, but posing potential risks to other communities. "There will be storms ... that pop up all night long," said CNN severe weather expert Chad Myers. "Nighttime tornadoes are the most deadly, are the most dangerous." Other reports of tornadoes came in from southwestern Kansas, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Three of the sightings were near Aetna, 125 miles southwest of Wichita. Kansas wasn't the only state affected by the storms. The National Weather Service indicated a tornado may have touched down in the small town of Potosi, Missouri, about 70 miles from St. Louis. CNN affiliate KMOV reported that it had received reports of wind damage and flooding in the town. One Instagram user there posted a photo of a fallen tree. Aerial footage also showed damage to roofs and one street overtaken by water. Not far away from Potosi, Shyler and Christin Strube in Leadington posted an Instagram picture of some unusual dark clouds. And a Twitter user in Farmington got bad news when he went out to his car. "They weren't kidding when they said baseball size (hail)," Kevin Knox wrote. On Thursday, more storms are expected in the Midwest, Mississippi River Valley, Tennessee River Valley and near the southern Great Lakes, the weather service said. CNN's Sean Morris and AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report.

Kansas spotters report at least four tornadoes . Potosi, Missouri, sees wind damage to roofs and some flooding . Thursday's forecast calls for more storms but to the east .

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(CNN)I remember the day I stopped praying. It was the day after my little brother, Jimmy, died of cancer. He was 25. I was so angry at God. I was 27 at the time, and, like most young people I had stopped going to church. But, on that day -- that terrible day -- I desperately needed to understand why God took my brother. I called the nearest Catholic church, looking for a priest. A lady picked up the phone. "Can I talk with Father?" I asked. I wish I could say her answer was "yes." Instead, she asked me if I was a member of that particular parish. "Does it matter?" I asked. (At the time I lived far from my home parish.) I don't remember how she responded, but the answer about my being able to see Father was clearly no. I don't know if all Catholic churches would have shut me out, but I figured, at the time, it was part of the long list of rules the Vatican required Catholic leaders to follow. I cried for a bit, then decided I would never ask God for anything. Clearly, his conduits on Earth did not have time for me -- a lifelong Catholic -- and sinner -- so why would he? Ever since, I've considered myself a lapsed Catholic. Until Pope Francis. There is something about Francis that's reawakened my faith. And it's not because he opened the floodgates to allow sin in the eyes of the church. He still argues against things I passionately support, but I find myself -- like many other lapsed Catholics -- enthralled. Recently I had the pleasure of meeting one of the Pope's newly appointed cardinals. His name is Cardinal Gerald Lacroix. The 57-year-old presides at the Basilica Cathedral of Notre Dame in Quebec City. One of my first questions: What is it about Pope Francis? "Every person is a mystery you know. ... But what's evident is this man is living with such freedom, such inner freedom. He's himself. He's in tune with the Lord," Lacroix told me. "Those close to him say he's up close to 4 in the morning to prepare his daily Mass, which is at 7 in the morning on the weekdays. So that's almost three hours of prayer, preparation and silence before the Lord and the word of God. Wow, that really fine-tunes you to start off a day." Perhaps that's how the Pope stays humble. Why he defies tradition and washes the feet of the disabled, women and those of other faiths. Why he ordered showers to be built for the poor in St. Peter's Square. All of this is appealing, but it's more than that. In my mind, it's his tone. When Pope Francis said, "If a person is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" The comment took me aback. Homosexuality has long been a taboo subject for the Vatican, yet Pope Francis uttered those welcoming words. Lacroix likened the Pope's approach to Jesus. "Jesus didn't judge. Jesus did not come as a judge. He came as someone who preached and talked about the love of God." Those kinds of answers are so different in my experience, but I understand why more conservative Catholics worry. If the Pope does not judge, then who will tell us who is a sinner and who is not? "I hear that sometimes, too," Lacroix told me. "I think Pope Francis is conservative in the right way. You have to be conservative enough to come back to what is the foundation: that's the Gospel. You cannot reproach Pope Francis of not living the Gospel, or not preaching the truth of the Gospel." But isn't homosexuality a sin in the eyes of the church? "There is room for everyone. The door is open," Cardinal Lacroix insisted. "Of course you know that the Catholic Church will never promote same sex marriage, but do we respect homosexual persons? Do we welcome them? Do we accompany them? Of course. But to respect the Church and its teaching, which is based on a long tradition and also the word of God, we will not go so far as to bless. But that doesn't mean we reject." That last sentiment -- "that doesn't mean we reject." -- did it for me. I finally understood why Pope Francis reawakened my faith. I always felt my church would reject me for committing the smallest of sins. Like calling a priest at a church that was not my home parish. Like not covering my head with a traditional veil at Easter. Like accidentally eating meat on Holy Friday. Like supporting the use of contraception. But as Lacroix told me, Jesus walked with sinners until the very end. He did not banish them to fires of hell, for He refused to give up on anyone. The Cardinal's last words to me: "I'm trying to do my best on (the) local level -- to have an open ear to what the church and world are experiencing. To see how we can today respond to those needs. I want people to see me, and the church, as an open heart to grow together. Not a church that's imposing -- we have nothing to impose -- we have someone to propose: the Lord Jesus and his Gospel." I can't wait to go church next Sunday. And, yes, I will bow my head and pray for forgiveness, and if I'm worthy, Christ's love.

There is something about Pope Francis that's reawakened her faith, say CNN's Carol Costello . Meeting Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec showed how the Pope is putting people in place to carry out his new vision, Costello writes .

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New York (CNN)When Liana Barrientos was 23 years old, she got married in Westchester County, New York. A year later, she got married again in Westchester County, but to a different man and without divorcing her first husband. Only 18 days after that marriage, she got hitched yet again. Then, Barrientos declared "I do" five more times, sometimes only within two weeks of each other. In 2010, she married once more, this time in the Bronx. In an application for a marriage license, she stated it was her "first and only" marriage. Barrientos, now 39, is facing two criminal counts of "offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree," referring to her false statements on the 2010 marriage license application, according to court documents. Prosecutors said the marriages were part of an immigration scam. On Friday, she pleaded not guilty at State Supreme Court in the Bronx, according to her attorney, Christopher Wright, who declined to comment further. After leaving court, Barrientos was arrested and charged with theft of service and criminal trespass for allegedly sneaking into the New York subway through an emergency exit, said Detective Annette Markowski, a police spokeswoman. In total, Barrientos has been married 10 times, with nine of her marriages occurring between 1999 and 2002. All occurred either in Westchester County, Long Island, New Jersey or the Bronx. She is believed to still be married to four men, and at one time, she was married to eight men at once, prosecutors say. Prosecutors said the immigration scam involved some of her husbands, who filed for permanent residence status shortly after the marriages. Any divorces happened only after such filings were approved. It was unclear whether any of the men will be prosecuted. The case was referred to the Bronx District Attorney's Office by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security's Investigation Division. Seven of the men are from so-called "red-flagged" countries, including Egypt, Turkey, Georgia, Pakistan and Mali. Her eighth husband, Rashid Rajput, was deported in 2006 to his native Pakistan after an investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force. If convicted, Barrientos faces up to four years in prison. Her next court appearance is scheduled for May 18.

Liana Barrientos, 39, re-arrested after court appearance for alleged fare beating . She has married 10 times as part of an immigration scam, prosecutors say . Barrientos pleaded not guilty Friday to misdemeanor charges .

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Washington (CNN)Washington was rocked late Thursday by shootings -- one at the gates of the U.S. Census Bureau's headquarters and another in a popular area packed with restaurant patrons. The shootings were connected, authorities said. They began with what authorities believe was a domestic kidnapping incident, according to D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier. The suspect's vehicle was spotted outside the Census Bureau, which is in Suitland, Maryland. A guard apparently approached the vehicle and saw two people arguing. That guard was then shot at least once in the upper body, said Prince George's County Fire Department spokesman Mark Brady. The guard was in extremely critical condition, according to Brady. The police chief said the suspect then fled the scene. Officers picked up the chase, and the suspect fired gunshots at multiple locations, Lanier said. The chase ended in a crash on Washington's busy H Street. A shootout ensues, Lanier said. An officer and the suspect were wounded, according to the police chief. Both were conscious and talking when they left the scene. "Right now, we have every reason to believe that the car that we have in this last incident here is the same car involved and the same person involved in the kidnapping," she said. Lanier told reporters the kidnapping victim was located and is in good condition. She did not identify the suspect, nor the guard, nor the officer who were injured. Steve Brusk reported from Washington. Dana Ford wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Greg Botelho also contributed to this report.

Authorities believe the two shootings are connected . A suspect leads police on a wild chase, firing at multiple locations . A Census Bureau guard is in critical condition, a fire official says .

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(CNN)An Amnesty International report is calling for authorities to address the number of attacks on women's rights activists in Afghanistan. The report, entitled "Their Lives on the Line," examines the persecution of activists and other champions of women's rights not only by the Taliban and tribal warlords, but also by government officials. Its publication is timely. The brutal murder of Farkhunda, a young woman in Afghanistan, whose body was burnt and callously chucked into a river in Kabul, shocked the world. Accused of burning pages from the Muslim holy book, the Quran, many protested the 27-year-old's innocence. But what also made international headlines was the fact that for the first time in history, women in Afghanistan became pallbearers, hoisting the victim's coffin on their shoulders draped with headscarves, under the gazes of men; unreservedly sobbing and shouting messages of women's solidarity as they marched along the streets. In a country ranked in 2011 by a Thomson Reuters Foundation poll as the most dangerous place in the world for women, this feminist act seemed perilous. Latest figures suggest they were risking their lives to be heard. In 2013, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released statistics that showed the number of women killed in the country had increased by 20% from the previous year, although the number of civilian victims had decreased, said Amnesty in the report. The Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General in Afghanistan at the time, Jan Kubis, told the U.N. Security Council that "the majority (of women killed) is linked to domestic violence, tradition, culture of the country. "Women activists have been deliberately targeted." And according to the human rights group, little support has come from those in power. "The Afghan government has done very little to protect them," Amnesty's Afghanistan researcher, Horia Mosadiq, tells CNN. "Perpetrators almost always walk free, and threats reported by women rights defenders are often simply ignored. "Many women defenders we spoke to said that even when they received some protection from authorities, it was often significantly less than what male counterparts or colleagues were afforded." During the attack on Farkhunda, "many eyewitnesses have testified that police officers stood idly by while this woman was being lynched and killed," says Mosadiq. Twenty-six people were arrested and thirteen police officials suspended in connection with the attack, but she argues that this is insufficient. "Suspending police officers is not enough, those who failed in their duty must also be held to account -- anything less will just encourage further mob violence." But what is striking is the resilience of the activists, who continue their work despite their lives being on the line. "It was a remarkable moment," says Mosadiq, recalling the female protesters at Farkhunda's funeral. "Unlike anything I have seen in my decades of campaigning for women's rights in our country." Selay Ghaffer, 32, is a women's rights activist and spokesperson for the Solidarity Party of Afghanistan -- a small but outspoken political party based in Kabul and twenty provinces that fights for issues such as democracy, social justice and women's rights. The party was the first to be banned in the country for accusing Afghan leaders and commanders of war crimes and demanding that they be brought to justice. Taking part in Farkhunda's funeral and protests against her death, she tells CNN that despite the onslaught of violence against Afghan women over the years, this was the worst case. But the opportunity was taken to deliver a clear message. "So the women of Afghanistan showed that we will not keep silent anymore... And we are not ready to accept more brutality and violence against women," said Ghaffer. "So this is why we decided to carry the dead body of Farkhunda on our own shoulders and show to the world that not only men can do it and somehow broke the traditionalism that (a) man has to do this job." Surprisingly, she says that male onlookers supported their mission, although they are in the minority overall in the country. "Men (at the funeral), they said you have to do this, because this is how you can change the hatred in Afghanistan. "Without men, it is not possible for women to get their rights," she says. "So these men and women were working together. But at the same time, women need to step forward for their rights." Mosadiq says the fight for women's rights was established a while ago. "Women's activism in Afghanistan is nothing new -- the women's rights movement has grown substantially since 2001, and has fought for and achieved some very significant gains. "These gains are under threat now, however, and some are even rolled back. It's essential that the government and its international partners do not allow this to happen." Ghaffer herself has been subject to threats because of her work, received through emails and phone calls, at her home and office. But she says she knew what she was getting herself into. "I knew it wasn't an easy task. There might be many challenges and you have to lose your life when you are going and struggling for your rights. "As a woman, I want to struggle more (for my rights), I want to have more people around me, to struggle with me." Mosadiq says it is too soon to talk about a revolution, although the response to Farkhunda's killing, from both men and women, has been a "silver lining." Ghaffer, however, believes this is the beginning of an uprising -- but she says it needs to keep moving. Interestingly, it was a man in her life that motivated her to fight. "I must say strongly that it was my father (who inspired me), who is not any more with me, because he... died three months ago," she says. "He always told me that women always suffered in this country," she says, her voice overcome with emotion. "And you have to struggle for your rights. Because in this traditional, patriarchal society, nobody will give these rights (to) you." She realizes how lucky she is, she adds, in a society where she has witnessed men -- fathers and husbands -- oppressing women as opposed to being their role models. Ghaffer maintains that silence is an injustice to women, not least to the victim of the recent, horrific mob violence. "So if I should not do it, if another sister is not doing it, then who will do it? Who will get the rights for us? We have to struggle for it. "If we keep our silence, more Farkhundas will be killed in this country."

An Amnesty International report calls for attacks on women's rights activists in Afghanistan to be investigated . The report examines the persecution of activists not only by the Taliban and tribal warlords, but also by government officials . Some activists continue their work despite their lives being at risk .

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(CNN)The University of Michigan has decided to proceed with a screening of the film "American Sniper" despite objections from some students. More than 200 students signed a petition asking the school not to show the movie as part of UMix, a series of social events the university stages for students. Bradley Cooper was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL and the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. Kyle was fatally shot at a Texas shooting range in 2013. Some students believed the movie's depiction of the Iraq War reflected negatively on the Middle East and people from that region. Michigan's Detroit metropolitan area is home to the nation's largest Arab-American population. But there was a backlash to the decision to yank the movie, and a counter-petition asked school officials to reconsider. On Wednesday, E. Royster Harper, University of Michigan's vice president for student life, said in a statement that "It was a mistake to cancel the showing of the movie 'American Sniper' on campus as part of a social event for students" and that the show will go on. "The initial decision to cancel the movie was not consistent with the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression and our respect for the right of students to make their own choices in such matters," the statement said. UMix will offer a screening of the family-friendly "Paddington" for those who would rather not attend "American Sniper." The announcement drew praise from Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh.

Some complained about the film's depiction of the Iraq War . A petition asked the university not to show the Bradley Cooper film .

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New Delhi (CNN)An Indian software pioneer and nine others have been sentenced to seven years in jail for their role in what has been dubbed India's biggest corporate scandal in memory, police said. Ramalinga Raju, the former chairman of software services exporter Satyam Computers Services, was also fined $804,000, R.K. Gaur, a spokesman for India's Central Bureau of Investigation, told CNN. In 2009, Satyam Computers Services was at the center of a massive $1.6 billion fraud case after its then-chairman Raju admitted inflating profits with fictitious assets and nonexistent cash. Investigators say losses to investors resulting from the company's book manipulation were much higher. A special court convicted Raju and nine other people of cheating, criminal conspiracy, breach of public trust and other charges, said the Central Bureau of Investigation, which looked into the case. In the media, the case has been compared to the 2001 Enron Corp. scandal, in which a Houston energy company's earnings had been overstated by several hundred million dollars. When the scam made headlines, Satyam, which means "truth" in Sanskrit, was India's fourth-largest software services provider. It was serving almost 700 companies, including 185 Fortune 500 companies, and generated more than half of its revenue from the United States. The company had about 53,000 employees and operated in 65 countries. After Raju's shock disclosures six years ago, the Indian government fired Satyam's board. In a subsequent state-backed auction, the company was bought by Tech Mahindra, part of the country's Mahindra Group. A heavyweight of the nation's software industry, Raju, 60, has been in jail for the past 32 months. He had founded Satyam in 1987. His company made giant strides as the outsourcing business grew in India in the 1990s.

Satyam Computers Services was at the center of a massive $1.6 billion fraud case in 2009 . The software services exporter's chairman, Ramalinga Raju, admitted inflating profits . Satyam had been India's fourth-largest software services provider .

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(CNN)A 32-year-old Massachusetts man is facing murder charges, authorities said Wednesday, four days after another man's remains were found in a duffel bag. The Middlesex District Attorney's Office said that Carlos Colina, 32, will be arraigned the morning of April 14 for murder in connection with the remains discovered Saturday in Cambridge. Earlier this week, Colina was arraigned on charges of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and improper disposal of a body. A Middlesex County judge then revoked bail for Colina in another case he's involved in, for alleged assault and battery. The victim in that case is different from the one whose remains were found in recent days. Police were notified Saturday morning about a suspicious item along a walkway in Cambridge. Officers arrived at the scene, opened a duffel bag and found human remains. After that discovery, police say, a surveillance video led them to an apartment building, where more body parts were discovered in a common area. That location is near the Cambridge Police Department headquarters. The remains at both locations belonged to the same victim, identified Monday as Jonathan Camilien, 26. Camilien and Colina knew each other, according to authorities. "This was a gruesome discovery," District Attorney Marian Ryan said. CNN's Kevin Conlon contributed to this report.

Prosecutor: Carlos Colina, 32, will be arraigned on the murder charge next week . He's already been arraigned for alleged assault and battery, improper disposal of a body . Body parts were found in a duffel bag and a common area of an apartment building .

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(CNN)"Star Wars" fans will get more than they bargained for when the saga comes to digital HD on Friday. The collection of the first six "Star Wars" movies will also include many special features, some of which give fans a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the saga. One focus of the features will be the sound effects of the movies, including that of the insect-like Geonosians, as seen in "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones." 'Star Wars' universe gets its first gay character . In the exclusive first-look video, sound designer Ben Burtt explains which animals were used to capture the alien sounds made by the Geonosians. Take a look at the video above to find out. 'Star Wars' films available for digital download for first time .

The "Star Wars" digital collection is set for release this week . Special features include behind-the-scenes stories on the unique alien sounds from the movie .

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Washington (CNN)An Iranian military observation aircraft flew within 50 yards of an armed U.S. Navy helicopter over the Persian Gulf this month, sparking concern that top Iranian commanders might not be in full control of local forces, CNN has learned. The incident, which has not been publicly disclosed, troubled U.S. military officials because the unsafe maneuver could have triggered a serious incident. It also surprised U.S. commanders because in recent months Iranian forces have conducted exercises and operations in the region in a professional manner, one U.S. military official told CNN. "We think this might have been locally ordered," the official said. The incident took place as the U.S. and other world powers meet with Iran in Switzerland to negotiate a deal limiting Tehran's nuclear program. At the same time, Iran has been active in supporting proxies in several hotspots in the Persian Gulf and neighboring regions. The Navy MH-60R armed helicopter was flying from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson on a routine patrol in international airspace, the official said. An unarmed Iranian observation Y-12 aircraft approached. The Iranian aircraft made two passes at the helicopter, coming within 50 yards, before the helicopter moved off, according to the official. The official said the helicopter deliberately broke off and flew away in a 'predictable' manner so the Iranians could not misinterpret any U.S. intentions. The Navy helicopter was in radio contact with the ship during the encounter, but there was no contact between the two aircraft and no shots were fired. The Navy crew took photos of the incident but the military is not releasing them. The U.S. administration is considering a potential demarche protest against Iran, the official said. CNN has reached out to Iranian officials but has not received a response. This type of Iranian observation aircraft generally operates over the Gulf several times a month. But after the recent incident, U.S. naval intelligence did not see it again for two weeks, leading to the conclusion that the incident may have been ordered by a local commander who was then reprimanded by higher-ups. The Pentagon has noted for the last several years that most encounters with the Iranian military at sea or in air are conducted professionally, but that some missions run by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps forces have been too aggressive against U.S. forces in the area. The U.S. military's concern has been that one of these incidents could escalate into a military encounter. This incident "might have been buffoonery" the official said, but there is always a risk from such actions. The incident comes as the Navy patrols the Gulf of Aden to watch for Iranian ships the U.S. believes are trying to bring weapons to resupply the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Navy would share such intelligence with Saudi Arabia, a second U.S. official told CNN.

Iranian plane came within 50 yards of U.S. Navy Sea Hawk copter . Navy copter was on patrol in international airspace . U.S. official think Iranian plane may have been under orders of local commander .

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(CNN)When photographer Johan Bavman became a father for the first time, he took more than a passing wonder about how his native Sweden is said to be the most generous nation on Earth for parental leave. He immersed himself in fatherhood -- twice over, you might say. He used his photography to document the real-life experience of other fathers taking full advantage of Sweden's extraordinary program, which allows mothers and fathers to take long, long leaves from their careers so they can care for their newborns. Get this: Sweden grants a total of 480 calendar days of parental leave, with 390 of them paid at 80% of income, with a maximum of 3,160 euros a month or $3,474. The remaining 90 days are paid at a flat-rate benefit of 20 euros a day, or $22. But there's a catch. Fathers have to share that leave with mothers. So to promote both parents to raise their children, Sweden has mandated that 60 of the 480 days be "daddy months" or "partner months." If the 60 daddy days aren't used, they are lost, reducing the maximum leave to 420 days. The country also created a "gender equality bonus": the more days that parents share the leave equally, they get a bonus that could total up to 1,500 euros, or $1,649. The idea is for both parents to share the joys and struggles of raising infants. In reality, only 12% of Swedish couples equally share the 480 days of leave, Bavman said, with women continuing to lead the way as the stay-at-home parent and men as the careerist. Still, Bavman mused last summer about how the policy impacts those men who use the full measure of their parental leave. Social media . Follow @CNNPhotos on Twitter to join the conversation about photography. At first, Bavman had difficulty finding such men. But the fathers he did find and photograph, he captured their devotion in realistic imagery. "I realized while I was talking to these dads, these dads are struck by how important the bonding is between you and the children," said Bavman, who now has a 3-year-old son, Viggo, with partner Linda Stark, a freelance journalist. "I didn't want to bring out fathers as superdads," Bavman said. "I wanted to bring out these role models which people can connect to. "I want to have those dads who can also show their tiredness ... which comes with being home with your children. It's a hard full-time job. This is something that we have been taking for granted for hundreds of years. This is something that mothers have never been recognized for." He also found moments of humor, with one child nearly ripping apart the shirt of his busy father. The fathers have become more understanding of their wives and even their own mothers, Bavman said. Some are now considering a career change to accommodate their parenthood. "Being home nine months, they get time to think about their life," the photographer said. Bavman is looking for a total of 60 fathers to photograph, to culminate in an exhibition and a book. So far he's found 35 worthy of his lens. Johan Bavman is a freelance photographer based in Malmo, Sweden. From 2008-2011, he worked as a staff photographer at Sydsvenskan, one of Sweden's largest newspapers.

Johan Bavman photographed fathers in Sweden, which has generous parental leave . Sweden's policies encourage fathers to take just as much leave as mothers .

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(CNN)Craig Hicks, who is charged in the deaths of three Muslim college students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, earlier this year, can face the death penalty, a judge ruled Monday, according to CNN affiliates. Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson Jr. ruled that Hicks' case is "death penalty qualified," WRAL and WTVD reported. The 46-year-old was arrested February 10 in the deaths of Yusor Mohammad, 21, her 23-year-old husband, Deah Shaddy Barakat, and 19-year-old sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha. All three were shot in the head. Hicks, who was the victims' neighbor, turned himself in to police the night of the killings. The next week, he was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder and a count of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling. He had no prior criminal record, police said. Police said "an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking" might have been a factor in the shootings but also said they weren't dismissing the possibility of a hate crime. On what is believed to be Hicks' Facebook page, numerous posts rail against religion. The victims' family members have called on authorities to investigate the slayings as a hate crime. The U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement in February saying the department's Civil Rights Division, along with the the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of North Carolina and the FBI, have opened "a parallel preliminary inquiry" to determine whether any federal laws, including hate crime laws, were violated. "It has always been our position that Mr. Hicks should be held responsible for his actions to the full extent of the law. His killing of three college students was despicable, and now he must face the consequences of his actions," said Rob Maitland, an attorney for Hicks' wife. Karen and Craig Hicks are in the process of divorce.

Hicks is charged in the deaths of three Muslim college students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina . Victims' family members have called on authorities to investigate the slayings as a hate crime .

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(CNN)HBO just whetted our appetite for a new season of "True Detective." The network released a teaser video for season 2 of the critically acclaimed show, and it looks intense. Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch star in the new season, which premieres June 21. Here's the plot synopsis, according to Den of Geek: . "A bizarre murder brings together three law-enforcement officers and a career criminal, each of whom must navigate a web of conspiracy and betrayal in the scorched landscapes of California. Colin Farrell is Ray Velcoro, a compromised detective in the all-industrial City of Vinci, LA County. Vince Vaughn plays Frank Semyon, a criminal and entrepreneur in danger of losing his life's work, while his wife and closest ally (Kelly Reilly), struggles with his choices and her own. Rachel McAdams is Ani Bezzerides, a Ventura County Sheriff's detective often at odds with the system she serves, while Taylor Kitsch plays Paul Woodrugh, a war veteran and motorcycle cop for the California Highway Patrol who discovers a crime scene which triggers an investigation involving three law enforcement groups, multiple criminal collusions, and billions of dollars." Yes, please. The first season starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as a pair of Louisiana State Police detectives investigating the death of a young woman. The crime drama proved to be a runaway hit, and the season 1 finale crashed the HBO Go site in March 2014.

HBO released a teaser video for the new season, starting June 21 . The series stars Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn .

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(CNN)Lauren Hill, who took her inspirational fight against brain cancer onto the basketball court and into the hearts of many, has died at age 19. The Indiana woman's story became known around the world last year when she was able to realize her dream of playing college basketball. Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati successfully petitioned the NCAA to move up the opening game of its schedule to accommodate her desire to play. Hill died early Friday. At a ceremony honoring her life on the school's campus Friday afternoon, head coach Dan Benjamin said the toughest thing a coach has to deal with is a loss. The community had lost more than a player, he said. It lost a friend and a daughter. And it lost "an unselfish angel." "It's not often you get to celebrate a loss," he told the crowd as he struggled to hold in his tears. "But today we celebrate a victory on how to live a life, through Lauren Hill. (No.) 22 you will be missed and remembered by so many." An assistant coach read a quote from Hill: . "I encourage everyone to cherish every moment with no worry about the past or anxiety about the future. Because the next moment is never promised. Never leave anything unsaid. I have learned to see the blessings in every moment and through every struggle, no matter how tough it might be. Nothing holds me back from living my life and chasing my dreams. I always finish what I start and see it through to the end. Never give up on your dreams. Find something to fight for; I fight for others." Hill would go on to help raise $1.4 million for pediatric cancer research with the nonprofit group The Cure Starts Now. The organization called her a "worldwide inspiration." "Lauren captured the hearts of people worldwide with her tenacity and determination to play in her first collegiate basketball game with her Mount St. Joseph University team," the group said on Facebook. People we've lost in 2015 . Mount St. Joseph University President Tony Artez said Hill's "love and laughter will remain in our hearts." "We are forever grateful to have had Lauren grace our campus with her smile and determined spirit," Artez said in a statement. "She has left a powerful legacy. She taught us that every day is a blessing, every moment a gift." Her principal at Lawrenceburg High School, Bill Snyder, announced her death to students Friday morning. "Lauren's message was constantly positive," he told CNN. "We all need to work together to beat obstacles. Not just cancer. In any situation we can be positive." As news of her death spread, social media lit up with messages honoring her life. NBA great LeBron James called her the "true definition of strength, courage, power, leadership." "The greatest accomplishment we can achieve as humans is to inspire many," Twitter user Just_AP wrote. "Lauren Hill did that." NCAA President Mark Emmert said Hill's "enthusiasm and strength were an inspiration not only to those who knew her best, but also to the millions of people she touched around the world by sharing her story." "Lauren achieved a lasting and meaningful legacy, and her beautiful spirit will continue to live on," he said in a statement. Hill was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma in 2013 when she was a senior in high school. The rare brain tumor was inoperable, but Hill persisted in playing on her high school team despite chemotherapy treatments. "I never gave up for a second, even when I got a terminal diagnosis, never thought about sitting back and not living life anymore," she told CNN affiliate WKRC-TV at the time. She had already committed to play for Mount St. Joseph when she was diagnosed. In October, the school received permission from the NCAA to move up its first scheduled game so Hill could play. In front of a sellout crowd, many wearing T-shirts bearing her name and slogan, "Never Give Up," watched the ballplayer score the first two points and the final layup of the game. "Today has been the best day I've ever had," Hill told the crowd after the game. "I don't know what to say but thank you." CNN's Jill Martin, Emanuella Grinberg and Faith Karimi contributed to this report.

Lauren Hill's coach says she was "an unselfish angel" After playing for her college, Lauren Hill helped raise money for cancer research . NCAA president says she "achieved a lasting and meaningful legacy"

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(CNN)Chris Copeland of the Indiana Pacers was stabbed after leaving a trendy New York nightclub early Wednesday, and two Atlanta Hawks -- who had just finished a home game hours before the incident -- were among those arrested, according to police and CNN affiliates. The Hawks were not involved in the stabbing incident, police said, but were arrested on obstruction and other charges later. Though New York Police Department Det. Kelly Ort initially told CNN the incident occurred just before 4 a.m. at 1OAK, a club in New York's Chelsea neighborhood known to draw celebrities among its clientele, the club later told CNN that the stabbing occurred in front of the Fulton Houses project down the street. "1OAK staff was unaware of the incident when it happened, as it occurred beyond their view in a different location. However, 1OAK's team assisted Mr. Copeland to their fullest capabilities, and called for help as soon as he was seen walking back towards the venue," the statement said. The statement continued, "A review of the video footage seems to reveal the incident did not originate from the venue or its immediate surroundings that are under 1OAK supervision." Copeland and a female companion, Katrine Saltara, were in the club for about 10 minutes before leaving and walking down the street toward Fulton Houses, where their car was parked, said a 1OAK spokesperson. The spokesperson gave CNN additional details on condition of anonymity because 1OAK's legal team had approved only the club's official statement. The suspect, who the spokesperson said never entered 1OAK, stabbed Copeland and Saltara in front of Fulton Houses, and according to the club's statement, "Mr. Copeland's driver sprang to accost and detain the apparent perpetrator and that individual is now in police custody." Charges against the suspect are pending, and his name will be released once charges are filed, Ort said. Copeland and Saltara tried to make their way back to the club to seek help from the 20 or so security personnel on hand, leaving a "bloody trail of handprints" between the site of the stabbing and the club, the spokesperson said. Copeland "almost landed right next to the club," the spokesperson said, adding that surveillance footage will not show the actual stabbing because it occurred too far away from the club. The club shut down immediately after the incident, the spokesperson said. A male and two females were taken to area hospitals, Ort said. A knife was recovered, a suspect was arrested and two individuals not involved in the dispute -- the Hawks' Pero Antic, 32, and Thabo Sefolosha, 30 -- were arrested on charges of obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct, she said. Sefolosha faces an additional charge of resisting arrest, Ort said. Word of the stabbing quickly spread through the club, reaching Antic and Sefolosha, who went outside to check on their friend, Copeland, the 1OAK spokesperson said. At one point, the two began pushing their way through a crowd that had gathered around the scene, leading to their arrests, the spokesperson said. "We will contest these charges and look forward to communicating the facts of the situation at the appropriate time," the players said in a joint statement released by the team. "We apologize to our respective families, teammates, and the Hawks' organization for any negative attention this incident has brought upon them." The Hawks are in New York for a Wednesday night game against the Brooklyn Nets. Neither player will be in uniform, the team said. Police released little information Wednesday, but local media identified the injured man as Copeland, 31, who is from Orange, New Jersey. The Pacers released a statement saying Copeland suffered a knife wound to his left elbow and abdomen, and he's in stable condition at a New York hospital. "We are aware that Chris Copeland was injured early this morning in New York City. We are still gathering information and will update when we know more. Our thoughts are with Chris and those injured," Larry Bird, the Pacers' president of basketball operations, said in a statement. Copeland's agent, John Spencer, issued a statement saying, "We're concerned about the safety of Chris and Katrine. We don't have any details at this particular time. All we can do is pray and wait." The NBA and the Hawks front office said they were looking into the incident. "We are aware of the situation involving Pero Antic and Thabo Sefolosha this morning. We are in the process of gathering more information and will have further comment at the appropriate time," Hawks spokesman Garin Narain said in an email. Copeland's Pacers are slated to play the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. The pair apparently had only recently arrived in New York prior to their arrests, as both were on the court for the Hawks' 96-69 win over the Phoenix Suns in Atlanta on Tuesday night. Antic played 12 minutes, and Sefolosha played 20. The game ended around 10 p.m. Copeland, a former Knick, was near the nightclub with Saltara when a 22-year-old Brooklyn man approached them, police told CNN affiliate WABC. There was some sort of dispute before the suspect stabbed the 6-foot-8-inch Copeland in the abdomen, slashed Saltara and then slashed another woman, the station reported. Saltara suffered cuts to her arm, breast and buttock, and the other woman suffered a slash to her stomach, CNN affiliate WCBS reported. While WCBS reported that the second woman was 53 years old, WABC reported she was 23. Images published in the New York Daily News showed a considerable amount of blood on the sidewalk and a white sports coupe, roped off with police tape, with several streaks of blood on its driver's side. Antic and Sefolosha interfered with officers trying to establish a crime scene, and one of the Hawks pushed a police officer, WABC reported. The Hawks are preparing for a historic playoff run after clinching the No. 1 seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Tuesday's win over the Suns marked a franchise-best 58 wins in a season for the club. The Pacers sit in the conference's 10th spot but are only one game out of playoff contention. CNN's Laura Ly, Jason Durand and Jill Martin contributed to this report.

Hawks say neither Thabo Sefolosha nor Pero Antic will play Wednesday against Brooklyn . Chris Copeland left "bloody trail of handprints" as he returned to club seeking help, club says . Suspect in custody, police say, adding they will release his name once charges are filed .

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Des Moines, Iowa (CNN)Martin O'Malley told reporters in Iowa on Friday that inevitability -- a term bandied about regarding Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton -- is not unbreakable. "I've seen it before," the former Governor of Maryland and possible presidential contender said. "History is full of examples where the inevitable frontrunner was inevitable right up until she was no longer or he was no longer inevitable." Clinton was considered inevitable to win the nomination in 2008 but ended up losing to Barack Obama. O'Malley had previously dropped the inevitability comment in a television interview last month. The former governor, who capped off his two-day trip to the first-in-the-nation caucus state with a speech to the Polk County Democrats in Des Moines, said that although Clinton is an "eminently qualified candidate," the Democratic Party is full of "good leaders." "History is full of examples where people who are not very well known nationally can be very well known once they are willing to make their case to the people of Iowa," O'Malley said. In some polls, he has scored in the low single digits in the state. In a March CNN/ORC poll of national Democrats, only 1% picked O'Malley. In a January poll by Bloomberg Politics and the Des Moines Register, O'Malley was also at 1% among Iowa Democrats. Clinton, who leads most polls by upwards of 40 points, is planning to launch her presidential candidacy on Sunday through a video message on social media, a person close to her campaign-in-waiting told CNN on Friday. While he wouldn't say much about Clinton, when asked about her candidacy, O'Malley said, "if leaders believe that they have the experience and the framework to move our country forward, they should run. And they should engage with voters and our country would be the better for it." O'Malley, like other Democrats, appears to refrain from directly attacking Clinton. Although last month on ABC, he said that the presidency is "not some crown to be passed between two families," he has not focused on her. He has, however, openly teased a presidential run. "I know that, as Democrats, we expect -- and I have heard this all over the country -- the Democrats expect a robust conversation about the issues we face as a nation and the challenges we face," he said. "They believe that that conversation needs to take place in something as important as a presidential primary." He concluded: "It would be an extreme poverty indeed if there was only one person willing to compete for our party's nomination for President."

He made the statement before in March . O'Malley is low in the polls with Democrats, but he has been flirting with a presidential run .

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(CNN)Hip-hop star Nelly has been arrested on drug charges in Tennessee after a state trooper pulled over the private bus in which he was traveling, authorities said. The 40-year-old rapper from St. Louis, who shot to fame 15 years ago with the track "Country Grammar," has been charged with felony possession of drugs, simple possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security said. The state trooper stopped the bus carrying Nelly and five other people on Interstate 40 in Putnam County on Saturday because it wasn't displaying U.S. Department of Transportation and International Fuel Tax Association stickers, according to Tennessee authorities. The trooper was about to conduct an inspection of the bus, a Prevost motor coach, when he "noticed an odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle," authorities said in a statement. Two troopers then searched the bus, finding "five colored crystal-type rocks that tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as a small amount of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia," the statement said. The search also turned up several handguns and 100 small Ziploc bags, which the statement said are commonly used for selling drugs. The guns included a gold-plated .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol, a .45-caliber Taurus pistol and a .500 Smith & Wesson magnum. Nelly, whose real name is Cornell Haynes, was taken to the Putnam County Jail along with another passenger. He later posted bond and left the jail, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said. CNN couldn't immediately reach Nelly's representatives for comment Saturday. CNN's Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report.

State troopers say they found methamphetamine and marijuana on a bus carrying Nelly and five others . Nelly has been charged with felony possession of drugs .

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Charleston, South Carolina (CNN)Police officers Saturday accompanied the hearse carrying the body of Walter Scott to his South Carolina funeral service, where hundreds of mourners celebrated his life and death as a catalyst for change in America. A pair of officers on motorcycles were part of the large procession delivering the father of four -- who was fatally shot in the back by a police officer -- to a service open to the public. An overflow crowd gathered on a humid and occasionally rainy April afternoon at W.O.R.D. Ministries Christian Center in Summerville, which has a capacity of about 300 people. The flag-draped casket of the U.S. Coast Guard veteran was wheeled inside the church as Scott's relatives and friends followed. Some dabbed tears; others embraced. Hundreds, including local officials, assembled inside the packed sanctuary -- in corridors, under an awning at the entrance, wherever they could stand. Silence filled the vast space as Scott's daughter Samantha read a poem of love dedicated to her father. Anthony Scott said God had selected his brother as a candidate for change in America. "The change will come," he said, bringing to the crowd to its feet. The head of the church, George Hamilton, spoke of how Scott had brought members of his family to the church, of the agony of not only losing a family member but having to watch it happen on video. The death of Scott, who was black, at the hands of a white police officer was "motivated by racial prejudice," Hamilton said. It was "an act of overt racism." "Hate came because Walter was an African-American," he said. Hamilton said his remarks were not meant as an indictment of law enforcement, but he singled out the officer who killed Scott as a "disgrace to the North Charleston Police Department." "There is gong to be change," he said. "Walter's death will not be in vain." After the service, pallbearers gently lifted Scott's casket into the hearse. Crowds poured from the church. A slow-moving procession of black cars then made its way to Live Oak Memorial Gardens in Charleston for the private burial. Chris Stewart, an attorney for the Scott family, said the death represented more than an race issue. "It's a human issue," he said. "We're getting emails from people in Arkansas telling us, 'I'm a white male, and I'm supporting this family.' Their son is going to be remembered for changing the way we look at each other." On Friday night, Scott's open casket was draped with an American flag, and he was in a dark suit for his private visitation in Charleston. A Dallas Cowboys banner -- his favorite NFL team -- was placed outside the casket, and a figurine of a Cowboys player stood at his side. But Scott's family was missing. They needed privacy, said Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley, who attended. A week ago, Scott was killed in North Charleston after getting pulled over for a broken taillight. A passer-by caught the shooting on cell phone video, and Officer Michael Slager was swiftly charged with murder. He was fired and faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. Who was Walter Scott? The video shows Scott running from an officer, who fires eight shots. Scott is struck five times; he falls to the ground. "Nothing in this video demonstrates that the officer's life or the life of another was threatened," National Urban League President Marc Morial said. "The question here is whether the use of force was excessive." But one witness is speaking of a struggle before the shooting. And at least one expert believes a murder charge may not hold up. On Thursday, Gwen Nichols told CNN's Brian Todd that she saw Scott and Slager scuffling at the entrance to a vacant lot. "It was like a tussle type of thing, like, you know, like, 'What do you want?' or 'What did I do?' type of thing," Nichols said. "I didn't hear Mr. Slager saying 'Stop!' " Nichols' account has similarities to Slager's. He had told investigators that he had tussled with Scott over his Taser and that he feared for his safety. A timeline of events . Criminal defense attorney Paul Callan said he believes Slager's defense will play up the reported scuffle in arguing that this is not a murder case. "Defense attorneys will say this was a heat of passion shooting -- (that) this was something that he did suddenly after some kind of an altercation, a physical altercation with a suspect," Callan said. "And that would constitute manslaughter under law, as opposed to murder, and it makes a huge difference in sentencing." In South Carolina, a murder conviction requires a measure of premeditation. But the account from the witness who recorded the cell phone video, Feidin Santana, paints a different picture. He was walking to work when he saw Slager on top of Scott, he said, who was on the ground. Santana said he could hear the sound of a Taser in use. He said he didn't see Scott go after the Taser, as Slager initially claimed. He said he believes Scott was trying to get away. "Mr. Scott never tried to fight," Santana said. Neither the struggle nor the use of a Taser was captured on video, because Santana started recording shortly after that. Investigators from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division found troubling inconsistencies from the very start, it said in a statement. "We believed early on that there was something not right about what happened in that encounter," division Chief Mark Keel said in a statement. "The cell phone video shot by a bystander confirmed our initial suspicions." Slager's lawyer, Andy Savage, has complained that he "has not received the cooperation from law enforcement that the media has." Savage's office said in a statement that it has yet to receive "any investigative documents, audio or video tapes, other than a copy of Mr. Slager's arrest warrant." The news release added that the lawyer has been advised that the police union that Slager belongs to "is no longer involved in the case." Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said Slager's wife, Jamie, who is eight months' pregnant, and his mother had a visit with him at the county detention center Friday. Slager was being held in isolation and being "monitored for his mental health," Cannon said. In a statement, one of Slager's lawyers said the meeting lasted about an hour. "His wife and mom were tearful but strong, and they were all very grateful for the chance to see him in person, even if separated by a thick pane of glass," the statement said. "They held up family photos -- and even Jamie's ultrasound from earlier that day -- to remind him of all those who love him. Throughout the visit, Michael was focused on Jamie and their baby and was very relieved to know that she is being shown so much love and support by their families." A second video, taken from a police dash cam, has also emerged from the day Scott died. It shows moments before the shooting, when things seemed to be going smoothly between Scott and Slager. Scott apparently tells the officer that he has no insurance on the vehicle, and Slager returns to his car to do paperwork. Then Scott gets out of the car and runs out of the camera's frame. Scott was the subject of a bench warrant over $18,104.43 in unpaid child support at the time of the stop, according to court records. That was why he ran, lawyers for the family said after the funeral service. U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-South Carolina, told reporters outside the service that Scott lost a $35,000-a-year job the first time he was jailed for failing to pay child support. "He said it was the best job he's ever had," Clyburn said. "Now you have to ask ... if you want to collect child support, there's got to be income. And you ain't going to make much income from jail. It seems to me that we need to take a look to how to deal with that issue without causing unemployment and the loss of freedom." On Friday afternoon, police met with a man who was in Scott's car, but the passenger's name wasn't in a police report obtained by CNN. He was detained briefly after the shooting, one officer wrote in the report. Scott family attorney Chris Stewart said he was a co-worker and friend. But he did not identify the passenger by name. On Friday, a few mourners trickled into the Fielding Home for Funerals. A white banner with a blue star near Scott's casket displayed his favorite NFL team. It said: "Tradition, the Cowboys way." "This is a heartbreaking tragedy for everyone in our community," said Riley, the mayor. "It breaks everyone's hearts." CNN's Polo Sandoval and Martin Savidge reported from Charleston, and Ben Brumfield and Ray Sanchez reported and wrote in Atlanta and New York.

Police officers escort the funeral procession to the service . Scott's family did not attend his visitation; they need privacy, mayor says . Police meet with the man who was a passenger in his car when it was pulled over .

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(CNN)For 12 years Adelma Cifuentes felt worthless, frightened and alone, never knowing when her abusive husband would strike. But as a young mother in rural Guatemala with three children and barely a third grade education, she thought there was no way out. What began as psychological torment, name-calling and humiliation turned into beatings so severe Cifuentes feared for her life. One day, two men sent by her husband showed up at her house armed with a shotgun and orders to kill her. They probably would have succeeded, but after the first bullet was fired, Cifuentes' two sons dragged her inside. Still, in her deeply conservative community, it took neighbors two hours to call for help and Cifuentes lost her arm. But the abuse didn't stop there. When she returned home, Cifuentes' husband continued his attacks and threatened to rape their little girl unless she left. That's when the nightmare finally ended and her search for justice began. Cifuentes' case is dramatic, but in Guatemala, where nearly 10 out of every 100,000 women are killed, it's hardly unusual. A 2012 Small Arms Survey says gender-based violence is at epidemic levels in Guatemala and the country ranks third in the killings of women worldwide. According to the United Nations, two women are killed there every day. There are many reasons why, beginning with the legacy of violence left in place after the country's 36-year-old civil war. During the conflict, atrocities were committed against women, who were used as a weapon of war. In 1996, a ceasefire agreement was reached between insurgents and the government. But what followed and what remains is a climate of terror, due to a deeply entrenched culture of impunity and discrimination. Military and paramilitary groups that committed barbaric acts during the war were integrated back into society without any repercussions. Many remain in power, and they have not changed the way they view women. Some 200,000 people were either killed or disappeared during the decades-long conflict, most of them from indigenous Mayan populations. Nearly 20 years later, according to the Security Sector Reform Resource Centre, levels of violent crime are higher in Guatemala than they were during the war. But despite the high homicide rate, the United Nations estimates 98% of cases never make it to court. Women are particularly vulnerable because of a deep-rooted gender bias and culture of misogyny. In many cases, femicide -- the killing of a woman simply because of her gender -- is carried out with shocking brutality with some of the same strategies used during the war, including rape, torture and mutilation. Mexican drug cartels, organized criminal groups and local gangs are contributing to the vicious cycle of violence and lawlessness. Authorities investigating drug-related killings are stretched thin, leaving fewer resources to investigate femicides. In many cases, crime is not reported because of fear of retaliation. Many consider the Guatamalen National Civil Police, or PNC, corrupt, under-resourced and ineffective. Even if a case does get prosecuted, according to Human Rights Watch, the country's weak judicial system has proved incapable of handling the explosion in violence. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges facing women in Guatemala is the country's deeply rooted patriarchal society. According to María Machicado Terán, the representative of U.N. women in Guatemala, "80% of men believe that women need permission to leave the house, and 70% of women surveyed agreed." This prevailing culture of machismo and an institutionalized acceptance of brutality against women leads to high rates of violence. Rights groups say machismo not only condones violence, it places the blame on the victim. The political will to address violence against women is slow to materialize. "Politicians don't think women are important," says former Secretary General of the Presidential Secretariat for Women Elizabeth Quiroa. "Political parties use women for elections. They give them a bag of food and people sell their dignity for this because they are poor." Lack of education is a major contributor to this poverty. Many girls, especially in indigenous communities don't go to school because the distance from their house to the classroom is too far. Quiroa says "They are subject to rape, violence and forced participation in the drug trade." Although the situation for girls and women in Guatemala is alarming, there are signs the culture of discrimination may be slowly changing. With the help of an organization known as CICAM, or Centro de Investigación, Cifuentes was finally able to escape her husband and get the justice she deserved. He is now spending 27 years behind bars. Cifuentes is using her painful past to provide hope and healing to others through art. Since 2008, she and four other abuse survivors known as La Poderosas, or "The Powerful," have been appearing in a play based on their real life stories. The show not only empowers other women and discusses the problem of violence openly, but it also offers suggestions for change. And it's having an impact. Women have started breaking their silence and asking where they can get support. Men are reacting, too. One of the main characters, Lesbia Téllez, says during one presentation, a man stood up and started crying when he realized how he had treated his wife and how his mother had been treated. He said he wanted to be different. The taboo topic of gender-based violence is also being acknowledged and recognized in a popular program targeting one of Guatemala's most vulnerable groups, indigenous Mayan girls. In 2004, with help from the United Nations and other organizations, the Population Council launched a community-based club known as Abriendo Oportunidades, or "Opening Opportunities". The goal is to provide girls with a safe place to learn about their rights and reach their full potential. Senior Program Coordinator Alejandra Colom says the issue of violence is discussed and girls are taught how to protect themselves. "They then share this information with their mothers and for the first time, they realize they are entitled to certain rights." Colom adds that mothers then become invested in sending their daughters to the clubs and this keeps them more visible and less prone to violence. The Guatemalan government is also moving in the right direction to address the problem of violence against women. In 2008, the Congress passed a law against femicide. Two years later the attorney general's office created a specialized court to try femicides and other violent crimes against women. In 2012, the government established a joint task force for crimes against women, making it easier for women to access justice by making sure victims receive the assistance they need. The government has also established a special 24-hour court to attend to femicide cases. On the global front, the International Violence Against Women Act was introduced in the U.S. Congress in 2007; it has been pending ever since. But last week the act was reintroduced in both the House and Senate. If approved, it would make reducing levels of gender-based violence a U.S. foreign policy priority. Pehaps the most immediate and effective help is coming from International nongovernmental organizations, which are on the front lines of the fight against gender-based discrimination in Guatemala. Ben Weingrod, a senior policy advocate at the global poverty fighting group CARE, says, "We work to identify and challenge harmful social norms that perpetuate violence. Our work includes engaging men and boys as champions of change and role models, and facilitating debates to change harmful norms and create space for more equitable relationships between men and women." But the job is far from over. While there is tempered optimism and hope for change, the problem of gender-based violence in Guatemala is one that needs international attention and immediate action. Cifuentes is finding strength through the theater and the support of other abuse survivors, which has allowed her to move forward. But millions of other women trapped in a cycle of violence are facing dangerous and frightening futures. For them, it's a race against time and help cannot come soon enough.

Gender-based violence is at epidemic levels in Guatemala . According to the United Nations, two women are killed in Guatemala every day . Five abuse survivors known as La Poderosas have been appearing in a play based on their real life stories .

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(CNN)Hillary Clinton is finally announcing her candidacy for the 2016 presidential election. Although she has watched her standing in the polls sag in recent months, there is likely to be a boost in the days that follow the announcement. For Democrats, there is ample reason to be excited about Clinton's run for the presidency. She is certainly one of the strongest candidates in many decades. She brings to the table extensive political and policy experience, a combination of skills that is often lacking. She has been through some of the roughest partisan wars and emerged stronger than ever before. She has a keen sense about the nature of the modern news media, how to use it to her advantage and how to survive scandal frenzies. She is a hardened, tough partisan who will not shy away from Republican attack. Americans have many positive memories of Clinton name, given the booming economy of the late 1990s during Bill Clinton's presidency. If Hillary Clinton puts together an effective campaign, she could be unbeatable in the Democratic primaries as well as in the general election. However, during the buildup to her final decision, some of her weaknesses have also been exposed. Clinton doesn't want to end up like Vice President Al Gore in 2000. Although he did relatively well in the final election (with many Americans believing that he did actually defeat George W. Bush) he didn't generate much energy once the campaign started. Although he too was touted as a "perfect" candidate who was the ideal person for the job, something seemed stiff and inauthentic when he actually hit the trail. He seemed to freeze when the television cameras were rolling. Gore had trouble connecting with voters, and he seemed to remake his image constantly. His biggest asset ended up being that he was viewed as the inevitable nominee, rather than what he actually stood for. Clinton must avoid following Gore's path. She suffered this fate in the 2008 primaries and can't afford to do so again. She needs to do more than rest on the perception that her candidacy is inevitable and on her record of experience. That is not enough. More important is for her to put forth an exciting vision about what she would stand for in the White House. Voters thirst for signs of greatness when they pick their presidents, even if they are savvy enough to understand that the reality of a polarized Washington will probably limit her ability to achieve bold change. A recent story in The Washington Post suggests that her advisers are aware of this potential liability. After the announcement, they are going to avoid big rallies and events and instead concentrate on smaller events where she will meet with voters directly in states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. Clinton also will have to contend with doubts about her authenticity. In his first day on the campaign trail, Sen. Rand Paul immediately tapped into these concerns by raising questions about whether she could be trusted. That question has dogged the Clintons ever since they came onto the national political scene in the late 1980s. Their greatest virtue, their immense skills as politicians, has often come back to haunt them. Bill Clinton was attacked as "slick Willie" by members of both parties for the perception that he would say anything to win and Hillary Clinton has faced similar criticism. When she tried to distance herself from her vote for the use of force in Iraq, many Democrats didn't buy her critique of President George W. Bush's foreign policies and went for Barack Obama instead. When she conducted her "listening tour" of New York before running for the Senate, many voters saw it as a manufactured effort to hide the fact she was running for office as an outsider. When she explained that there was nothing to the recent stories about her use of a private email server rather than her State Department email, some felt that even if the story was relatively minor it indicated that she wasn't always telling us what she was really about. Even if she isn't hiding anything, she often gives that appearance. During the next few months, Clinton will also have to connect with her party's base. The ongoing speculation about Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has suggested that the most active part of the Democratic Party is not that enthused with Clinton's candidacy. While they will probably vote for her, they are not very motivated and don't trust that she will stand for Democratic values. She will need to address these concerns, not through her style but through her agenda. Voters will want to hear her talking about issues such as tougher financial regulation and policies to diminish economic inequality as well as her positions on race and policing. She will also need to make clear that she has heard voters on being too hawkish about going to war and give clear indications about how she would handle a nuclear agreement with Iran. Clinton will also have to contend with the gender bias that still exists in the electorate at large. Without any doubt she will be subject to questions and comments -- about her appearance, for instance -- that won't be aimed at male candidates. Part of her candidacy is itself an effort to break down these remaining vestiges of political sexism. But the struggle will be tough. Finally, and this relates to the last challenge, Clinton will have to contend with her husband. To be sure he can be an immense force on the campaign trail, one of the most compelling Democrats of our generation. But he can also be liability. As she learned in 2008, Bill Clinton is not always easy to control. When he speaks his mind, as he did in dismissive comments about Obama's candidacy, it can often work against her. The fund-raising records of the Clinton Foundation will also raise questions about conflict of interest, and ongoing stories about his personal life, as was the case when Monica Lewinsky returned to the media a few months ago, could re-emerge on the campaign trail. Whether that is fair or not is beside the point: Everything is fair game on the modern campaign trail. Hillary Clinton has the potential to be a hugely successful presidential candidate. But she and her campaign team will need to address the multiple questions and weaknesses that have become clear in recent months.

Julian Zelizer: Hillary Clinton has immense political and governmental experience . He says she needs to make stronger connection to her party's base . Clinton also needs to convince voters of her authenticity, Zelizer says .

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(CNN)A year after its Cannes debut and finally seeing a theatrical release, "Lost River" is still causing quite a stir. Booed at its premiere and mocked by reviewers, Ryan Gosling's first feature as director has been divisive, to put it mildly. But there has been one shining light cutting through the fog of critical hyperbole: its setting, a besmirched and decaying Detroit. Wavering on the brink of annihilation, yet providing kindling for its own rebirth, the city is captured in all its waning splendor, the perfect backdrop for Gosling's post-industrial gothic. Speaking about the film in London, Gosling made clear that the city was at the heart of the project -- in fact, without Detroit's crumbling edifices there would be no film at all. Gosling said that "Lost River" began as a collection of speculative shots of the Brewster-Douglass Projects, the first black social housing development in America and a place Motown legends The Supremes and boxer Joe Louis once called home. "I heard [the authorities] were going to tear them down," Gosling said. "I had to shoot them before they did." Taking time out between acting jobs, he ventured into the projects. "I started shooting more and more," he explained, "and then I realized that I was making a film. Then I started writing [the script] during the process of filming." Gosling's affection for the Motor City is longstanding, the actor growing up "not too far away" in Cornwall, Ontario. "It seemed like everything cool came from Detroit... the whole American Dream," he reminisces. "The Model-T, Motown, the refrigerator..." Now though he references "40 miles of dead neighborhoods," the city declaring bankruptcy. "Houses are burning and things are being torn down," he says, "and within that there are families trying to hold on to their homes. For them it has become a nightmare and I wanted to make a film about that." The title itself alludes to a once thriving community now displaced, its homes at the bottom of a reservoir built with little concern for the residents -- man-made interference with untold social repercussions. Speaking in broader terms, Gosling argues "there are Lost Rivers everywhere and we wanted to share the experience these people were having." On screen he paints a nihilistic image of wanton destruction; torched properties and bulldozers jostling for our attention amid acts of extreme human violence -- sometimes self-inflicted. The director plainly states that as a location it "was pretty dangerous." He describes "an energy there that was threatening... We had a very charmed experience [filming]. It worked its way into the fabric of the movie --- a tone of impending threat that was just there." However there are signs of humanity and regeneration amongst the chaos, on camera and off. For the film's young protagonist, every raid on an unoccupied house offers copper piping waiting to be recast and ultimately reclaimed. Similarly, Gosling references the Heidelberg Project during the discussion, a community organization in the city's McDougall-Hunt neighborhood, reimagining derelict buildings as giant canvases for budding artists. He recalls seeing "one house covered with teddy bears, another covered in clocks... people taking spaces and personalizing them." The city's scope for urban renewal was clearly a draw. "Something really interesting is happening in Detroit at the moment -- a rebirth. People redefining what they are," according to Gosling. "There's a resilience there and an energy, and it's exciting." As much as the visual content of "Lost River" revolves around a maudlin preoccupation with dereliction -- and perhaps plays on the outside world's perception of Detroit -- aspects of the narrative suggest hope and the possibility of reincarnation for the city. Gosling claims this paradox should exist when discussing Detroit, and is precisely what the film is trying to convey. "We want people to know that dereliction is happening there, but that it's not only what is happening there," he argues. "It doesn't define Detroit, it's just part of what it's dealing with right now." "Lost River" receives a limited theatrical release in the U.S. and UK on April 10.

Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, "Lost River", is set in the city of Detroit .

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(CNN)Bring your own beaker, goblet or vase and slurp it up. 7-Eleven is hosting the first Bring-Your-Own-Cup Slurpee Day at United States stores from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday to kick off peak Slurpee season. This shot at brain freeze isn't free, but customers at participating stores can fill their "cup" of choice for $1.49, the average cost of a medium Slurpee. Note: A garbage can is not a cup. In-store displays with a 10-inch-diameter hole will rule out anything too ridiculously large for Slurpee consumption, and cups must be sanitary. But within those parameters, pretty much anything goes: . "From sand buckets to trophies, customers can unleash their creativity by bringing in their choice of a unique, fun Slurpee cup," said Laura Gordon, 7‑Eleven's vice president of marketing and brand innovation, in a statement. The promotion isn't to be confused with Free Slurpee Day, traditionally celebrated each July 11.

Bring your own large "cup" for a $1.49 7-Eleven Slurpee . Any sanitary container less than 10 inches in diameter is fair game .

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(CNN)All Elizabeth Sedway wanted was to leave paradise and head home. But she couldn't. Why? Because, according to her, she has cancer. That's what she said in a video posted to Facebook that shows her group packing up from their Alaska Airlines plane as it sat at the gate in Hawaii. "You're taking me off the airplane because I don't have a doctor's note saying I can fly," a woman is heard saying. "All these people are waiting, and I'm being removed as if I'm a criminal or contagious, because I have cancer and no note to fly." Sedway did eventually get on a flight back to San Jose, California, although she didn't get home until late Tuesday night. And she got an apology. "We regret the inconvenience Ms. Sedway experienced ... and are very sorry for how the situation was handled," Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said. "... While our employee had the customer's well-being in mind, the situation could have been handled differently." Her cancer fight notwithstanding, Sedway was in Hawaii in time to celebrate her 14th wedding anniversary. Still, on Monday, she was on a plane to head east. Then, according to her Facebook post, an airline employee who saw Sedway seated in the handicapped section asked her how she was doing. The second time she inquired, Sedway wrote that she responded by saying she sometimes felt weak. That was followed by a call to a doctor, then her removal from the plane. Egan, the Alaska Airlines spokeswoman, acknowledged that the carrier's policy when someone has a medical issue is to call MedLink, a group of ER nurses and doctors. The idea, she explained, is that "it is better to address medical issues or concerns on the ground rather than in the air, especially on flights to or from Hawaii" -- which in that case would last five-plus hours over open ocean. The decision to pull Sedway from the flight was done with "the customer's well-being" in mind, according to Egan. Still, that doesn't mean it was the right decision. Alaska Airlines since apologized to Sedway "for the disruption this has caused," in addition to refunding her family's tickets and paying for their overnight accommodations." Even though she was stuck in Hawaii, Sedway made clear on Facebook that this was a real "disruption." "Because of this, I will miss my chemotherapy, my children will miss school and my husband will miss important meetings," she said.

Elizabeth Sedway posted to video to Facebook showing her removal from a plane . She was forced off a flight in Hawaii and told she couldn't head home to California . Alaska Airlines later apologized, saying it could have handled the situation differently .

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(CNN)There was a larger message in the article about a purported gang rape that Rolling Stone retracted on Sunday night -- a part of the story that was never disputed: The University of Virginia is under continuing investigation over how it handles sexual assault on campus. The school has never expelled a single student for sexual assault -- even when the student admitted to it. The Virginia attorney general asked the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers to take a look at how the university historically handled allegations of sexual assault by its students. That includes how UVA officials handled the allegations in the discredited Rolling Stone article by a student the magazine called "Jackie," especially since the school knew about the allegations for more than a year before the article came out. The alleged gang rape at a fraternity house was in 2012, and Jackie told the university about it the next spring. She started telling her story very publicly, including at a "take back the night" rally. But Charlottesville police didn't hear about it until after a separate incident in the spring of 2014, in which Jackie claimed someone threw a bottle that hit her in the face. When a university dean arranged for her to talk to police about that alleged assault, she also told the story of the alleged 2012 incident. In both cases, police said Jackie refused to cooperate and so they could not pursue the case. But more women came forward to talk about their experiences -- women whose stories were not as dramatic or horrific as Jackie's. Rolling Stone's story opened up a conversation about the topic, and then women began coming forward to talk about a culture on campus that was not sensitive to victims. Many women told CNN about a euphemism for the word rape used by other students on campus. They'd call it a "bad experience." Others told CNN that there were fraternities with reputations for being "rapey" and for using date-rape drugs. That some judged who could come in based on the sluttiness of a woman's outfit. And if a woman did report her rape, some women complained that the internal process didn't seem worth it if their abuser wouldn't be kicked out of school. Rolling Stone had a line in its original story: "UVA's emphasis on honor is so pronounced that since 1998, 183 people have been expelled for honor-code violations such as cheating on exams. And yet paradoxically, not a single student at UVA has ever been expelled for sexual assault." After the article published, UVA admitted this and instituted a zero-tolerance policy on sexual assault going forward -- although that policy was never defined, so it's unclear what it means. When the story was deleted from Rolling Stone's website, that was lost. "You lose a lot of other people's voices who were in that article," said Sarah Roderick, a survivor and UVA student, "and a lot of good things that could have come about. Fixing problems with administration here and on our campus" -- and, she added, across the nationo. Along with the O'Melveny & Myers investigation, there's also an open Title IX investigation into UVA by the U.S. Department of Education as a result of a civil suit. The attorney who filed the suit, James Marsh, told CNN that UVA medical staff lost or destroyed evidence from the alleged sexual assault victim he's representing, making it impossible for her to move forward and get justice. When the Columbia Journalism School's 12,000-plus-word critique is summed up, it really boils down to this: The mistake could have been avoided if the writer, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, had picked up the phone and made just a few more phone calls to the friends of Jackie who she claimed were with her that night. They'd later tell other media outlets, including CNN, that they remembered a very different story. Rolling Stone says their account would have been a red flag. And all three say they would have talked if they'd been called. Ryan Duffin, one of the trio, said he felt deceived by Jackie, but he also pointed out that Erdely's mistake in fact-checking was about one single incident, and the fallout has caused a much bigger issue to be lost. "Had she gotten in direct contact with us, it probably wouldn't have been printed, at least in that way," he said. "A lot of the article was still based in truth, but the focal point would have been different." It might have been less dramatic, but it would have probably focused on some of the other UVA students who shared much more common stories of acquaintance rape on campus. "I think my problem with it was that this reporter wanted to sensationalize an experience that's not very common," Roderick said. "... And I wonder if it would have been different if (it dealt) with someone with a less horrific story -- something that happens to more people. I think this discredits what a lot of survivors go through. Something this physically horrific is not what everyone goes through. Now it's like, 'If I wasn't assaulted by more than one man then my story is not as worthy of attention.' It's frustrating that this is how rape is portrayed on college campuses because this is not the norm." Before the report came out, Abraham Axler, the student body president, said that some good had come from the article because it forced UVA to institute new policies and to open up a conversation on a topic that needed to be discussed nationwide. But some survivors and advocates are afraid the retraction set back their progress. "I do feel like there's a possibility people will be afraid to come forward. If you come forward and share your story, if you don't have the date right, every detail down, you'll think, 'I'm going to be accused of being a liar. It's easier for me to keep it to myself,'" Roderick said. "There are very serious and unresolved questions about the university's performance," said Steve Coll, dean of the Columbia School of Journalism. "Rolling Stone teed that subject up. I wouldn't say that everything about Rolling Stone's treatment of that subject was perfect, but it certainly doesn't fall under the same category as their reporting about Jackie's narrative."

University of Virginia is under continuing investigation over how it handles sexual assault on campus . Some fear retraction of Rolling Stone story about one case takes focus off the broader issue . After the story came out, UVA instituted a zero-tolerance policy on sexual assault going forward .

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(CNN)Change is coming to Ferguson. In the next few weeks the Department of Justice (DOJ) will begin to negotiate in earnest with the city to restructure the police department, which the department has charged with engaging in a pattern and practice of racial discrimination. It should not be forgotten that the DOJ review of the Ferguson Police Department was precipitated by months of protests and activism following the killing of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer and by revelations about the town's dysfunctional government and court system by local civil rights law groups. Now, after a half year of unrest, and with citizens on Tuesday electing two new black city council members, change is beginning to come to Ferguson. The question is, what kind of change? The report from the Department of Justice offered a devastating insight into a police department and court system that preyed on its own citizens. Through illegal traffic stops and arrests, and the use of excessive force, the police department held town residents in bondage. The municipal court system used excessive court fines and fees to ensure that citizens arrested for even minor infractions would be charged thousands of dollars or face jail time. Court costs and fees constituted the second-largest sources of revenue for the town. Rather than a force for public safety, the Ferguson Police Department became, according to Attorney General Eric Holder, "a collection agency" -- one that preyed disproportionately on the town's African-American residents. The evidence of ugly and explicit racial discrimination was devastating. It included blatantly racist emails traded among officers, and evidence that African-Americans were victims in all of the police canine bite incidents recorded by the department. But just a few weeks before the release of the report, the Ferguson police chief declared there were "no racial issues" in his department. Ferguson's ugly, racist emails released . The recommendations in the report, ranging from new training and supervision of police officers, addressing racially discriminatory conduct to structural revisions in the court system, will, if implemented, remake the law enforcement system in the town. (A grand jury that investigated the shooting of Brown by Officer Darren Wilson chose not to file charges against him and the Justice Department also didn't find reason to prosecute.) Without question, change is coming to the town's government. Town Manager John Shaw, Ferguson's most powerful official and, until the DOJ's blistering report, the one who inexplicably managed to elude public scrutiny, resigned weeks ago and has been replaced by the city's deputy manager. Three sitting city council members chose not to run for office again and, on Tuesday, citizens elected two black candidates to the city council, changing its racial composition: Five of six members and the mayor were white. Now the council will be 50% black. Ferguson's hapless police Chief Thomas Jackson also finally resigned after holding on through a months-long display of astonishing incompetence. The department first drew the attention of the nation for its display of military weaponry and tear gas in response to civilian protests. The appointment of a commander from the State Highway Patrol was deemed necessary to begin quelling the unrest and to build community trust in the early days of the protest. Jackson's departure sent an important signal to the population of a town preyed upon by officers under his command. And so we can be certain that along with the new makeup of the city council, there will be a new police chief in Ferguson. But does that mean that fundamental change will come to Ferguson? Not necessarily. Not unless protest and activism during this critical period turns to influence the vitally important opportunities that lie ahead in the coming weeks. The Department of Justice's full-on negotiations with the leadership in Ferguson will determine the shape of the new Ferguson Police Department. Indeed, the DOJ report alludes to the possibility of disbanding the department in favor of a regional policing integration with St. Louis County. Many local activists have suggested just such a solution, but given ongoing problems with policing in the county -- including the role of county forces in some of the most controversial clashes with activists in Ferguson last fall -- community representatives will have to fight hard to ensure that the DOJ can fold St. Louis County Police into its monitoring and reform process. Equally important were the April 7 general elections. Turnout in municipal elections has been notoriously low in Ferguson, with white voters nearly three times more likely to turn out than African-Americans. But local groups had engaged in vigorous voter registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns.. The Mayor has two years left to his term and has defiantly insisted that he will not resign (although a petition for his recall has been circulating). That means that he will be a lead voice in negotiating with the DOJ to remake the police department. Has he committed to a clear set of principles that will guide his participation in those talks? Community activists and residents must ensure that Mayor James Knowles plans to represent their vision of new Ferguson Police Department. But there is an opportunity to begin thinking about even more ambitious structural change in Ferguson and throughout St. Louis County. Ferguson's governing structure, with a strong city manager and a weak council and mayor, mirrors that of thousands of other suburbs in the United States. That form of governance might have been precisely what thriving, middle class white suburbanites wanted when they fled racial integration in cities like St. Louis. But working class suburbs like Ferguson with a majority black population in which the needs of the population in the areas of education and economic opportunity more closely hews to the needs of urban residents, may need a more robust form of governance. In any case, a system in which the elected officials have minimal power, but non-elected leaders, like the town manager and the chief of police, have inordinate power, is a recipe for the kind of unaccountable, non-representative government that controlled Ferguson's residents. Yet this precise form of government is in wide use across the country. Likewise, Missouri, like the vast majority of states, holds municipal elections in non-presidential election years, guaranteeing a significantly lower voter turnout -- although only a few states hold the primary and general election in March and April as Missouri law requires Ferguson to do. It's not that Ferguson is so different than towns across America. It's precisely because Ferguson holds up a mirror to flaws in our democratic system of government in towns across this country that the stakes are so high. Ferguson residents now have the opportunity to begin a movement for change in the other 89 jurisdictions in St. Louis County plagued by similar governance flaws, including those towns led by African-Americans. And Ferguson's example should provoke self-examination in working class suburbs across the country, where the power and effectiveness of weak elected local government is inadequate to meet the needs of the population. Change is coming to Ferguson. But the scope and breadth of that change will depend upon the ambition and discipline of activists and residents, whose passion and tenacity have already transformed the trajectory of leadership in a typical American town.

Sherrilyn Ifill: A city with a pattern of racial discrimination elected two new black candidates to its city council Tuesday . She says Ferguson faces other changes, too, that should spur rethinking in working class suburbs across America .

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(CNN)What was supposed to be a fantasy sports car ride at Walt Disney World Speedway turned deadly when a Lamborghini crashed into a guardrail. The crash took place Sunday at the Exotic Driving Experience, which bills itself as a chance to drive your dream car on a racetrack. The Lamborghini's passenger, 36-year-old Gary Terry of Davenport, Florida, died at the scene, Florida Highway Patrol said. The driver of the Lamborghini, 24-year-old Tavon Watson of Kissimmee, Florida, lost control of the vehicle, the Highway Patrol said. He was hospitalized with minor injuries. Petty Holdings, which operates the Exotic Driving Experience at Walt Disney World Speedway, released a statement Sunday night about the crash. "On behalf of everyone in the organization, it is with a very heavy heart that we extend our deepest sympathies to those involved in today's tragic accident in Orlando," the company said. Petty Holdings also operates the Richard Petty Driving Experience -- a chance to drive or ride in NASCAR race cars named for the winningest driver in the sport's history. CNN's Vivan Kuo and Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report.

The crash occurred at the Exotic Driving Experience at Walt Disney World Speedway . Officials say the driver, 24-year-old Tavon Watson, lost control of a Lamborghini . Passenger Gary Terry, 36, died at the scene .

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Atlanta (CNN)A passenger on an Atlanta-bound Air Canada flight told a CNN reporter on the plane Friday that a stranger sitting behind him tried to choke him. Oliver Minatel, 22, said he was sleeping on Air Canada Flight 8623 from Toronto when he felt something around his neck. "With a rope, something that he has, he just jumped on me. That's what happened," Minatel told CNN's Paula Newton moments after the incident. She was seated four rows behind Minatel, a professional soccer player traveling with his team. The incident occurred about a half-hour before the flight landed, after the pilots had begun their descent. "I forced it (the cord) down and then other people came to help, and then I got out and he started saying that we were here to kill him," Minatel said. The man was not restrained for the rest of the trip, but the flight crew told him to stay seated with his seat belt on. The man kept trying to get out of his seat but other passengers yelled at him whenever he tried to stand up. The two-hour flight landed at Atlanta's Hartsfield airport at about 4:30 p.m. where it was met by U.S. authorities. The suspect was escorted off the plane. An FBI spokesman confirmed the agency responded to the incident. "The passenger, however, was transported for medical/mental evaluation under the direction and coordination of the Atlanta Police Department," Special Agent Stephen Emmett said. "While there are currently no federal charges pending, the facts of the matter are being relayed to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta." Minatel, a forward from Brazil, was traveling with his teammates from the Ottawa Fury Football Club of the second-division North American Soccer League. They are scheduled to play the Atlanta Silverbacks on Saturday. "We're very thankful to everyone who came to the aid of Oliver and relieved that he's O.K. and ready to play in our game," Fury FC Head Coach Marc Dos Santos said in a statement posted on the team's website. Several witnesses said they saw the suspect try to choke Minatel with the cord of his headphones. Kevin Kerr says he was seated next to the suspect. "He was talking about how this soccer team was trying to kill him. I thought he was maybe a deranged fan," said Kerr. Kerr said he fell asleep and he awakened to see the suspect trying to choke Minatel. "I assisted to make sure that didn't happen," Kerr said. The Canadian businessman said he and members of the soccer team kept a close eye on the suspect as the plane landed to make sure he did not threaten other passengers.

Oliver Minatel, a 22-year-old player from Brazil, was attacked from behind, he says . Witnesses say suspect tried to choke him with the cord from his headphones . Team says forward is OK, will play Saturday night; suspect was taken for evaluation .

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(CNN)A federal grand jury has charged millionaire real estate heir Robert Durst, a convicted felon, with unlawful possession of a firearm. In this week's indictment, Durst, 71, is accused of possessing a .38 caliber revolver, which authorities allegedly found in his hotel room last month. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if found guilty of that charge, according to the indictment. The charge is the latest in a litany of accusations. A Louisiana judge ruled last month that Durst, who is charged with first-degree murder, will be held without bail at a facility near New Orleans. Durst was featured this spring in "The Jinx," a HBO documentary about him. He's accused of killing his friend Susan Berman at her home in California in 2000. He also faces state weapons and drugs charges in New Orleans. Last month, court documents claimed that Durst had a loaded .38-caliber revolver, marijuana, his passport and birth certificate, a latex mask with salt-and-pepper hair attached and more than $40,000 cash. He also had a UPS tracking number. The package was intercepted by the FBI, prosecutors said, and it contained clothing and more than $100,000 in cash. But the bigger courtroom fight will probably unfold in Los Angeles, where the district attorney filed a first-degree murder charge against Durst last month. He awaits extradition to Los Angeles to face that charge. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. Prosecutors accuse Durst of "lying in wait" and killing Berman, a crime writer and his longtime confidante, because she "was a witness to a crime." Berman was shot in the head in her Beverly Hills home in December 2000, shortly before investigators were set to speak with her about the 1982 disappearance of Durst's first wife, Kathleen McCormack Durst. Durst has long maintained that he had nothing to do with Berman's death or his wife's disappearance. It's not the first time he has been accused of murder. He admitted killing and dismembering his neighbor at a 2003 trial, but he was acquitted after arguing that he acted in self-defense. FBI agents have also asked local authorities to examine cold cases in locations near where Durst lived over the past five decades, a U.S. law enforcement official said. Unsolved cases in Vermont, upstate New York, the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California are among those getting a new look, the official said. Durst's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said it's a sign that authorities are desperate. DeGuerin has said Durst has serious medical conditions. He is suffering from hydrocephalus, which required brain surgery a couple of years ago, DeGuerin said. Doctors implanted a stent on the right side of his head, the attorney said. "At the same time he was in the hospital, he had an operation on his esophagus to remove cancer. So he's got some serious health issues. ... He's lost a lot of weight. He's not in good health," DeGuerin said. DeGuerin also said that Durst is "mildly autistic" and has received treatment in the past from one of the country's leading experts in Asperger's syndrome and autism.

Durst, a convicted felon, charged with unlawful possession of a firearm . He is accused of having a .38 caliber revolver and faces up to 10 years in prison .

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(CNN)The graffiti, written in a French chalk quarry and dating back almost 100 years, is plain and stark. "HJ Leach. Merely a private. 13/7/16. SA Australia," reads one inscription. "HA Deanate, 148th Aero Squadron, USA. 150 Vermilyea Ave, New York City," another says. "9th Batt Australians, G. Fitzhenry, Paddington, Sydney, N.S.W., 1916 July; Alistair Ross, Lismore, July," reads a third. They were World War I soldiers, four of almost 2,000, whose writings have recently been found underneath battlefields near Naours, France, about 120 miles north of Paris. Photographer Jeff Gusky, who has been chronicling details of the site, describes the inscriptions -- and the underground city in which they were found -- as "breathtaking." "This is a treasure trove," he said Monday night from his home in East Texas, where he works as an ER doctor. "Even locally, no one realized what was there." Gusky, a National Geographic photographer, has chronicled the area in a portfolio he calls "The Hidden World of WWI." The revelations of the underground city, which extends for miles in some directions, have come to light recently only because of a series of events, Gusky said. The underground city actually dates back centuries but was sealed up in the 18th century. It was rediscovered in the late 19th century. During World War I, soldiers would take refuge in the carved-out rooms and pathways. The front was sometimes mere miles away; the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest in world history, was fought nearby in 1916. The land was privately owned for many years and generally off-limits to outsiders, said Gusky, but it changed hands in 2013. The rights to operate it were purchased by a consortium of villages that wanted to promote awareness of the area's history, he said. Researching the city is a painstaking task. For one thing, it's dark, so observers generally haven't realized what's in there until they've gone exploring. Moreover, the maze-like extensiveness of the site has made discovery a slow process. "They go on and on and on. They're so elaborate in some places, there are maps carved into stone so the soldiers wouldn't get lost," he said. The graffiti looks like it was written yesterday, he added. Gusky has noted 1,821 names. About 40% are Australian, with most of the others identified as British. Fifty-five are Americans, and 662 have yet to be traced. For Gusky, the graffiti provides a human connection with men who lived a century ago. In many cases, they just wanted to be remembered, he said. "Someone could be in this place one day and the next fighting at the front," he said. Leach, "merely a private," was killed a month later in battle, Gusky observed. "It could very well have been the last time he recorded his name as a living, breathing human being," he said. 7 things you didn't know about the man who started WWI .

World War I graffiti is discovered in an underground quarry . The writings are generally plain, with listings of names and places . Photographer: Graffiti a human connection to the past .

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Durham, North Carolina (CNN)President Obama's nomination of Loretta Lynch to become the country's first African-American woman attorney general is a historic pick. Her confirmation, however, is now taking on new historical relevance as her wait for a confirmation vote by the full Senate drags into its sixth month. The period between the Senate Judiciary Committee's vote to confirm and the full Senate vote -- which in Lynch's case has not been scheduled -- has lasted longer for her than for any attorney general nominee in recent history. By the time the Senate returns from Easter recess on Monday, it'll have been longer than the eight previous nominees for the job -- combined. Lynch, currently the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, cleared the committee February 26 by a vote of 12-8, with Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Flake of Arizona joining Democrats in sending the nomination to the full Senate. Obama nominated Lynch to replace Attorney General Eric Holder on November 8, after Holder had announced plans to leave the post weeks earlier. Hundreds of miles from Washington, longtime residents of Durham, North Carolina, were beaming with pride. Lynch's family moved to the city when she was a child. Her parents, married for 60 years, still live there. They watched the announcement on television . "That was encouraging but I knew then that we had a fight on our hands," said Lynch's father, the Rev. Lorenzo Lynch. "I've been in politics most of my life. I know that nothing is certain, and I know that nothing is easy." Lorenzo Lynch, 82, is a retired Baptist preacher and was active in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He ran, unsuccessfully, for mayor of Durham in 1973. For the next round of his daughter's "fight," he traveled to Washington in late January to attend his daughter's confirmation hearing before the Judiciary Committee. "I heard a lot at that hearing that I've heard since childhood. That is the presupposition of the mindset," Lorenzo Lynch said. "The dual system or the dual treatment." When asked to provide specific examples, Lorenzo Lynch deferred to the state branch of the NAACP and E. Lavonia Allison, a Durham activist who has known Loretta Lynch since the family moved to Durham. "I don't want to think about the epidermis, but some people are thinking that way," Allison said, suggesting that Lynch's confirmation vote has been delayed because Lynch is African-American. "When it has taken so long, when it has been so different from any other person who has been nominated ... how else can we interpret that it is so different?" Allison said. In March, Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-North Carolina, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said, "I think race certainly can be considered as a major factor in the reason for this delay, but it's also the irrationality of the new Republicans." Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, evoked imagery of the segregated South in criticism of Republicans, saying Lynch had been "asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the Senate calendar." Durbin was harshly criticized by Arizona's Sen. John McCain. "I deeply regret that the senator from Illinois chose to come here yesterday and question the integrity and motivation, mine and my Republican colleagues," McCain said on the Senate floor. "It was offensive and unnecessary, and I think he owes this body, Ms. Lynch and all Americans an apology," McCain added. "I thought he should be commended," Lorenzo Lynch said. "I think that's a poetic description of what has happened and poetry, like most language, is limited but it does have wings ... to carry a point." Giuliani pushes for Lynch confirmation . Senate Republicans adamantly deny the delay in scheduling a vote on Lynch's nomination is because she is African-American. Many point out that Lynch, if confirmed, will be replacing the country's first African-American attorney general who was confirmed by an overwhelming margin. Instead, Republicans and Democrats say the delay is part of an ongoing partisan battle. For some, it's part of a fight over a human trafficking bill that has stalled in the Senate. For others, the delay is retaliation for President Obama's 2014 executive actions on immigration. On the eve of Holder's announcement of his plans to leave the Department of Justice, the political number crunchers at FiveThirtyEight.com predicted that whoever the President nominated would "likely face at least a moderately tough confirmation hearing in the Senate." Some of Lynch's supporters across North Carolina have organized to convince the state's two Republican senators to support Lynch's confirmation. In March, several dozen North Carolina women, led by the NAACP, traveled to Washington to meet with their senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis. Reportedly, the meeting lasted nearly an hour and was very cordial. At a news conference at the Washington Press Club, the group blasted the senators for opposing the nomination. "Senator Burr and Senator Tillis, it is time for you to act like you have some sense. It's past time. You have embarrassed the state of North Carolina," Allison said after the meeting. For their part, Burr and Tillis released a statement after the meeting: "While we remain concerned with Ms. Lynch's stated desire to lead the Department of Justice in the same manner as Eric Holder and will not be supporting her nomination, we are grateful that the group came to Washington to talk about this issue and exchange ideas. Weeks later, the NAACP organized protests outside the senators' offices in Raleigh, Charlotte and Wilmington. "I think there is a much deeper analysis," said North Carolina NAACP Branch President Rev. William Barber II. "I believe if she had been Clarence Thomas, she would have been confirmed." "Because of her courage, her character and her commitment to the law and to the enforcement of the laws of this land, particularly the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, and because her consciousness was shaped in the crucible of the civil rights movement -- that is what they fear," Barber said. Obama turns up the heat on Loretta Lynch confirmation 'limbo' Lorenzo Lynch says he carried his daughter to several civil rights marches on his shoulders. He admits that he did not think that much of the recent progress of African-Americans was possible when he was fighting for equal rights. Now, his small living room is filled with stacks of loosely organized newspaper stories about his daughter's nomination and photos of his visit to the White House. Lynch admits that he's never told his only daughter that he's proud of her, although he's sure she knows it. He plans to change that, soon, regardless of the outcome of her pending nomination.

The nomination of Loretta Lynch as U.S. attorney general was announced in November . She would be the country's first African-American woman attorney general . But as her confirmation process drags on, her supporters wonder why .

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(CNN)Are we alone in the cosmos? Or might there be intelligent life elsewhere? Last week, NASA scientists discussed in very concrete terms the steps to discovering life elsewhere in the universe over the next decade or two. This year is the 20th anniversary of the discovery of a planet around a star like our own sun, 51 Pegasi. Since then, ground-based surveys and NASA's Kepler satellite have discovered nearly 2,000 confirmed "exoplanets," and thousands more candidates await confirmation. Many of these planetary systems are quite unlike our own solar system. Some have large planets like Jupiter that orbit their stars far closer than Mercury, the innermost planet in our solar system. But smaller rocky planets like Earth, though harder to find, appear to be even more abundant. Life on Earth developed in its oceans about a billion years after the planet formed. That suggests that rocky planets with liquid water on their surfaces might also have developed primitive forms of life. Life as we know it is carbon-based and requires liquid water. Astronomers define the "habitable zone" around a star as the region within which liquid water can exist on a planet's surface. Any closer to the star, the water will boil into vapor; any farther and the water freezes into ice. Extrapolating from discoveries to date, astronomers estimate there are perhaps 40 billion Earth-like, habitable-zone planets in our Milky Way galaxy alone. Of course, there is a difference between single-celled organisms -- which developed 3.8 billion years ago and remained the most sophisticated form of life for another billion years or so -- and mammals, which appeared about 200 million years ago. And then the humans, who have existed for only 200,000 years. Intelligent life that can communicate via radio waves with other intelligent life is less than 100 years old here on Earth. So while planets that develop simple forms of life may be a dime a dozen, the number that have sentient beings with whom to converse -- even assuming they evolved as humans did, with ears and spoken language, or eyes and written language -- is likely to be tiny. And life that can use radio waves has existed on Earth for only 0.000002% of the planet's history -- 100 years out of 4.5 billion. If the half dozen or so rocky, Earth-like exoplanets now known are similar, the odds of discovering humanlike life on them are about the same as, well, winning your state lottery with one ticket. Of course, if there are 40 billion Earth-like planets out there, the odds improve quite a bit. If they all have histories like the Earth's, there might be 1,000 planets in the Milky Way that could support communicative beings. But before you start composing your first letter to an alien, think about this: The chance that those beings evolved on exactly the same time scale is minuscule. Another planet's 100 years of brilliance might have occurred a billion years ago, or it might happen a billion years in the future. A lot depends on how long communication capabilities last. Civilizations that can build huge telescopes and broadcast stations also have the technology to destroy their planet. So the duration of the Communication Age on a planet could be short. Not to mention: The average light-travel-time to such a planet could be tens of thousands of years, so unless humans evolve to be ageless, we're not exchanging IMs with aliens anytime soon. If advanced civilizations can maintain their capabilities for millions of years or more, the chances of communicating with them are not negligible. But in that case, they are likely to be far more sophisticated than we are (since they developed the capability far earlier than we did) -- so if they wanted us to know they exist, wouldn't they simply tell us? The SETI project has been listening for such broadcasts for more than 30 years in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Probably the most likely form of life on exoplanets is far more primitive. Astronomers have found signatures of organic molecules, the building blocks of life, in the interstellar material that permeates the space between stars in our galaxy. Possible signatures of living organisms on distant exoplanets include an oxygen-rich atmosphere, such as that created by the first bacteria on Earth, or perhaps methane or carbon dioxide. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, to be launched in 2018, will look for evidence of life in the atmospheres of rocky, habitable exoplanets. NASA's rovers have shown that Mars was once much more habitable. It had fresh-water lakes and streams of water running along its surface. Some water still remains, and there may yet be life discovered on Mars. New missions plan to look at Europa and Ganymede, moons of Jupiter that have liquid water below their icy surfaces. Life elsewhere in the universe, and even elsewhere in our own Milky Way galaxy, is practically inevitable. Signs of life on exoplanets orbiting nearby stars will probably be discovered in the coming decades with advanced telescopes. But the chance of talking to those little green men will probably have to wait for another few hundred million years.

NASA scientists discuss steps to discover life elsewhere in the universe over the next two decades . Meg Urry: Life elsewhere in the universe, and even elsewhere in our own Milky Way galaxy, is practically inevitable . But the chances that we can communicate with that life are slim, she writes .

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(CNN)It took prosecutors months to present 131 witnesses to support their claim that former NFL star Aaron Hernandez killed semi-pro player Odin Lloyd. On Monday, Hernandez's defense gave its side of the story, wrapping up its witnesses in less than a day. Hernandez, 25, is on trial for the shooting death of Lloyd, whose body was found in a Massachusetts industrial park in June 2013. Now that the defense has rested, it won't be long before the jury begins deliberating. Much of the evidence in the former New England Patriots' case is circumstantial. Here are some key points jurors will have to consider after each side makes closing arguments on Tuesday: . As news spread that Hernandez was under investigation in June 2013, Patriots owner Robert Kraft called in the tight end for a meeting two days after Lloyd's death. "He said he was not involved," Kraft testified last week. "He said he was innocent, and that he hoped that the time of the murder incident came out because he said he was in a club." There's only one potential problem with that claim: The time Lloyd was killed hadn't been made public yet by the time Hernandez met with Kraft. So how could Hernandez have known when Lloyd was killed? "What a great, great witness for the prosecution," CNN legal analyst Mel Robbins said. "Basically what happened is Aaron Hernandez lied to his boss. And the only way you rebut it is if you put him on the stand." When questioned by a defense attorney, Kraft said that he'd never had any problems with Hernandez and that the player was always respectful to him. Hernandez's fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins, revealed for the first time last week that Hernandez told her to dispose of a box from the couple's home that she said reeked of marijuana. She also said she didn't know what was in the box. That revelation may contradict the prosecution's contention that the weapon used in the killing was in the box. The murder weapon in the case has not been recovered. During cross-examination by the defense, Jenkins testified that she suspected marijuana because the box smelled "skunky." Earlier, she told prosecutors during direct examination that she didn't know what was in the box. She said Hernandez never told her, and she never looked. After concealing the box with her daughter's clothing, Jenkins said she threw it away in "a random dumpster" but could not remember exactly where. Much testimony has focused on the shoes Hernandez wore the night Lloyd was shot. A Nike consultant testified that Hernandez was wearing Nike Air Jordan Retro 11 Lows. About 93,000 pairs of that shoe were made, significantly fewer in a size 13. The shoe's sole makes a distinct impression, said Lt. Steven Bennett of the Massachusetts State Police. The consultant testified under questioning from defense attorney Jamie Sultan that other Nike shoes -- more than 3 million -- make the same impression. Yet Bennett, who works in crime scene services, testified that the footprint left near Lloyd's body was "in agreement" or consistent with the Air Jordan Retro 11 Lows size 13. Although he did not have the shoes that Hernandez wore that night, he used an identical pair to make his determination. Bennett did so by creating a transparency of the sole and laying it over a photo of the footwear impression. Jurors watched as he drew lines showing how the sole aligned with the impression. What may have been a key moment for the prosecution was quickly derailed by defense attorney Jamie Sultan. Sultan questioned the science behind analyzing footprints. He introduced a March 2014 investigative report written by Bennett saying the partial footwear impression lacked certain detail and quality to be able to make a comparison. Prosecutors used grainy footage from Hernandez's home security system to suggest he was holding a .45-caliber handgun -- the same kind of gun police said was used to kill Lloyd. Hernandez could be seen on camera pulling into his driveway minutes after Lloyd was shot to death in an industrial park about a mile from Hernandez's home. "In my opinion, the firearm shown in the video stills is a Glock pistol," Glock sales manager Kyle Aspinwall testified. The video is time-stamped minutes after workers in a nearby industrial park describe hearing loud noises like fireworks -- the moment prosecutors say Lloyd was gunned down after getting out of a car Hernandez was driving. Hernandez's lawyers then showed a different part of the video time-stamped a few seconds earlier with Hernandez holding what appeared to be a shiny object in one hand, suggesting it may be an iPad. "Glock pistols don't have white glows to them, do they?" defense attorney James Sultan asked. "No, they do not," Aspinwall answered. Sultan then displayed a soft-pellet gun similar in shape to a Glock, suggesting it could also be the object Hernandez is holding. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in Lloyd's death. But already, his arrest has led to deep consequences, including his release from the New England Patriots and the loss of millions of dollars in expected earnings. So what might make a young man who had signed a $40 million contract risk everything? Prosecutors have said Lloyd might have done or said something that didn't sit well with Hernandez. They claimed Hernandez rounded up some friends and orchestrated a hit to settle the score. Hernandez's co-defendants, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, also pleaded not guilty and will be tried separately. But the case gets more complicated. Evidence collected in Lloyd's death investigation led to two more murder charges against Hernandez in a separate case in Boston. Hernandez is also accused of shooting Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, allegedly over a spilled drink at a nightclub. That double shooting took place in July 2012, almost a year before Lloyd was killed. Prosecutors have said in pretrial hearings that Hernandez may have been mad at himself for possibly showing Lloyd the spot where that double murder happened. During trial, prosecutors suggest a text written by Hernandez the day before the murder saying he was "buggin" for showing Lloyd "the spot" may have played a role in plotting to kill Lloyd. The judge has banned any mention of the double murder in Lloyd's trial, ruling it is prejudicial. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in those deaths as well. But when the Lloyd trial ends, that murder trial awaits him. CNN's Jason Hanna, Lawrence Crook, Laura Dolan and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.

Closing arguments in the case are set for Tuesday . Aaron Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Odin Lloyd . His defense lawyers made their case on Monday .

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(CNN)Saturday at the Masters, like any PGA tournament, has been dubbed 'Moving Day'. It's the day after the fat has been cut and the big dogs make their move up -- or occasionally down -- the leader board. Players rose and players fell away on Moving Day at the 2015 Masters. Rory McIlroy went out in 32 and briefly raised the crowd's hopes that he had a sniff of completing an improbable Grand Slam on Sunday night. But he dropped two shots late on in the round to finish six under par. Woods comeback? A rejuvenated Tiger Woods showed touches of his old class mixed with the ragged unpredictability that has marked his new game to finish six under too. A huge improvement, but still a long way from him wearing the green jacket again. "It could have been a super low today," a disappointed Woods said after his round. "All in all. It should have been two shots better." Phil Mickelson powered around the course, threatening to challenge too, finishing on eleven under. As did a late Justin Rose surge, where he fired four birdies in a row to finish twelve under and in second place. In the end, there was lots of moving, but no one could move quick enough or far enough to trouble Jordan Spieth. Infallible . The 21 year old has been nothing short of a sensation at Augusta. His infallible first two rounds gave the 21 year old from Dallas, Texas a five shot lead going in to the third round. That has happened only three times at Augusta before, and on all three occasions the leader has gone on to win. Spieth's 15 birdies are just 10 away from Phil Mickelson's Masters mark set in 2001. He could also break Tiger Woods 270 set in 1997. As it happened, Spieth played a steady, almost conservative round. When he made the occasional mistake, like the bogey at 15, he hit back straight away with a birdie next hole. As his third round came to a close the birdies flowed, his putting impeccable. The only nerves on show came during the last two holes with a double bogey at the 17. Echos of 1996? When reminded of some of the great Augusta comebacks, including Nick Faldo's 11 shot swing in 1996, Tiger Woods still believes anything is possible. "It really is," he said. "We saw what happened in 1996. You never know. It depends on the conditions." He is, of course, right. As Greg Norman knows only too well, anything can happen on the final day. But that kind of crescendo also depends on Spieth experiencing a Greg Norman-style meltdown. Spieth's double bogey on the 17th and wobble on the 18th will give the chasing pack some hope. Yet, for all the movement of Mickelson, Woods, Rose and McIlroy, they made just a one shot dent into Spieth's second round lead. He will begin Sunday four shots ahead.

Jordan Spieth holds lead in 2015 Masters . Strong starts from McIlroy and Woods . Both fall away as 21 year old Spieth takes control .

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(CNN)A Delaware father is in stable condition and improving as his two boys remain in critical condition after they became sick -- perhaps from pesticide exposure, federal officials say -- during a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Steve Esmond, his teenage sons and the teens' mother fell ill more than two weeks ago in St. John, where they were renting a villa at the Sirenusa resort. The family has confidence in their medical professionals and is hopeful for a full recovery, according to a statement released Monday from the family's attorney, James Maron. The teens' mother, Theresa Devine, was treated at a hospital and released, and is in occupational therapy, Maron said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that the presence of a pesticide at the rented villa in St. John may have caused the illnesses, which were reported to the EPA on March 20. Paramedics were called to the villa, which the family was renting. Esmond was found unconscious; the boys and their mother were having seizures, Maron said. The lawyer did not say who called the paramedics. Elias Rodriguez, an EPA spokesman, said the agency's preliminary test results "do show that there was a presence of methyl bromide in the unit where the family was staying." Exposure to methyl bromide can result in serious health effects, including central nervous system and respiratory system damage, according to the EPA. The use of the pesticide is restricted in the United States because of its acute toxicity. It's not allowed to be used indoors. Only certified professionals are permitted to use it in certain agricultural settings. For example, the pesticide is injected into the soil of some U.S. strawberry fields, said Judith Enck, an EPA regional administrator. "We trust that the strawberry producers are making sure that there's not excess pesticide residue on strawberries," Enck said. "You definitely want to wash them really good. "This is a pesticide that's been around for a long time, and ironically because of its impact and damage to the ozone layer, it's being phased out because of the air impacts of this fumigant," Enck added. Field workers at a Connecticut nursery were poisoned by the chemical in 1990, according to the Journal of Industrial Medicine. In 2011, warehouse workers in California fell ill after exposed to grapes imported from Chile fumigated with methyl bromide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, said many parts of the world banned the chemical, a neurotoxin. The agent is to be used only outdoors. The chemical is also odorless and colorless, Gupta said. "It's not something that you would have any warning of," Gupta said. The chemical is often mixed with tear gas so people can be aware of its presence, he added. The EPA said it is working with local government agencies to investigate whether the family was made ill after a fumigation at the resort on March 18 and whether any environmental regulations or laws were violated. Enck, the EPA regional administrator, said paramedics were called early on March 20. Sea Glass Vacations, which acts as a rental agent for several units at Sirenusa, said the unit directly below the one where the family stayed was recently treated for pests, but that the family's unit was not treated. The company said it licensed an outside company, Terminix, for the pest control services. On Monday, it ended its contract with Terminix. In an email to CNN before the termination, a spokesman for Terminix wrote that the company is "committed to performing all work ... in a manner that is safe for our customers, employees, the public and the environment" and is "looking into this matter internally, and cooperating with authorities." The U.S. Department of Justice has initiated a criminal investigation. "Many questions remain why an odorless pesticide of this level of toxicity could be manufactured, distributed and applied in a residential area resulting in this family's injuries," Maron said. The attorney added: "The family is confident that the responsible parties will be brought to justice and held accountable." CNN's Rob Frehse, Jean Casarez, Sara Ganim, Jason Hanna, Laura Ly and Michael Martinez contributed to this report.

Chemical damages ozone and is being phased out, though it's used in strawberry fields, EPA says . A Delaware family becomes ill at a resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands . Preliminary EPA results find methyl bromide was present in the unit where they stayed .

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(CNN)Recently, a New York judge issued an opinion authorizing service of divorce papers on a husband completely via Facebook. What exactly is "service of process"? Serving people with legal papers is an industry and its own body of law premised on one guiding principle: if you are going to sue someone, you should at least let them know about it. Sounds simple, right? In theory it is. In practice, it turns out people don't like being sued. It also turns out that, to many defendants, procrastination of a lawsuit is a viable defense. Just as you may avoid bad news in life, defendants tend to avoid process servers. Once a defendant has been served, that means the judicial proceedings begin. Unfortunately, that means defendants have an incentive to go "off the grid". Although every state is different, the law of service of process has evolved this way: the ideal and fairest way to notify a person of a lawsuit is to have another human hand the papers to the defendant in person, and have some proof that the person was the defendant. In-person service is not always possible, for obvious reasons. So, the law had to develop methods of alternate service, but carefully balance a defendant's right to have notice of a lawsuit, against a diligent plaintiff's access to court if a defendant is avoiding the inevitable. As reliable as the U.S. mail is, regular mail is not a reliable form of serving papers. Not because the postmen can't be trusted; they can. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, will keep them from delivering those papers. Instead, it's defendants -- no wait, all of humanity -- that can't be trusted. Every one of us has ignored mail or even pretended we didn't get it. Defendants are no different. One form of alternate service is "nail and mail" service. This means that you take a hammer and nail, and nail the papers to the defendant's front door. The problem with that is that many defendants are nomadic by nature. Just because you find a house that a defendant stayed at, doesn't mean he'll be back there anytime soon. Another, even odder form of "service" is service by publication. This is an almost laughable legal fiction. If you can't find a defendant, a judge might let you serve by publication. That means that a plaintiff can take out an ad in five point font for a week in an obscure publication, on the off chance you are reading the classified ads of the Secaucus Law Journal looking for lawsuits against you. As laughable as serving someone by tweeting it sounds, it's at least more rational than this antiquated method. At first blush, the idea of service by Facebook seems to offend traditional notions of ensuring notification of a defendant of a case against him. When it comes to serving papers, however, "traditional" doesn't necessarily mean "good." Service by publication or nailing paper to the door of an empty apartment is hardly reliable; it's just service of last resort. For those people who are concerned that being served papers will become a Facebook announcement in a news feed, along with the photos of dinner or kittens, to be "liked" by all your gawking "friends," we're not quite there ... yet. While the older forms of alternate service were public, most electronic service takes the form of email. Where email isn't available, it is Facebook private messaging, which should be as private as email. That's the form of service authorized by the court here. So for now, we're not quite putting lawsuits on Instagram ... but I wouldn't rule it out in the future. Online service may be a new frontier, but it's not unheard of. Most of us exist more online now than we "live" in a particular condo, or Mom's basement. Virtually everyone has a phone or access to the Internet. Not everyone has a lease or a mortgage. Plus, online service has the added benefit of tracking. Believe me, somewhere, some computer has already logged the fact that you read this article, how long you read it, and even how far down you scrolled before you got bored and bailed on the article (thanks for still being here, by the way). In a way, maybe online service is long overdue. You can outrun a process server for a while, but sooner or later, all of us have to go back online -- and no human can outrun an email.

A court allowed a wife to serve divorce papers via Facebook . Danny Cevallos: Why not let people be found via social media?

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(CNN)The commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency will make an emergency visit to the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria on Saturday, a spokesman says. Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl will assess the humanitarian situation in the camp and speak with individuals about ways to relieve the suffering of the people who remain there. "The visit is prompted by UNRWA's deepening concern for the safety and protection of 18,000 Palestinians and Syrian civilians, including 3,500 children," agency spokesman Christopher Gunness told CNN's Paula Newton. "Yarmouk remains under the control of armed groups, and civilian life continues to be threatened by the effects of the conflict." Krähenbühl will meet with senior Syrian officials, U.N. and relief agency staff members, and displaced people from the camp itself. The Yarmouk refugee camp, which sits just 6 miles from central Damascus, has been engulfed in fighting between the Syrian government and armed groups since December 2012. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the militant group ISIS and the al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front control about 90% of the camp. The organization also claims that the Syrian government has dropped barrel bombs on the camp as recently as Sunday in an effort to drive out armed groups. Yarmouk was formed in 1957 to accommodate people displaced by the Arab-Israeli conflict and is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. The U.N. relief agency estimates that there were 160,000 people in the camp when the conflict began in 2011 between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and opposition fighters. That number has dropped to about 18,000, according to estimates. Yarmouk has been largely cut off from aid since November 2013. There have been widespread reports of malnutrition and shortages of medical care. "We will not abandon hope," Gunness said. "We will not submit to pessimism, because to abandon hope would be to abandon the people of Yarmouk. ... We cannot abandon the people of Yarmouk, and we will not, hence this mission."

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency chief will visit Yarmouk camp Saturday . Pierre Krähenbühl will assess the humanitarian situation there . Yarmouk has been engulfed in fighting since December 2012 .

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London (CNN)It wasn't messrs Clooney, Pitt and their nine accomplices who sailed down an elevator shaft and cracked open dozens of safety deposit boxes at a London vault during the Easter weekend. But last weekend's raid in the heart of the city's jewelry district feels like it has been taken from a movie like "Ocean 11" given its daring and planning. Such robberies are rare: the gang didn't follow the current criminal trend of manipulating digits in cyber space but instead went back to basics and committed their burglary in a way not seen in London for more than 40 years. In September 1971, the staff of a bank in Baker Street, central London, arrived at work to find that thieves had dug a 40-yard tunnel from a shop they had rented, hauled in a thermic lance and explosives and opened the strong room. The gang got away with a haul worth around £30 million (the incident later formed the basis of the movie "The Bank Job.") But how are such heists organized? Roy Ramm, a former commander of specialist operations at London's Scotland Yard for 27 years, explains. In the UK burglaries and robberies are often committed by working-class people, people who would otherwise have blue collar jobs. In more than 25 years as a Scotland Yard detective, I never met a Raffles- or a Thomas Crown-style criminal from a middle-class background who had then turned to the hard side of crime. Sophisticated heists like the Hatton Garden raid are generally not a natural progression for burglars who began with smaller domestic break-ins. Many neighborhood criminals commit burglaries to feed drugs habits and acquire long strings of convictions that mean they are always on the police radar. Occasionally, they steal things they can't sell and end up dumping valuable paintings or antiques when they are not able to sell them on quickly. More specialist criminals -- those, for example, who target museums or country houses -- will be very specific and steal only what they know they can quickly convert to untraceable cash. Many of those who commit the bigger crimes or run major criminal enterprises combine high IQs with a kind of raw street intelligence. One of their skills is the ability to recognize a criminal opportunity when it presents itself, possibly from a source of inside information. Probably the biggest difference between any heist you'll see in a movie and its real-life equivalent is the motive. I've never encountered any criminal who committed a high value crime just for the challenge or to prove that it could be done. The only reason has been for the money, often to support a certain lifestyle and to fund other criminal enterprises. Inside information is one way of identifying a criminal opportunity, using people who are able to provide that crucial detail or who will participate in some small way to facilitate the crime. The Brinks MAT robbery in 1983 -- a case which I was involved in at the time -- saw a criminal gang escape with gold bullion worth more than £28 million (around £88 million -- or $130million -- adjusting for inflation) from a warehouse at London's Heathrow Airport. The Knightsbridge safety deposit robbery of 1987 saw a gang make off with tens of millions of pounds in cash and valuables from an upscale London neighbourhood (the true amount will never be known). Both were made possible by inside information: it's an angle that London detectives investigating last weekend's heist will be looking at very closely. The planning behind the Hatton Garden raid will have been meticulous. The target will have been observed, perhaps for months, and the thieves will have decided on the right time to commit the crime. A long weekend or a public holiday are occasions when more time may be available, also perhaps when regular staff are away. Sometimes the mastermind behind the raid will need a larger team of criminals to do a specific job. Usually they will already be known directly to each other, perhaps because they worked on other jobs together. Possibly a specialist can be brought in by another team member -- but they have to be able to trust each other and trust comes from understanding, so gangs in the UK tend to come from the same social and ethnic group, maybe even limited to one relatively small geographic area. Even though there is more diversity in society, it would be unusual to find a broad ethnic or social mix in the team put together for a major crime. Vehicles will have been obtained, stolen or purchased for cash and their identities cloned or changed. Equipment will have been sourced. Everything will have been cleaned, cleaned and cleaned again to remove forensic traces. They will plan routes that avoid CCTV and timings that attract the least attention. They will have untraceable disposable phones and an outside team to warn the inside men of any problems. They will have planned their getaway, their clean-up and how and when they are going to dispose of anything that might link them to the crime scene -- and of course how they are going to sell on the proceeds of their crime. What criminals steal doesn't vary that much. Cash is probably first choice, followed by anything that can quickly and easily be converted to cash, like gold, jewellery and watches. The conversion of stolen goods to cash is risky and expensive: the Brinks MAT bullion that was traced was because it had been clumsily smelted and then sold on. Fine paintings and rare antiques are less desirable for experienced criminals -- unless they are stealing to order -- because they are so identifiable and because the black market is so much smaller. A painting may sell at an international auction for millions of dollars but it will only fetch a fraction of its true value from a dishonest collector. London detectives investigating the Hatton Garden heist will be looking very closely at the possibility of inside involvement. But police enquiries won't stop there. They will look at every aspect of how the target business operates, then try to think like criminals to identify the weaknesses in physical and operational security that the gang may have been informed about or else spotted and then exploited. The forensic assault on the crime scene will be immense. In recent years forensic science has made major advances in identifying trace evidence and investigators will look for any scrap of evidence that might yield the DNA of a criminal. CCTV footage from street cameras and from inside private premises will be analyzed and vehicle movements logged and cross-checked. Rewards for information will be offered. Witnesses will interviewed. In the police's criminal intelligence branch, the movements of known criminals will be analyzed and the networks of sources -- informers -- will be tasked to report what they hear. The details of any identifiable goods which have been stolen will be circulated to known markets, both in the UK and internationally. The detectives investigating these major crimes in the UK see them as an exciting challenge to their professionalism. They don't admire the criminals but they have less contempt for a gang that builds a sophisticated plan and causes no personal harm to anyone than say for a violent robber. But the investigation will still be relentless.

Police in London are trying to catch the gang which staged a multi-million heist during the Easter vacation . Former police commander: Such crimes require meticulous planning and use of information by criminals . The masterminds behind such complicated crimes carefully assemble their gangs with men they can trust .

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(CNN)Fans of the late actor Paul Walker knew that watching him in "Furious 7" would be bittersweet. Even so, many moviegoers said the final scenes of the new film, which earned a record $146 million over the weekend, still packed an emotional wallop. "Not gonna lie, I shed a few tears at the end of Furious 7. The tribute to Paul Walker was very well done," one woman said Monday on Twitter. Hers was just one of a flood of messages on social media from people who said they got choked up during scenes featuring Walker, who died at 40 in a car crash in November 2013, before filming on "Furious 7" was completed. To finish Walker's scenes, the makers of the movie used body doubles, computer-generated images and even the actor's brothers. But it was the ending that really got to moviegoers. In finishing "Furious 7," the film's producers sought to retire Walker's character, Brian, while paying homage to his role in the blockbuster "Furious" action franchise. But they felt that killing him off might appear exploitative. "If they had gone down the other path, I think I would have refused to finish making this movie," director James Wan told BuzzFeed. Instead, the movie's makers chose to "retire Paul's character in the most sincere and elegant way (they) could," Wan said. Their idea was to have Brian retire from his dangerous, high-octane lifestyle out of a sense of responsibility to his growing family with girlfriend Mia, who is pregnant with their second child. A scene late in the movie shows him and Mia playing on a beach with their son while the crew looks on -- essentially saying goodbye. Then his longtime buddy Dom reminisces about their years together, leading to a montage of Walker scenes from the first six movies. The song that plays over the montage is "See You Again," a collaboration between Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth. Co-star Vin Diesel shared the video for the song late Sunday on his Facebook page, where it has more than 1.5 million likes. Fans on Twitter and Facebook mostly praised the movie's ending as a fitting tribute -- and an emotionally wrenching one. "Man I don't care how tough u are or how gangsta u claim to be . ...the last five minutes had me choked up in the movie theater ... I saw it 3 times in one day ... ...the ending is the deepest ending I've ever seen," one man wrote on the movie's Facebook page.

Moviegoers are tearing up during the emotional ending of "Furious 7" The movie's end is a tribute of sorts to actor Paul Walker, who died during filming .

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(CNN)Tejano star Selena, who died 20 years ago, is coming back in a big way: with a hologram-like figure. Billboard reports that the singer's family is creating a version of the singer that will be "walking, talking, singing and dancing digital embodiment" of her persona. "By no means is this something that's creepy or weird," her sister, Suzette Quintanilla, told Billboard. "We think it's something amazing. A lot of the new fans that did not get to experience what Selena was about hopefully will be able to get a sense of her with this new technology that's going to be coming out." Selena: 20 years after her death . The technology is being handled by Acrovirt LLC, a Nevada-based tech company. "Using detailed individual personalized functions spanning the mind, brain and body, the individual's Digitized Human Essence will autonomously learn and react on behalf of its human counterpart's," the company explained. The project is being called "Selena the One." Twenty years after she was killed by her fan club president, Selena remains incredibly popular, with her Facebook page recording 2 million likes and fans continuing to post videos and tributes. Selena will be the first figure to use the Acrovirt technology, Quintanilla said. "I'm excited at the fact that she will be the first ever, and the fact that she's a Latina makes it even more awesome," she said. "It's not about replacing Selena in any shape, way or form; it's just something to help her legacy continue growing." The family intends to expand her legacy in another way: with some new music. Selena the One "will release new songs and videos, will collaborate with current hit artists, and aims to go on tour in 2018," said a statement on Selena's Facebook page. Selena isn't the first performer to try the virtual route. A Michael Jackson hologram appeared at the Billboard Music Awards in 2014, and a hologram of Tupac Shakur performed at Coachella in 2012. But the new technology is a step forward, Quintanilla said. "People don't realize how fast technology is moving," she told Billboard. "This is something that we're building for another two to three years, so when 2018 comes around they'll be like, 'Oh, OK, we get it.' " Fans can join an Indiegogo campaign, www.selenatheone.com, to support the launch. The campaign, which hopes to raise $500,000, begins April 16. The commemorative Fiesta de la Flor in Corpus Christi, Texas -- which celebrates her life -- is scheduled for April 17 and 18. CNN's Katia Hetter contributed to this story.

Selena Quintanilla-Perez will be re-created as hologram-like figure . The Tejano singer is first to be part of a new technology, says sister . Selena was killed 20 years ago but remains hugely popular .

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(CNN)Gastrointestinal illness has gripped 100 people on the cruise ship Celebrity Infinity, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control. Of the ship's 2,117 passengers, 95 have suffered from vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms, the CDC said. The illness has also affected five members of the 964-person crew. The CDC has yet to determine what's causing the ailments. Two staffers from the agency are scheduled to meet the West Coast-based ship in San Diego on Monday. The Infinity left San Diego on March 29. It made its last stop in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on April 10, according to MarineTraffic.com. Celebrity Cruises has been taking action since the outbreak began, including increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures, keeping passengers informed and taking specimens from the afflicted for testing by the CDC, the agency says. According to the Maritime Executive, this is the third time the Celebrity Infinity has suffered an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness, with others occurring in 2006 and 2013. The ship was built in 2001 and refurbished in 2011.

100 passengers and crew members have been sickened on Celebrity Infinity . The ship, which is based on the West Coast, left San Diego in late March . The CDC is scheduled to board the ship Monday .

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(The Hollywood Reporter)The original cast of Twin Peaks is backing David Lynch in his salary standoff with Showtime. The stars have teamed together for a video backing the show's co-creator with a #SaveTwinPeaks campaign that says doing the revival without Lynch is "like pies without cherries," among other nods to the original drama series. Sherilyn Fenn, Sheryl Lee, James Marshall, Peggy Lipton and other familiar faces from the series appear in the video. (Some members have also set up a Facebook page.) Showtime renews 'Shameless,' orders 'Happyish' to series . Lynch announced Sunday that he was exiting Showtime's nine-episode revival over a salary dispute. He originally signed on to direct the project but noted that there was "not enough money offered to do the script the way I felt needed to be done." Showtime already had a deal in place with Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost to bring back the cult hit with star Kyle MacLachlan for a run in 2016, with sources telling THR that the scripts had already been written. Showtime chief on 'Twin Peaks' plans, 'Homeland' backlash and free speech . For its part, Showtime noted that it "continues to hold out hope" that Twin Peaks can be brought back with both its creators at the helm. MacLachlan is the only cast member currently confirmed for the reboot. Lynch to leave 'Twin Peaks' reboot . ©2015 The Hollywood Reporter. All rights reserved.

"Twin Peaks" creator David Lynch announced he was departing the Showtime revival of the cult series Sunday . Cast members of the show posted a YouTube video Wednesday pleading for him to return . Wednesday was the series' 25th anniversary .

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(CNN)A judge this week sentenced a former TSA agent to six months in jail for secretly videotaping a female co-worker while she was in the bathroom, prosecutors said. During the investigation, detectives with the Metro Nashville Police Department in Tennessee also found that the agent, 33-year-old Daniel Boykin, entered the woman's home multiple times, where he took videos, photos and other data. Police found more than 90 videos and 1,500 photos of the victim on Boykin's phone and computer. The victim filed a complaint after seeing images of herself on his phone last year. Boykin plead guilty to unlawful photography, aggravated burglary and violation of the computer act, the Nashville District Attorney's Office said. Police said the incident happened in a TSA-only restroom, and that there was no evidence public restrooms were targeted. A TSA official tells CNN that Boykin worked in an administrative capacity and didn't engage in public security screening. Assistant District Attorney Amy Hunter said this case was one of the worst invasion of privacy cases she's seen. "We are thankful that the sentence includes periodic confinement so that the sentence will hopefully make an impression on this defendant and others," Hunter said in a statement. The judge, Randall Wyatt, on Friday called the invasion of privacy "egregious." His sentence also includes five and a half years of probation, which will include GPS monitoring. Boykin was terminated last year when the investigation began. "TSA holds its employees to the highest ethical standards and has zero tolerance for misconduct in the workplace," TSA's Ross Feinstein said in a statement.

Former TSA agent Daniel Boykin, 33, videotaped his female co-worker in the restroom, authorities say . Authorities say they found 90 videos and 1,500 photos of the victim on Boykin's phone and computer . Boykin worked in an administrative capacity and didn't do public security screenings, TSA official says .

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(CNN)Five young Chinese feminists, whose detention has provoked an international outcry, may face up to five years in prison over their campaign for gender equality. The women were among detained on March 6 and March 7 in three Chinese cities -- Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou -- shortly before events they had planned for International Women's Day on March 8. Wang Qiushi, the lawyer for one of the women, Wei Tingting, said police had recommended on April 6 that prosecutors press charges of "assembling a crowd to disturb public order." Wang told CNN that prosecutors had to decide whether to pursue the charges within seven days of the submission -- by Monday. "We hope that the prosecutors will not approve a formal arrest warrant, following the laws and standing up to pressure," he said. "But nobody knows what to expect till Monday; we can do nothing but wait." The five were initially held on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." Wang said he didn't know why the charge against the women changed. "Neither should constitute a crime," he said. Campaign group Amnesty International said the new charge was less serious but still carried a maximum jail term of five years. "The women were doing nothing wrong, nothing illegal. They were simply calling for an end to sexual harassment," William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International told CNN. "Everything they were doing was in line with China's own laws and policies." Wang said that Wei had been subject to lengthy cross examinations during her detention but was well the last time they met on March 31. Two of the women are said to be in poor health. He added that the charges relate both to the activities the women planned for International Women's Day and earlier campaigns against domestic violence and for more public toilets for women. The five -- who are members of China's Women's Rights Action Group -- had planned to hand out stickers printed with slogans saying "stop sexual harassment, let us stay safe" and "go police, go arrest those who committed sexual harassment!" on women's day. The detention of Wei, along with Wu Rongrong, Li Tingting, Wang Man and Zheng Churan has drawn harsh criticism from the international community. Protests have taken place in several cities, including Hong Kong, that urge Chinese officials to "free the five." A social media campaign also uses the phrase as a hashtag. On Monday, Hillary Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, tweeted that the activists' detention was "inexcusable." Her comment drew a rebuke from Chinese authorities, who said public figures should respect China's sovereignty and independence. Maya Wang, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the activists were best known for their "performance art" style protests -- occupying public toilets to highlight long lines at women's restrooms, donning blood-spattered wedding gowns to protest domestic violence and shaving their heads to protest against barriers to higher education for women. "These activists epitomize the spirit of the times. They are young, confident, ready to challenge established norms," Wang said. As China prepares to mark the anniversary of landmark UN Fourth World Conference on Women in September, it will be hard for authorities to justify detaining the activists, she added.

Five young women have been detained by China since early March . They campaigned against sexual harassment . Their detention has attracted international criticism .

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(CNN)Those poor fish must have been wondering what the heck was happening to them. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has reported that a section of a fiberglass boat 20 or 30 feet long was spotted off the state's coast this week and has been towed into harbor. The debris is suspected to be from the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. The boat fragment was found this week and towed to Newport, Oregon, where it is moored at a marina. Inside were found -- more than four years and 4,000 miles later, if officials' suspicions are correct -- some specimens of a variety of yellowtail jack fish normally found in Japanese waters. Biologists with the Oregon Coast Aquarium and Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center inspected the debris while it was still at sea and determined that the ecological threat posed by invasive species was small. The remnants of the boat will be dried out, inspected further and taken to a landfill. But for the yellowtail jack fish, the journey is not over. They'll be taken to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Debris from boat to be dried, inspected and taken to landfill . The debris contained fish normally found in Japanese waters . The earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in March 2011 .

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(CNN)Two Alabama college students are accused of gang raping a woman while on spring break at Florida's Panama City Beach. Ryan Calhoun and Delonte Martistee, students at Troy University, were arrested and charged with sexual battery by multiple perpetrators, according to a statement from the Bay County, Florida, Sheriff's Office. The Troy, Alabama, Police Department found video of what appeared to be a Panama City gang rape during the course of an investigation into an unrelated shooting. The video was turned over to the Bay County Sheriff's Office. The Bay County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division has identified the victim in the video but said state law prevents the office from releasing any information about her. She was a visitor in Panama City. "We are not releasing her location or any additional information on victim to protect her from further trauma," said sheriff's spokesman Tommy Ford. After interviewing witnesses, Bay County investigators determined the alleged rape took place sometime from March 10, 2015, to March 12, 2015, behind Spinnaker Beach Club, a popular bar and dance club for spring breakers. A statement from Troy University confirmed the two men are current students. "The students have been placed on temporary suspension from school per the university's standards of conduct and disciplinary procedures. Martistee, a member of the track and field team, has also been removed from the team." The investigation continues and more arrests are expected, the Bay County Sheriff's Office said. Calhoun and Martistee will have their first court appearance Saturday morning, a Bay County deputy said. CNN could not determine if the men have attorneys.

Case begins when police find video of what appears to be a gang rape . 2 students from Troy University in Alabama are charged in the case .

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(CNN)"Star Wars" is once again back in our lives, the Burger-King couple helped us believe love can be found in fast food, and Mindy Kaling's brother had a shocking announcement. Those are just a few of the stories that trended this week. 1. 'Star Wars' streaming . The Force is with the streaming device of your choice, thanks to this week's surprise announcement that the entire "Star Wars" saga (so far, anyway) would be released on digital HD at the end of the week. Between this and the release of "Daredevil," we imagine lots of nerds called in sick on Friday. 2. Mindy Kaling's brother: I faked being black to get into medical school . Actress Mindy Kaling's brother says that he posed as a black man years ago to get into medical school and that the experience opened his eyes to what he calls the hypocrisy of affirmative action. Among those who disapprove of the book he's planning to write about the whole thing: his sister. 3. Farewell, Rosco . "Dukes of Hazzard" fans mourned the loss of actor James Best, best known as Hazzard County's hapless sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, this week. Others who passed on: "L.A. Law" actor Richard Dysart and frequent Clint Eastwood co-star Geoffrey Lewis. 4. When Burger met King, it was love . Joel Burger is set to marry Ashley King in July, and when fast food giant Burger King got wind of the nuptials, the couple scored a free wedding. 5. Michelle Obama broke it down (again) The first lady's Let's Move campaign has featured her dancing on more than one occasion, but she brought the (White) House down on Monday with the "So You Think You Can Dance" all-stars during the Easter egg roll. 6. "The Vampire Diaries" crisis . Not since Zayn Malik announced that he was quitting One Direction has Twitter had such a meltdown: "Vampire Diaries" star Nina Dobrev is leaving the CW series. "Nothing will be the same again," one fan tweeted. Other things we loved: . More than 10 million people have seen Anne Hathaway's take on Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball," complete with props, from Spike's hit show "Lip Sync Battle." Go, greased lightning! "Late Late Show" host and Tony winner James Corden put on "Grease" for Los Angeles drivers waiting in traffic. The cast of the movie "Suicide Squad," including Will Smith and Margot Robbie, assembled for the first time this week in a Twitter photo from director David Ayer. And no worries, future Joker Jared Leto was taking the photo (in an image inspired by classic comic book "The Killing Joke"). The comments are the whole reason to read this "Humans of New York" post on a woman named Beyonce.

A couple named Burger and King? Internet has a meltdown over "Vampire Diaries" departure .

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Irbil, Iraq (CNN)ISIS claimed it controlled part of Iraq's largest oil refinery Sunday, posting images online that purported to show the storming of the facility, fierce clashes and plumes of smoke rising above the contested site. The group said it launched an assault on the Baiji oil refinery late Saturday. By Sunday, ISIS said its fighters were inside the refinery and controlled several buildings, but Iraqi government security officials denied that claim and insisted Iraqi forces remain in full control. CNN couldn't independently verify ISIS' claim. It wouldn't be the first time that militants and Iraqi forces have battled over the refinery, a key strategic resource that has long been a lucrative target because the facility refines much of the fuel used by Iraqis domestically. If an attack damaged oil fields or machinery, it could have a significant impact. The refinery is just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, which Iraqi forces and Shiite militias wrested from ISIS less than two weeks ago. CNN's Jennifer Deaton and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.

ISIS says it controls several buildings at the Baiji oil refinery . Iraqi government security officials say Iraqi forces remain in full control . The refinery, Iraq's largest, has long been a lucrative target for militants .

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Havana, Cuba (CNN)All eyes are going to be on the new kid finally allowed to play and the big kid who for so long wanted nothing to do with him -- Cuba and the United States in the same diplomatic playground. Cuba pulled off a diplomatic coup by marshaling the support of other regional countries to insist on their attendance at the Summit of the Americas. And for the first time since 1962, the U.S. has not blocked Cuba's attempt to join. Now it's time to see how they play and who they play with -- especially Venezuela, which often falls out with Washington for crushing dissent at home and supplying Havana with billions of dollars in oil. Cuba is trying to re-establish itself at the two-day summit in Panama, arriving with more than 100 government officials, diplomats, small business people and artists. But Cuba's attempts to rebrand itself as an open, diverse society stumbled Wednesday when government supporters and anti-Castro supporters brawled in the streets of Panama. Video of the incident showed Cuban government officials exchanging punches and insults with dissidents until Panamanian police in riot gear broke up the melee. With the historic thawing in relations between the U.S. and Cuba, Washington now has urgent business to discuss with Havana. "We have really big issues with the Cubans that do need to be solved," said Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, who served as the chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. She added "The Cubans are typical of their negotiating style. You think it's going to be easy because we have said 'We are going to have good relations with you' and they say, 'That's not exciting for us and it is for you.' So they are hard negotiators as they always have been." The forum could provide the opportunity to push forward an agreement to re-establish formal relations and re-open embassies after nearly four months of negotiations. While President Barack Obama is not scheduled to meet Cuban leader Raul Castro, U.S. officials said there will be opportunities for "interaction" between the two leaders. The first time the two heads of state met was in 2013 at Nelson Mandela's funeral. Their brief handshake captured the world's attention and lit up social media. Few people then knew that the two countries were secretly involved in negotiations to thaw five decades of deadlocked Cold War-era relations. Obama had said he had hoped a U.S. Embassy would reopen in Havana before the summit, but Cuban officials have said they cannot imagine a full restoration of diplomatic ties until Cuba is removed from the U.S. State Department list of countries that support terrorism. "It would be difficult to explain that diplomatic relations have been resumed while Cuba has been unjustly listed as a state sponsor of international terrorism," said Josefina Vidal, the general director of U.S. affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry and lead negotiator in the talks. Cuba was added to the list in 1982, which includes Syria, Iran and Sudan. The designation carries financial sanctions which Cuban officials say further damages their already ailing economy. The State Department has sent a recommendation to the White House that Cuba be removed, paving the way for the White House to announce its intent to de-list Cuba as early as this week, two administration officials told CNN. Removal from the list "does not relate to whether or not we agree with everything a country does or whether we agree with its political system, or its foreign policy," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "It's a very practical review as to whether or not a government is sponsoring terrorism." Rhodes also dialed backed rhetoric on Venezuela, saying the country did not pose a national security threat to the United States, despite a recent declaration to that effect. The designation was meant to allow officials to target seven allegedly corrupt Venezuelan officials, but it ignited a firestorm, particularly in Cuba, which has close ties to Venezuela. Deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was a friend and admirer of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Chavez's successor Nicolas Maduro continues to send Cuba tens of thousands of barrels of oil each day, despite his country's own economic turmoil. In exchange, Cuba sends doctors, military advisers and sports trainers to Venezuela. In Cuba's state-run media, criticism of U.S. policy towards Venezuela has overshadowed the improvement in U.S.-Cuba relations. In March, Fidel Castro published a letter criticizing the U.S.' "brutal plans towards" Venezuela and the Cuban government promised "unconditional aid" to help defend against American threats. Its remains to be seen how much Cuba will risk its warming relations with the United States to back up ally Venezuela. But apparently there is little doubt among the Cuban people on what their government should do. A poll of 1,200 Cubans released on Wednesday found that 97% of the people surveyed by Miami-based polling firm Bendixen & Amandi on behalf of The Washington Post and Univision Noticias/Fusion supported improved U.S.-Cuban relations.

Cuba pulled off a diplomatic coup by gaining attendance at Summit of the Americas . First time since 1962, the U.S. has not blocked Cuba's attempt to join . Cuba is trying to re-establish itself at the two-day summit in Panama .

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(CNN)Getting caught napping on the job is never good. Getting caught napping on the job in the cargo hold of a plane takes it to a whole different level. Alaska Airlines Flight 448 was just barely on its way to Los Angeles from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday afternoon when the pilot reported hearing unusual banging from the cargo hold. "There could be a person in there so we're going to come back around," he told air traffic control. The banging in the cargo hold did come from a person and he turned out to be a ramp agent from Menzies Aviation, a contractor for Alaska Airlines that handles loading the luggage, the airline said. The man told authorities he had fallen asleep. It appears he was never in any danger. The cargo hold is pressurized and temperature controlled, the airline said. The plane was also only in the air for 14 minutes. The passengers knew something wasn't right, almost as soon as the plane took off. "All of a sudden we heard all this pounding underneath the plane and we thought there was something wrong with the landing gear," Robert Higgins told CNN affiliate KABC. The pounding grew louder. "At that point, we started hearing yelling, screams for help, very, very faint," Jamie Davis said. "That's when we notified the flight attendant that there was somebody underneath us." As the banging continued, a federal air marshal sprang into action. "At some point, the marshal kind of made himself known," said Troi Ge. "He started banging back, and he yelled really loud and said, 'We're getting ready to land, hold on to something.'" The emergency landing spooked the folks aboard Flight 448. Affiliate KOMO spoke to Marty Collins, another one of the passengers. "We just took off for L.A. regular and then ... about five minutes into the flight the captain came on and said we were going back and we'd land within five to seven minutes, and we did," Collins said. "When we landed was when all the trucks and the police and the fire trucks surrounded the plane." "I think it's scary and really unsafe, too," Chelsie Nieto told affiliate KCPQ. "Because what if it's someone who could have been a terrorist?" The ramp agent appeared to be in OK after the ordeal. He was taken to an area hospital as a precaution, the airline said. He passed a drug test and was discharged. The employee started work at 5 a.m. and his shift was scheduled to end at 2:30 p.m., just before the flight departed. "During a pre-departure huddle, the team lead noticed the employee was missing. The team lead called into the cargo hold for the employee and called and texted the employee's cell phone, but did not receive an answer. His co-workers believed he finished his shift and went home," the airline's blog said. Alaska Airlines said it's investigating. The man had been on a four-person team loading baggage onto the flight. All ramp employees have security badges, and undergo full criminal background checks before being hired, according to the airline. After the delay, the flight with 170 passengers and six crew members on board made it to Los Angeles early Monday evening. CNN's Greg Morrison contributed to this report.

Ramp agent tells authorities he fell asleep in cargo hold, Alaska Airlines says . The cargo hold is pressurized and temperature controlled .

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(CNN)One year after it was perpetrated, the kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls by a jihadist group in Nigeria remains a crime almost too horrifying to comprehend: Hundreds of teenaged girls, just finishing school, destined perhaps for significant achievement -- kidnapped, never to be seen again. "This crime has rightly caused outrage both in Nigeria and across the world," the country's President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, said Tuesday in marking the anniversary. "Today is a time to reflect on the pain and suffering of the victims, their friends and families. Our thoughts and prayers, and that of the whole Nigerian nation, are with you today." The girls were abducted on the night of April 14-15, 2014, in the town of Chibok, in northeastern Nigeria, about a two-hour drive from the border with Cameroon. The Government Girls Secondary School had been closed for a month because of the danger posed by Boko Haram militants, who are opposed to Western education, particularly for girls. But students from several schools had been called in to take a final exam in physics. The militants stormed the school, arriving in a convoy of trucks and buses and engaging in a gun battle with school security guards. Then they forced the girls from their dormitories, loaded them into trucks and drove them into the forest. Most have never been seen since, except in a photograph in which they sat on the ground in a semi-circle, clad in Islamic dress. They were between 16 and 18 years old. Police said the militants kidnapped 276 girls in all. About 50 managed to escape soon after they were abducted. Those who did not, it is feared, may have been raped, brutalized, enslaved and forced to convert to Islam. Their parents were stricken with grief. The world was appalled. On Twitter, a hashtag began trending and spread around the world: #BringBackOurGirls. On Tuesday, Malala Yousafzai, the 17-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the face for speaking out in favor of girls' education, sent a message to the kidnapped girls. "I am one of the millions of people around the world who keep you and your families foremost in our thoughts and prayers," she wrote. "We cannot imagine the full extent of the horrors you have endured. But please know this: We will never forget you." One year later, a few things have changed. Each of the missing girls has had a birthday in captivity. Each is now a year older. Nigeria's current president, Goodluck Jonathan, was defeated in his campaign for re-election, in part, it is thought, because he failed to effectively combat Boko Haram. Buhari, the incoming president, has pledged an aggressive effort to wipe out the group. But much remains unchanged, as well. Boko Haram still controls swathes of northeastern Nigeria. According to UNICEF, 800,000 children have been forced to flee their homes because of the conflict between the Nigerian military, civilian self-defense groups, and Boko Haram. Amnesty International says women and children continue to be abducted. And it says Boko Haram continues to kill in large numbers. Beyond that, more than 200 schoolgirls who had gathered one year ago to take their science exam are still missing. Their families are still bereft. And Tuesday on Twitter, a hashtag was still trending: #BringBackOurGirls.

Nigeria's President-elect sends nation's prayers to families of girls . World still expresses hope that the girls will return . Boko Haram controls a portion of northeastern Nigeria .

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(CNN)A hooded angel with black wings appeared on Tuesday near the spot where Walter Scott was shot and killed by a police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday. Since then, it's been taken up as an icon of the Black Lives Matter movement. When protesters held the winged figure at a Wednesday morning rally outside North Charleston's City Hall, the artwork was widely photographed. Creator Phillip Hyman grew up in the neighborhood where Scott, an unarmed black man, was shot in the back several times by a white police officer on Saturday. Hyman now lives in another part of the city and couldn't stop thinking about it. He woke up about 3 a.m. a couple of days after Scott was killed and began searching for materials. "Art is really about that moment. I just couldn't take it any longer," he said. Hyman dug into the trash and found a piece of wood that was the perfect size. Then he picked up a can of black house paint and started making the reclaimed wood into a work of art. The 56-year-old said he crafted the artwork as a way of mourning with the family. "That's who all this should really be about, not about the propaganda and making it your own story," said Hyman, who talks quickly and passionately about his subject material. "Shooting him in the back and just the indignity of it all." The figure, painted black in mourning for the family, has wings because it's going to heaven, Hyman said. The man depicted in Hyman's piece is dressed in a hooded sweatsuit, though that's not what Scott was wearing when he was killed. Hyman said he prefers not to say too much about who the black angel figure is. People can look at the art and make their own interpretations, he said. "It's a statement of where we are in America today. It's relevant in Charleston, Ferguson, Florida, anywhere now." After Hyman put the piece up on Tuesday near where Scott was killed, he got a call from a local protester with the Black Lives Matter movement, which has staged protests around the country in the wake of high-profile deaths at the hands of police. The group asked for permission to use his artwork in its demonstrations at the North Charleston City Hall. Hyman was happy to oblige. Each day, the protesters call Hyman and he either carries the angel-winged artwork to the protest, or the protesters come over to his home to pick it up. "It's taken a life of its own, so I'm letting it do what it's supposed to do now," he said. Freelance photographer Joel Woodhall spotted the artwork and wondered where it came from. Woodhall, who lives in nearby Charleston, said the artwork made him feel sorrow for a life ended too soon. "It was very emotionally moving. It's beautiful," he told CNN. This isn't the first time Hyman has used artwork to effect change: He restored a local theater to its former glory. He commemorated Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday by painting a mural in a bad neighborhood that needed light. Hyman's wife, Kay, says her husband always paints from the heart. "To see this recognized, he just goes into tears because it's very special to him."

The Walter Scott shooting inspired a local artist to create artwork . Phillip Hyman crafted the angel-winged artwork in the middle of the night . Protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement have started using it as his symbol .

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(CNN)For more than four days, police say, a 21-year-old quadriplegic with cerebral palsy was left lying in the woods of Philadelphia's Cobbs Creek Park with only a blanket and a Bible. The person responsible is the man's mother, who on Sunday faced a host of charges after allegedly abandoning her son and catching a bus to Maryland to see her boyfriend, said Philadelphia police Lt. John Walker. Low temperatures reached the mid-30s during the week, and rain was reported in the area Wednesday and Thursday. The man is unable to communicate how he came to be in the park, but Walker told reporters that the man's mother, whom he did not identify for CNN, left him there Monday morning. "Sometime at 11 a.m., the mother went to visit her boyfriend down in Maryland, over in Montgomery County, and we believe she placed the child into Cobbs Creeks Park," Walker said at a news conference. Walker told CNN the man was transported to Presbyterian Hospital, but CNN affiliates reported he was being treated at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He suffered eye problems, dehydration, malnutrition and a cut to the back that has raised infection concerns, the lieutenant told reporters. "This kid's obviously a fighter," Walker said during a Saturday news conference. "It's just unbelievable how we found him out there last night. To see that kid laying there, it's heartbreaking to see another human, especially a mother, can treat someone like that." Officials at Philadelphia's School of the Future, which the man attends, became concerned when he didn't show up for classes and tried to contact his mother but eventually reached an aunt, CNN affiliate WPVI reported. When police tracked down the mother, she told them her son was with her, Walker said. "She indicated to both family members and the police officers that the child was with her down with her boyfriend in Maryland," he said. The boyfriend was not aware of what happened, Walker told CNN affiliate KYW-TV. The mother now stands charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person, neglect of a care-dependent person, unlawful restraint, kidnapping and false imprisonment, the station reported. Walker told reporters she bore "clear criminal liability in this case." Maryland police took her into custody on Sunday, and she will face the charges in Philadelphia following an extradition hearing, WPVI reported. There was no reason for the man to suffer, Walker told philly.com, because the mother had sisters willing to take care of him. Two of his aunts, who have tried to obtain guardianship of him, were staying with him at the hospital, police told the website. The mother has another child, a 16-year-old, who is also being taken care of by family members, WPVI reported. The mother's arrest was only the beginning of the investigation, Walker told reporters. Authorities are interested in learning more about "how this kid was cared for, and what actions were taken and providing of services by different agencies." CNN's Carma Hassan contributed to this report.

Temperatures dipped into the mid-30s during 4 days man lay in woods of Philadelphia park . Mom told police son was with her in Maryland, but he was found Friday with blanket, Bible . Victim being treated for malnutrition, dehydration; mother faces host of charges after extradition .

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(CNN)What would you do if a complete stranger asked you for $100, or offered you an apple in a parking lot without explanation? These are only two of the 100 challenges Chinese-born, American-based Jia Jiang put himself up to when he decided to blog about "100 Days of Rejection", a project he launched after he quit his comfortable six-figure job to follow his dreams of being an entrepreneur at the age of 30, just weeks before his first child was born. After his tech start-up was declined investment, Jiang decided to confront his fear of rejection head-on. This led to his writing his book called Rejection Proof, part self-help and part motivational/autobiography, which is being released this week. Famously, in 2012 on his third day of the project, Jiang asked Austin, Texas, Krispy Kreme manager (Jackie Braun) to make him five interlinked donuts to mimic the Olympic symbol. To his surprise, she rose to the challenge and his rejection request faltered. He shared his video and it went viral on Reddit. Before long, Jiang (and Braun) were invited on talk shows and Jiang was being asked to speak at events across the US. Jiang was even offered jobs as his project continued and his fame grew. That wasn't the goal of the project though. "I'm really just a person trying to overcome my own fears," explained Jiang. The project started out to help "fix my own problems, and now I'm helping others fix theirs," he said. "The fear of rejection really holds people back. I'm trying to demystify the idea of rejection." Jiang, who as a child dreamed of being Bill Gates and has been viewed 7 million times on YouTube, has found his entrepreneurial dream in a different role for the moment. "My goal is to turn rejection into opportunity. I always thought it was something to run away from, but if we can embrace it, we can turn it into a lot more than an obstacle." 8 top tips in making rejection work for you: . 1 - The fear of rejection holds us back a lot more than actual rejection. By putting ourselves out there, the world will usually open itself up to you. Though the world can seem cruel and cold, actually humans have a hard time saying no. So open yourself up, don't be afraid to ask for something. If you fail, remember it's not about you. 2 - Rejection is more or less a numbers game. Sometimes the most far-fetched idea gets a yes. If you talk to enough people, somebody will say yes to you. J.K. Rowling went through 12 rejections to get her yes for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. 3 - You cannot use rejection to measure the merit of an idea. Sometimes if you really want to change the world, getting rejection is a must. Rejection is a human interaction with two sides. It often says more about the rejector than the rejectee, and should never be used as the universal truth and sole judgment of merit. 4 - Don't run away after a no. The most common thing we do when we're rejected is we want to run because rejection is painful - you're hurt, angry and you lose confidence. But actually if we know how to handle it, we can often minimize the chance of rejection. Be confident, engaging, collaborate. I used all of these traits to maximise getting a yes. 5 - Ask why? When you get rejected you have to find out why. Then spend time to find solutions to solve that why. Sometimes through this process you learn there is something else you can ask for. Ask for an intermediate position rather than the top position. 6 - Set a number of how many no's you can take. In his book, Jiang helps his wife set out to get her dream job at Google. He tells her that instead of thinking about getting a job, she needs to prepare herself for how many no's she can take. In the end, she was offered a job at Google. 7 - Be invincible. By the end of his project, Jiang said he felt he could ask anything from anyone and not have the pain of rejection. It was a gradual process - gradually my comfort zone expanded. It's like a muscle, I could become stronger and stronger. 8 - Stand tall and remember rejection is an opinion. People are who they are. A lot of people will reject you because of their mood, their education, their upbringing, and you can't change who they are. But you can stand confidently. Innate confidence comes across. How missing sleep can damage your IQ . The surprising benefits of doing nothing . 7 habits of highly ineffective people .

One man's entrepreneurial quest turned into unexpected success . "100 Days of Rejection" took Jiang out of his comfort zone . It's the fear of rejection, more than rejection itself, which holds us back .

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(CNN)It was like a scene out of "Make Way for Ducklings" on Tuesday on a rainy street in Washington. CNN Situation Room correspondent Brian Todd and photojournalist Khalil Abdallah were on their way to interview a legal analyst on L Street NW when they happened on a brood of baby ducks causing a stir. Abdallah reports the ducklings and their mom had crossed heavily trafficked street, and some restaurant patrons stopped on the sidewalk to corral them. A man gave up his umbrella for the cause "while the mom was going crazy." "One duckling tried to run back to the street but they caught it in time," Abdallah said. The mother duck followed the umbrella while pedestrians stopped cars on L street for them to safely cross the road. The Washington Post reports the pedestrians took the bird family to "a more enclosed grassy area" at 16th and L streets NW. (Yes, baby ducks warrant two national news stories.) "We thought it was an extraordinary situation," Todd said. "You see pigeons, you see squirrels, you see the occasional raccoon in the D.C. area, and ... you see deer ... We've never seen anything like this in the middle of town."

Bystanders stopped to rescue a lost brood of ducklings in D.C. Tuesday . CNN's Brian Todd and Khalil Abdallah paused to capture the scene .

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(CNN)Police added attempted murder to the list of charges against the mother of a quadriplegic man who was left in the woods for days, Philadelphia police spokeswoman Christine O'Brien said Tuesday. Nyia Parler cannot be extradited to face the charges in Philadelphia until she completes an unspecified "treatment," Maryland police said Monday. When she does arrive, she will be charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and related offenses, in addition to the attempted murder count, O'Brien said. The Montgomery County (Maryland) Department of Police took Parler, 41, into custody Sunday after Philadelphia police reported that she left her 21-year-old son in the woods while she hopped a bus to see her boyfriend in Maryland. A man walking through the woods found him Friday "lying in leaves, covered in a blanket with a Bible and a wheelchair nearby," Philadelphia police say. Citing federal health care privacy laws, Montgomery County police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks said he could not divulge why Parler was receiving treatment, but he said she had to complete it before she could be extradited. She remained in treatment as of Tuesday morning, Starks told CNN. If she chooses not to challenge her extradition, she will be transported to Philadelphia once the treatment is complete, he said. For more than four days, police say, the quadriplegic man, who also suffers from cerebral palsy, was left lying in the woods of Philadelphia's Cobbs Creek Park. Low temperatures reached the mid-30s during the week, and rain was reported in the area Wednesday and Thursday. The man is unable to communicate how he came to be in the park, but Philadelphia police Lt. John Walker told reporters that the man's mother left him there the morning of April 6. Starks identified the mother as Parler on Monday. "The mother went to visit her boyfriend down in Maryland, over in Montgomery County, and we believe she placed the child into Cobbs Creeks Park," Walker said at a news conference. Walker told CNN the man was transported to Presbyterian Hospital, but CNN affiliates reported he was being treated at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He suffered eye problems, dehydration, malnutrition and a cut to his back that raised infection concerns, the lieutenant told reporters. "This kid's obviously a fighter," Walker said during a Saturday news conference. "It's just unbelievable how we found him out there last night. To see that kid laying there, it's heartbreaking to see another human, especially a mother, can treat someone like that." Officials at Philadelphia's School of the Future, which the man attends, became concerned when he didn't show up for classes last week and tried to contact his mother but eventually reached an aunt, Philadelphia police said. "The aunt was in contact via text message with Nyia throughout the week and when she expressed her concerns about the complainant, Nyia replied, 'We're OK,' which the aunt believed meant that the victim was with Nyia in Maryland," according to a police news release. When police tracked down the mother, she told them her son was with her, Walker said. "She indicated to both family members and the police officers that the child was with her down with her boyfriend in Maryland," he said. The boyfriend was not aware of what happened, Walker told CNN affiliate KYW-TV. Walker told reporters she bore "clear criminal liability in this case." There was no reason for the man to suffer, Walker told philly.com, because the mother had sisters willing to take care of him. Two of his aunts, who have tried to obtain guardianship of him, were staying with him at the hospital, police told the website. Parler's sister told police that Parler has another child, a 16-year-old. The mother's arrest was only the beginning of the investigation, Walker told reporters. Authorities are interested in learning more about "how this kid was cared for, and what actions were taken and providing of services by different agencies." CNN's Chuck Johnston and Carma Hassan contributed to this report.

Philadelphia police add attempted murder to list of charges mom will face . Mom told police son was with her in Maryland, but he was found Friday alone in woods . Victim being treated for malnutrition, dehydration; mother faces host of charges after extradition .

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(CNN)After a Russian fighter jet intercepted a U.S. reconnaissance plane in an "unsafe and unprofessional manner" earlier this week, the United States is complaining to Moscow about the incident. On Tuesday, a U.S. RC-135U was flying over the Baltic Sea when it was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 Flanker. The Pentagon said the incident occurred in international airspace north of Poland. The U.S. crew believed the Russian pilot's actions were "unsafe and unprofessional due to the aggressive maneuvers it performed in close proximity to their aircraft and its high rate of speed," Pentagon spokesman Mark Wright said. Russian state news agency Sputnik reported the U.S. plane was flying toward the Russian border with its transponder switched off, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the Russian jet flew around the U.S. plane several times to identify it and get its tail number. An official with the U.S. European Command said the claim that the transponder was off was false. Wright said the Pentagon and State Department will "file the appropriate petition through diplomatic channels" with Russia. This is not the first time the U.S. has complained about an incident involving a RC-135U and a SU-27. A year ago, a Russian jet flew within 100 feet of a RC-135U over the Sea of Okhotsk in the western Pacific, according to U.S. officials who called it "one of the most dangerous close passes in decades." The Pentagon complained to the Russia military about that incident. Russian and U.S. aircraft often encounter each other, both in Northern Europe as well as the area between the Russian Far East and Alaska. CNN's Steve Brusk and Jamie Crawford contributed to this report.

The incident occurred on April 7 north of Poland in the Baltic Sea . U.S. says plane was in international airspace . Russia says it had transponder turned off and was flying toward Russia .

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(CNN)The mother of a quadriplegic man who police say was left in the woods for days cannot be extradited to face charges in Philadelphia until she completes an unspecified "treatment," Maryland police said Monday. The Montgomery County (Maryland) Department of Police took Nyia Parler, 41, into custody Sunday after Philadelphia police reported that she left her 21-year-old son in the woods while she hopped a bus to see her boyfriend in Maryland. A man walking through the woods found him Friday "lying in leaves, covered in a blanket with a Bible and a wheelchair nearby," Philadelphia police say. Citing federal health care privacy laws, Montgomery County police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks said he could not divulge why Parler was receiving treatment, but he said she had to complete it before she could be extradited. She remained in treatment as of Tuesday morning, Starks told CNN. If she chooses not to challenge her extradition, she will be transported to Philadelphia once the treatment is complete, he said. For more than four days, police say, the quadriplegic man, who also suffers from cerebral palsy, was left lying in the woods of Philadelphia's Cobbs Creek Park. Low temperatures reached the mid-30s during the week, and rain was reported in the area Wednesday and Thursday. The man is unable to communicate how he came to be in the park, but Philadelphia police Lt. John Walker told reporters that the man's mother left him there the morning of April 6. Starks identified the mother as Parler on Monday. "The mother went to visit her boyfriend down in Maryland, over in Montgomery County, and we believe she placed the child into Cobbs Creeks Park," Walker said at a news conference. Walker told CNN the man was transported to Presbyterian Hospital, but CNN affiliates reported he was being treated at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He suffered eye problems, dehydration, malnutrition and a cut to his back that raised infection concerns, the lieutenant told reporters. "This kid's obviously a fighter," Walker said during a Saturday news conference. "It's just unbelievable how we found him out there last night. To see that kid laying there, it's heartbreaking to see another human, especially a mother, can treat someone like that." Officials at Philadelphia's School of the Future, which the man attends, became concerned when he didn't show up for classes last week and tried to contact his mother but eventually reached an aunt, Philadelphia police said. "The aunt was in contact via text message with Nyia throughout the week and when she expressed her concerns about the complainant, Nyia replied, 'We're OK,' which the aunt believed meant that the victim was with Nyia in Maryland," according to a police news release. When police tracked down the mother, she told them her son was with her, Walker said. "She indicated to both family members and the police officers that the child was with her down with her boyfriend in Maryland," he said. The boyfriend was not aware of what happened, Walker told CNN affiliate KYW-TV. When she arrives in Philadelphia, the mother will stand charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and related offenses, a Philadelphia police spokeswoman said. Walker told reporters she bore "clear criminal liability in this case." There was no reason for the man to suffer, Walker told philly.com, because the mother had sisters willing to take care of him. Two of his aunts, who have tried to obtain guardianship of him, were staying with him at the hospital, police told the website. Parler's sister told police that Parler has another child, a 16-year-old. The mother's arrest was only the beginning of the investigation, Walker told reporters. Authorities are interested in learning more about "how this kid was cared for, and what actions were taken and providing of services by different agencies." CNN's Chuck Johnston and Carma Hassan contributed to this report.

Mother must complete "treatment" before she can be extradited, Maryland police say . Mom told police son was with her in Maryland, but he was found Friday alone in woods . Victim being treated for malnutrition, dehydration; mother faces host of charges after extradition .

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(CNN)A new Kansas law banning a common second-term abortion procedure is the first of its kind in the United States. The law, signed by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback on Tuesday, bans what it describes as "dismemberment abortion" and defines as "knowingly dismembering a living unborn child and extracting such unborn child one piece at a time from the uterus." Supporters of the measure described it as a groundbreaking step, while opponents warned it was dangerous and among the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. The law does not spell out a specific time frame that limits when an abortion can occur, but it bans the dilation and evacuation abortion procedure commonly used during the second trimester of pregnancy. The law allows for the procedure if "necessary to protect the life or health of the mother," according to a statement on Brownback's website. On Twitter, Brownback, a Republican, said he was proud to sign a law "protecting life at its most vulnerable stage." Planned Parenthood Advocates of Kansas and Mid-Missouri sharply criticized the move, which it described as the latest in a series of "extreme political measures aimed at denying women access to health care and at undermining their decision-making ability." "Kansas is now not only the sole state with this atrocious law; it also now has more restrictions on abortion than any state in the U.S.," the advocacy group said in a Facebook post. Both sides appear to be prepared to take their battle over such measures to other states -- and to court. Carol Tobias, the president of National Right to Life, said in a statement that the Kansas law was the first of what her organization hopes "will be many state laws." "This law has the power to transform the landscape of abortion policy in the United States," she said. Julie Burkhart, CEO of Wichita-based South Wind Women's Center, said on Twitter that the signing of the law marked a sad day for Kansas and the United States. "This law puts women at risk and ties doctors' hands," she said. "We'll continue to fight!" CNN's Sam Stringer contributed to this report.

A new Kansas law bans what it describes as "dismemberment abortion" Supporters say it's a groundbreaking step . Opponents say it's dangerous and politically motivated .

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(CNN)The first daughter to be married from the hit reality show "19 Kids and Counting" has also become the first mother. People magazine reports that Jill (Duggar) Dillard gave birth Monday to a 9-pound, 10-ounce son she and husband Derick have named Israel David. Jill's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, posted a video of the new family on their official Facebook page. The baby was a bit tardy, going past his due date by more than a week. Dillard, who is a student midwife, said she gave herself two due dates and was prepared for the wait. "I have told myself, 'First-time moms often go a week and a half over, so don't get discouraged,' " she told People. "When everyone else is asking you, 'When are you going to have that baby?' The baby will come when the baby comes." Dillard has a ways to go to catch up with her mother. Her super-sized family and their lives have been well-documented on their TLC series, including Jill and Derick's wedding on June 21. Eldest Duggar son Josh is already the father of three children, and his wife, Anna, is expecting their fourth in July.

Dillard was the first of the Duggar daughters to be married . Her 9-pound, 10-ounce son was overdue .

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(CNN)The killing of an employee at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, North Carolina, may have been a hate crime, authorities said Tuesday. Investigators are looking into the possibility, said Goldsboro police Sgt. Jeremy Sutton. He did not explain what may have made it a hate crime. The victim -- Ron Lane, whom officials said was a longtime employee and the school's print shop operator -- was white, as is the suspect. Lane's relatives said he was gay, CNN affiliate WNCN reported. The suspect, Kenneth Morgan Stancil III, worked with Lane as part of a work-study program, but was let go from the program in early March due to poor attendance, college President Kay Albertson said Tuesday. On Monday, Stancil walked into the print shop on the third floor of a campus building, aimed a pistol-grip shotgun and fired once, killing Lane, according to Sutton. Stancil has tattoos on his face. Sutton said investigators are looking into whether he is part of a white supremacist gang. He has no previous criminal record, authorities said. Sutton said Stancil fled on a motorcycle after the shooting and ultimately abandoned it in a highway median. Then, Stancil continued on to Daytona, Florida, but authorities don't know how he traveled, Sutton said. He was arrested just after 1 a.m. Tuesday, after he was found sleeping on a beach, about 550 miles (885 kilometers) from Goldsboro. Volusia County Beach Patrol had approached him for violating the city's ordinance against sleeping on the beach. He had a knife, police said. He was taken into custody without incident. Authorities in North Carolina expect to bring him back to face charges. Wayne Community College, a two-year school, has a student population of 3,837, according 2013 figures from the National Center for Education Statistics. Slightly more than half the students are part-time. Crime statistics from the center's website show no killings, assaults, robberies or motor vehicle thefts between 2011 and 2013. There were three arrests for illegal weapons possession in 2012 and three in 2013.

Relatives of Wayne Community College shooting victim say he was gay, local media report . The suspect had worked for the victim but was let go, college president says . The suspect, Kenneth Morgan Stancil III, was found sleeping on a Florida beach and arrested .

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(CNN)Former Australia cricket captain and legendary broadcaster Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84. Benaud, whose witty one-liners from the commentary box resonated far beyond Australia's shores, said last year he was being treated for skin cancer. "After Don Bradman, there has been no Australian player more famous than Richie Benaud," Cricket Australia said on its website. "Benaud stood at the top of the game throughout his rich life, first as a record-breaking leg-spinner and captain, and then as cricket's most famous -- and most impersonated -- broadcaster." A veteran of 64 Test matches, Benaud was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. While many regarded his voice as the soundtrack to an Australian summer, Benaud was equally revered by the cricketing public on the other side of the world where he spent more than four decades with the BBC taking the game into millions of British living rooms. But whether you were sitting in Sydney or in South London, there were plenty of "marvelous" Richie moments from the box to savor: . "And Glenn McGrath dismissed for two, just ninety-eight runs short of his century." "From our broadcasting box you can't see any grass at all. It is simply a carpet of humanity." "Captaincy is 90% luck and 10% skill. But don't try it without that 10%." News of his passing quickly generated a wave of condolences, including from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. "To most Australians Richie Benaud was cricket. He personified its traditions and its values," Abbott said in a written statement Friday. "While many Australians only know Richard Benaud as the voice of cricket, we should not forget that in his day he was a cricketer with few equals. It was why he was so insightful as a commentator. "As a player his record has withstood the test of time. He led the Australian side from 1958/59 through to 1963/1964, never losing a series in his 28 Tests as captain. "As captain, he was first to lead a full Australian tour to India and Pakistan in 1959/60. He was the first cricketer to reach a Test double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets. "Given the special place Richie Benaud has in our national life, I have asked that on the day of his funeral flags fly at half-mast. I extend my condolences and the condolences of the Australian people, to his wife Daphne and his family and friends. Current Australian captain Michael Clarke posted an image of Benaud on Instagram with the message: "What a man. Extremely sad day. You were a lot more then just a cricketer Richie. RIP." Clarke's former teammate Shane Warne also took to Instagram to post a touching letter to the late commentator. He wrote: "Dear Richie, I've known you & Daphne for close to 30 years & to everyone you were a legend on all levels & rightly so too. "As a cricketer, commentator & as a person, you were the best there's ever been & to top it off, an absolute gentleman... For me it was an honour & a privilege to call you a close friend & mentor, we had so many wonderful times together, talking cricket & in particular, our love & passion of leg spin bowling. "I will cherish our entertaining dinners & all the fun times we shared over a long period of time. I would also like to thank you & Daphne for all your support & time you made for me as a young cricketer & leg spin bowler trying to make his way as an 18 year old, your tips & advice along the journey meant so much !!! "Richie, you were loved by everyone, not just the cricket family, you were the godfather of cricket & you will be missed by all... R.I.P my friend." Benaud, who was born in 1930 in Penrith, New South Wales, lead Australia into an era of world dominance as a player. But it was after he hung up his spikes that his legendary status was confirmed. Writing in a column in The Australian, cricket writer Gideon Haigh wrote "television was Benaud's calling, suiting his captain's spontaneity and intuition. "He was authoritative but not pedantic, dignified but not pompous, and never spoke unless he had something to say. He was so popular that many humorists strove to imitate him, so distinctive that none ever quite got him right." The BBC's cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew agreed. "He was quite simply peerless. Nobody else had his authority, popularity and skill," Agnew said in a column on the BBC website. "If you speak to any broadcaster from any sport, they will point to Richie as the standard-bearer." Australian national team coach Darren Lehmann said Benaud set "an incredibly high standard on and off the field." "The fact that Australia never lost a series under his captaincy says so much and those standards were just as high when he turned his attention to calling the game," he told cricket.com.au. "We loved listening to him commentate when the team was together in the dressing room. When he was on air, we always had the TV volume turned up because his comments were so insightful." Benaud's passing also drew messages of sympathy on social media from beyond his native Australia. Imran Khan, the former captain of Pakistan and now a leading politician there, tweeted: "Saddened by the death of Richie Benaud, one of the greatest cricketing brains." While Kumar Sangakkara, the current captain of Sri Lanka's Test team, posted: "So sad to hear about the passing of Richie Benaud. The great voice of cricket is no more. He defined an era with conviction and sincerity." British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "I grew up listening to Richie Benaud's wonderful cricket commentary. Like all fans of the sport, I will miss him very much." CNN's Pierre Meilhan and Azadeh Ansari contributed to this report.

Richie Benaud first earned fame as a cricket player, later as broadcaster . Prime Minister Tony Abbott calls him "a cricketing champion and Australian icon"

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(CNN)Irish betting company Paddy Power is backtracking after tweeting that "Newcastle have suffered more Kop beatings over the last 20 years than an unarmed African-American male." The tweet, a pun on the name of the famous home end at Liverpool Football Club, alluded to recent controversial incidents in the United States in which unarmed African-American men have been killed by police. Paddy Power -- well-known for its use of publicity stunts -- used it to link to a piece showing statistics for games between Liverpool and Newcastle United ahead of their English Premier League match on Monday. A Paddy Power spokesman told CNN before Liverpool's 2-0 victory at Anfield: "It was a joke, and no offense was meant." The tweet has since been deleted, but its removal -- along with the statement -- did little to placate social media users who condemned the organization, with some calling for the person who wrote the tweet to be sacked. In January, Paddy Power attracted headlines after backing David Ginola's failed candidacy for the presidency of world football's governing body. The former Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham player could not persuade enough FIFA football associations to back his bid. He needed five to have any chance of unseating Sepp Blatter. Paddy Power started the funding for the candidacy, but its penchant for publicity stunts quickly led many people to dismiss Ginola's bid as another attempt to grab headlines. Paddy Power, the son of one the company's founders and its marketing spokesman, explained: "We've been known for some mischievous activity around the world. This is not that. This is for real." Last year, the company generated anger when it promised "money back if he walks" in relation to the trial of disgraced South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius. Monday's win put Liverpool fifth in the table, four points behind defending champion Manchester City, which holds England's final European Champions League qualification spot with six games left to play this season. Young England forward Raheem Sterling, who has turned down a new contract, scored a fine solo goal in the first half, and midfielder Joe Allen's 70th-minute strike condemned 13th-placed Newcastle to a fifth successive league defeat. Newcastle, which had France international midfielder Moussa Sissoko sent off in the 83rd minute, has not won at Anfield since a 1-0 victory in the League Cup in November 1995.

Company known for use of publicity stunts . Tweet contained pun on name of Liverpool's Kop stand . It was used to link to Liverpool-Newcastle stats . Social media backlash leads to apology .

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(CNN)Desperate migrants from Africa and the Middle East keep heading to Europe, with 978 rescued Friday in the Mediterranean Sea, the Italian Coast Guard said Saturday via Twitter. The migrants were picked up 30 miles off the coast of Libya, said European Parliament member Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's far-right Northern League. In the first three months of 2015, Italy registered more than 10,000 migrants arriving, the International Organization for Migration said, and about 2,000 were rescued at sea during the first weekend of April in the Channel of Sicily. Most migrants recorded this year come from countries in West Africa as well as Somalia and Syria, the IMO said. They use Libya as a country of transit. At least 480 migrants have died while crossing the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year, often because of bad weather and overcrowded vessels used by smugglers, the IMO said. Sometimes the captains and crews abandon the ships, leaving passengers to fend for themselves. At this time last year, there were fewer than 50 deaths reported, the IMO said. Most of the migrants are asylum seekers, victims of trafficking or violence, unaccompanied children and pregnant women.

The migrants were picked up 30 miles off the coast of Libya, an Italian leader says . At least 480 migrants have died while crossing the Mediterranean this year .

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Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama says he is "absolutely committed to making sure" Israel maintains a military advantage over Iran. His comments to The New York Times, published on Sunday, come amid criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the deal that the United States and five other world powers struck with Iran. Tehran agreed to halt the country's nuclear ambitions, and in exchange, Western powers would drop sanctions that have hurt the Iran's economy. Obama said he understands and respects Netanyahu's stance that Israel is particularly vulnerable and doesn't "have the luxury of testing these propositions" in the deal. "But what I would say to them is that not only am I absolutely committed to making sure they maintain their qualitative military edge, and that they can deter any potential future attacks, but what I'm willing to do is to make the kinds of commitments that would give everybody in the neighborhood, including Iran, a clarity that if Israel were to be attacked by any state, that we would stand by them," Obama said. That, he said, should be "sufficient to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see whether or not we can at least take the nuclear issue off the table," he said. The framework negotiators announced last week would see Iran reduce its centrifuges from 19,000 to 5,060, limit the extent to which uranium necessary for nuclear weapons can be enriched and increase inspections. The talks over a final draft are scheduled to continue until June 30. But Netanyahu and Republican critics in Congress have complained that Iran won't have to shut down its nuclear facilities and that the country's leadership isn't trustworthy enough for the inspections to be as valuable as Obama says they are. Obama said even if Iran can't be trusted, there's still a case to be made for the deal. "In fact, you could argue that if they are implacably opposed to us, all the more reason for us to want to have a deal in which we know what they're doing and that, for a long period of time, we can prevent them from having a nuclear weapon," Obama said.

In an interview with The New York Times, President Obama says he understands Israel feels particularly vulnerable . Obama calls the nuclear deal with Iran a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many U.S. Republicans warn that Iran cannot be trusted .

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(CNN)There's an old saying which states the Cape Verde Islands are home to a greater number of musicians per square kilometer than any other country in the world. In truth, such a definitive claim may be nigh on impossible to prove. But there is a certain factual accuracy behind the legend: the important and proud relationship the Atlantic island country of just 500,000 people has with music. Situated roughly 350 miles off the west coast of Africa, Cape Verde has long been a mesh of cultures, history and races. The former Portuguese territory was once a key location for the transatlantic slave trade, a target for 16th century pirates and a refuge for exiled Jews. From this diverse melting pot were born the unique sounds of the batuque, morna, funana and other distinct musical styles. Now, Cape Verde is seeking to tap-into the spoils of this rich cultural heritage in a bid to help its economy flourish. Bereft of oil, gas, gold, diamonds or the conventional natural resources that have fueled growth in many other African countries, Cape Verde has had to look for alternative sectors to aid its development. And what's more alternative than a jiving, swinging, musical economy? "Besides fish, it is pretty common (for Cape Verde) to say 'our biggest richness is in music and culture,'" said Christine Semba of Womex, an international networking platform for the world music genre. The economic potential of music has been also acknowledged by Cape Verde's prime minister, Jose Maria Neves, while the country's ministry of culture is run by Mario Lucio de Sousa, himself a popular musician. "The future of our country lies in our capacity to create, our capacity to innovate," Neves said in reference to the music and the arts at a World Trade Organization conference in 2013. Other elements of the creative economy include handicrafts, fashion and visual arts to name but a few. However, a 2013 report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development noted that Cape Verde's creative sector remained a relatively small part of its economy with much room for improvement and long term planning. But that doesn't mean there hasn't been some promising early signs that music has the potential to play a key role in the future. One early musical success has been the Kriol Jazz Festival. The event, which is celebrating its seventh edition, took place in the capital city of Praia this past weekend. Artists including Grammy-winning U.S. singer Esperanza Spalding have been invited to perform, as have acts from the likes of Luxembourg, Brazil and, of course, Cape Verde. According to Harold Taveres, a liaison to the mayor of Praia involved with promoting the festival, "KJF has become one of the most spectacular events in Cape Verde. "We breathe the music in Cape Verde, we live with the music," he added. "Now the festival has brought people from every corner in the world (to share in this)." During the festival, bars, hotels and restaurants are full to the brim while taxi drivers are seldom unable to find a fare during what locals refer to as "the week of party." It's a lucrative trade, for sure. Yet in order to take full advantage of this bustling scene the country's ministry of culture, alongside some enterprising private sector figures, thought a deeper relationship with the music business was required. Enter the Atlantic Music Expo, a three-year-old conference and networking event that seeks to help Cape Verdean artists secure international exposure. This year's AME took place in the days before the Kriol Jazz Festival. Delegates, local musicians and their management teams were exposed to roundtables, workshops and talks on the intricacies of the global music business. "We try to invite lots of producers and a lot of journalists from around the world to see the festival and the musicians from Cape Verde," said Jose Da Silva, long time manager of the late Cape Verdean songstress Cesaria Evora. Da Silva is one of the driving forces behind AME as well as being the founder of the Lusafrica and Harmonia record labels that aim to discover a new generation of artists from Cape Verde. He hopes that by exposing musicians to a range of experienced industry professionals and top-level musicians, they will become equipped with the tools and ambition to take the music of Cape Verde across the globe. Not only will this help launch the careers of artists and musicians (with all the respective behind the scenes business structures such developments require) but it will garner valuable attention for the country. This is where the greatest potential economic benefits lie. Tourism is expected to account for 20% of the country's GDP by 2024, according to research from the World Travel and Tourism Council. Getting Cape Verde's name out on the world stage through recognition of its rich musical culture is therefore increasingly important. "Economically it's beneficial for the country because the money we would have to spend on the market to give the country this exposure in the world would be too big," Da Silva said. "This way it costs less money." Semba agrees with this, and highlights the joined up thinking of the government and private sector actors like Da Silva for special praise. "In the long term, the whole country is behind this event," Semba said, adding "this is a very innovative approach which we would like to see in many more countries." It must be noted, however, that few countries have the same natural resources for music as Cape Verde. More from Marketplace Africa .

Cape Verde seeking to tap-into rich cultural heritage . Tiny island nation wants to grow creative economy .

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(CNN)"Hamlet." "Romeo and Juliet." "A Midsummer Night's Dream." For centuries, these plays and three dozen more by William Shakespeare have formed history's most heralded literary canon. But now they may have to make room for an addition to Shakespeare's famous oeuvre. New research indicates that "Double Falsehood," a play first published in 1728 by Lewis Theobald, was actually written more than a century earlier by Shakespeare himself with help from his friend John Fletcher. The findings were published this week by two scholars who used computer software to analyze the writings of the three men and compare it with the language of the "newer" play. "The match between the 'Double Falsehood' play and Shakespeare was a landslide. It was shockingly clear," said Ryan L. Boyd, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin. The study, co-authored by Boyd and UT colleague James W. Pennebaker, was published in the journal Psychological Science. "There's very little wiggle room to interpret the numbers any differently." Boyd said he and Pennebaker analyzed 33 plays by Shakespeare, nine by Fletcher and 12 by Theobald to create a "psychological signature" of each author based on word choices, phrase patterns and other factors. They compared those profiles to the language in "Double Falsehood" and determined that the play's first half was almost entirely written by Shakespeare, though the second half appeared to be split evenly between Shakespeare and Fletcher. Only tiny traces of Theobald's signature were found. "We're certainly not suggesting that Theobald didn't make edits," Boyd told CNN. "But he clearly did not write it." "Double Falsehood," also known as "The Distressed Lovers," is based on the "Cardenio" section of Don Quixote, the classic 17th-century novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Set in Spain, the play revolves around the romantic entanglements of two brothers: one virtuous, one sinful. Theobald said he based the play on three original manuscripts he had discovered, all of them written by Shakespeare. But many scholars have long dismissed the play as a fake, suspecting that Theobald tried to pass the Bard's work off as his own. Shakespeare, who died in 1616, wrote most of his published plays between 1590 and 1612. British publishers Arden Shakespeare published "Double Falsehood" in 2010 -- for the first time in 250 years -- amid renewed claims by experts that it was Shakespeare's work. But the new study by Boyd and Pennebaker, the first to analyze the writings from a psychological perspective, may settle the matter once and for all. Shakespearean scholar Brean Hammond, professor of modern English literature at Nottingham University in the UK, praised the Texas study for its scientific approach. Hammond said Boyd and Pennebaker "have got no dogs in the fight. They're not literary scholars, (so) their work could be seen as more objective than some of the literary studies." Hammond studied "Double Falsehood's" authorship from a literary perspective five years ago and found Shakespeare's DNA evident in the play. But he doubts the new research will put the matter entirely to rest. "Those people who don't believe the play was written by Shakespeare aren't going to just lay down and die," he said.

New research indicates that a play published in 1728 was written by William Shakespeare . Scholar Lewis Theobald had passed the work off as his own . Texas researchers used software to analyze and compare the language of the men .

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Nairobi, Kenya (CNN)Kenya froze dozens of accounts linked to suspected terror supporters after militants massacred 147 people last week at a university in Garissa. The government is tracking the finances of people suspected of ties to Al-Shabaab, the militant group that claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack. So far, the government has frozen 86 accounts, but that number could go up, said Mwenda Njoka, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. The government has tracked supporters of the terror group since 2011, and efforts to freeze their assets have gone on since then. It has a list of suspects from various parts of the country, but mostly in Nairobi and Mombasa, he said. Kenyans mourned the victims of the attack Tuesday night at Nairobi's Uhuru Park, where hundreds gathered. Organizers unloaded 147 crosses, some draped with the nation's flag, as candles flickered in the dark. Of the fatalities, 142 were students at the university, and the rest were security forces and campus security. "I can't even look at pictures of the people killed without crying," said Mary Wambui, 32, who lives in Nakuru, hundreds of miles from Garissa. "They were just children. They were trying to make a better life for themselves. Some were first to go to college in their communities. They died trying to get an education." Using the hashtag #147notjustanumber, Kenyans used social media to talk about the lives of the victims. They shared pictures of beaming faces, full of life and energy, in happier days. They talked about parents too shocked to speak after identifying their children's bodies. Some students remain unaccounted for, and wailing relatives alternate their searches between hospitals and morgues. Kenyan authorities have not released the names of the victims. Kenyan authorities had prior intelligence that a university in Garissa could be attacked, yet the country's rapid response team was stuck in Nairobi for hours after the massacre awaiting transport, a police source said Monday. The frozen accounts is the latest in a series of actions as the government faced heavy criticism for the siege, which lasted hours. A spokesman for President Uhuru Kenyatta said authorities "got the job done" and saved lives. The university had about 800 students. "With the benefit of hindsight, you can always say things could have been done better," Manoah Esipisu said. Kenya also launched airstrikes Monday targeting Al-Shabaab's training camps in Somalia, according to a military source, who said they were not retaliation for last week's massacre. "The latest attack of Al-Shabaab bases by the Kenya military is part of the ongoing operations that started in 2011," the source said Monday. Kenya has also offered 20 million Kenyan shillings, or about $215,000, for information on the whereabouts of Mohamed Mohamud, who allegedly organized the attack. Mohamud is a senior Al-Shabaab leader known by the aliases Dulyadin and Gamadhere, authorities said. Al-Shabaab is based in Somalia, and its violence has spread to Kenya before. In 2013, militants attacked Nairobi's upscale Westgate Mall, leaving 67 people dead. The terror group has intensified attacks in Kenya since the country sent troops to Somalia four years ago to help battle the militants. CNN's Joseph Netto reported from Nairobi, and Faith Karimi reported and wrote from Atlanta.

The attack at a Garissa university last week killed 147 people, mostly students . The government is tracking the finances of people suspected of ties to Al-Shabaab .

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(CNN)Jodi Arias was sentenced to life in prison Monday for the gruesome 2008 murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. Maricopa County Judge Sherry Stephens could have sentenced Arias to life with the possibility of early release after 25 years, but decided the convicted killer should spend the rest of her life behind bars. Before her sentence was handed down, Arias expressed remorse for her actions. "To this day I can't believe that I was capable of doing something that terrible," Arias said. "I'm truly disgusted and repulsed with myself. I'm horrified because of what I did, and I wish there was some way I could take it back." Earlier, Travis Alexander's sisters gave their victim impact statements. Hillary Alexander said she's trying to block her brother from her life. "I don't want to remember him anymore, because it hurts too much to remember him alive. ... I remember how he was brutally taken from us and I can't handle it. This is what I've had to do so I can cope," she said through tears. Arias, 34, was found guilty of first-degree murder in May 2013. The jury that convicted her found the murder was especially cruel, making Arias eligible for the death penalty. However, that same jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on whether she should live or die. A new jury was empanelled in October 2014 to decide Arias' fate, but they, too, were unable to reach a unanimous decision. Because a second jury was deadlocked in the penalty phase of Arias' case, the death penalty was taken off the table, leaving Arias' sentence up to the judge. Arias will serve her sentence at the Lumley Unit in the Arizona State Prison Complex-Perryville near Goodyear, Arizona.

Jodi Arias is sentenced to life in prison with no possibility for parole . Arias expressed remorse for her actions .

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(CNN)Last month Wu Rongrong was taken into custody for planning to protest on International Women's Day against sexual harassment in China. Since then, the Chinese authorities have formally detained her and four other activists for "creating disturbances." They also briefly detained some of the activists' supporters, raided a prominent nongovernmental organization that called for their release, and have at points denied some of the women access to medical treatment, lawyers and adequate rest. The fate of the five will be revealed by April 13, as their case reaches the legal time limit when they must either be released or "formally arrested," which almost always leads to conviction in China's legal system. The timing of the detentions of China's most inventive women's rights activists is ironic: Not only did they take place on the very day that marks women's achievements and their struggle for equality, but they also come in a year in which Beijing would have won praise for its role in promoting women's rights. It appears poised to adopt its first and long-awaited anti-domestic violence law, which is expected to get a reading before the National People's Congress Standing Committee this summer. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the influential Fourth World Conference on Women hosted in Beijing, during which Hillary Clinton famously declared that "women's rights are human rights." I first met Wu at a conference several years ago, at a time when there were very few women in China's weiquan or "rights defense" movement. It was common back then for male colleagues to publicly address them as "babes" or "little sisters," even in professional—and ostensibly progressive—settings. As women's rights activists, Wu and others fight on two fronts: against overt rights violations by the Chinese government and against the wider gender norms that relegate women to second-class citizens. By the time we met again two years later, Wu and her young "direct-action" feminist colleagues were clearly off and running. They staged small, public "performance art" protests that attracted media headlines, energized the more mainstream and academically inclined women's rights movement, and pushed women's rights into the national consciousness and onto the government's agenda. Wu had an upbringing typical of her times. She comes from the countryside, which for many has changed beyond recognition within their lifetimes. In recent decades the economy has soared, but her generation is confronting the unhappy consequences of unchecked growth: pollution, unsafe foods and growing inequality between rich and poor. Like many parents, she worries about how to find untainted milk powder for her infant boy, and whether to keep her child with her in the city or to send him to his grandparents in the countryside for a quieter, safer upbringing. Many in Wu and her colleagues' generation are clear-eyed about the problems of China's development model, and some want to address those. Wu joined Yirenping, a nonprofit organization that promotes social equality, whether it is between sexes or among people with and without disabilities, and later founded the women's rights organization Hangzhou Women Center. And it is in Yirenping that she became particularly attuned to the challenges confronting young women in modern China. Wu and her colleagues have used innovative tactics with a certain shock factor — "occupying" public toilets to show the need for more such conveniences for women, donning blood-spattered wedding gowns to protest domestic violence, shaving their heads to protest against barriers to higher education for women — that raises awareness of gender inequality in ways that resonate, especially with young women in the country. Perhaps this is what the government finds threatening: that these activists epitomize the spirit of the times. They are young, confident, ready to challenge established norms, and most importantly, they feel responsible for their society and they want to improve it. As China prepares to mark the anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in September, it will be harder for the authorities to justify detaining these activists. But even if they are released, their work promoting women's rights will have become exponentially more difficult. The women will now be labeled "sensitive" individuals at a time when the authorities are increasingly paranoid about independent groups, their role in fostering nonviolent protests and the overthrow of oppressive governments (known as "color revolutions"), and foreign funding of civil society organizations. What Wu and her colleagues are now enduring is consistent with a broader government effort to strangle independent activism. Authorities have harassed and detained an ever expanding list of activists, and imprisoned others, but they have also tried to co-opt some groups by allowing them to provide services the government finds acceptable, so long as they abandon their activism. This kind of "differentiated management" of nongovernmental organizations — punishing some but co-opting others — may work to neutralize some of the more outspoken groups. But ultimately the desires for change among ordinary people that make Wu and her friends' campaigns so popular are unlikely to be answered through "authoritarian activism" alone. The Chinese Communist Party now faces a dizzying array of challenges, not least that younger generations do not identify with the party or its values like past generations. Rather than lengthening its list of challenges, the party could resolve some and lessen concerns about its legitimacy by freeing and engaging activists like Wu and her colleagues, rather than treating them as criminals.

Maya Wang: 5 women held by China authorities after planning International Women's Day protests on sex harassment remain detained . She says in a year when country poised to adopt anti-domestic violence law, Beijing also sending chilling message on women's activism .

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(CNN)Malala Yousafzai's stellar career has included a Nobel Peace Prize. Last week, she made it into outer space. A NASA astrophysicist has named an asteroid after the teenage education activist from Pakistan, who was gravely wounded by a Pakistani Taliban gunman for promoting the right of girls' to go to school. It took a meticulous medical response to save her life more than two years ago. But Malala recovered with no serious neurological damage to become a powerhouse for her cause. After reading her story, scientist Amy Mainzer, who also consults for PBS on a children's educational science show, decided Malala deserved to be immortalized. So, she attached her name to the heavens. Thousands of asteroids swarm through the solar system mainly between Mars and Jupiter. Mainzer, working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discovered Asteroid 316201 in June 2010, which gave her the right to name it. "My postdoctoral fellow Dr. Carrie Nugent brought to my attention the fact that although many asteroids have been named, very few have been named to honor the contributions of women (and particularly women of color)," Mainzer wrote in a note to Malala. Mainzer gave it the name 316201 Malala, or 2010 ML48. Malala's asteroid circles the sun between Mars and Jupiter every five and half years, Mainzer said. "It is about 4 kilometers in diameter, and its surface is very dark, the color of printer toner." As a scientist, her support for Malala's work is logical. When girls around the world also get educations, it increases human potential. "We desperately need the brainpower of all smart people to solve some of humanity's most difficult problems, and we can't afford to reject half the population's," Mainzer wrote.

Astrophysicist Amy Mainzer says she was was touched by Malala's story of determination . Mainzer also works on educating children about science .

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(CNN)Emy Afalava is a loyal American and decorated veteran. He was born in American Samoa, a U.S. territory since 1900. He has been subject to American law his whole life and thinks he should be a citizen. The Constitution would agree. The Fourteenth Amendment declares that "All persons born ... in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." Yet, Afalava has been denied the right to vote because the federal government insists that he is no citizen. How can it be, in the 21st century, that Americans born on U.S. soil are denied the rights of citizenship? That injustice clouds the recent celebration of the 115th anniversary of the decision of American Samoa to join the United States. It is a wrong that Afalava and other American Samoans are now seeking to right in a federal lawsuit before the D.C. Circuit. A decision could come any day. Since the United States was established, it adhered to the rule that those born on U.S. lands were U.S. citizens. The rule is colorblind, yet the only exception that the Supreme Court has ever declared was not. The infamous Dred Scott case legitimized slavery as it declared that free African-Americans had "no rights that the white man was bound to respect." Though they were Americans, they were not citizens under the Constitution. A Civil War later, the 14th Amendment reversed the ruling in the Dred Scott case. Today, the Dred Scott case has come to be regarded as one of the worst decisions in the history of the Supreme Court. But racial discrimination didn't end there. In 1904, a Puerto Rican woman named Isabel Gonzalez sailed for New York. Because Puerto Rico was U.S. territory, she believed herself to be a U.S. citizen. But officials at Ellis Island labeled her an undesirable alien and prevented her from entering the mainland. She sued, with some reason to hope for a favorable ruling. Yet the Supreme Court that eventually heard Gonzalez's case was still racist. In preceding years, for example, it had permitted a flat ban on naturalizing anyone of the Chinese race. And, in a case addressing the status of recently acquired island territories such as Puerto Rico, the justices had cited the alleged racial inferiority of tropical peoples as reason to treat these lands as second-class U.S. territories. Justice Edward Douglas White's opinion stated that U.S. sovereignty extended over them, but that their residents did not hold the same constitutional rights as other Americans. He did so, he privately revealed, because "he was much preoccupied by the danger of racial and social questions." In the Gonzalez case, the justices agreed unanimously that Puerto Ricans were not aliens and thus not subject to immigration laws. But they declined to decide whether or not Gonzalez was a citizen. Though preoccupied by fears that islanders were "savages" and racially unfit for citizenship, they were unwilling to violate the Constitution. As a result of the court ruling, federal officials were able to deny Gonzalez and others the full panoply of rights conferred on citizens for years. As Isabel Gonzalez's lawyer told the Court, declaring that residents of America's island territories are not U.S. citizens would mean adding to "precedents in our history of which we are least proud." Those precedents, he warned the Court, had been "repudiated by the American people in the Civil War, by three amendments to the Constitution of the United States, by this court, and by ... advancing civilization." Surely, 147 years after the Dred Scott case was overturned, the time has come to put an end to this farce. In the past century, the inhabitants of every other U.S. island territory have become citizens. Today, Emy Afalava and his fellow American Samoans are the last Americans still waiting to become citizens.

Emy Afalava is a loyal American and decorated veteran; he's also an American Samoan . Sam Erman and Nathan Perl-Rosenthal: It is outrageous that he and others like him are denied citizenship .

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(CNN)Over the last year more than 25,000 people, a population about the size of Key West, Florida, have fought Ebola infections. More than 10,000 have not survived. But for those who have survived, life will never be the same. And even for those who did not experience Ebola personally, the "most severe public health emergency seen in modern times" showed the world its vulnerability to disease. It revealed real flaws in government systems that are supposed to protect us. While the intensity of the largest Ebola epidemic in history has died down, and the initial dire predictions that there would be over a million infections by January never came true, dozens are still newly infected each week. The latest World Health Organization Report confirmed a total of 30 new confirmed cases of Ebola were reported in the week of April 5. This is the lowest weekly total since May 2014. But reports are mixed on stopping the virus completely: In Liberia and Sierra Leone, the number of cases has fallen so much, there are more treatment facilities than demand. WHO in Liberia is in the process of decommissioning surplus facilities. But in Guinea, of the 19 confirmed deaths from April 5, seven were only identified as Ebola post-mortem and there were reports of 21 unsafe burials. "Taken together these data indicate that though surveillance is improving, unknown chains of transmission could be a source of new infections in the coming weeks," the latest WHO report said. Click on the photos above to learn how a grave digger, a first responder, and many others have changed in the wake of Ebola.

April 8, 2014, the WHO finally started reporting the Ebola epidemic was a "concern" Front line health care workers and Ebola survivors say the world has to act quicker .

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(CNN)No prostitutes. No ifs, ands or buts -- and yes, that includes when and where prostitution is perfectly legal. That was the message Friday from Attorney General Eric Holder to members of the U.S. Justice Department, which includes the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other agencies. "The solicitation of prostitution threatens the core mission of the department," Holder wrote in a memo to all personnel in the department he heads. "... Regardless of whether prostitution is legal or tolerated in a particular jurisdiction, soliciting prostitutes creates a greater demand for human trafficking and a consequent increase in the number of minor and adult persons trafficked into commercial sex slavery." Holder doesn't mention specific cases of federal agents and prostitution in his memo. Nor is he dictating a new policy; the attorney general said only that he wanted "to reiterate to all department personnel, including attorneys and law enforcement officers, that they are prohibited from soliciting, procuring or accepting commercial sex." Agents behaving badly overseas . The directive comes a few weeks after a Justice Department inspector general report found DEA agents in foreign postings attended sex parties with prostitutes paid for by drug cartels, among other indiscretions. That report, by department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, cited light punishments and poor handling of sexual misconduct cases at DEA and other Justice Department agencies. Justice Department employees don't have a monopoly on such stories: In 2012, a group of agents and officers in the Secret Service -- which is part of the Department of Homeland Security -- and officers sent to Colombia ahead of President Barack Obama were relieved of duty and returned home amid allegations of misconduct that involved prostitution. That prostitute visit was arranged for by a DEA agent stationed in Colombia, according to Horowitz's office. If someone from the ATF, FBI, Federal Bureau of Prisons or a federal prosecutor is caught with a prostitute they'll be suspended or fired, according to Holder's memo. "This rule applies at all times during an individual's employment, including while off duty or on personal leave."

Attorney General Holder reiterates Justice Department policy on prostitutes . Soliciting prostitutes is banned, even in places where it's legal, Holder says . His memo comes weeks after a report involving DEA agents and prostitutes .

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(CNN)Recently, Nashville's district attorney banned prosecutors from offering female sterilization in plea deals. Believe it or not, Nashville prosecutors have offered this option four times in the past five years. There has been public outrage at the notion that a defendant in America in 2015 would be offered a choice of sterilization as part of a plea deal. Except, it happens all the time. Some have claimed this practice "evokes a dark corner of American history" where the mentally ill or "deficient" were forced to undergo sterilization. Yeah, that's true. We did that. And it was bad. Except this isn't quite that. Female sterilization is linked to the controversial "eugenics" movement, which advocated for the notion that the human race can be improved by selective breeding of people with superior genes. There is even a 1927 Supreme Court case, Buck v. Bell, in which the justices ruled that a state statute permitting compulsory sterilization of the unfit and "imbeciles," "for the protection and health of the state," was constitutional. The opinion in the case is stunning, especially because the Supreme Court has never technically overruled it. But Buck v. Bell dealt with involuntary sterilization of people because of their mental disabilities, not because they were being punished for a crime. You can hate sterilization, and the Tennessee case may have the creepy feel of the antiquated practice of eugenics, but it's not that. Present-day sterilization plea deals involve a voluntary choice of sterilization by persons accused of a crime, and for whom sterilization will be part of their punishment. Others may argue that the Supreme Court has already spoken on the issue of compulsory sterilization as punishment, and struck it down. That's true too, sort of. In Skinner v. Oklahoma, the Court struck down a law permitting compulsory sterilization of criminals as unconstitutional, but not because it was cruel and unusual. Instead, the law was struck down because the law was unequally applied for similar crimes. So the question remains: Is sterilization as a punishment unconstitutional? The Eighth Amendment provides: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." Practically, however, punishments are rarely deemed cruel and unusual by the judiciary. We have executed people with hangings and by firing squad. Sterilization has to be somewhere below that, right? Ultimately, however, the constitutionality of sterilization may be a red herring in this analysis, because it appears that even if a punishment vciolates the Constitution, it is permissible, if you willingly choose it. Suppose arguendo (for argument's sake) that sterilization is judicially labeled a cruel and unusual punishment, violating the Eighth Amendment. This is where it gets interesting: It still might be an appropriate and constitutional part of a plea deal. Shocked? You shouldn't be. As citizens, we validly waive our constitutional rights all the time. You waive your Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure when you answer "yes" to an officer's "Mind if I look in your trunk?" You waive your Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination when you try to explain to the detective in the interrogation room how that body got in your vehicle's trunk. So then, if we can validly waive our other constitutional rights, can we waive our Eighth Amendment rights and choose a cruel and unusual punishment, even if it would otherwise be unconstitutional? And are people outraged because this is a new step in punishment or a new frontier and a slippery slope in the world of plea deals? Nope. Sterilization statutes have been around for a while as punishment for defendants all over the country, and defendants have willingly chosen the procedure. If sterilization plea deals are likely constitutional, and we've been doing it for a while, then that begs the question: Why the outrage now? Why the story that a Tennessee prosecutor was fired for a plea bargain that appears to be widely practiced? There are really only two possibilities. First, some people just had no idea that this was going on until this story hit the news. Second, even if we knew about it, we didn't mind the practice until now because of one fundamental difference. Most of the sterilization defendants are men. Search your feelings, Luke. When we talk about castrating men who are recidivist sexual predators and child molesters, the idea of castration as punishment doesn't sound so bad right? Be honest: Let go of your "we're-all-equal-in-all-ways" banner for a moment. After all, not too long ago, execution was a legal punishment for nonhomicide sex crimes in some jurisdictions. So if we're OK with the gas chamber, we're probably OK with a snip. It's OK. You can admit it; we are all hardwired with a modicum of gender bias, whether we like it or not. Still not convinced? Watch this parlor trick: What if I suggested sterilization for a person convicted of having sex with a minor? So far you're not ruling it out. And what if it's a young female high school teacher having sex with her 17-year-old student? Most of our gut feelings shifted from "maybe" to "no" just now. It's OK to admit that, too. Of course, sterilization won't prevent a female sex offender from offending again, no more than sterilization will prevent a male offender from offending again. But the point is, somehow, the notion of sterilizing a male criminal somehow sits better with us than sterilizing a female criminal. Maybe it's that on a primal, unconscious level, what feels cruel and unusual punishment for a woman just feels less so for a man. Even if you're offended by this theory of why an old practice is now a "shocking" news story, you must concede it fits. Why else has castration of men not been a blip on the radar, but offering a woman the option of sterilization is suddenly a travesty? Of course, we have to consider the related justification. Overall, a lot more men commit acts that merit sterilization than do women. Just ask any domestic violence prosecutor. Are sterilization plea deals morally right? It's hard to say. For now, they appear to be constitutional, but controversial. If we know a mother is likely to kill or seriously hurt her current children or her unborn child, should the government step in? If so, to what degree? Fortunately, we can avoid a final decision and continue to attack the problem in a way that seems to be more acceptable for now: just keep neutering the men.

Nashville's district attorney banned prosecutors from offering female sterilization in plea deals . Danny Cevallos: Present-day sterilization plea deals are voluntary and unlike creepy antiquated practices .

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(CNN)After two days of deliberation, jurors found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty on all counts in the Boston Marathon bombing. The verdict isn't surprising. What might be, however, is the answer to how we prevent this kind of violence from happening again. Because there could be other more young men just like him, which means the lessons we take from Boston will affect whether we can keep America and Americans safer. Today, nearly 1 out of 4 people in the world are Muslim. By 2050, Pew reports, that will be some 1 out of 3. By 2070? Well, I'll quote the all-caps headline reprinted by the Drudge Report: "Muslims to outnumber Christians!" Many Americans read such numbers and worry: Will this mean more Dzhokhar Tsarnaevs? But that's only if you believe Islam causes extremism, which many have argued. And that's wrong, of course. On the other hand, there are people who claim Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Which is true — and false. Sure, the Islamic faith forbids murder, but there's a small but significant minority of Muslims murdering people in terrible ways, and in Islam's name. Understanding what leads young Muslims like Dzhokhar down a dangerous path requires we understand radicalization. At any given moment in the Middle East, we have little idea who's going to attack whom next, who's on whom's side, how this is going to end, or what anyone's even fighting over anymore. This bad news is going to turn worse before it gets better. But it will get better. To understand why, we have to take a stab at understanding what radicalizes Muslims . Contrary to common belief, Muslims aren't unusually predisposed to violence. Radical Islam, which has taken on an ugly life of its own, began at the intersection of politics, religion and religious identity. Islam is about what you believe, but it's also about being part of a community. And what happens when you are a member of a community and you see it under attack? Some Muslims who have turned to violence have done so with good intentions (the road to hell, after all). Consider: The tragedy of modern Islam is in its endless sequence of tragedies. Before my time, the brutal Soviet invasion of Afghanistan horrified many Muslims. When I was in high school, Bosnia occupied all our attention. There was of course Russia's brutal war on the Chechen people — Dzhokhar shares his name with a recent Chechen patriot -- and Israel's ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories. And the blows against Muslims don't end there. There was Serbia's war on Kosovo, another war in Chechnya, the invasion of Iraq, oppression in Myanmar, civil strife in Syria, the colonization of East Turkestan, massacres of Muslims in the Central African Republic, wars on a besieged Gaza and West Bank still under Israeli rule. Imagine how this looks to a restless young Muslim. Countless places where co-religionists have been killed, and nobody seems to do anything about it. Nobody even wants to. Extremists have long offered crude reasons for why the violence was happening, and then moved quickly to a single, tempting, terrible response: Take up arms — and kill. In her new book, "Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now", Ayaan Hirsi Ali argues that extremism isn't caused by political circumstances, but by Islam itself. Her conclusion is wrong. To fight extremism, we don't need to reform Islam. We need to show young Muslims that extremism is doing the opposite of what it claimed to. Rather than help Muslims, it's harming them. When I was a teenager, our Massachusetts mosque hosted a delegation from Bosnia that shared graphic, heartbreaking stories of rape, exile, and massacre inflicted on Muslims, all because of their faith. The mosque raised money, collected food, blankets, medicine. Promises were made to provide more, and regularly. But we all knew that wasn't enough. As we left the mosque, my peers and I were disgruntled and confused. Shocked. Angry. Our teachers could've told us: Go and fight. Defend your Muslim brothers and sisters who are under siege. Or they could've told us to keep our heads down and make money and live comfortably. Neither answer would have satisfied. Fortunately for us, they offered us a third way. They showed us, patiently, how to work with others, how to compromise, how to get things done. A more engaged American Muslim community, they explained, could use its resources to help people suffering all around the world. They were right. We saw the dead-end road of radicalism from afar, but we also saw, up close, how communities that isolated themselves and turned inward found themselves powerless, ineffectual and ignored. Thanks to social media, a medium that the world's burgeoning young Muslim population is increasingly comfortable with, more Muslims can and will see this, too. Radicalism will be done in by fellow Muslims who want to save their religion from this monster within it. It's happening already. Our national conversation about Islam is focused on the wrong issues. Does Islam need a Reformation? What in Islam causes violence? We would do a lot better if we accepted that Muslims the world over have real grievances — dictatorships, corruption, foreign intervention, religious illiteracy, lack of economic opportunity -- and radicals exploit these. We need to show the young Dzhokhars that, if they want to help, then violence isn't going to help. To fight extremism, we need to pose this question to young Muslims: "Do you want to help your brothers and sisters in faith?" Because those who claim to be defending us are making things so much worse. Their narrative has failed. Their solution is bankrupt. The Caliph wears no clothes. It's the reason why increasing numbers of Muslims reject extremism -- and not just because our numbers are increasing.

Haroon Moghul: Tsarnaev found guilty in terrorist bombing of Boston Marathon. How to prevent future such acts by young Muslims? Pew reports by 2050, one in 4 will be Muslim. Many equate terror with Islam. Not true, but we should grasp what causes radicalization . Moghul: Muslims see their community besieged around world, some think solution is violence. They must be shown other way to help .

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(CNN)It's a good thing -- a lucky thing -- that a bystander had the courage and presence of mind to record the shocking video that shows a white police officer, Michael Slager, gunning down and killing an apparently unarmed black man named Walter Scott after a traffic stop in North Charleston, South Carolina. And the resulting national wave of revulsion and indignation -- along with the prompt arrest of Slager on murder charges -- is a welcome and appropriate response. But the event raises broad, troubling questions about how often such incidents take place without the benefit of a third-party recording. It's not supposed to be a mystery: More than 20 years ago, Congress approved a law, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, signed by President Bill Clinton, that requires the federal Justice Department to collect data on deaths caused by police. The law has never truly been implemented, leaving us with patchy information about particular episodes rather than a comprehensive sense of how race and policing play out in America. "What happened here today doesn't happen all the time. What if there was no video? What if there was no witness -- or hero, as I call him -- to come forward?" said L. Chris Stewart, an attorney for Scott's family. "As you can see, the initial (police) reports stated something totally different." That's putting it mildly. In early police statements -- issued before the video came to light -- Slager reportedly said that Scott attacked him, that he fired only after a scuffle and that cops made medical efforts to revive Scott. The video makes hash of those claims, and likely contributed to Slager's swift arrest and pending murder charges. "When you're wrong, you're wrong," said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey. That leaves Slager to face murder charges that could land him on death row -- and the rest of us to face a disturbing reality. I'm all for having police use body cameras, although they are not a magic cure for preventing or stopping the excessive use of force. But the much bigger problem is that we simply don't know when and where police killings take place, or whether they cluster in particular cities or states. And that means we don't know for certain whether unjustified or excessive force correlates with particular forms of officer training or detectable underlying racial bias. We don't even know the role played by officers operating under stressful conditions or while dealing with mental or physical illness. These vital questions aren't supposed to be a mystery. According to Section 210402 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, "The Attorney General shall, through appropriate means, acquire data about the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers. ... The Attorney General shall publish an annual summary of the data acquired under this section." That section of the law has effectively been ignored, beyond a first attempt at a comprehensive report published in 1996. By 2001, a New York Times article noted that when it comes to police uses of deadly force, "No comprehensive accounting for all of the nation's 17,000 police department exists." There are multiple reasons the law has been ignored. Collecting information from the nation's thousands of jurisdictions -- the myriad villages, counties and cities -- is a tough, expensive assignment. The job is even harder because many police departments, reluctant to air their dirty laundry, fail to distinguish between justified and unjustified killings on the reasonable grounds that it's up to the courts to rule on whether an officer has committed brutality -- something that's often established only after years of court proceedings. These hurdles could be overcome by a determined effort from Washington, but Congress has failed to press the Justice Department to demand the data and comply with the 1994 law. A weak substitute called the Death in Custody Reporting Act was passed in 2000 and renewed in 2014, but it is a voluntary reporting program intended to coax information out of local departments. Some of the data gap has been filled by media organizations -- and what they have discovered only underscores the need for muscular, mandatory enforcement of the data-gathering law. In 2011, the Las Vegas Review-Journal published an extensive investigation of police killings in and around Las Vegas and found 378 shootings over a 20-year period, 142 of which were fatal. In no case was an officer convicted or even fired because of an on-duty shooting. In South Carolina last month, The State newspaper published an examination of 209 instances in which officers shot at suspects, and found that only a handful of officers were charged, and none found guilty. "In South Carolina, it remains exceedingly rare for an officer to be found at fault criminally for shooting at someone," the Columbia newspaper concluded. A group of activists has created a website called MappingPoliceViolence.org that flags cases of police killings; its estimate that at least 304 black people were killed by police in 2014 may stand as the best guess we have about the dimensions of a national problem. But we shouldn't be guessing. As the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorialized in 2011: "How many lives might be saved if taxpayers everywhere were better informed about police shootings? How can they know about a potential local problem without information? ... Police already track everything from domestic violence to child abuse to murder, and police routinely lobby state and federal lawmakers to put new crimes into statute. The budgetary impact of adding another reporting category to local police forces would be minuscule. The social impact of such an addition, however, would be huge." That common-sense observation is being echoed by the Obama administration -- specifically, the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, created in December in response to widespread protests following the police killings of unarmed black men including Michael Brown and Eric Garner. The recently released interim report of the task force calls, one more time, for the Justice Department to collect comprehensive data from local departments. But it will take more pressure -- from activists, victims' families, members of Congress and President Barack Obama himself -- to demand an end to the stonewalling of information. It's long past time we got to the truth of how many more killings like Walter Scott's are happening without a video to set the record straight.

Errol Louis: By chance a bystander video caught South Carolina officer shooting apparently unarmed black man . Federal law on reporting of such shootings goes unenforced -- how many instances do we never hear about? he asks . Louis: It's long past time for officials to tell the truth -- even when there's no video .

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(CNN)The new emojis are here! On Thursday, Apple released a new version of its mobile operating system that includes more diversity than ever when it comes to the race, ethnicity and sexual orientation of its emojis -- those cute little images that users can insert into text messages or emails when words alone just won't cut it. The reaction to this new lineup is, as should be expected with almost anything new in today's hypersensitive climate, a range of cheers and jeers. Why is any of this important, you may ask? For many, these images are far more than tiny clip art for texting. Rather they are seen as recognition that their own ethnicity, sexual orientation, race or even hair color is part of mainstream America -- despite what others might say. This matters in a digital age where texting is how most people communicate and represent themselves dozens -- if not hundreds -- of times every day. Think receiving a text of an image of a person smiling. Or more accurately, think of a white face smiling because up until Thursday's update, all the emojis had pale skin. But that has all changed. Now there's a range of emoji skin tones to pick from, including yellow, brown and black. I'm sure few people will be upset with this development. But how about in December? Why? Now that will be able to choose the skin tones for each human emoji, and that will also include ... Santa Claus. That shrieking sound you may have heard was from Fox News' Megyn Kelly, who famously stated in 2013 that Santa Claus is absolutely, definitely and without a doubt a white guy. In fact, thanks to Apple, we may even see Brown Santa emojis this December. (Could that mean he's a Muslim Santa?! Cue even more shrieking from Fox News.) There is more. Apple has now given us gay and lesbian couple emojis, kissing with a heart over their heads. This inclusiveness was cheered by at least one gay news service on Twitter. It's not yet clear if a person who likes to use same-sex kissing emoji couples can be denied service by a person who objects on grounds of "religious liberty." But it would be interesting to hear what any of the 2016 GOP presidential candidates might have to say about "gay emojis." And I would predict some conservative will claim that the kissing gay emojis will turn children gay. The fact is, when you embrace diversity, you will still leave out other minority groups. Redheads, for example, are pretty pissed off because there are no emojis featuring their hair color. In fact, supporters of a redheaded emoji have started a petition that has already garnered several thousand signatures. Even expanding the flags represented by emojis, as Apple has done, comes at some peril. Apparently Canada is overjoyed that finally Apple has included it. But Armenians are not happy they were left out. I must admit that being partially of Palestinian heritage, it's heartening to see that despite the fact that some refuse to recognize a Palestinian state, Apple has chosen to now include a Palestinian flag emoji. Armenia, I feel your pain. Of course the bigger question in the whole diverse-emoji issue is: What took Apple so long? How hard could it have been to add different skin colors to pick from? That the company (finally) did is a step in the right direction: America's demographics are changing, so our representations of who we are -- even representations as tiny as emojis -- should reflect this. Apple has "evolved" in showing diversity -- from brown people to same-sex couples. Maybe "religious liberty" conservatives who discriminate will follow.

Dean Obeidallah: Apple's new emoji lineup is diverse in race, ethnicity and sexual orientation . It's just like America, but what took Apple so long? Obeidallah asks . He says change may rankle (or win over?) conservatives who discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation .

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(CNN)Hillary Clinton finally answered the question we've all been asking for years: Will she run for president in 2016? With official news of her candidacy just hours old, one thing is already crystal clear: For the next year and a half, Clinton will be the barometer by which we assess gender equality in the United States. Win or lose, this creates a burden for her that no male candidate will ever have to shoulder. Just consider the two potential outcomes. A win would mean a woman in the White House, which is a vital step in the march toward women's full political inclusion. But it's possible that the march will end right there. We'll break our arms patting ourselves on the back for how far we've come. We'll raise the "Mission Accomplished" banner over the women's movement. And we'll call it a day. Granted, 80% of elected officials throughout the country will still be men. Women will continue to be less likely than men even to consider running for office. And pay inequities, sexual assault and human trafficking will persist as challenges that no one person can solve, no matter how hard Clinton might try. "But we've elected a woman as president," we'll say. Let her take care of it. A loss would be even more difficult. Clinton will be blamed for running a subpar campaign regardless of how brilliant her strategy is. More generally, her loss would perpetuate the myth that women cannot win big elections, that the electoral environment is rife with bias and discrimination, and that women must be twice as good to get half as far. "If Hillary Clinton can't win an election," potential female candidates will ask, "How can I?" Extrapolating from one female candidate's experiences to women in politics more broadly is always suspect. But in the case of Clinton, it is particularly flawed for at least two fundamental reasons. First, Clinton is no ordinary female presidential candidate, if there is such a thing. She began the 2008 race with levels of name recognition that many candidates never achieve, and she is even more well-known today. But that means that she also enters the electoral arena with 23 years of public accomplishments and 23 years of well-publicized baggage. Voters, donors, journalists and pundits all hold clear impressions of Clinton before she ever eats a corn dog in Iowa, steps onto a debate stage in New Hampshire or takes a shot of bourbon in Kentucky. Too often, we treat Clinton's loss to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary as a referendum on how citizens feel about electing women to positions of political power. In reality, what people knew about Hillary Clinton likely shaped their views of Hillary Clinton. Widespread sexism and misogyny likely did not. After all, for decades, women who have run for office have performed just as well as men. They win elections at equal rates and routinely raise comparable amounts of money. Do some voters still question women's suitability as leaders? Of course they do. But these attitudes, which have become increasingly rare, do not translate into systematic biases against female candidates. Second, presidential politics is, first and foremost, a partisan affair. The D or R in front of the candidates' names -- not the X or Y chromosomes in their DNA -- tells us about how more than 90% of the population will vote. Party polarization has essentially rendered the importance of sex on the campaign trail far less relevant than might otherwise be the case. Now, I'll be the first to predict that by the middle of the week, we will be able to assemble a reel of sexist comments uttered by pundits, and we will be one mouse click away from a steady stream of misogynistic memes, photos and captions that have taken hold on social media. The Clinton campaign will once again have to determine which incidents to address, which to ignore and how to preempt future episodes. I don't want to diminish the problems associated with this type of behavior or the fact that it is inappropriate, disrespectful and appalling. And incorporating these concerns into a broad campaign strategy is likely something that male candidates won't need to consider. But men yelling "Iron my shirt" at a campaign rally, cable news pundits associating Clinton with their ex-wives outside of probate court and manufacturers producing Hillary Clinton nutcrackers do not change the fact that when it comes to presidential elections, partisanship and the state of the economy tell us almost everything we need to know. If Clinton wins the race, it will be because it was a good year for Democrats. And if she loses, it will be because the GOP developed a winning message. But how much does any of this really matter? Sure, voters are amenable to electing women. Any Democratic nominee would face the same electoral landscape. The problems confronting women in society are just as grave regardless of who occupies the White House. And inferring too much from Hillary Clinton's experiences is a risky endeavor. Yet the minute Clinton announced her candidacy, she became the official litmus test for true gender equality in the United States. That's a label that no female candidate should have to wear. Let the burden begin.

Jennifer Lawless: There's a strong temptation to view Hillary Clinton's candidacy as all about cracking the glass ceiling for women . She says the reality is that most people will vote not on gender but on the economy and partisanship .

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(CNN)In 2013, "The Bible" broke ratings records on the History Channel, so of course, a sequel was ordered up -- and this one is on NBC. The new miniseries from Mark Burnett and Roma Downey is one of six shows to watch this week. 1. "A.D. The Bible Continues," 9 p.m. ET Sunday, NBC . Just in time for Easter, the peacock network debuts the "Bible" sequel, picking up with Jesus' resurrection and following the early days of Christianity. NBC scored on picking up the follow-up to the smash cable hit, starring Juan Pablo Di Pace as Jesus and Greta Scacchi as Mary (replacing Downey in the role). The full miniseries will run for 12 weeks, so consider it a spring revival. 2. "Mad Men," 9 p.m. Sunday, AMC . We've arrived at the end, "Mad Men" fans. This is the first of the last several episodes, where we'll learn the fate of Don Draper and the cast of characters. Click here for more on "Mad Men." 3. "American Odyssey," 10 p.m. Sunday, NBC . Anna Friel ("Pushing Daisies") stars as a special forces translator in Mali who is believed to be dead by those back in the States. On the show, she struggles to get back home, while we discover how she ended up how she did. 4. "Louie," 10:30 Thursday, FX . Louis C.K.'s critically-acclaimed comedy is back for a fifth season. Will Louie continue to offend people in his life? All signs point to yes. Is Louie still dating his best friend-turned-girlfriend, Pamela? We'll have to tune into find out. 5. "The Comedians," 10 p.m. Thursday, FX . Billy Crystal returns to television, with co-star Josh Gad, as two people starring in an FX comedy. It's a meta mockumentary about the making of a comedy show. "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm's" Larry Charles is among the producers. 6. "Marvel's Daredevil," Friday, Netflix . This ain't Ben Affleck's movie. Now that Marvel has the rights to the "Man Without Fear" back, they've decided to launch several series for Netflix, starting with this dark, gritty drama about blind lawyer Matt Murdock, and his moonlighting as a costumed avenger (no pun intended).

Sequel to popular "Bible" miniseries debuting on NBC . "Mad Men" premieres the first of its final episodes . Netflix premieres its first Marvel series, "Daredevil"

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London (CNN)The Pentagon released a map this week showing coalition forces have taken back 25-30% of Iraqi territory seized by ISIS. The map, above, shows gains in key central and northern areas of Iraq where the terror group was previously the dominant force. The gains made in the fight against the terror group by Iraqi security forces and coalition air power certainly look impressive -- although as the U.S. Department of Defense acknowledges it's a dynamic conflict and territory can change hands depending on "daily fluctuations in the battle lines." So, how exactly should we read this information? What does it say about the wider fight against ISIS? CNN asked Afzal Ashraf, a counterinsurgency specialist and consulting fellow at the Royal United Services Institute to give us a steer on what this new data tells us about the fight against ISIS in Iraq. Below is an edited version of the conversation. CNN: So, is the tide turning in Iraq -- is the coalition winning? Afzal Ashraf: When it comes to insurgencies it's always problematic to think about the tide turning in terms of territorial gains because insurgencies by their very nature are extremely good at adapting to change. The one difference between ISIS and insurgencies in general is that ISIS declared itself a state, a caliphate once had territory so any loss is very strategic loss of prestige and image for them. (There have been) significant gains against ISIS -- particularly in Tikrit -- and it's no coincidence we've seen ISIS make spectacular attacks in refugee centers in Syria. It's asymmetric warfare, they know they cannot hold conventional force back for very long so what they do is they withdraw ... then take initiative elsewhere. They have to distract attention from those losses by gains and attacks elsewhere. It continues their image of initiative, of shocking, of reshaping the world -- which is what they are trying to do. CNN: What does the map tell us about the coalition's strategy? AA: It's very telling. There are losses but most of the losses are around the edges of their territory and what that means is a very conventional push forward by the Iraqi forces. It's a push against the front line of ISIS rather than being brave and creative and going in behind ISIS's lines and breaking it up. What this isn't is using maneuverist warfare -- which is a military philosophy that exploits the capabilities of conventional forces to project power by using air forces to take land along main supply routes and put friendly forces on that land to cut land into chunks which causes massive disruption to command and control and their supply chains which can cause forces to collapse much more rapidly than a frontal push. The capability you need (for this kind of warfare) is much more high-tech than the capabilities the Iraqis have. Those capabilities are available in the region -- Jordanians, Egyptians and other forces have helicopters and aircraft -- and it's very interesting that the Middle Eastern nations have not developed an effective coalition to target ISIS which is an existential threat. CNN: What about Ramadi? ISIS seems to be winning there. AA: Ramadi has been a potential battlefield for the past decade. But in this context (ISIS) will ... be pushing in Ramadi because that's an area they have lots of support. It also diverts their attention away from losses to their gains. The concept of success is hugely important to them -- it's what sustains the recruitment effort of ISIS. Nobody wants to join a bunch of losers, so it's very important for them to be seen to be succeeding. Above all this is a rhetorical war that is being fought deliberately in the media. They are losing so of course they are going to try to distract us by destroying ancient statues in Nimrud and killing refugees in camps like Yarmouk. But where it counts they are not standing and fighting.

Pentagon releases map showing coalition forces have taken back 25-30% of Iraq territory from ISIS . Counterinsurgency specialist Afzal Ashraf on what new data tells us about fight . Ashraf: Where it counts (ISIS is) not standing and fighting .

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(CNN)Arsenal kept their slim hopes of winning this season's English Premier League title alive by beating relegation threatened Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor. A first half goal from Welsh international Aaron Ramsey was enough to separate the two sides and secure Arsenal's hold on second place. More importantly it took the north London club to within four points of first placed Chelsea, with the two clubs to play next week. But Chelsea have two games in hand and play lowly Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, a team who are themselves struggling against relegation. Good form . Arsenal have been in superb form since the start of the year, transforming what looked to be another mediocre season struggling to secure fourth place -- and with it Champions League qualification -- into one where they at least have a shot at winning the title. After going ahead, Arsenal rarely looked in any danger of conceding, showing more of the midfield pragmatism epitomized by the likes of Francis Coquelin, who also played a crucial role in the goal. "He has been absolutely consistent in the quality of his defensive work," Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger told Sky Sports after the game when asked about Coquelin's contribution to Arsenal's current run. They have won eight games in a row since introducing the previously overlooked young Frenchman into a more defensive midfield position. "He was a player who was with us for seven years, from 17, he's now just 24," Wenger explained. "Sometimes you have to be patient. I am very happy for him because he has shown great mental strength." Now all eyes will be on next week's clash between Arsenal and Chelsea which will likely decide the title. "They have the games in hand," said Wenger, playing down his club's title aspirations. "But we'll keep going and that's why the win was so important for us today." Relegation dogfight . Meanwhile it was a good day for teams at the bottom of the league. Aston Villa continued their good form since appointing coach Tim Sherwood with a 1-0 victory over Tottenham, who fired Sherwood last season. Belgian international Christian Benteke scored the only goal of the game, his eighth in six matches, to secure a vital three points to give the Midlands club breathing space. Another Midlands club looking over their shoulder is West Brom, who conceded an injury time goal to lose 3-2 against bottom club Leicester City. But it was an awful day for Sunderland's former Dutch international coach Dick Advocaat, who saw his team lose 4-1 at home against form team Crystal Palace. Democratic Republic of Congo international Yannick Bolasie scored Crystal Palace's first ever hat trick in the Premier League to secure an easy victory.

Arsenal beat Burnley 1-0 in the EPL . A goal from Aaron Ramsey secured all three points . Win cuts Chelsea's EPL lead to four points .

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(CNN)I'm haunted by the video of Officer Michael Slager firing eight shots at Walter Scott as he fled his encounter with North Charleston police -- his back turned to the officer. What I find more disturbing is how the officer cuffs the fallen Scott and allows him to die face-down in the dirt while Slager appears to plant an item next to his body. I understand why people are skeptical of self-defense claims -- especially from law enforcement. If not for the video taken by a bystander, I can't help but think that this story would be shuttered behind the wall of an active investigation. As a defense attorney, I am more sensitive than anyone to the assumption of innocence for those accused of a crime, but this single piece of evidence -- a video of a man shot in the back while in full retreat -- defies any reasonable explanation. Thank God there was a camera. It will help ensure that justice will be served in this case. However, there is another camera that -- had it been deployed -- might have prevented the entire tragedy: a police body camera. Throughout the entire encounter with Scott, it's clear Slager had no idea someone was filming him. Had he known there would be video of his every move, would he have drawn his weapon on a fleeing man? Would he have fired? Eight times? Would he have misrepresented the encounter on his police report? Of course not. If Slager had been wearing a body camera, Scott would probably still be alive, and Slager wouldn't be facing the possibility of life in prison -- or a possible death sentence. Body cameras are expensive to deploy, sure. And storing the massive amounts of data that body cameras create costs even more. That cost, however -- if we're talking the monetary kind -- may be eclipsed by the punitive damages delivered to Scott's family in an inevitable civil suit against the North Charleston Police Department. Most importantly, we have to ask ourselves this: What's the value of a human life? Certainly it's worth the price of some mass data storage. And there's something else at stake. The public is losing confidence in law enforcement, and the strained relationship between minorities and police is reaching a breaking point. Every police shooting that captures headlines justifies an ever increasing fear of cops in the street. As fear ratchets up, so does the tension between cops and the people in the communities they serve. As tension rises, the risk of more shootings increases. It is a cycle of destruction that could lead to chaos. Police body cameras can help break this cycle. Studies have shown that both cops and people in the community act better when they know they are on camera. Complaints against cops decrease, and, most importantly, use-of-force incidents drop. I will admit that body cameras are only an interim solution. They only help compensate for the real underlying problem, which is this: There is a bias against black men that has infiltrated the criminal justice system, and we are seeing it in the disproportionate shooting of black men. When we look at this footage -- and when we see the dashboard camera from the other South Carolina officer who last year shot a man who was reaching for his driver's license -- it's clear that many cops are more likely to interpret actions, even routine actions, from black men as potentially aggressive. These may not be overtly racist cops. They may not intentionally treat black men differently, but we can't pretend that black men aren't being disproportionately targeted. All across the country, we see it happening, and with the proliferation of video, we're seeing it happen with alarming frequency. Somehow, we're going to have to beat this bias out of our system. Set tougher employment screening standards when hiring cops. Institute more training to help officers recognize the bias and adjust for it. As a society, we have to focus on the broad social changes needed to address disparities in income, education and opportunities -- disparities that keep us a racially divided nation. But social change, sadly, may take generations of hard work. In the meantime, if we can't immediately root out racial bias, we can at least put a bright spotlight on it, and we can start by focusing on the one interaction where racial bias results in the loss of life -- we can start by placing body-mounted cameras on cops.

Mark O'Mara: Video captured Michael Slager shooting Walter Scott; if cop had been wearing a body camera, he probably wouldn't have fired . O'Mara says such cameras are expensive, but cheaper than wrongful death payouts -- and the cost of a human life. The underlying problem is racial bias in policing; until that's solved, body cameras are a good interim solution .

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(CNN)Danny Kahneman, my good friend and co-author who got a Nobel Prize in economics, once helped to run an experiment involving patients undergoing colonoscopies. One group received a mildly pleasurable experience at the end of the procedure; the other group, which experienced the same type of colonoscopy, did not. It turns out that the group for whom things ended well had significantly more positive recollections of the whole affair from its beginning. The psychology of it is simple to understand: Happy endings matter. Even an unpleasant experience can lead to happy memories in hindsight if it ends well. So too with taxes. Let's just say that when it comes to taxes for the average American, "stuff" happens (keeping the colonoscopy metaphor running), paycheck to tax-reduced paycheck. But recent statistics suggest that 8 out of 10 American taxpayers get a refund when they file their taxes, and the average amount is close to $3000. That pays for a lot of stuff. To make the good news even better, tax filing has gotten rather simple for most people, with various software and service providers offering to do the dreaded paperwork for free. No filing headaches and a check to boot. What's not to like? The fact of the matter is there is plenty not to like when it comes to the U.S. tax system. For example, the laws are biased against two-worker marriages; taxes go up when two relatively equal earners marry, as the rate brackets for couples are less than double that for single filers. Taxes are also overly complex and essentially optional for the truly rich, who make their wealth off of their existing wealth, the largely untaxed returns from capital, rather than by getting ordinary paychecks like most of us. But now is not the time to explain such serious matters; the people are too busy spending their refunds. The once dreaded Tax Day has become a happy spending spree for most Americans. This state of short-term bliss follows from some deep trends in our tax laws. In brief, the U.S. income tax system is increasingly a wage tax, with limited taxes on capital (what the rich have) and limited deductions for most of us. For example, 3 out of 4 Americans using a standard deduction get no break for their charitable contributions. All of this has been hashed and rehashed by politicians, professors and pundits. But who has time for that? Let's go to our television sets and check out the commercials. One clever spot ran during the recent Super Bowl, suggesting that the Boston Tea Party -- a tax revolt -- could have been averted with free online filing, which the sponsor was eager to provide. Filling out 1040s was part of what made the income tax so odious for the masses for such a long time -- who doesn't remember our parents fretting over shoeboxes of receipts sometime in April, the cruelest month? Now as Tax Day approaches, we are flooded with advertisements about America getting its billions back, without even having to pay to prepare the forms. We get paid to play! Here is the happy ending that Kahneman and others have shown can mitigate the memories of unpleasantness past. The simple fact is that a simple tax is also rather simple to administer. Service providers kindly offer to help out the masses of befuddled Americans. Of course, these kind souls want their happy endings too. They are betting that once the large refunds become obvious to their customers, the grateful taxpayers-turned-consumers will happily purchase add-on services, such as "audit protection insurance," or perhaps deposit the money in financial accounts managed by the provider. Just as lottery winners notoriously go on impulsive spending sprees, the "found money" of tax returns can finance many nice purchases. Of course, there are still those annoying matters of the deep unfairness of the tax laws, biased against modern families and wage earners, and in favor of the rich living off capital. No real bother -- stuff happens. Let others fret about fairness. As long as our taxpaying or colon procedures end with a smile -- or a check -- who has time to dwell on the bad stuff that came before?

Edward McCaffery: There's a fundamental unfairness to U.S. tax laws . But Americans don't care because most of us get a refund on Tax Day, and that makes us happy .

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(CNN)Even in the horror of Syria's civil war, there are few places that showcase the scale of the destruction -- and the senselessness of the loss of life -- more than the Yarmouk camp on the outskirts of Damascus. Set up as a refugee camp for Palestinians in the 1950s, it slowly evolved into a neighborhood over the years, but since 2012 it has been engulfed in the Syrian conflict. Two weeks ago ISIS fighters stormed Yarmouk, and that made life for those still inside even worse than it was before. The Syrian government responded by unleashing a bombing and shelling campaign on the area, residents told CNN, including barrel bombs that flattened many of the buildings already scarred by the three-year-long conflict. Death comes day and night. "I looked up and saw dust," one resident said. "I opened the door and started walking outside and started shouting to the neighbors. One told me 'I am wounded,' another one didn't answer me at all. That second one -- may god have mercy on his soul -- he was martyred." While the battle for Yarmouk is very typical of Syria's civil war, the conflict here is unique. Most of those fighting on all sides are Palestinians. Pro-government factions besiege the area from the outside, cutting off supplies and aid most of the time. The inside is held by anti-regime groups, some of which are Islamists. The situation in Yarmouk was thrust in to the headlines on April 1 when ISIS fighters stormed the rebel-held area and unleashed a campaign of violence and killings. Since then, a local activist tells CNN, ISIS has withdrawn to another area and left the al Qaedalinked group Jabhat al-Nusra in charge of the district. 'The deepest circle of hell': Terrified Yarmouk residents describe ISIS raid . But this is only the most recent in a deadly urban war that is slowly grinding down Yarmouk's buildings and people. Of the more than 100,000 that used to live there, only about 18,000 remain, according to UNRWA, the U.N. agency tasked with aiding Palestinians. I have been to Yarmouk on various occasions, and the picture has always been the same. Pro-government factions surrounded the area and there was house-to house combat, mostly at night. A lot of destruction, very little territorial gain for either side, all of it taking a horrifying toll on the civilians trapped in the middle. "We have no food or water," one resident said, standing amid the ruins of Yarmouk's houses. "They should open a route so we can eat and drink and they can deliver assistance and food. We have nothing. What can we do?" But international aid groups can do very little. There are few occasions where aid is allowed into Yarmouk, or where civilians are allowed out. UNRWA can only care for those who do manage to escape. U.N. official to visit besieged refugee camp . The agency, along with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, runs several shelters for displaced people in government-controlled areas near the camp. Pierre Krahenbuhl, the Commissioner General for UNRWA, recently visited some of them and acknowledged that far too little help was reaching those who need it most. "We have to call on the world and call on all the actors in the world who can influence the situation to mobilize," Krahenbuhl said. "But much more has to be done to respect the civilians and to make sure that they are safe inside the camp." But of course those still inside are by no means safe -- subjected to shelling, bombing and street combat on top of being thirsty, hungry and in need of medication. But one thing that has not been broken is the residents' self-respect and pride. "This is Yarmouk camp and we are not leaving our homes," one man said. "Whatever happens, if they keep hitting us with barrel bombs we will die." An elderly woman recalled her life as a Palestinian refugee. "I fled Palestine when I was seven years old," she said. "But I will not leave the Yarmouk camp even if I am 75 or 76 years old. Yarmouk camp is equal to my soul. I built it with my bare hands. I carried its stones on my head from a village and laid the foundation to my home. Block by block I carried them on my head." But despite their defiance, there's seemingly nothing that can be done to prevent Yarmouk from being reduced to rubble. This is a war of attrition, two sides fighting for inches in tough combat without seeing that they are wrecking the prize they claim to be fighting for. Desperation for Palestinians trapped in Syrian refugee camp .

ISIS raided Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus on April 1 . 18,000 Palestinian refugees remain in the camp, cut off from vital aid . One defiant elderly resident told CNN: "I will not leave the Yarmouk camp even if I am 75 or 76 years old"

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(Billboard)From Channing Tatum twerking for Jennifer Lopez to host Amy Schumer's archery fail, there were plenty of highlights and misfires from the 2015 MTV Movie Awards. 2015 MTV Movie Awards: See the full winners list . Here are the jokes, performances and moments that hit the target and the ones and missed it. Best Moments . Amy Schumer's opener: From a "Boyhood"/HPV joke to nearly flashing J.K. Simmons to her run-in with a cancer support group, Schumer's opening video segment was as reliably hilarious and inventive as her Comedy Central show (which can't come back on TV soon enough). Plus, her monologue killed: "Half of you know who I am, half of you think I'm Meghan Trainor." Channing Tatum doing his thing: When the cast of "Magic Mike XXL" presented J.Lo with the Scared As Shit Performance award, she asked them exactly what we were all thinking: "Why aren't you dancing?" Channing Tatum obliged, popping a twerk (in a suit) onstage in front of Lopez. "Your turn," he told her. Sadly, she did not oblige. Amy Schumer takes on Hillary Clinton, Zayn Malik and more in monologue . Rebel Wilson's censored moment: Introducing an exclusive clip from "Pitch Perfect 2" as an "exclusive clit" was easily the funniest non-Schumer joke of the entire night. Even her castmates seemed shocked when she slipped it in. Fall Out Boy meets Fetty Wap: "Centuries" didn't need a rap breakdown, nor did "Trap Queen" need a punk-rock edge. But did it sound killer on both counts? Hell yeah. Fetty with an electric guitar is something that needs to happen again. Charli XCX, Ty Dolla $ign & Tinashe: There's a reason Charli gets invited to every MTV awards show: She attacks a pop song with the abandon of a rock 'n' roll tidal wave. "Drop That Kitty" was Tinashe's time to shine, though. It's only a shame she got about 30 seconds to command the stage. Kiss Cam: Amy Schumer sensuously kissing Amber Rose just before a commercial break? Well played, Amy. Kevin Hart's Comedic Genius Award: While Kimmel's intro jokes were a little one-note (we get it, Kevin is short), it was pretty adorable that Hart brought his kids onstage to accept his Golden Popcorn. As his son held it, you realized the award was bigger than the kid's head. MTV Movie Awards: See all the photos . Robert Downey Jr. accepting Generation Award: His speech was fine (kudos for the "keep your nose clean" quip), but his Avengers castmates taking a knee while he accepted his award was just perfect. Misfires . Archery fail: Schumer's bow-and-arrow misfire was a literal misfire. It wasn't a big deal, but the fact that it ruined an entire gag (with Jimmy Kimmel pretending to get shot in the chest) was naturally awkward. Of course, Schumer poked fun at herself almost immediately. "Gone Girl" joke: "How good was Gone Girl? It's the story of what one crazed white woman -- or every Latina -- does when a man cheats on them," Schumer joked. It wasn't awful, just kinda off. MTV immediately cut to J.Lo laughing like "ummm, OK" -- which is an accurate response. Vin Diesel sings 'Furious 7' Paul Walker tribute song at MTV Movie Awards . Shailene Woodley speech: Woodley definitely marches to the beat of her own drum, which is part of her appeal. But halfway through her Trailblazer award acceptance speech, the neo-hippie charm wore off, leaving most people wondering what she was trying to say. One of those wondering where she was going was Woodley herself, who wrapped up her speech by admitting it had totally gotten away from her. Zac Efron and Dave Franco: Was the punchline for their whole shtick really just Efron grabbing Franco's balls? Yes. Apparently, a man touching another man's junk is still comedy gold in 2015. Dwayne Johnson: The Rock shouting into the camera about 2014's movie highlights was totally unnecessary. At this point, MTV has to realize we've heard jokes about "American Sniper", "Gone Girl", "Boyhood" and "Whiplash" for almost a year now, and we're all ready to move on. But God Bless The Rock for giving it his all.

MTV Movie Awards host Amy Schumer had some hits and misses during the show . Rebel Wilson tossed in a censor-worthy joke .

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(CNN)For superhero fans, the cup runneth over. Most of us know the members of the Avengers by now: Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and the rest, and the fact that a few more like Quicksilver are joining the cast in the "Avengers: Age of Ultron" sequel. But there was one character who remained a mystery: the Vision, to be played by Paul Bettany. Thus far, we've only seen his eyes in a trailer. With less than a month to go before the movie hits theaters, Marvel Studios put all the speculation to rest with a poster featuring Bettany as the heroic android, who was a member of the superhero group for many years in the comics. Meanwhile, as many Marvel fans know, Thursday was the eve of the new Netflix series "Daredevil," and after a photoshopped first look at Charlie Cox's iconic red Daredevil suit went out, Marvel put out a video of the real one. Not to be outdone, director Bryan Singer announced a new character for next year's sequel "X-Men: Apocalypse," by telling Empire magazine that Ben Hardy would be playing the role of the winged mutant Angel. He even had a photo to share. And Thursday's new super images weren't quite done, because the questions over how Jamie Bell's rocky character The Thing in the rebooted "Fantastic Four" movie (out August 7) might look were also finally answered. And he looks ... pretty much like The Thing we already knew (but reportedly, CGI this time). Within 24 hours, we got yet another indication that the superhero trend isn't going anywhere anytime soon (and we didn't even talk about the new photo of Ryan Reynolds' "Deadpool").

Marvel Studios releases first looks at Paul Bettany as the Vision in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and Charlie Cox in full "Daredevil" costume . Jamie Bell's character of The Thing was also unveiled for 20th Century Fox's Marvel-based reboot of "Fantastic Four" Bryan Singer unveiled the first look at "X-Men: Apocalypse" Angel played by Ben Hardy .

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(CNN)Ursula Ward kept repeating her son's name -- Odin. She steadied herself against the podium in the Fall River, Massachusetts, courtroom and occasionally paused. She was tired after more than two years of pain, punctuated Wednesday when her son's killer, Aaron Hernandez, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Odin Lloyd was her first born, her only son. "Odin was the backbone of the family. Odin was the man of the house. Odin was his sisters' keeper," Ward told Judge Susan Garsh, before Garsh sentenced the former pro-football player. Lloyd was 27-years-old and working for a landscaping firm when he was killed in June 2013. He played football for the Boston Bandits, the oldest semi-pro team in Boston and the winner of four championships in the New England Football League, according to the team's website. His mother, sister, uncle and cousin described him as a champion of family, a gifted athlete and a hard worker with a sense of humor. They said he rode his bike several miles to get to work. He went to all of his niece's recitals. "Odin was my first best gift I (will) ever receive," his mother said. "I thank God (for) every second and every day of my son's life that I spent with him. "The day I laid my son Odin to rest," she continued, pausing to maintain her composure, "I think my heart stopped beating for a moment. I felt like I wanted to go into that hole with my son, Odin." She can still hear him talking to her: "'Ma, did you cook? Ma, go to bed. Ma, you're so beautiful.'" Ed Lloyd followed Ward to address the judge. Odin Lloyd's uncle thanked everyone who worked on the case against Hernandez. His nephew, he said, "meant a lot to me." "To see how he grew, the respect he had, the toughest thing for me is that I won't get to see him have a child...," Ed Lloyd said. He loved watching his nephew and his son together. "A lot of people won't see from the outside the value and the riches (Odin Lloyd) had," he said. "I'm sorry for where I stand today but I know that all the time I had with him was special and he'll always be with me." Who was Odin Lloyd? Odin Lloyd's sister Olivia Thibou wept as she explained what it has felt like to lose her brother. "These last couple years have been the hardest of our lives," she said, recalling that she was asked to writer her brother's eulogy. "I got to write all the great memories I have of him." She laughed, recalling his insistence on wearing the same Adidas flip-flops until the soles wore away. He was "prideful," she said. He would take her car out and just when she was starting to angry, he'd pull in with the car shining and clean, inside and out. He taught her daughter how to ride a bike. His murder, she said, "feels like a bad dream." Ward told the court that she constantly thinks about her son. "I miss my baby boy Odin so much," she said. "But I know I'm going to see him again someday and that has given me the strength to go on." She has also apparently gained strength from the act of forgiveness. "I forgive the hands of the people that had a hand in my son's murder," she said. "I pray and hope that someday everyone out there will forgive them also." What's next for Aaron Hernandez?

Ursula Ward talks about the shock and pain of her son's murder . Odin Lloyd's sister said her brother's death has felt like 'a bad dream'

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