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Florida agency rules bad anchoring, revving engine made boat capsize . Raiders' Marquis Cooper, NFL free agent Corey Smith, William Bleakley missing . Nick Schuyler survived the February 28 accident in Gulf of Mexico . | 7fd6d5bf3dd9afb2816b0eb7891b2ece01132d42 | (CNN) -- A fishing boat carrying two NFL players and two other men capsized last month because it was improperly anchored, a Florida agency reported Friday. Nick Schuyler clings to an overturned boat in this Coast Guard photo. One man survived; the other three are still missing. Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, NFL free agent Corey Smith and former University of South Florida players William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler went overboard February 28 during a fishing trip. Schuyler survived the accident, which happened 35 miles west of St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the men were unable to pull up the anchor of their boat to head back to port. Cooper tried to rev the boat forward to free the anchor, but the 21-foot single engine craft then capsized. The report said that the "improper anchoring" to a portside bracket, the attempt to throttle the boat forward to release the anchor,and the "failure to leave enough slack anchor line to compensate for top-water Gulf conditions" caused the accident. Schuyler told his rescuers that the boat was anchored in the evening when it was overturned by waves during a storm. He told them that all four men were clinging to the boat for a time, but became separated. The four men embarked in a 21-foot single-engine boat from the Seminole Boat Ramp near Clearwater Pass about 6:30 a.m. February 28, the Coast Guard said. |
European media reports suggest Kaka is being offered a $726,000 weekly pay . The U.S. President earns about $7690 per week (plus other benefits) World Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo is paid $177,000 a week . | ee3b71da1cf9ff9516460eca5d5d997bb560c4fa | LONDON, England (CNN) -- Twenty-six year old Brazilian footballer Kaka is at the subject of negotiations about a salary that could see him earn nearly 95 times more than what Barack Obama will be paid when he enters the White House. Pay rise: Kaka could soon be earning $726,000 per week . Reports circulated Wednesday that the AC Milan midfielder is being offered a £500,000 ($726,000) per WEEK salary by English Premier League club Manchester City. A statement on Italy's Mediaset Web site appeared to suggest he will turn down the offer, however Manchester City officials insist the talks are ongoing. Even if he declines the move, the offer is far beyond the pay for many other high-profile jobs. For example, the U.S. President receives about $7690 per week, while British Prime Minister Gordon Brown receives around $5233. What do you think of these salaries? Should footballers be paid more than world leaders? Tell us in the Sound Off box below. A comparison of a variety of salaries shows just how highly footballers, and professional sportsmen and women are paid in relation to other jobs. Even current football salaries dwarf the pay for most executive positions and public offices. WEEKLY INCOME (approximate) U.S. President: $7690 . British PM Gordon Brown: $5233 . Band 5 nurse in Britain: $567 . Director-General of BBC: $22,800 . Average U.S. teacher: $915 . Cristiano Ronaldo: $177,345 . Lewis Hamilton: $391,593 . Kaka's reported offer: $726,881 . If Kaka's deal does proceed, he will earn more than triple the Premier League's current highest-paid player, Robinho. The Brazilian, also with Manchester City, earns approximately $232,580 per week. Manchester City is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, a man believed to be worth about $22 billion -- so funding the salary shouldn't be a problem. Kaka's current salary at AC Milan was believed to be about $208,000 per week. |
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's top attorney to resign from defense team . Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell Senate seat vacated by President Obama . Blagojevich's impeachment trial set to start on Monday . | 4671c88cec3719d2ca604d320326ff6203e34484 | (CNN) -- Prominent Chicago defense lawyer Ed Genson said Friday he intends to resign as attorney for embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the criminal case against the governor. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment trial is scheduled to start on Monday. "I never require a client to do what I say but I do require them to at least listen to what I say. ... I wish the governor good luck and godspeed," Genson said in brief remarks to reporters. Genson would not elaborate on his reasons for withdrawing from the case or any conversations he had with Blagojevich about his leaving the case. Genson had headed Blagojevich's defense team since soon after the governor was arrested on December 9 on federal corruption charges. Among other allegations, federal prosecutors said the governor tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama. Genson represented Blagojevich during proceedings in the Illinois state House in which legislators voted to impeach the governor. But on January 16, the U.S. attorney's office in the Northern District of Illinois said Genson would not represent Blagojevich in his state Senate impeachment trial. No explanation was given. Blagojevich has denied any wrongdoing and said the House impeachment vote was politically motivated. Watch Blagojevich ask for fair trial » . On Thursday, the outspoken Blagojevich called the Senate trial "a sham" and said the Senate is not allowing him to call witnesses in the trial, which is scheduled to begin Monday. The Chicago Tribune reported that Genson said his inability to call witnesses or to know the identities of some parties in alleged schemes made it impossible to defend Blagojevich in the impeachment trial. After Genson announced Friday he would leave Blagojevich's criminal defense effort, another of Blagojevich's attorneys, Sheldon Sorosky, said he was continuing to work on the case. "I'm on the case, absolutely," Sorosky, whose law firm is separate from Genson's firm, said at an impromptu sidewalk news conference as he was leaving an office building. "I was aware of Mr. Genson's position, and he's a good friend," said Sorosky. "The governor's a friend, and I understand his position and that's that." iReport.com: Do you trust your political leaders? Sorosky, who has worked on Blagojevich's defense since the arrest, would not elaborate. Asked by a reporter if he would recommend to Blagojevich that the talkative governor curtail his public comments, Sorosky said, "You can't tell the governor what to do or not to do." |
Some Zimbabwean children "wasting away" amid food shortage, aid group says . Severe malnutrition cases rise two-thirds in year, Save the Children warns . Almost half of 12 million Zimbabweans need food aid now, report says . Country facing worst economic, humanitarian crisis since independence in 1980 . | 6be6b8dadf9625422ebc93502a488120924c427f | HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Some of Zimbabwe's children are "wasting away" as political turmoil and economic crisis have caused a severe food shortage, according to a report from Save the Children. Children sleep in rough conditions on the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa. The number of acute child malnutrition cases has risen by almost two-thirds in the past year, the report from the UK-based agency said in its appeal to world donors for help. "There is no excuse for failing to provide this food," program director Lynn Walker said. "The innocent people of Zimbabwe should not be made to suffer for a political situation that is out of their control." Five million Zimbabweans -- out of a population of about 12 million -- are in need of food aid now, the report said. The group is appealing for 18,000 tons of food for next month. "We have already been forced to reduce the rations of emergency food we are delivering because there isn't enough to go around," the report said. "If, as we fear, the food aid pipeline into Zimbabwe begins to fail in the new year the millions of people who rely on emergency food aid will suffer." Zimbabwe is facing its worst economic and humanitarian crisis since its independence from Great Britain 28 years ago. There is an acute shortage of all essentials such as cash, fuel, medical drugs, electricity and food. President Robert Mugabe blames the crisis on the sanctions imposed on him and his cronies by the West for allegedly disregarding human rights. But Mugabe's critics attribute the crisis to his economic policies. As the economy has faltered for almost a decade now, a cholera epidemic is raging, fueled by the collapse of health, sanitation and water services in Zimbabwe. The epidemic has claimed more than 1,100 lives and infected more than 20,000 people since its outbreak in August. Health experts have warned that the water-borne disease could infect more than 60,000 unless its spread is halted. The political crisis rose to a boil in this year when the opposition party claimed that it won the presidential election, but Mugabe's government refused to recognize the result. Instead, the race was thrown to a runoff, which was boycotted by the opposition. Mugabe signed an agreement with the opposition in September to form a unity government, but a bitter dispute over the division of cabinet seats has prevented its formation. Inflation is so severe that the government was forced to print $10 billion currency notes last week, with each expected to buy just 20 loaves of bread. |
Bomb inside van explodes in northeastern Madrid after ETA warning . Blast occurs outside HQ of company building high-speed Basque rail link . 30 vehicles damaged; attack comes 4 years after blast in same neighborhood . Earlier, court bars new leftist Basque parties from competing in regional elections . | 03845538a7d5fede428186d9956cdf510125626f | MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A bomb inside a van exploded in northeastern Madrid Monday, after a warning call by the Basque separatist group ETA. The blast caused damage but there were no immediate reports of injury. Policemen inspect the area after a van loaded with a bomb exploded in northeast Madrid. The Red Cross received a call at 7:37 a.m. (1:37 a.m. ET), in the name of ETA, warning of the bomb. The Red Cross immediately contacted police, who cordoned off the area, a Red Cross spokeswoman told CNN. The blast occurred shortly after 9 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) outside the building of a construction company, CNN partner network CNN+ reported. The company, Ferrovial Agroman, is involved in building a high-speed train line in the Basque region, which ETA opposes. The attack came just hours after Spain's Supreme Court declined to allow two new leftist Basque parties to compete in the March 1 Basque regional elections in northern Spain. Authorities allege the new parties are simply new names for other leftist Basque parties already outlawed for their links to ETA. "What ETA did this morning ratifies the Supreme Court decision last night," Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told reporters, at the scene of the explosion. At least 30 vehicles parked in the street were damaged, as well as the construction company offices, the Spanish police said in a statement. The bomb, it added, was placed in a van stolen last night in the Madrid area. Exactly four years ago, on Feb. 9, 2005, ETA placed a bomb in the same Madrid neighborhood that was hit on Monday. That attack caused dozens of injuries, and damaged a different glass-façade office building. ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths in its long fight for Basque independence. It is listed as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States. |
Insurance fraud charges were filed against Seattle man accused of scuttling yacht . Brian Lewis filed claim saying Jubilee sank "due to unknown causes" Inspection found hole was drilled into bottom of vessel . Lewis filed told authorities he sank yacht out of anger and frustration . | 9c2d098b64e81f0e995ebce159716b65afaa8df3 | (CNN) -- A Seattle man has been charged with insurance fraud for allegedly sinking his own yacht because of "financial pressure and frustration with the maintenance" of the vessel, authorities said. The Jubilee sank in Puget Sound Bay last year. On March 22, 2008, Brian Lewis, 50, scuttled the Jubilee in the Puget Sound Bay, then rowed a borrowed dinghy back to shore, according to court documents filed in February by prosecutors in King County, Washington. Later that day, Lewis boarded a flight to take him to his job in Kodiak, Alaska, as a petty officer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to court documents. Three days later, Lewis filed an insurance claim with USAA Insurance reporting the Jubilee sank accidentally "due to unknown causes." However, due to environmental concerns, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources salvaged the vessel at a cost to the state of $2,866. An inspection found a hole was drilled into the bottom of the Jubilee, and that two main engine sea strainers appeared to have been broken with a hammer. "The vessel appeared to have been deliberately sunk," authorities said in their probable cause affidavit. Confronted by investigators, Lewis admitted he intentionally sank his vessel, saying the financial strain "caused him extreme anxiety and frustration." Lewis told investigators "the engine trouble he experienced caused him to lose his temper. In his rage, he smashed the sea strainers with a hammer and drilled the hole to sink the vessel," the affidavit said. "[He] wanted to clarify that his motive for sinking the vessel was anger and frustration, not greed," it added. Prior to its sinking, the Jubilee had been listed for sale with Mahina Yachts for $28,500. Jack Bateman, a broker with Mahina, remembers the Jubilee as a "beautiful" 1967 Chris Craft Cavalier. He said the Mahina has only seen this type of case one other time in its 30 years of operation. "This is a very rare, not common occurrence" he says. Bateman added that Mahina has yet to see any real distress sales due to the bad economy. The King County Prosecutor's Office has charged Lewis with making a fraudulent insurance claim. Lewis filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2004. Messages left for him were not returned. |
World has long wish list for Barack Obama when he becomes president . Solving problems will need creative diplomacy and courage, Amanpour says . Middle East, Iran and Kashmir all need attention . Amanpour asks if world nations will rise to help U.S. or just carp from sidelines . | 9813191d4833bbaf0e7c246ef109b7e9b5477206 | (CNN) -- When Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, the wish list that has been building abroad may have grown longer than he or anyone else can deliver. The world's newspapers marked Barack Obama's election win. Now, world governments want him to act. There are the apparently eternal conflicts of the Middle East and Kashmir, between India and Pakistan, that have already reared their ugly heads almost as a warning even before Obama took office. Between them, they engulf most of the grievances and violence that shape the Islamic world and its relations with the United States. Intense U.S. involvement will be needed to help resolve both of the conflicts. This will require imagination, creative out-of-the-box diplomacy, and the courage to see it through both from the United States and leaders on the ground. Going back even to the status-quo ante will no longer be sufficient. The 30-year-old rupture in relations between the United States and Iran is also expected to be addressed as a key priority by the new administration. Both the president-elect and his secretary of state-designate have said they want to abandon the silent treatment and isolation of previous administrations and try engaging Iran, as a way of resolving difficult issues such as its nuclear program and its influence in Iraq and Afghanistan. Watch Amanpour talk about world views of Obama » . The United States remains bogged down in hot wars in both of those countries. While the Obama administration plans to increase troops and nation-building in Afghanistan, it is also signaling it will not give President Hamid Karzai's government the "free ride" he is thought to have received from the Bush administration. Karzai will be expected to root out corruption and better address the needs of the Afghan people. The new administration will also try to revive nuclear arms agreements that have been abandoned over the last eight years and try to forge a more constructive relationship with Russia, while persuading that country to meet its international obligations too. While many allies -- and adversaries -- welcome the new U.S. administration's declaration to use diplomacy and soft power, the question remains: Will Washington's allies also pull their weight in helping set their common agenda? Many nations and governments say they welcome America's vital global leadership, and the question at the start of the Obama administration is: Will they rise robustly to the occasion, and not just carp from the sidelines? While much is expected from Obama, much, too, will be expected from his allies. |
NEW: Satellite crashed into ocean near Antarctica minutes after launch, NASA says . $273 million project was intended to study effect of greenhouse gases . NASA: Investigators will probe why fairing failed to separate from rocket . | 9a3d4d7dfb59317d30729fb56592c2e060130ffe | (CNN) -- A NASA satellite crashed back to Earth about three minutes after launch early Tuesday, officials said. NASA launches a rocket from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base on Tuesday. "We could not make orbit," NASA program manager John Brunschwyler said. "Initial indications are the vehicle did not have enough [force] to reach orbit and landed just short of Antarctica in the ocean." "Certainly for the science community, it's a huge disappointment." The satellite, which would have monitored greenhouse gases to study how they affect the Earth's climate, was launched on a Taurus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:55 a.m. PT (4:55 a.m. ET). But the payload fairing -- a clamshell-shaped structure that allows the satellite to travel through space -- failed to separate from the rocket, NASA officials said. See video of launch » . The weight of the fairing caused the rocket and the satellite to come crashing down to Earth about three minutes later. A team of investigators will look into what caused the payload fairing to fail to separate. "We'll get back to flying at a pace that allows us to do so successfully," said Chuck Dovale, NASA Launch Director, at a press briefing after the failed launch. The $273 million satellite, called the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, would have collected global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere to help better forecast changes in carbon-dioxide levels and their effect on the Earth's climate. Carbon dioxide is considered a greenhouse gas because it traps heat, which scientists believe contributes to the warming of the planet. Carbon dioxide also absorbs wavelengths of light, and the NASA observatory would have measured levels of the gas partly by using instruments to analyze light reflected off the Earth. The OCO also would have provided information about CO2 "sinks" -- areas, like oceans or landfills, that absorb and store carbon dioxide. NASA officials said all measurements would be combined with the findings of ground observation stations, providing a more complete account of the human and natural sources of CO2. The OCO project took eight years to develop, said Michael Frelich, director of the NASA Earth Science Division. Its failure is a great loss for the science community, he said. |
Ohio man quits band after it suspended him for nodding at President Obama . John Coleman cites publicity over suspension as reason for leaving . Coleman was band's drum major when it marched in inaugural parade . Coleman ignored military protocol, band leader tells newspaper . | c790eb1a7487da53477d38d7de6cb4a68fb51092 | (CNN) -- An Ohio man who was suspended as the drum major of a band for giving President Obama a nod during last week's inaugural parade is calling it quits. John Coleman quit his band after it suspended him for nodding to President Obama last week. John Coleman resigned from the Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes & Drums a week after the parade in Washington. Publicity about his suspension had gotten to be too much, he told CNN affiliate WEWS. "It's come to a point where I don't want embarrassment anymore between the pipe band and myself," Coleman, who is a firefighter, told WEWS on Tuesday. Coleman was seen during the nationally televised January 20 parade nodding toward the new president while marching with the band. A few steps later, he appeared to wave briefly. He told WEWS that as the band was marching past the grandstand where Obama was sitting, he made eye contact with the president. "Contact was made with our eyes both together and he smiled and waved at the band," he told the station. "And just as a gesture, I nodded my head. I gave him a slight wave and went on." Watch parade and explanation » . Representatives from the group did not return calls from CNN. But bandleader Mike Engle told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Coleman was suspended because he ignored military protocol. "We had gone over and over time and again with everyone in the band that this was a military parade," Engle told the newspaper. "Protocol and proper decorum had to be followed at all times. Unfortunately, John chose to ignore that." Coleman had been suspended from the band for six months. In a written statement, band manager Ken Rybka said Coleman's resignation from the group "comes as a shock and surprise." The band has been inundated with phone calls, e-mails and messages on its Internet pages -- almost all of them critical -- since the story first broke on Monday, Rybka said. iReport.com: 'Pretty cool thing that he acknowledged the president' "It is unfortunate that an internal band issue has raised so much discussion and ire from the general public," Rybka said in the statement. "It has disheartened me more than you can imagine." Rybka said that he will be taking a leave of absence from the band because of the furor. "The 'afterglow' of participating in the inaugural parade is gone," he said. |
Resolution expresses intent to send U.N. peacekeeping forces to Somalia . The resolution in war-torn country was sponsored by the United States . Ethiopian peacekeeping force completed two-year deployment in Somalia . Regional leaders fear vacuum will be filled by Islamic extremist groups . | e8d8faa7f51db1bd208bad18bc08de27a494e069 | UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Friday expressing its intent to, eventually, send U.N. peacekeeping forces back to the fractured, unstable nation of Somalia. Islamist insurgents display their weaponry Friday in Mogadishu during a parade. The resolution was sponsored by the U.S., in one of the final Bush Administration initiatives at the United Nations. The passage of the resolution follows the exit of a U.N.-backed, Ethiopian peacekeeping force that completed a two-year deployment in Somalia Thursday. There is wide-spread concern among diplomats and regional leaders in the Horn of Africa that, with the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces, a power vacuum will be filled in Somalia by regional Islamic extremist groups, some with links to al-Qaeda. The U.N. resolution sets forth a process that aims to bring stability and sovereignty to Somalia, which has been racked by violence and lawlessness since the government was overthrown in 1991. First, the resolution expresses renewed support that an African Union force currently deployed in Somalia -- known as AMISOM -- remains on the ground. The A.U. contingent is currently comprised of 2,600 troops. The U.N. resolution calls on the African Union to strengthen those levels to 8,000. The resolution then requests that U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, submit a report by April 15, 2009 updating the situation in Somalia, and it asks that he develop the mandate for a U.N. peacekeeping force. Finally, a decision on U.N. peacekeeping is requested by June 1, 2009. However, the process is off to a rocky start. Last month, Ban said that requests to U.N. member nations for peacekeeping forces for Somalia were received negatively. Also, throughout, one of the key players in the Somalia decisions will likely be Susan Rice, President-Elect Obama's nominee for new U.S.- U.N. Ambassador, and a specialist on African issues. At her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington on Thursday, Rice told senators that she is "skeptical about the wisdom of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Somalia at this time." |
Vivienne Tam was born in Canton, China, moved to Hong Kong when she was three . Her Mao and Buddha collections were launched in 1995 and 1997 . Items of her work are featured in museums in New York, Pittsburgh and London . | 69eccb97078947302167f58f9a0ec9861baff327 | (CNN) -- Vivienne Tam has become well known for creating clothes that appeal to all ages, ethnicities, and income levels. She has earned the reputation for offering a stylish and high-quality product while at the same time inviting the consumer to experience the inspiration behind it. As a designer of clothing that "suggests tolerance, global acumen, and a Fourth of July faith in individual expression," Tam, in the words of fashion critic and curator Richard Martin, possesses an "idealistic globalism that transcends politics and offers a more enchanted, peaceful world." Born in Canton, China, Vivienne Tam moved to Hong Kong when she was three years old. Her bi-cultural upbringing in the then British colony was the first stage in the development of her signature East-meets-West style. After graduating from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Vivienne Tam moved to New York where she thrived on the excitement and energy of the fashion world. New York became a home for her and a continuing source of stimulation for her designs. In 1994, Vivienne Tam launched her signature collection of Eastern inspired clothing with a modern edge on the New York runways. In 1995, she introduced the influential Mao collection that triumphantly crossed over from the fashion world into the art world. Then in 1997 Vivienne Tam launched the Buddha collection. The public and celebrities around the world quickly embraced both collections. Some of the images became so popular that scores of designers even adopted the look into their designs. Pieces of the collections were ultimately incorporated into the permanent archives of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, The Museum of FIT and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In an era where the fashion industry is populated by numerous names and emerging new talents, Vivienne Tam has shown that she can consistently appeal to everyone from high-society to urban to teens, offering them fresh collections every season. She is poised to become the next multi-tasking, multi-successful designer and businesswoman. E-mail to a friend . |
Scottish fish and chip shop visited by Prince William named best in UK . Sales of UK's national dish up despite country slipping into recession . 276 million meals eaten every year in UK, according to industry figures . | 30766f1fd783efd182929b3a76b92588322cabea | LONDON, England (CNN) -- A Scottish fish and chip shop visited by Prince William, Robert De Niro and Tom Hanks has been crowned the best place in Britain to eat the national dish. Robert and Alison Smith, the owners of the Anstrhuther Fishbar in Fife, celebrate their success. The UK is in recession, but the nation's traditional takeaway dish is showing no sign of a downturn. Sales rose at 9,500 chippies in Britain by 1.7 percent last year, according to Seafish, a seafood industry group. The Anstrhuther Fishbar in Fife, Scotland was crowned the best chippy of 2008 following a rigorous selection procedure that included a customer vote, taste tests and two intense rounds of shop inspections. "Fish and chip shops are well-placed to prosper in the current economic climate as they offer value for money and a quality product with a feel-good factor," competition judge Andy Gray said. "Despite the credit crunch, people still want to enjoy small luxuries. Fish and chips are a national institution which have survived the test of time and will be around for many years to come." Fishbar owner Robert Smith said that the start of 2009 had been the busiest January since the harbor front shop opened in 2003. Smith, who also owns a fish processing business, said dedication was the key to the shop's success. "We are passionate about our business and we just do it right," he said. Fish and chips is the most popular hot takeaway in Britain, with 276 million meals eaten every year, according to Seafish figures. |
Official: Russia to station vessels at Abkhaz port of Ochamchire on Black Sea . Moscow recognizes Abkhazia as independent region following war with Georgia . Georgia and Russia blame each other for starting last year's conflict . Russia's Black Sea Fleet is currently based at the port of Sevastopol, Ukraine . | 4f80dbabbdd79a27f7aeea2b4325799c33e69198 | (CNN) -- Russia will begin the construction of a new naval base this year in Georgia's pro-Russian separatist region of Abkhazia, according to a Russian media report Monday. Russia's Black Sea fleet is based in Sevastopol under a lease agreement with Ukraine that expires in 2017. Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted an unnamed official at Russian naval headquarters as saying it wanted to station vessels at the Abkhaz port of Ochamchire on the Black Sea, Reuters.com reported. "The fundamental decision on creating a Black Sea Fleet base in Ochamchire has been taken," the official told Tass, in quotes carried by Reuters.com. "This year we will begin practical work, including dredging, along Abkhazia's coast. "It will take more than a year to implement all works." The official added that the deployment was to protect the breakaway region from Georgian attacks. Georgia launched a campaign against South Ossetia, a Russian-backed separatist territory, on August 7 last year. The following day, Russian tanks, troops and armored vehicles poured into South Ossetia and Abkhazia, advancing into Georgian cities outside the rebel regions. The two sides blamed each other for starting the conflict and have made accusations of ethnic cleansing. Moscow has since recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent regions -- a move which angered many Western governments who suspect Russia of acting to thwart Georgia's ambitions of joining NATO. This latest development comes despite comments made last year by Abkhazia's leader that his territory would not be hosting Russian military bases. "There will be no new bases," Sergei Bagapsh told Russia's Novosti news agency, adding that Russia's Black Sea Fleet will not be based in the republic either. "Only units of Russia's ground forces that have always been based here will continue to be stationed in Abkhazia," he said. Russia's Black Sea Fleet is currently based in the port of Sevastopol which belongs to Ukraine -- another former Soviet state which, like Georgia, aspires to NATO membership. The fleet is due to leave Ukraine for good in 2017, in line with a 20-year lease deal signed in 1997. However, Russia's diplomats and military have said they want the fleet to stay at its traditional home base after the expiry of the deadline, Reuters.com reported. |
NEW: President Obama urges Israel to open Gaza border crossings . Hillary Clinton receives intelligence briefing on first day at State . Clinton greets employees at the State Department . Clinton was confirmed as secretary of state Wednesday . | 998e1d912abbe393ef44e61d60fbafbf431b3981 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama weighed in Thursday on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, urging Israel to open Gaza border crossings and telling the Islamic fundamentalist organization to stop rocket fire into the Jewish state. President Obama called on both Israel and Hamas to make changes toward Mideast peace. He urged Israel to allow the flow of aid and commerce into the Palestinian territory. "Our hearts go out to Palestinian civilians who are in need of immediate food, clean water and basic medical care," he said. The crossings should be opened with an "appropriate monitoring," he added. Obama said Hamas leaders, for their part, must put an end to rocket attacks. He said he will send former Sen. George Mitchell, who was appointed Thursday as special envoy for Middle East peace, to the region as soon as possible. Earlier, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived at her new office in the State Department, promising a renewed emphasis on candor and "robust diplomacy" as the primary means for advancing American interests around the world. America's new chief diplomat walked through the front doors of the State Department lobby shortly after 9 a.m. ET to thunderous applause from an overflow crowd of about 1,000 career diplomats and other department employees. "I believe with all of my heart that this is a new era for America," Clinton told her colleagues. "President Obama set the tone with his inaugural address. ... Robust diplomacy and effective development are the best long-term tools for securing America's future." Watch Clinton greet her new employees » . In remarks that could be interpreted as a rebuke of the departed Bush administration, Clinton also said that the Obama administration would not "tolerate the divisiveness and paralysis that has undermined our ability to get things done for America." Clinton also called for a new sense of candor and free exchange of ideas. She urged the country's diplomatic corps to think "outside the proverbial box." "There's nothing I welcome more than a good debate and the kind of dialogue that will make us better," she said. Clinton later attended an intelligence briefing and a meeting with members of the Diplomatic Security Service. She also walked through various State Department offices, including the operations center. Clinton also phoned international leaders, according to acting State Department spokesman Robert Wood. She is expected to call Asian leaders later Thursday. Clinton will also visit the U.S. Agency for International Development, which she praised "for the work they've done on behalf of development through some very difficult years." During her confirmation hearing, Clinton pledged to secure more resources for the State Department and USAID, which has seen a lot of its development work fall to the Pentagon during the Bush administration. Clinton is the 67th U.S. secretary of state. CNN's Elise Labott contributed to this report. |
Justices reject appeal to reinstate the Child Online Protection Act . COPA violates the First Amendment right to free speech, justices say . COPA would have kept businesses from distributing "harmful" content to minors . In 2004 ruling, justice said parental filters are less restrictive on free speech . | bf3dd673d72edf70f431bb3a638a3cc124a3c3ae | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has blocked further consideration of a federal law designed to keep sexual material from underage users of the Web. The justices without comment Wednesday rejected an appeal from the federal government to reinstate the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), passed by Congress in 1998. The high court and subsequent federal courts said the law -- which has never taken effect -- had serious free speech problems. The Bush administration was a strong supporter of the law and the Justice Department led the fight in court to revive it. The justices issued their ruling a day after all nine were on hand for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor also attended the ceremony. The case tested the free speech rights of adults against the power of Congress to control Internet commerce. The Supreme Court twice ruled against COPA, arguing that it represented government censorship rather than lawful regulation of adult-themed pornography businesses. The law would have prevented private businesses from creating and distributing "harmful" content that minors could access on the Internet. Free speech advocates said adults would be barred access to otherwise legal material and that parental-control devices and various filtering technology are less intrusive ways to protect children. The high court in 2004 upheld a preliminary injunction against the law and sent the case back to lower courts for consideration of the arguments. In their opinion at the time, the 5-4 majority concluded COPA "likely violates the First Amendment." "The government has not shown that the less restrictive alternatives proposed ... should be disregarded," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the 2004 decision. "Those alternatives, indeed, may be more effective" than the law passed by Congress. "Filters are less restrictive" he said, and thus pose less risk of muzzling free speech. "They impose selective restrictions on speech at the receiving end, not universal restrictions at the source." He added, "There is a potential for extraordinary harm and a serious chill upon protected speech" if the law takes effect." In reconsidering the law, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, again ruled the law unconstitutional. |
Adolf Merckle was No. 94 on Forbes list of world's richest people . Merckle's net worth estimated to be $9.2 billion . Billionaire was killed by a train in German town of Ulm . Family says financial woes "broke the passionate family business man" | e4a4d45be7fb19f04943ab42afdb203c976069b4 | (CNN) -- German billionaire Adolf Merckle, one of the richest men in the world, committed suicide Monday after his business empire got into trouble in the wake of the international financial crisis, Merckle's family said Tuesday in a statement. Merckle, 74, was hit by a train in the southwestern town of Ulm, police said. His family said the economic crisis had "broken" Merckle. He was number 94 on the Forbes list of the world's richest people. He had fallen from number 44 on the Forbes 2007 rich list as his fortune declined from $12.8 billion to $9.2 billion in 2008. Merckle's business empire included interests as diverse as cement-maker HeidelbergCement and generic drug-maker Ratiopharm. But he lost hundreds of millions of dollars, including company capital, betting against Volkswagen stock last year. The state government of Baden-Wuerttemberg rejected his petition for financial assistance, and he entered bailout talks with several German banks. "The financial troubles of his companies, induced by the international financial crisis and the uncertainty and powerlessness to act independently which the financial problems brought about, broke the passionate family business man, and he took his own life," his family wrote in the news release. An employee of Germany's railroad company found the body on the tracks at about 7 p.m. Monday and notified authorities. Merckle's family had already reported him missing earlier in the day after he walked out of the house and did not return. Authorities are currently conducting DNA tests to confirm his identity. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen in Germany and Alysen Miller in London, England, contributed to this report. |
Woman, 68, fell off platform at Metro's Gallery Place-Chinatown stop . Houston Metro Officer Eliot Swainson, another rider tried to pull her up . When they couldn't grab her, Swainson helped tuck her under platform . Woman safely huddled beneath platform lip as train passed . | e91edd8b56ad4bc40f703b23989bbf5f90b91e29 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- It's a frightening scenario, almost a staple of action movies: Someone has fallen onto subway tracks, and a train is rumbling into the station. iReporter Stuart Gordon spotted rescuers after a woman fell onto subway tracks in Washington. For a heart-stopping moment, the train is certain to strike the fallen person, until rescue comes at the last possible second. But at a Washington Metro station near the National Mall on Tuesday, it was an all-too-real scenario, and all the more frightening. A 68-year-old woman from Nashville, Tennessee, in Washington for the inauguration of Barack Obama, fell off the platform at the Gallery Place-Chinatown stop. Houston Metro Officer Eliot Swainson, deputized to assist with the huge crowds for the inauguration, was aiding another rider when he heard shouts that someone was on the track. Watch Swainson describe what happened » . "I turned around and saw a lady standing in the track area," Swainson said. The former Houston police officer rushed into action. He and another Metro rider tried to pull the woman to safety, but with a Red Line train bearing down on the station, they didn't have the time. iReport.com: See photos of the rescue operation . "The train was coming down the tunnel there," Swainson said. "It was coming in closer. I pushed her down and got her tucked down under the platform." Swainson cited training from Metro staff for giving him the information he used to get the woman out of danger. The woman, who was not identified, huddled beneath the lip of the granite platform as the train passed. An emergency response crew brought her back up onto the platform and took her to Washington Hospital Center, where hospital staff said she was treated and released. No further details were provided. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority spokeswoman Taryn McNeil said Tuesday that the woman had sustained cuts and bruises from the fall. The agency said transit officers from 18 locations across the country were in Washington to assist with the inauguration crowds. Ridership records were shattered Tuesday: There were more than 1.5 million trips across all the authority's platforms, including more than 1.1 million on the subway system. The Tennessee woman's accident was the only one reported on the transit line, the authority said. iReport.com: Are you there? Send your photos . As for Swainson, Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn said he did exactly the right thing. "Due to Officer Swainson's quick response, the woman was not seriously injured," Taborn said. "He did exactly what was expected, and we are enormously grateful for his actions." McNeil said the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro stop was reopened not long after the accident and trains were moving through it, although there were delays. CNN's Larry Lazo and Kelly Marshall contributed to this report. |
Gortney: No working Somali government, country willing to detain, try accused pirates . U.S. currently only nation with ships dedicated to anti-pirate task force . Asian, European nations have own ships independently patrolling region . | ff3fb226c0f6186508051d9b0c781f282c52d704 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Piracy off the coast of Somalia can't be stopped until there is some authority to bring pirates to justice, according to the commander of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain. U.S. Vice Admiral William Gortney: Need to hold pirates off Africa's east coast accountable. Because there is no working government in Somalia and no country is willing to take captured pirates, bring them to trial and detain them, there is no deterrent for pirates to stop attacking ships, Vice Admiral William Gortney said at a Pentagon briefing Thursday. "The problem is there's not a way to -- until we have a mechanism [to hold them] accountable and try them for their actions, there's no way to -- to finish the problem," Gortney said. The United States is making a deal with a country in the eastern Africa region to hold and try pirates captured by the U.S.-led Combined Task Force 151, a new maritime anti-piracy mission started earlier this month. He said an official announcement would be made after the deal with the country is official. In the past three months, piracy attacks have averaged about 12 to 14 a month off the east coast of Africa. As of mid-January, the attack numbers are already at the average of the past three months, according to Gortney. "That [number] should tell you that we're not -- we're not being 100 percent successful on the deterrence of the attempt. And that's where we have to go after," Gortney said. The United States is expecting other nations to join the anti-piracy task force, but at the moment, the United States is the only country in the task force with just three ships off of the waters of Somalia. There are ships from some European and Asian countries patrolling the waters independently as well, primarily guarding cargo ships from their own countries. Pirates attacked nearly 100 vessels and hijacked as many as 40 in the waters off the coast of Somalia in 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau. See how pirate attacks peaked in 2008 » . Pirating off of Somalia has increased during the past four to five years as fishermen from Somalia realize that pirating is more lucrative than fishing. Additionally, pirates are able to get away with the crimes because of the lack of government and overall lawlessness in the country. Gortney said statistically the chances of ships being pirated off of Somalia less than one percent, but it won't be stopped until piracy is "disincentivized." |
Hundreds feared dead after boat carrying African migrants capsized off Libya . Another boat with around 350 migrants was rescued. Migrants were believed to be heading for Italian island of Lampedusa . U.N.: Marks "beginning of the smuggling season in the Mediterranean" | 5dfeb99e2efb622b72b4826bb2843902b158bdce | (CNN) -- High winds and heavy seas capsized a boat filled with African migrants heading for Europe off the coast of Libya Monday -- with more than 200 feared dead, the International Organization for Migration in Geneva, Switzerland, said Tuesday. A group of 227 migrants sits on a fishing vessel in Malta last month after arriving from Somalia. Jemini Pandya, IOM spokeswoman, said a boat carrying 250 people capsized north of the Libyan coast, with at least 20 confirmed dead and 23 rescued. Another boat with around 350 migrants was rescued. She said the rescued migrants were taken to two centers in the Libyan city of Tripoli. They included Egyptians, Somalis, Ghanians, Nigerians, Tunisians, Eritreans, Algerians, and Moroccans. There were also passengers from Asia -- Bangladeshis, Syrians, Indians, and Pakistanis, she said. She said there may be two other vessels in the Mediterranean carrying migrants. The initial reports that two vessels capsized proved to be incorrect, Pandya said. Watch as migrants are feared drowned » . The vessels departed Sunday and were heading to southern Europe, Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported Monday. The migrants were believed to be headed for the Italian island of Lampedusa, where 37,000 landed last year, according to IOM spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy, who said many African migrants converge on Libya en route to Europe. Italian coast guards said an Italian tugboat working for an offshore oil companies in the Libyan seas picked up 350 people on Sunday and carried them to Libya with the help of the Italian military. The U.N. refugee agency, aware of the reports, said they came at the "beginning of the smuggling season in the Mediterranean." The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said details remain sketchy about what happened, but one boat among several vessels leaving Libya for Italy went down and hundreds are reported missing. It said the mishap occurred near the Libyan coast. It said some Egyptian nationals were rescued and bodies were recovered and that those aboard included Africans from the northern and the sub-Saharan regions. High Commissioner Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said that the tragedy reflects the desperation of people to escape poverty and persecution. "This tragic incident illustrates, once again, the dangers faced by people caught in mixed irregular movements of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean and elsewhere which every year cost thousands of lives," the U.N. agency said. |
Maurice Jarre won three Oscars during his career, all for scoring films by David Lean . During the 1980s, 1990s he scored music for "Ghost," "Witness," "Fatal Attraction" Career recognized most recently at the Berlin International Film Festival . | 80f85545c9c77106c525a81256e133eeb945500f | (CNN) -- Academy Award-winning composer Maurice Jarre, who scored movies including "Doctor Zhivago" and "Lawrence of Arabia" among others, died Sunday from cancer in Los Angeles. He was 84. Movie composer Maurice Jarre pictured at the Berlin International Film Festival last month. Jarre enjoyed an illustrious career, working with Hollywood directing legends including John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock and, most notably, David Lean. Fellow French composer Alexandre Desplat, who interviewed Jarre for The Screening Room at the Berlin International Film Festival last month, told CNN Monday: "Maurice was an immense artist, an incredible symphonist, a magician of the melody and a benevolent human being." Watch tribute to Maurice Jarre » . Jarre won Oscars in 1963 and 1966 for his collaborations on the Lean movies "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago" respectively. He then mustered a further six Oscar nominations but his third award came once again through a further collaboration with Lean on " A Passage to India" in 1984. He then swapped orchestral composition to become a pioneer of electronic scoring, working on the music for, among others, "Ghost," "Witness," "Dead Poet's Society" and "Fatal Attraction." At the same time his son Jean-Michel Jarre became one of the world's best known electronic musicians with global hits such as "Oxygene" and huge outdoor concerts. His final movie composition was for the 2000 film "I Dreamed of Africa." Jarre's career included symphonies, ballet and theatre but it was for his 150 film scores that he was presented with an honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival last month - almost half a century after producer Sam Spiegel hired him to work on "Lawrence of Arabia." Festival director Dieter Kosslick said in a statement late last year: "Film composers often are in the shadows of great directors and acting stars. It's different with Maurice Jarre; the music of 'Doctor Zhivago,' like much of his work, is world-famous and remains unforgotten in the history of cinema." Speaking in Berlin to double-Oscar nominee Desplat -- who himself scored "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "The Queen" -- Jarre said: "I never really had a 'bust-up' with a good director. A good director will always find an intellectual understanding. And that's what was great - I had an opportunity with all these people. I don't think I can say that I ever worked with a bad director." But Jarre also said that directing legends of the rank of Huston and Hitchock had disappeared and no longer existed, adding: "The only problem is now, there is more and more bad music that goes 'dang dang dang dang dang...' So...it's better to turn off the music, and listen to a concert of Mozart." Senior producer Neil Curry and associate producer Lidz-Ama Appiah contributed to this report. |
Broward County, Florida, prosecutors taking new look at death of Anna Nicole Smith . Ex-Playboy playmate found dead in Florida hotel room in February 2007 . Coroner: Smith died of accidental overdose of prescription drugs . Smith's boyfriend, two doctors charged recently in California drug case . | db22dc48a547e6ed038f967a13a94f3621f5fa4c | MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Prosecutors in Florida are taking a new look at the 2007 death of Anna Nicole Smith to see if recent evidence that California investigators gathered might cause them to open an inquiry. Prosecutors in Florida are reviewing evidence gathered in California for a probe into Anna Nicole Smith's death. Howard K. Stern -- Smith's longtime partner and attorney -- and two doctors were charged this month in California with conspiring to furnish drugs to Smith before her fatal overdose. "Our prosecutors have met with representatives of the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and the California Department of Justice and discussed the evidence they have turned up in their investigation," said Ron Ishoy, a spokesman for Broward County State Attorney Michael Satz. "We are now examining that evidence to see where it might lead in relation to Ms. Smith's death here in Broward County in 2007." The Broward County state attorney's office never opened a probe into Smith's death but assisted the Seminole police in its investigation in the days afterward. Smith, 39, was pronounced dead February 8, 2007, after being discovered unconscious in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near Hollywood, Florida. A coroner said she died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. Officials said both prescription and over-the-counter drugs were found in Smith's system, including three anti-depressant or anti-anxiety drugs. Human growth hormone and chloral hydrate, a sleep medication, also were found in toxicology tests, officials said. Stern and Drs. Khristine Eroshevich and Sandeep Kapoor were charged in California with several felonies, including conspiring to furnish controlled substances, unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance and obtaining fraudulent prescriptions from June 2004 through January 2007 -- only weeks before Smith's death. Kapoor and Eroshevich also were charged with obtaining a prescription for opiates by "fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." And each was charged with one count of obtaining a prescription for opiates by giving a false name or address, prosecutors said. "Anna was the center of a cruel tabloid feeding frenzy," Eroshevich's attorney, Adam Braun, told CNN in a statement after his client was charged. "In the face of this, Dr. Eroshevich did her best to help the patient while protecting what little privacy Anna had left. Any actions were done with the patient's well-being in mind and were certainly not criminal." Watch allegations over photos and the doctor » . California Attorney General Jerry Brown said the doctors and Stern devised a plan to use fake names so Smith could be prescribed "thousands of pills." The former Playboy playmate and reality TV star was drugged "almost to the point of stupefaction," Brown said. "The quantity of the drugs, the variety of the drugs, the combination at any given point, and her continuing to use that -- that, to a professional, is clear evidence of addiction," Brown said Friday. "These cocktails of methadone and anti-depressants and sleeping pills and Xanax, you put all that into a cocktail, it explodes and can cause death, injury and permanent morbidity and disability." |
The superstar arrived in Malawi on Sunday . She reportedly wants to adopt a young girl named Mercy James . The child's family has reportedly consented to the adoption . Save the Children spokesman says Madonna should reconsider the move . | adb1c4b127873a18022887a79fda583b5a76ffde | LONDON, England (CNN) -- Madonna's planned adoption of a Malawian girl will apparently go forward, despite earlier opposition from the girl's family, a reporter for the ITN television network told CNN Sunday. The pop star arrived in Malawi on Sunday. Madonna holds her adopted Malawian son, David Banda, in 2007. "The family, I'm told, were admittedly reluctant to agree to this, but they've softened after learning more about this, the upbringing that Mercy will be given and they think perhaps it is in her best interest," ITN reporter Martin Geisler told CNN. The girl, who is about 4, is named Mercy James. Her uncle is scheduled to sign adoption agreement papers in a Malawian court on Monday, Geisler said. Geisler said Malawians' public opinion toward Madonna softened after she was interviewed by the Malawi Nation newspaper and released family photographs showing a happy David Banda -- a Malawian boy she adopted more than two years ago. "The sense, I'm told, in Malawi after that, was, 'Well, the little boy looks well, he looks happy, he looks well looked after. Perhaps we shouldn't be so hard on her,'" said Geisler. A British children's charity earlier asked the pop star to reconsider her reported plans to adopt a girl from the country. Save the Children spokesman Dominic Nutt said the child would be better off staying in Malawi than being raised by the recently divorced singer, who has three other children, including the adopted Malawian boy. "The best place for a child is in his or her family in their home community," he said. "Most children in orphanages have one parent still living, or have an extended family that can care for them in the absence of their parents." Critics of the singer had argued she should donate money to orphanages in Malawi, rather than adopt another child. The charity argued that foreign adoptions should happen only if a child does not have any relatives, and all other options have been considered. The 50-year-old performer is a big supporter of Malawi. She made a documentary, "I Am Because We Are," which highlighted poverty and AIDS and other diseases devastating Malawi's children. She also helps run a nonprofit group, Raising Malawi, which implements initiatives to help the needy in the southeastern Africa nation. On Sunday, Madonna toured the village of Chinkhota, assessing plans to build a school there and other possible Raising Malawi investments. CNN's Nesta Distin contributed to this report. |
FDA warns manufacturers they have 60 days to pull unapproved drugs from market . Officials don't know if drugs are unsafe; they have never been approved . Removing unapproved drugs not expected to create a shortage of pain relievers . | 8dc04e53b1a37699912c807e1c20d2975ff86a73 | WHITE OAK, Maryland (CNN) -- Seeking to remove unapproved drugs from the marketplace, the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday ordered nine companies to stop manufacturing narcotics whose therapeutic claims have not been proved. The FDA ordered nine companies to stop selling unapproved drugs marketed for pain relief. The FDA's warning letters notified the companies they may be subject to legal action if they do not stop manufacturing and distributing "prescription unapproved products" that include high-concentrate morphine sulfate oral solutions and immediate-release tablets containing morphine sulfate, hydromorphone or oxycodone. This action does not include oxycodone capsules. All of these drugs are used for pain relief and are forms of previously approved medications. The agency says this is not a recall, but is instead a warning to manufacturers. The companies have 60 days to pull these pain-relief drugs from the market. Distributors have 90 days to stop shipping them. If these drugs are not off the market by those deadlines, a company could face seizure of the narcotics and legal action. "We estimate there are several hundred unapproved drugs out there," said Deborah Autor, director of the office of compliance within the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "We will continue to take aggressive action against those firms that do not have the required FDA approval for their drugs. Today's warning letters are another demonstration of our commitment to remove illegal, unproved drugs from the market." Although the FDA does not know whether these drugs are unsafe, it has not approved them so cannot certify that the products are 100 percent safe and effective. "Consumers have a right to expect that their drugs meet the FDA's safety and effectiveness standards," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Doctors and patients are often unaware that not all drugs on the market are backed by FDA approval. It is a high priority for the FDA to remove these products from the market because they may be unsafe, ineffective, inappropriately labeled, or of poor quality." The FDA believes Americans have access to plenty of legal narcotics for pain relief and removing these unapproved drugs will not create a shortage. Consumers who may be concerned that they are taking any unapproved drug products should refer to the FDA's Unapproved Drugs Web page, which includes a list of manufacturers of these products. Those who find they are taking unapproved drugs should see their health care professionals for treatment options. Those companies receiving warning letters are Boehringer Ingelheim Roxane Inc., Columbus, Ohio; Cody Laboratories Inc., Cody, Wyoming; Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., Mahwah, New Jersey; Lannett Company Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Lehigh Valley Technologies Inc., Allentown, Pennsylvania; Mallinckrodt Inc. Pharmaceuticals Group, St. Louis, Missouri; Physicians Total Care Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma; Roxane Laboratories Inc., Columbus, Ohio; and Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals Inc., Newport, Kentucky. |
Former Italian international Christian Vieri leaves Atalanta will immediate effect . The 35-year-old striker blames fans' jeering for decision to cancel his contract . Vieri changed clubs a remarkable 13 times after his professional debut in 1991 . | 4977044f0dbd3b051200827793381948d112740a | (CNN) -- Former Italian international striker Christian Vieri has left Serie A side Atalanta by mutual consent, blaming constant jeering from the club's fans for his decision to leave. Veteran striker Vieri scored twice in nine appearances for Atalanta this season . The 35-year-old, back at his third stint with the Bergamo-based side, has failed to make an impression this season, and has become the focus of fans' frustrations after scoring just two goals in nine appearances. "I want to thank Atalanta for the way they have dealt with me throughout the season and throughout my previous experiences wearing the black and blue shirt," said Vieri in a statement on the club's official Web site. Atalanta president Alessandro Ruggeri revealed the club had wanted the former Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan striker to stay but that his mind was made up. "I'm disappointed as I'm sure everyone who loves football is. I don't know what he will do now, whether or not he will continue to play after this experience with Atalanta," said Ruggeri. "I haven't spoken to him yet but my colleagues have and he was adamant, I don't think there was any way to make him stay." Vieri has changed clubs 13 times since beconing a professional in 1991, playing for Italy's three biggest teams as well as Atletico Madrid in Spain and Monaco in France. His best season was in 2002-03, when he scored 24 goals in 23 league appearances for Inter. |
NEW: Workers release one of five people being held hostage at Caterpillar factory . Workers angry that Caterpillar propose cutting more than 700 jobs . They did not want to harm the executives but get them to negotiate, official says . A senior Caterpillar executive called the hostage-taking "unhelpful" | 8511f970541e725ef11102ec0b2e53051c0d0f40 | PARIS, France (CNN) -- Hundreds of French workers, angry about proposed layoffs at a Caterpillar factory, were holding executives of the company hostage Tuesday, a spokesman for the workers said. Caterpillar's French staff say they are angry about a lack of negotiations over layoffs. It is at least the third time this month that French workers threatened with cutbacks have blockaded managers in their offices to demand negotiations. Executives were released unharmed in both previous situations. The latest incident started Tuesday morning at the office of the construction equipment company in the southeastern city of Grenoble. The workers were angry that Caterpillar had proposed cutting more than 700 jobs and would not negotiate, said Nicolas Benoit, a spokesman for the workers' union. They did not want to harm the Caterpillar executives, Benoit told CNN. One hostage was released Tuesday evening leaving workers with four captives inside the Caterpillar building. The released man was a human resources director identified only as Mr. Petit, because he has heart problems, union representative Bernard Patrick told CNN. Petit had a heart attack a few weeks ago, Patrick said. The four others still being held are Nicolas Polutnik, the head of operations; two other executives; and Petit's personal assistant, he said. About 500 employees were also outside the building protesting. A top Caterpillar executive called the hostage-taking unhelpful. "The actions that are taking place today, led by a small minority of individuals, are not helping as we work for a positive resolution of this situation," said Chris Schena, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for manufacturing operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, in a statement. "The best way to resolve this matter is to continue the negotiations through the Works Council to find a solution that's fair to our employees and allows Caterpillar to remain a leader in a rapidly changing global marketplace," Schena said, adding that the company was "concerned for the safety of our employees." Benoit said all the workers wanted to do was negotiate with Caterpillar and they were upset that the company did not show up to two earlier scheduled negotiating sessions. The employees being held in their office were being allowed to get food, Benoit added. Police arrived at the scene two hours after the incident began but it had not been settled. Employees at a French 3M factory held a manager hostage for more than 24 hours Wednesday and Thursday of last week over a dispute about terms for laid-off staff. Luc Rousselet, who was unharmed, was allowed to leave the plant in Pithiviers, central France, early on Thursday morning after talks between unions and officials from 3M France. Earlier this month, the boss of Sony France was held overnight before workers freed him after he agreed to reopen talks on compensation when the factory closed. France has been hit by nationwide strikes twice in the past two months. |
Najib Razak to become new prime minister for Malaysia on Friday . Abdullah Badawi to step down from PM post . Ruling party has failed to secure majority needed to amend constitution . | 9c5ec1acd8ff349677175aebd606f1bdc701d9c6 | KUALA LAMPUR, Malaysia (CNN) -- Malaysia will swear in a new prime minister Friday -- one tasked with reuniting a multi-racial nation and shoring up an economy in dire straits. Outgoing Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, facing, hugs his successor, Najib Razak last week. Until now, Najib Razak had served as the Southeast Asian country's deputy prime minister. He succeeds Abdullah Badawi who turned in his resignation after five years as leader. Both are part of Malaysia's ruling party, the National Front Coalition, which has ruled the country since it gained independence from Britain in 1957. But last year, a loose coalition of opposition parties won 82 of 222 parliamentary seats in elections. It was only the second time in the country's history that the ruling party failed to gain the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution. The election upset led to calls for Abdullah to step down. Various challenges await Najib: . In recent months, the country has seen riots with the country's ethnic Chinese and Indian communities who accuse the government of passing laws that favor the Malay majority. Najib has said he will do more to address their concerns. The country, like other nations around the world, has been severely affected by the global economic downturn. Critics are demanding Malaysia diversify its technology-heavy economy. Last month, Najib unveiled a multi-billion dollar stimulus plan for new spending, according to published reports. Najib also brings with him a whiff of controversy. Two former bodyguards are facing charges in connection the murder of a Mongolian model. He has denied all links to the killing. |
Sudanese president asks Arab League Summit to reject arrest warrant against him . Omar al-Bashir is charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court . Al-Bashir accused of crimes against humanity in his campaign against Darfur rebels . U.N. secretary general attends summit, but avoids any confrontation with al-Bashir . | fb683e2b294aec775ef018eb943bc0556888e521 | (CNN) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir asked Arab leaders meeting in Qatar on Monday to strongly reject an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Omar al-Bashir is the subject of an ICC arrest warrant over allaged war crimes in Darfur. Al-Bashir landed in Qatar on Sunday and met with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. On Monday, he expressed his gratitude to the Arab League Summit. "We appreciate your support for Sudan in many areas," al-Bashir said. "This support will, God willing, lead to issuing clear and unequivocal decisions -- rejecting the decision [the ICC arrest warrant]." U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also attended the meeting but avoided any confrontation with al-Bashir. The U.N. leader focused instead on efforts to have humanitarian aid workers allowed back into Sudan. Sudan expelled 13 international aid agencies from the Darfur region after the ICC issued the arrest warrant. The March 4 arrest warrant is the first issued for a sitting head of state by the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal, based at The Hague in the Netherlands. But the ICC has no arrest powers and depends on its 106 member states to take suspects into custody. Qatar, site of the summit, is not a member of the tribunal. Sudan refuses to recognize the legitimacy of the ICC, and has made no efforts to hand over two other officials indicted by the court. Al-Bashir has called the charges an attempt by Western powers to recolonize Sudan. The International Criminal Court accuses al-Bashir of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in his government's campaign against rebels in Darfur, in western Sudan. The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million have been forced to flee their homes because of the conflict. Qatar had been mediating talks between Sudanese officials and representatives of one of the rebel factions, who signed a confidence-building agreement in February. At the State Department, deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said leaders at the summit should deal with the situation in Darfur. "We would hope that while [al-Bashir] is in Doha that the Arab League would focus on the immediate and urgent needs of the people on the ground in Sudan and address the humanitarian situation in Darfur and meet the priorities of the comprehensive peace agreement," he said. "The discussions should be on how to stop the violence and support the people. "The presence of Bashir at this conference should be used as an opportunity to bring forth the international concern to what is happening in Darfur and southern Sudan." In another development, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi walked out of the summit after a dispute over whether he would be allowed to talk. "I am an international leader," Gadhafi said before leaving. "The dean of Arab rulers. The king of kings in Africa. The imam to Muslims. My international position does not allow me to be reduced. Thank you." State Department spokesman Duguid declined to comment. CNN's Stan Grant contributed to this report. |
Najib Razak sworn in as Asian nation's sixth prime minister . Outgoing PM Abdullah Badawi was in office for more than five years . Ruling party has failed to secure majority needed to amend constitution . New PM faces economic downturn, ethnic discord . | 74f60eb09724ad952f6fddcc0aac1ddedcfcf229 | (CNN) -- Malaysia swore in a new prime minister on Friday, the country's state news agency reported. Malaysia's former PM Abdullah Badawi waves from a vehicle in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak became Malaysia's sixth prime minister after taking over for from Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who stepped down after leading the country for more than five years, according to the Bernama news agency. The new prime minister will immediately be tasked with reuniting a multi-racial nation and shoring up an economy in dire straits. Until now, Najib Razak had served as the Southeast Asian country's deputy prime minister. He is part of Malaysia's ruling party, the National Front Coalition, which has ruled the country since it gained independence from Britain in 1957. But last year, a loose coalition of opposition parties won 82 of 222 parliamentary seats in elections. It was only the second time in the country's history that the ruling party failed to gain the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution. The election upset led to calls for Abdullah to step down. In recent months, the country has seen riots with the country's ethnic Chinese and Indian communities who accuse the government of passing laws that favor the Malay majority. Najib has said he will do more to address their concerns. Malaysia has been severely affected by the global economic downturn. Critics are demanding Malaysia diversify its technology-heavy economy. Last month, Najib unveiled a multi-billion dollar stimulus plan for new spending, according to published reports. Watch what can be expected from the new Malaysian leader » . Najib also brings with him a whiff of controversy. Two former bodyguards are facing charges in connection the murder of a Mongolian model. He has denied all links to the killing. |
NEW: Bush says Wyeth's work "captured America" Wyeth died in his sleep at home in Pennsylvania at 91 . His most famous painting is that of a young girl in a field . His "Helga" portraits were first shown in 1986 . | 458f0587d9af18f8af18975eed4ee7f2452eca6a | (CNN) -- Andrew Wyeth, the American painter perhaps best known for his painting of a young woman in a field, "Christina's World," has died, according to an official with the Brandywine River Museum in Pennsylvania. Andrew Wyeth received the National Medal of Arts from President Bush in November 2007. Wyeth, 91, died in his sleep Thursday night at his home near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to Lora Englehart, public relations coordinator for the museum. The acclaimed artist painted landscapes and figure subjects and worked mostly in tempera and watercolor. He was widely celebrated inside and outside of the art world. Wyeth received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, and President Nixon sponsored an exhibition of Wyeth's paintings at the White House. In 2007, President Bush awarded Wyeth the National Medal of Arts in recognition of his lifetime achievement and contribution to American arts and culture. Two years earlier, Wyeth and his wife, Betsy, presented to the White House his painting "Jupiter," which is displayed in the residence's family sitting room. Bush issued a statement Friday saying that he and first lady Laura Bush "deeply mourn" the death of Wyatt. "Mr. Wyeth captured America in his paintings of his native Pennsylvania and Maine," Bush said. "On behalf of the American people, Laura and I offer our sincere condolences to Betsy and the Wyeth family." Wyeth, who lived in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and Maine, "has been enormously popular and critically acclaimed since his first one-man show in 1937," according to a biography in InfoPlease. His main subjects were the places and people of Chadds Ford and Cushing, Maine. "Christina's World," painted in 1948, shows a disabled Maine neighbor who drags herself through a field toward her house in the distance. The painting, displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, has been regarded as Wyeth's most popular. "His 'Helga' pictures, a large group of intimate portraits of a neighbor, painted over many years, were first shown publicly in 1986," the InfoPlease biography says. Those were painted in Pennsylvania. Wyeth, the youngest child of painter N.C. Wyeth, formally studied art with his father as a teen, "drawing in charcoal and painting in oils, the media of choice for N.C. Wyeth. It was during the family's annual summer vacations in Port Clyde, Maine, that Andrew was able to experiment with other media to find his own artistic voice," according to a biography in the Farnsworth Art Museum in Maine. |
Government gives First Secretary Mark Sullivan 48 hours to leave the country . Sullivan is accused of meddling in internal police policies . The State Department calls the action 'unjustified' He's the second U.S. diplomat Ecuador has expelled in just over a week . | cdc3bec9fa6dab9ed88a0d2d44dc347b9a22b1cb | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The State Department called the expulsion of the second U.S. diplomat from Ecuador in just over a week "unjustified," rejecting charges the diplomats meddled in Ecuador's internal affairs. First Secretary Mark Sullivan has been given 48 hours to leave the U.S. embassy in Quito, Ecuador. On Wednesday, the Ecuadorian government expelled First Secretary Mark Sullivan, whom it accused of meddling in the government's internal police policies, giving him 48 hours to leave the country. On February 7, the government expelled Armando Astorga, an attaché with the Department of Homeland Security working in the U.S. Embassy. Acting Deputy Spokesman Gordon Duguid said the expulsions stem from the fact that certain Ecuadorian police were banned from taking part in U.S. counternarcotics training programs, but rejected "any suggestion of wrongdoing by embassy staff." "Despite the government of Ecuador's unjustified actions, we remain committed to working collaboratively with Ecuador to confront narcotics trafficking," Duguid said. Asked whether the State Department would reciprocate the expulsions by kicking out Ecuadorian diplomats from the United States, Duguid would say only, "We will respond as appropriate." A senior State Department official suggested the police in Ecuador police did not meet the criteria to take part in the training, noting, "The United States does have procedures that require it to vet candidates for U.S.-funded training." The official added, "In some countries this is seen as onerous. However, it is part of the legal accountability measures we must follow." |
David Banda reunited with dad for first time since his adoption . Publicist confirms singer's application to adopt Mercy James . Judge will rule on whether adoption can go forward Friday . | 2085bcdd7b72e560784ac7e0e7461fde3f71b349 | (CNN) -- Pop star Madonna and her adopted son met with the young boy's biological father in Malawi as the singer awaited a court decision on whether she could adopt a girl from the same country, her publicist said Tuesday. Madonna holds her adopted Malawian son, David Banda, in 2007. Liz Rosenberg said in a statement that Madonna and her son David met Monday with David's birth father, Yohanne Banda, for the first time since the young boy was adopted in 2006. "Madonna is committed to maintaining an ongoing relationship with David's Malawian roots," Rosenberg said. The publicist also confirmed, in the first public acknowledgment of what has been reported for weeks, that Madonna has filed an application "to adopt Mercy James, a 3-year-old girl Madonna met two years ago in an orphanage that she visited." A spokeswoman for Malawi's attorney general told CNN that the singer appeared Monday in court in that country, one of the poorest nations in the world, for a hearing on whether she would be allowed to adopt the girl. Madonna is to return to court Friday to hear the judge's decision in the matter, spokeswoman Zione Ntaba said. The child's family will have to give their permission for the adoption to proceed, according to Martin Geissler, a reporter for the ITN television network who is in Malawi. Madonna has been involved with Malawi for several years. She made a documentary, "I Am Because We Are," which highlighted poverty, AIDS and other diseases devastating that country's children. She also helps run a nonprofit, Raising Malawi, which implements initiatives to help the needy in the southeastern African nation. |
Eight other employees disciplined for accessing Nadya Suleman's files . Kaiser Permanente says training was given emphasizing privacy issues . Spokesman: There's no indication any information was distributed outside hospital . Suleman was mother of six when she gave birth to octuplets . | df5a008fee39accc4614a50a0e0db21894035b08 | (CNN) -- Fifteen employees were fired for improperly accessing medical records of Nadya Suleman, the mother of octuplets, a Kaiser Permanente spokesman said Monday. Nadya Suleman has been the subject of much curiosity since she gave birth to octuplets. "We always provide training on the importance of patient privacy and confidentiality," said Jim Anderson, the hospital spokesman. "We knew from the time she (Nadya Suleman) was admitted to the hospital in December, this case would attract attention. "Numerous training sessions were held to remind people of the need to keep the information confidential." Eight other employees of the Bellflower, California hospital were disciplined for accessing Suleman's files, Anderson said. Anderson said there's no indication that any of the information was distributed outside the hospital to the media. Suleman, a resident La Habra, California, and already a single mother with six young children, gave birth to the octuplets through in-vitro fertilization, fueling controversy. News of her collecting public assistance for some of her children also outraged many taxpayers. |
The mass grave was unearthed Tuesday in downtown Montgomery, Alabama . Workers preparing land for construction of a new building uncovered the remains . Historical records indicate bodies could be from yellow fever outbreak . It was not immediately known how many bodies might be buried at the site . | 103d35ecb3e3a16547688b12dde5e74023c5d5be | (CNN) -- A mass grave unearthed Tuesday in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, is believed to contain bodies from an epidemic of yellow fever that swept the city in the 1870s, police said. Two buildings from the 1940s were torn down at the site, and maintenance workers grading the land in preparation for the construction of a new building uncovered the remains, said Montgomery police spokesman Maj. Huey Thornton. The site is adjacent to a cemetery, he said, and "based on the information we have from historical documents kept by the actual cemetery ... it does appear that it may be remains from a yellow fever epidemic in the 1870s." Officials from the Alabama Archaeological Society and the Alabama Historical Association were at the site and are expected to be able to confirm that, he said. It was not immediately known how many bodies might be buried at the site, Thornton said, but authorities are reassuring the public there is no cause for concern. The remains are clearly too old to suggest any recent activity, he said. According to an article posted online by the Mississippi Project of the American Local History Network, an extensive outbreak of yellow fever occurred in 1878, spreading across eight states but particularly affecting Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Some 16,000 people died from the disease that year alone, according to the article. |
North Korea claims it detected about 200 spy plane missions near it . Claim comes ahead of North Korea's launch of a rocket scheduled for early April . Pyongyang warned that spy planes are within the range of its strikes . U.S. has little doubt rocket launch is designed to bolster N. Korea's military capability . | 1ddf41a3671d4e16dfc3cb74c23a10efccec7e64 | (CNN) -- North Korea accused the United States and South Korea of sending spy planes on about 200 missions near the isolated communist nation ahead of a North Korea rocket launch scheduled for early April. Pyongyang claims reconnaissance aircraft, including the high-altitude U-2 spy plane, have flown spy missions. "The U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppet military warmongers perpetrated intensive aerial espionage against the DPRK (North Korea) in March by massively mobilizing strategic and tactical reconnaissance planes with various missions," a military source said, according to a report from North Korea's state-run news service, KCNA, on Tuesday. Pyongyang said the United States committed 110 cases of "aerial espionage and the South Korean puppet forces at least 80 cases," during March, KCNA reported. The source said the missions utilized six types of reconnaissance aircraft, including the high-altitude U-2 spy plane. "The U.S. imperialist warmongers had better bear in mind that ... spy planes perpetrating espionage against the DPRK are within the range of its strikes." The Pentagon was not immediately available to comment on the story. The North Korean government says it will launch a commercial satellite atop a rocket sometime between April 4 and April 8. Satellite imagery taken on Sunday appears to show a rocket at the Musudan-ri launch site in northeastern North Korea. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday there is little doubt that the planned rocket launch is designed to bolster North Korea's military capability. He also indicated that the U.S. military could be prepared to shoot down a North Korean missile if the rogue regime develops the capability to reach Hawaii or the western continental United States in a future launch. Watch analysis of Pyongyang's planned rocket launch » . Both the United States and Japan have mobilized missile defense systems ahead of the launch. North Korea has threatened to start a war if Japan were to shoot down its rocket. Tokyo said the move is aimed at shooting down any debris from the launch that might fall into Japanese territory. U.S. Navy ships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles have been moved to the Sea of Japan, a Navy spokesman said. The United States generally has a number of ships equipped with powerful Aegis radar in the Sea of Japan because of North Korean threats to launch rockets. The ships are designed to track and, if needed, shoot down ballistic missiles. The United States has no plans to shoot down the North Korean rocket, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week, but will raise the issue with the U.N. Security Council if Pyongyang carries out a launch. |
Baby bonobo ape takes flight from UK to Germany to start new life in Frankfurt . Three-month-old was rejected by natural mother after falling ill following birth . Frankfurt Zoo has an adult female bonobo trained to assist with rearing babies . Bili will spend 30 days in quarantine before meeting new family . | bc6520bc566a58d84f594698783059bbbbbf4fac | (CNN) -- A baby ape born in the UK is settling into a new life in a German zoo after flying from Birmingham to Frankfurt -- monkey business class. Bili the bonobo is to be fostered by an ape at Frankfurt Zoo. The three-month old male bonobo -- who is to be fostered by a family of German apes after being rejected by his natural mother -- was considered too young and too fragile to travel cargo class, a spokeswoman for the UK's Twycross Zoo told CNN. Instead, the tiny ape named Bili checked in for the Lufthansa flight with special travel documents -- including a fake passport in the name of "Bili the Bonobo" -- before taking a seat in the cabin alongside a handler from Frankfurt Zoo, who had flown over to accompany him on his unusual journey. "He was with his keeper all the way to make him feel more comfortable and relaxed, rather than being in a crate," said spokeswoman Kim Riley. "I just wish I'd been there to see the other passengers' faces." Bonobos, which originate from the Democratic Republic of Congo, are considered particularly intelligent primates. They are the human species' closest relation in the animal world, sharing 99.6 percent of our DNA. Bili was rejected by his mother after falling ill shortly after his birth and has required extensive nursing and medical care. Zookeepers in Frankfurt hope he can bond with an adult female bonobo which has been trained to assist with hand rearing babies. The zoo's bonobo community will also play and interact with Bili, helping him to acquire social skills. Bili will spend 30 days in quarantine at the zoo before being introduced to his new family, Riley said. |
Venice reportedly suffering one of its worst floods in 22 years . Landmark Piazza San Marco under almost a meter of water at one point . UNESCO has warned Venice at risk of high waters caused by climate change . | 170561a1619cffbb8d62b5183c1fffd45b072372 | (CNN) -- Venice has suffered its worst flooding in 22 years, leaving some parts of the historic Italian city neck-deep in water, reports said Monday. A woman wades through high waters in Venice's Piazza San Marco. Water burst the banks of the coastal city's famed canals, leaving the landmark Piazza San Marco -- St Mark's Square -- under almost a meter of water at one point, news agency ANSA reported. Strong winds pushed waters to a high of 1.56 meters (5 feet 2 inches) at 10:45 a.m. local time, prompting the city government to issue warnings to the public, the agency said. The flood level began to drop soon afterwards, prompted by a change in the direction of the wind. Previous highs include 1.58 meters in 1986 and 1.66 meters in 1979, the news agency said. Watch more about the flooding » . Photographs showed people wading through inundated piazzas and waves lapping over waterside cafe tables. Venice, built around a network of canals and small islands, has for years been trying to tackle the problem of floods that have regularly blighted the city. In 2007, the United Nations cultural organization UNESCO warned Venice -- a designated World Heritage Site -- is under threat from rising sea levels caused by climate change. See pictures of Venetians wading through flood waters. » . It said that unless the problem is tackled, Venice could be flooded daily and water levels would permanently rise by 54 centimeters in the city by the year 2100. |
Parents allege older boy sexually harassed daughter on school bus . Parents: School district ignored our concerns, refused to discipline the boy . U.S. Supreme Court: Parents can sue school district . | 82f0c64c4dbc17902671cf2a19b6de8c290864c9 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has given a girl's parents the go-ahead to sue a Massachusetts school district over alleged sexual harassment by another student. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling allows a couple two avenues to pursue claims against their daughter's school district. The justices, in a unanimous ruling, allowed the plaintiffs two avenues to make their claims -- a 1972 law banning gender bias in education and a separate civil rights law enacted 138 years ago. Lisa and Robert Fitzgerald said their then-kindergartner daughter was forced by an older male student to lift her skirt or pull down her underwear. The parents alleged school officials ignored their concerns and refused to discipline the boy. Federal courts had been split over whether the newer law -- known as Title IX -- displaced any claims made under part of the 1871 civil rights law, called "Section 1983." The Fitzgeralds lost their initial Title IX claims and an appeals court blocked them from pursuing the other legal strategy. The ruling from the justices now gives the Fitzgeralds the right to continue their lawsuit against school officials. "We hold that Section 1983 suits based on the Equal Protection Clause remain available to plaintiffs alleging unconstitutional gender discrimination in schools," Justice Samuel Alito wrote. The plaintiffs allege the incidents happened on a school bus in Barnstable, Massachusetts, in the 2000-01 academic year. The child had told her parents that whenever she wore a dress, a third-grader would make her do things she did not want to do. After the mother complained to school officials, the boy denied the allegations. The principal, after interviewing other students and the bus driver, concluded she could not corroborate the girl's version of events. The principal suggested the girl be transferred to another bus as a possible solution. The Fitzgeralds said that amounted to punishing their daughter and said the boy was the one who should be transferred. The local police department also looked into the case but concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against the boy. The parents began driving the girl to school and filed a lawsuit, claiming the schools system's response was inadequate. School officials denied wrongdoing and tried to limit the case to Title IX, which applies to public or private schools receiving federal aid. The law is credited, among other things, with helping bring equality in sports participation and funding for college women. "Our concern was that the school district just didn't take things as seriously as they should," said Charles Rothfeld, attorney for the Fitzgeralds. "They were frustrated by what they perceived as indifference by the school." Rothfeld said the school's behavior was "pretty egregious." Barnstable school officials did not respond to a request for comment. The case is Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Cmte. (07-1125). |
At 6'5'', former employee says James Hines was too tall for coffin after death in 2004 . Employee told authorities that funeral home took extreme measures to make him fit . Officials exhume body Tuesday, find "undesirable evidence," county coroner says . Cave Funeral Services employee would not comment . | 783c2db85e095a0048b48331cb027bd2aaad2c58 | (CNN) -- Police in Allendale, South Carolina, are investigating whether a funeral home fit a 6-foot, 5-inch man into his coffin by severing his legs. The wife of James Hines reportedly said the funeral home told her that her husband's coffin was long enough. A former Cave Funeral Services employee has alleged since James Hines' death from skin cancer in 2004 that Hines was too tall for his coffin and that the funeral home took extreme measures to make him fit, Allendale County Coroner Hayzen Black told CNN. Officials exhumed Hines' body Tuesday, Black said, and a fair amount of "undesirable evidence" was found, although he could not comment further. The coroner's office handed the case over to law enforcement officials for a criminal investigation, he said. Allendale Police Detective Donnie Hutto told CNN affiliate WJBF-TV that he could not comment on the condition of the body. A Cave Funeral Services employee had no comment when asked about the matter. But Ruth Hines, widow of the dead man, told WJBF that the allegations and exhumation of Hines' body are difficult for her. "I'm just going through quite a bit," she said. "It's like starting all over again, and it's left me with hurt and numbness." "According to the measurements on the casket, and the funeral director, we asked him, 'Was this suitable for his length?' and he said, 'Yes that will be perfect,'" Ruth Hines said. Hines told WJBF that her family has used Cave Funeral Services for a number of years, and she isn't sure what the family will do in the future if the allegations are true. |
Tracy, California, police, FBI, volunteers search for girl missing since Friday . Some search sites are linked to two men who have not been named as suspects . Sandra Cantu played with one friend on Friday, left for a second friend's house . It's not clear whether she ever got to the second house, distraught family says . | 896a51d66f6bfafc25d0811a0d8b9b69820fc032 | (CNN) -- Eight-year-old Sandra Cantu came home from school, kissed her mother, and left to color and play with a friend who lived a couple of houses down. Sandra Cantu, 8, disappeared on Friday, according to police in Tracy, California. That was at 3 p.m. Friday. By Tuesday -- despite an intense search by hundreds of search-and-rescue personnel and volunteers over three days -- the little girl in the pink Hello Kitty T-shirt and black leggings had yet to be found. The mysterious disappearance of Sandra from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park in Tracy, California -- about 60 miles east of San Francisco -- has baffled law enforcement officials. A dozen different agencies are looking for her. Watch Nancy Grace on the case » . "The entire weekend was filled with just a massive search effort -- a manhunt involving multiple freeways, agents checking cars, volunteers going door-to-door," said Sebastian Kunz, a reporter with KNEW-AM radio in San Francisco, who is covering the case. "A lot of people are pulling for this little girl." On Monday night, Tracy police and FBI agents searched six locations, some in the mobile home park and some in Tracy, and all of them connected to two men. Authorities did not call the men suspects, and did not name them publicly. They said both live in the mobile home park but did not say how or if they are related to Sandra. "We're looking for evidence that will lead to the discovery of Sandra's whereabouts," Tracy Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman told reporters Monday night. "We operate on the assumption she is alive and well." Sandra came home from school about 3 p.m. Friday. She asked to go play with a friend who lived a few houses down in the same mobile home park. "I told her it was OK," Sandra's mother, Maria Chavez, told CNN's Nancy Grace, dabbing tears. "And that was the last time I saw her." Surveillance camera footage recorded the girl playing in the park. But her parents reported her missing about 8 p.m. Friday, when she was supposed to be visiting a second friend. "We just know that she had gone to the first house, and played for just a very short time. And then she was on her way to another friend's house," said Lisa Encarnacion, the spokeswoman for Sandra's family. "And we don't know, we can't confirm that she was there or she was not." The mobile home park has less than 100 units. There are about 80 registered sex offenders living in a five-mile radius around it. The family has not looked at the list of offenders to see if they may know any of them, Encarnacion told Nancy Grace. And so the search continues. A reward fund set up for information leading to Sandra's return grew to $7,000 Monday. More than 150 tips poured in, police said. But, at least for now, none has yielded information on the 4-foot-tall, brown-haired, brown-eyed girl. |
NEW: Agent Joe Segal expects Vick to return to football as soon as September . NEW: Vick is ready to return to community in "positive light," show remorse . Suspended player is seeking Chapter 11 confirmation from Virginia judge . Vick will work 40 hours a week for Virginia-based W.M. Jordan, lawyer says . | bf8767bb77a8e67a6d614acbed6c823d5b82b353 | NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia (CNN) -- Suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick will go to work for a construction company in Newport News, Virginia, after he leaves federal prison for bankrolling a dogfighting operation, his lawyer said Thursday. Football player Michael Vick listens as his lawyers make the case for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The details emerged in a Chapter 11 confirmation hearing in Virginia Eastern Bankruptcy Court to determine how Vick, 28, will work his way out of bankruptcy. Vick's lawyer, Michael Blumenthal, told the court that the embattled footballer will take the stand first thing Friday and explain how he intends to turn over a new leaf after spending nearly two years in prison on a federal conspiracy charge. Vick's 23-month sentence ends in July, but he is expected to be released from the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, in May and serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement, most likely in Virginia. He is a native of Newport News. The sports agent who landed Vick's landmark 10-year, $140 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons also testified that he expects Vick will be back in the game as soon as September -- if the NFL reinstates him. Vick is in great shape and could once again command millions of dollars if he returns to football, Joel Segal told the court. The decision to reinstate Vick rests with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, with whom Segal said he had consulted. Vick was suspended from the NFL after his conviction but remains under contract with the Falcons, Segal said, though he does not expect the Falcons to retain Vick's rights if he is reinstated. Vick and many of his creditors are depending on a return to football as his main source of income. But Segal admitted that he has no way of knowing whether Vick will be reinstated, because the decision lies with Goodell. In the meantime, Vick is ready to "get back in the community in a positive light" and demonstrate remorse for his actions, Segal said. He has agreed to participate in a documentary about him that will net him $600,000, Segal said. He will also work 40 hours a week for W.M. Jordan, a construction company based in Newport News. The employment is not part of the official 61-page agreement tentatively worked out between's Vick's lawyers and numerous creditors. The parties involved in the hearing will continue to present evidence and testimony in an effort to convince the judge that Vick qualifies for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Attorneys and representatives from the creditors, including Bank of America, the Atlanta Falcons and the City of Newport News, to name a few, packed the courtroom Thursday as the hearing got under way. Vick's mother sat in the gallery with his fiancée, who blew him a kiss during one break in the proceedings. Among the terms included in Vick's plan of reorganization: . • Vick will retain the first $750,000 of his income. • A percentage of his income above $750,000 will go to a trust fund. CNN's Eric Fiegel contributed to this report. |
"Guiding Light" originally was radio serial on NBC, debuted in 1937 . Show moved to CBS, which put it on TV in 1952 . Last episode of show to air September 18 . Kevin Bacon among the stars who got their start on show . | 126f00ba494daa2ab04c0bb023f9e0321e52456c | NEW YORK (CNN) -- The venerable CBS soap opera "Guiding Light" will go dark in September after 72 years and 16,000 episodes, the network announced Wednesday. Gina Tognoni is one of many performers who have appeared on "Guiding Light" over the years. The daytime drama's declining viewership led to the decision, according to a CBS spokeswoman. The show, which the Guinness Book of World Records lists as the longest-running television drama, first aired on NBC radio in 1937 as a 15-minute serial, the spokeswoman said. It moved to television on the CBS network in 1952 as 15-minute drama. It later went to 30 minutes, and on November 7, 1977, it expanded to one hour and introduced the wealthy Spaulding family as foils to the show's middle-class Bauers, who were a mainstay of the show for much of its run. In 1979, the show did a groundbreaking storyline when the character of Roger Thorpe (played by the late Michael Zaslow) raped his wife, Holly (Maureen Garrett). The marital-rape story line reflected a significant real-life case in 1978 -- the state of Oregon v. John J. Rideout. It was the first time in modern U.S. history that a man was charged with raping his wife and then put on trial. It prompted national debate about whether a man had absolute sexual rights with his spouse. Rideout was acquitted. Among the actors who went on to greater fame after roles on the show: Kevin Bacon, James Earl Jones and Taye Diggs. The last episode is set to air on September 18, the spokeswoman said. The show is produced in New York. |
Argentina crushed 6-1 by Bolivia in their heaviest defeat for more than 60 years . Joaquin Botero scores a hat-trick for the hosts in match played at high altitude . Brazil up to second place in South American qualifying after 3-0 win over Peru . | ee653fe427240dd112b55acdceb1b40461b5702f | (CNN) -- Diego Maradona's Argentina side have suffered their worst-ever World Cup defeat -- and heaviest loss in over 60 years -- going down 6-1 to Bolivia at La Paz's high-altitude Hernando Siles' stadium. Bolivia players celebrate another goal as they humiliated Argentina 6-1 in La Paz. Marcelo Martins opened the scoring for the hosts in the 12th minute but Argentina levelled 13 minutes later when a long-range shot from Luiz Gonzalez bounced in after deceiving goalkeeper Carlos Arias. Joaquin Botero, who helped himself to a hat-trick, netted his first in the 34th minute from the penalty spot and Alex Da Rosa added a third just before the interval. Botero headed home the fourth five minutes into the second-half, before Argentina's night got even worse when they had substitute Angel Di Maria sent off. Botero celebrated his treble soon after Di Maria's dismissal and Didi Torrico completed the rout from long range with three minutes remaining. The last time Argentina have lost by a five-goal margin was 5-0 to Colombia in 1993 and the home media made their feelings about the result perfectly clear. "A historic humiliation," said sports newspaper Ole on its Web site, adding: "This is our worst defeat in the qualifiers. What now.?" The result leaves Argentina in the fourth and final South American World Cup qualification place, five points behind leaders Paraguay, who scored an injury-time equalizer to draw 1-1 in Ecuador. Meanwhile, Brazil are up to second in the table, two points behind Paraguay, after a comfortable 3-0 home victory over Peru at Porto Alegre. Luis Fabiano scored twice with Felipe Melo adding the other goal. Chile are third in the table after a 0-0 home draw with Uruguay, who lie in the play-off fifth position. |
World champion Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the Australian GP . Stewards say Hamilton and McLaren team presented "misleading" evidence . Hamilton was involved in incident with Toyota driver Jarno Trulli in Melbourne . | 283f930303a08ffe34541c47cd507c0f198b73d1 | (CNN) -- World champion Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from last weekend's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne after presenting "misleading" evidence to stewards. Hamilton has been disqualified from the Australian GP after presenting "misleading" evidence to stewards. The McLaren driver and Toyota's Jarno Trulli were called to an FIA hearing in Malaysia -- the site of this weekend's grand prix -- on Thursday to discuss an incident during Sunday's race. Trulli finished third at Melbourne's Albert Park, only to later be handed a 25-second penalty by race stewards which relegated him to 12th position and saw Hamilton lifted into third. However, following Thursday's hearing, Trulli has been reinstated in third position. McLaren had complained that veteran Italian Trulli had illegally passed Hamilton under yellow flags following an accident late on involving Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica in his BMW Sauber -- who were running second and third at the time. Trulli had decided not to appeal the original decision but the FIA, the sport's governing body, said it had received new information and pressed ahead with a second hearing. "The stewards, having considered the new elements presented to them from the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, consider that Lewis Hamilton, and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards at the hearing on Sunday 29th March 2009," the FIA said in a statement. It said Hamilton and McLaren had violated its rules and retrospectively disqualified him from the race. Meanwhile, Trulli believes justice has been served after Thursday's decision. "I am happy because I wanted some justice and I got it," he told PA Sport. "I am happy for myself and the team and I have to thank the FIA because it does not happen very often they reconsider something. "It must have been really hard for them, but they had common sense to really try and understand what was going on. I have always been honest and it has paid off." |
During "Live King Live," dozens e-mail offering to see whether they are a match . Singer to Larry King: "I'm on a very long list, which is why we are looking to donors" Natalie Cole says she was diagnosed with hepatitis C in February 2008 . She links the illness to her struggles to stop using cocaine and heroin . | fadd7e88a99defaed6624e1449b61bf62cb4b7c3 | (CNN) -- Singer Natalie Cole told CNN's Larry King she is searching for a kidney after an illness caused both of her kidneys to fail. Singer Natalie Cole continues to tour, despite being on dialysis three times a week. Before she finished telling King Tuesday night about her battles with drugs, illnesses and her search for a kidney, dozens of e-mails flooded the CNN studio. They were all offers from people saying they would get tested to see whether their kidney could be donated. King handed a thick stack of paper to Cole. "These are all e-mails from dozens -- dozens of people offering to be tested to see if they can match, who want to give you a kidney," King said. Cole stared at the papers for a moment. "There are some great human beings out there. That's all I can say," Cole said. Watch Natalie Cole's interview with Larry King » . "I'm on a very long list, which is why we are looking to donors," said Cole, the daughter of legendary crooner Nat King Cole. Cole said her kidney troubles date back to February 2008 when she was diagnosed with hepatitis C. Cole said she attributes the hepatitis C from her well-publicized struggles to stop using cocaine and heroin. Cole said she has been sober for some time now after two stints in a rehabilitation clinic. Cole said she underwent chemotherapy in an aggressive way to fight the virus. Within four months of getting chemotherapy, both of Cole's kidneys failed. "I couldn't breathe. I -- I went into -- literally, my kidneys stopped functioning. They stopped, you know, processing the fluid that was starting to build up in my body." Since then, Cole has been on dialysis three days a week and has been searching for a kidney, she told King in one of the first public interviews about the issue. Cole won six Grammy awards for her 1991 critically acclaimed album "Unforgettable ... With Love ," a jazzy tribute to her father. She won a Grammy this year for her new album "Still Unforgettable" and another Grammy for her work on another album. Cole said that she has still been able to tour this year even with her kidney ailment. "I have been on dialysis in Istanbul, Milan, Indonesia, Manila, London. It's -- it's amazing," Cole said. |
Sámi herders using satellite-based maps of snow to judge best areas . Climate change has made it harder to find foraging spots for reindeer herds . Technology could also be used to monitor land-use change over time . | b9284dba3f3deaaf60bd03ee5fac7839b8076f11 | (CNN) -- Arctic reindeer herders in northern Scandinavia are getting a view from space to help them look after their herds as the region copes with climate change. Snow worries: Satellite maps of snow coverage and melt can help reindeer herders. Using satellite-based snow melt maps supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA) backed program Polar View, herders are able to view the depth of snow and judge where the best foraging spots are to take their reindeer. "Snow is of paramount importance for reindeer herding, because its quality determines whether reindeer are able to access the pastures that lie beneath it for much of the year," Anders Oskal, the Director of the International Center for Reindeer Husbandry (ICR) told the ESA. "Detailed circumpolar snow information is, thus, becoming increasingly important following the recent changes in the Arctic climate." Oskal is working with Sámi reindeer herders in Finnmark, Norway, to help them maintain and develop sustainable reindeer husbandry. According to Oskal, Finnmark is the area of Norway that is predicted to experience the largest temperature increases, raising concerns about whether ice layers will form over pastures preventing reindeer from foraging. Under the Polar View initiative, Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) have been providing snow melt maps for Norway and Sweden, as well as snow cover maps for Eurasia, for the last 18 months. The ICR partnered with Polar View in a trial of the maps to examine how satellite observations could help by gathering information on snow change in a timely manner for such vast circumpolar regions. "The experience so far has definitely been positive, and the reindeer herders are extremely interested in the future utilization of Polar View products that can relate important information about local snow conditions," said Oskal. "These products could have important consequences for herders' decisions regarding winter pasture quality and potential migration routes." In addition to climate change, reindeer herders also have to face a loss of pastures because of infrastructure development, such as roads, hydroelectric power dams and cabin resorts. The same technology would help the ICR to monitor the different forms of land-use change over time. |
CNN Football Fanzone reviews Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 . PES 2009 is little changed from previous incarnations in the series . Reviewer: While flawed, PES 2009 is still good fun in offline two-player mode . | ef93833d1d00370b274649f43770ac3f3859a725 | LONDON, England (CNN) -- Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (PES) has a tough task on its hands. Not only does FIFA look good, it plays well too -- and gameplay was always the area where PES had the edge. Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is the cover star of Pro Evolution Soccer 2009. If you've played a PES game before you'll know what to expect, which is both a plus and a minus, depending on your point of view. The ball pings around nicely, the weight of pass remains just about right and long passes are much improved. It mostly feels like a game of computer football should. The game plays fast and given shots from distance almost never fly in, scoring is still a challenge and goals still get you punching the air. For a series that's always short on official team and league licenses -- leading to silly-sounding approximations of players' names (Ryan Gills anyone?) and daft team titles -- PES gains the UEFA Champions League, which is a small coup. Read our FIFA 09 review here. Game modes are much the same as before, including the venerable Master League, but the new addition of Be A Legend, where you try to take one player to the top, does not feel finished. The graphics are serviceable, with some player likenesses uncanny and others way off. The sound is no better than average and the commentary remains hit and miss. And it's not unfair to say the game menus and their annoying and repetitive music are badly in need of a revamp. Online play is not great and given the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are built for broadband multiplayer, PES is lagging -- literally. You might say the game needs revolution rather than evolution and for next season's release publishers Konami must up their game. Nevertheless, PES' reputation is built on a fun offline two-player experience and nothing has changed there. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 might not be cutting-edge in its presentation and options, but you still can't beat a 10-minute match with a mate beside on you on the sofa. |
Two-minute ad shown in U.K. depicts actress being beaten by boyfriend . Charity's spot will be on television and in movie theaters . Women's Aid says two women in U.K. killed by current or ex-partner each week . | 089fedd06609cf3aaa5204a0cf2895e35dcdcf92 | LONDON, England (CNN) -- Actress Keira Knightley released a violent commercial Thursday highlighting the problem of domestic violence. In the two-minute film, Knightley is beaten by an abusive boyfriend after she arrives home from a day of filming. Actress Keira Knightley's public service spot was directed by Joe Wright of "Atonement." The commercial, made for the charity Women's Aid, was launched online. It will be shown on television and in movie theaters, the group said. The film, called "CUT," was directed by Joe Wright, who directed Knightley in "Atonement." At the end, the words "Isn't it time someone called cut?" appear on screen. According to the Web site for Women's Aid, two women are killed by a current or former partner in the United Kingdom in an average week. In a statement on the charity's Web site, Knightley said, "I wanted to take part in this advert for Women's Aid because while domestic violence exists in every section of society, we rarely hear about it." "We may not think we know someone who has experienced domestic violence, but this does not mean that it is not happening," she said. |
Iconic 1980s glam pop band Spandau Ballet to reform for world tour . Band will play together for first time in 20 years in Dublin on October 13 . Spandau Ballet's sound, style and attitude came to define the 1980s . Band split in 1989; several members unsuccessfully sued songwriter Gary Kemp . | 33c470605ba720ce63585146f040f2e5a13c9e41 | LONDON, England (CNN) -- "Why do I find it hard to write the next line?" If you recognize the lyric then brace yourself for some good news. Spandau Ballet, pictured aboard HMS Belfast, on Wednesday. Twenty years since their acrimonious split, Spandau Ballet -- the pin-up boys who helped shaped the sound of 1980s glam pop -- have announced the first dates of what band members say will be a full world tour. The Tony Hadley-fronted band, who enjoyed worldwide success with hits such as "True" and "Gold," will launch their comeback in Dublin, Ireland, on October 13 before playing seven dates across the UK. Wednesday's announcement took place onboard HMS Belfast, a retired Royal Navy moored in the Thames that was the scene of a key early gig by the band in 1980 that launched them on the road to global stardom. "It is impossible to stress too highly how achingly fashionable Spandau Ballet were in the winter of 1979 and the summer of 1980," GQ magazine editor Dylan Jones writes in a biography of the band. Formed at a London school in 1979, Spandau Ballet went on to sell 25 million records worldwide, emerging out of the post-punk "New Romantic" music scene. Along with fellow British band Duran Duran, their sound, style and attitude came to define an era dominated by ostentatious glamour, gold lame suits and big hair. "Not only did their albums sell by the millions, but their look and style impacted on the fashion world and beyond," said a press release, summing up the band's influence on the decade. "They created their own style, combining creativity with entrepreneurship and the 'can do' spirit of early 80s youth at a time of crisis and upheaval eerily reminiscent of 2009. Spandau Ballet are both commercially and culturally enormous." Following the band's split in 1989, several members including Hadley unsuccessfully sued main songwriter Gary Kemp for a larger share of songwriting royalties. Since then, Hadley has appeared in the London production of the hit musical "Chicago" and also won an 80s revivalist reality TV show "Reborn in the USA." Several other members of the band have carved out moderately successful acting careers. |
Leading figures in U.S., Europe want the U.S. to answer torture allegations . Claims come from prisoners and the Red Cross . So far, President Obama has not encouraged inquiries . Other countries faced up to secret crimes, now U.S. needs to decide what to do . | 8a05f8156d7757e3e0f37a330d04db1e556c9371 | (CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama met with his NATO allies in Strasbourg, France on Friday to talk about his plans for the war in Afghanistan, his "front line in the war on terror." Protesters outside the White House in February have a simple idea for the controversial prison. But the U.S. war on terror has some dark secrets and Obama hasn't really wanted to talk about them. In Spain, a crusading judge named Baltasar Garzon is reviewing the case of several men who say they were tortured at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In Washington, Senator Patrick Leahy has been asking similar questions that people around the world want answered: . Did the U.S. really torture prisoners, did it secretly transfer some to other countries specifically to be tortured and did senior officials authorize it? Leahy says: "We can't turn the page unless we first read the page." There are ample grounds to believe crimes were committed. Individual prisoners have described being tortured in U.S. custody or being dispatched to other nations with the same terrible result. An investigation by the International Committee of the Red Cross also reported evidence of it. While he was in office, George W. Bush said flatly "the United States does not torture." But the Bush administration defined 'torture' so narrowly that its use of the word has been contested as well. The effort to find out just what happened has been moving slowly, both inside and outside the United States. The Obama administration hasn't encouraged it. Obama said recently that "generally speaking, I'm more interested in looking forward than looking backwards." That's easy to understand. Millions of Americans are grateful to America's ex-president and his aides, as well as U.S. soldiers and spies, for keeping the country safe after 9/11. Any investigations or potential prosecutions could set off a national debate complicating everything else Obama wants to accomplish. But the U.S. has signed international treaties on torture and war crimes, suggesting it's legally obligated to prosecute any cases that come to light. Countries in Europe, Africa and the Americas have found a way to face their secret crimes. The United States has to decide if it wants to take its own turn. |
Fearing protesters bankers dressed down for work in London today . Banks and businesses in the City warned employees not to wear suits . Some said bankers remained conspicuous despite attempts to dress casually . "We are not pansies," said one defiant City worker, still wearing a suit . | e69821ef560e8e32a4f6b136b55092bd1a61afab | LONDON, England (CNN) -- Suits were swapped for jeans and sneakers throughout London's financial district today, as bankers heeded warnings to dress down to avoid the potential wrath of G-20 protestors. Bankers in London head to work in casual attire. Many city workers have been urged to dress down to avoid attention from protesters. "Only about 20 percent of people probably just refused to dress down. Everybody else is in jeans," said Jesse Feldman, a banker at French investment bank, Société Générale. All week banks and investment firms located in London's City neighborhood have been advising employees to not dress in regular business attire. "Staff are permitted to wear casual clothing -- jeans/trainers -- commencing March 30. Avoid briefcases/branded bags/computer cases: Put materials in rucksacks or carrier bags where possible," U.S. bank, J.P. Morgan told employees in an email statement last week quoted on City news Web site Hereisthecity.com. Employees at Rothschild investment bank in London were told simply not to bother coming into work at all today. Among those who did commute to the office, bystanders said that the bankers are still easy to spot, conspicuously reading UK newspaper The Financial Times or dressing in a uniform business casual look. "On the tube this morning I thought it was ridiculous because all these bankers couldn't have looked more like bankers trying to dress down," Feldman told CNN. Instead of jackets, ties and Oxford shoes, polo shirts, khakis and loafers now fill the streets around the City and much of central London. "I saw two bankers wearing matching baby blue sweaters, tight jeans and Church's -- ridiculous," Feldman added, referring to the up-scale brand of traditional English shoes. One Web site that covers news and gossip in the City has been tracking the banker backlash to the warnings. "It's a mixture: people are falling into two types. The banks and the funds are certainly encouraging the staff to wear casual dress, but some are determined they won't cower to protestors and are still showing up in suits," said Vic Daniels, publisher of HereistheCity.com. On Monday, Bloomberg quoted one City professional, Graham Williams, 66, who said: "We're not pansies ... most of us have played rugby or boxed. "If any of those guys do get violent against us individually because we are wearing a suit, we will take action." The site also offers humorous advice for bankers to respond to protestors by dumping "large blocks of ice" to "render them harmless," and encouraging bankers to "find your inner G20 [sic] spot." Despite the jokes, precautions proved valuable Wednesday as thousands of angry anti-capitalist protestors converged on the City for demonstrations to coincide with the G-20 summit. By midday protestors had started smashing windows at a branch The Royal Bank of Scotland. Earlier in the day 11 people were arrested after being stopped in an armored personnel carrier. Thousands of police are continuing to patrol the streets in anti-riot gear. |
Demi Moore was recipient of suicide threat on Twitter . Moore helped put word out; police later took troubled texter into custody . Moore: "The twitterverse is on the case" | b4f4c25b77e47ed6545a7f164cf345846ac3fd9b | LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actress Demi Moore's frequent postings on Twitter put her in the middle of a life-and-death drama Friday when a woman sent her an online message threatening suicide. Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are both active members of the Twitter social-networking site. Moore, who was in southern France where her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, is filming a movie, quickly replied to the threat saying, "Hope you are joking." Twitter followers who saw the message tracked it to a San Jose, California, home, where police found a 48-year-old woman. The police took her into custody for a psychological evaluation, according to a police spokesman. About two hours after the initial exchange, Moore posted this message -- known as a "tweet" -- on Twitter: "Thanks everyone for reaching out to the San Jose PD i am told they are aware and no need to call anymore. I do not know this woman." A San Jose police spokesman said a "concerned citizen" -- not Moore or Kutcher -- called his department at 4:37 a.m. to report seeing the threat on Twitter. Police went to the residence that the caller provided and found the woman unharmed but in need of help, Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said. "We determined she did meet the criteria for a 72-hour psychological evaluation, and she was taken to a hospital for that treatment," Lopez said. Both Moore and Kutcher post tweets from their cell phones several times a day. Kutcher has 675,000 subscribers following his Twitter postings, while 380,000 have signed up to follow Moore. Twitter attracts many readers who enjoy seeing the behind-the-scenes writing, photos and video from celebrities who have embraced the social-network technology. This unusual access also allows subscribers to send messages to celebrities, who sometimes reply. The original tweet to Moore on Friday, which was still online several hours later, read: "getting a knife,a big one that is sharp. Going to cut my arm down the whole arm so it doesn't waste time." Moore, who apparently knew others were trying to locate the person who wrote it, tweeted that she "was very torn about responding or retweeting that woman's post but felt uncomfortable just letting it go." She assured readers that "the twitterverse is on the case." Two hours after the first message, Moore wrote: "And if it is a joke it is not funny and nor is this an appropriate outlet for such a serious matter Time for us to move on." Her husband, who is known as a constant tweeter, posted his own praise of Moore: "Wifey is pretty amazing, huh?" "Lot of pain in the world... Reach out to someone you don't usually reach out to just to say hi. They might be lonely," Kutcher tweeted. |
The 99-meter vessel Wally was designed by super-yacht designers Wally . Wally Island is still in the design stage awaiting a buyer . The deck contains a tropical garden, or can be converted to a tennis court . | 84dba55ef449b9ab0383a9759154bafd681672ca | LONDON, England (CNN) -- A 100 meter boat with a full tropical garden is not something you're likely to see very often. In fact, before now, you've probably never seen it. Wally Island: The vessel that has all the comforts of home . However, the giant mega-yacht 'Wally Island' offers exactly that. Designed by super-yacht designers Wally is still in the design stage as the company has not yet managed to sell the concept to a buyer. The vessel boasts over 1000 square meters in forward deck space, allowing for such features as a full garden and pool, a tennis court, or several heli-pads. View photos of Wally Island » . The designers intended to offer the owner the opportunity to live completely independently on the vessel. The boat, the designers said, could make life just like at home on a personal estate for its owner. Although the interior spaces are pushed towards the aft of the vessel, there is still room for an owners suite and six further double-king sized suites. In addition to this there are numerous rooms for entertaining guests. What do you think of Wally Island? Have you seen a better super-yacht? Share your thoughts in the Sound Off box below. |
African Union official condemns attack that also wounded 24 . Bomb went off before car reached African Union mission headquarters . U.N. Security Council recently adopted resolution aimed at bringing in peacekeepers . Violence, lawlessness have plagued Somalia since government overthrown in 1991 . | 1f4b0fc74030dc7176b71951f08b3a1f0920f612 | (CNN) -- A car bomb exploded Saturday in Somalia's capital, killing 15 people and wounding 24, a government spokesman said. Gunfighting has plagued the streets of Somalia's capital in recent months, stalling efforts to restore order. The car was heading toward headquarters of the African Union Mission in Somalia in late morning when a bomb went off before it reached the building, which is guarded by police, Abdi Gobdon said. The attack also threatened a group of nearby African Union peacekeepers. African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping condemned the "cowardly and terrorist" suicide attack in Mogadishu, which he said comes during a time of "renewed efforts to further peace and reconciliation" to the troubled nation. Somalia has been wracked by violence and lawlessness since the government was overthrown in 1991. A drought and high food and fuel prices also have increased the need for humanitarian assistance. iReport.com: Are you there? Share your story . On Saturday, various officials met in Djibouti with the aim of expanding the Somalian parliament and electing a president for the Transitional Federal Government, Ping said. The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution January 16 expressing its intent to send U.N. peacekeeping forces back to the unstable nation, and the AU plans to send additional troops to Somalia in coming weeks, Ping said. The United Nations' World Food Programme considered suspending delivery of food to Somalia after the killings of two aid workers in early January but then decided that would hurt the very people the program is trying to help. |
Tattoo parlors offering permanent memories of Barack Obama's inauguration . Most popular tattoos: Obama logo, "hope," iconic red-and-blue Obama poster . Owner: "A lot of people are feeling very inspired and taken by this moment" Temporary options include Obama piercings, airbrush tattoos . | 8091f8e6cffc65e0f0a4dbd5994dc4820ef1bd71 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sometimes, a T-shirt just doesn't cut it. Allie Tompkins, 19, gets her first tattoo at Fatty's Tattooz on Monday. For those who want a more permanent way to showcase their support for Barack Obama, Washington's tattoo parlors are ready to help. "There's nothing more memorable than a tattoo," said Matt Jessup, better known as "Fatty," the owner of Fatty's Custom Tattooz and Body Piercing. His shop is celebrating what it has dubbed the "Obamathan," where customers can get a free "Obama '08" logo tattoo if they buy another tattoo worth $200. The Obama tattoo, Fatty says, is worth $70. "A lot of people are feeling very inspired and taken by this moment in our nation's history. And for many people, they are in town for this historic event, they want something to remember it by," he said. At Fatty's and other tattoo shops in the area, there have been multiple inquiries about getting inked with an Obama image, they say, but only a few people have actually gone through with. The most popular choices so far have been the Obama logo, the word "hope," and the now iconic red-and-blue Obama hope poster by Shepard Fairey. T.J. Mohler, who works at Jinx Proof Tattoos, said business has been up as people flood the city, but only "about two or three" customers have gotten an Obama tattoo. One of those people is Mohler himself, who opted for a 5 x 7-inch Obama image on his leg. "When I look back in 50 years, it will remind me of the time and how excited everyone is," Mohler said. None of the shop owners reported any history of George W. Bush tattoos. "No such thing," said Jason Anthony, owner of Midtown Tattoo. Fatty says he's hoping the number of people getting Obama art will grow as more visitors arrive and word about the Obamathon gets out. "We're still rolling with it through the week, so I'm hoping that we'll get more interest," he said. On Wednesday, Fatty has plans to tattoo a portrait of Obama's face on one customer. That piece of art is worth $600, but the customer is getting it for free because she was the winner of one of the shop's promotions. But for those wary of permanent ink, there are some alternatives available. Glam Rock Art is a Washington business specializing in airbrush tattoos and body art. Owner and artist Nicole Graves has ordered custom Obama stencils in response to requests from customers. Fatty's also offers a removable option -- the Obama piercing. It's an orbital ring with a blue bead that costs $44, in honor of the 44th president. And if a customer has a change of heart post-tattoo, Fatty says all is not lost. "Come on back and I'll cover it up with something else," he said. |
David Beckham presented to the media ahead of his loan spell with AC Milan . The England midfielder revealed he missed playing football "at highest level" 33-year-old will be at Milan on loan for three months from Los Angeles Galaxy . | 50194f58208f1498f980440feda5d066bf1d2426 | (CNN) -- David Beckham revealed that he has missed playing football "at the highest level" after being presented as an AC Milan player ahead of his three-month loan deal from the Los Angeles Galaxy. David Beckham parades his new AC Milan kit after completing his three-month loan to the Italian club. Beckham, 33, has negotiated a move to the Serie A giants in a bid to remain match fit and stay in the thoughts of England manager Fabio Capello. His move to LA Galaxy from Real Madrid last year was perceived at the time as a step backwards to a league that has still to establish itself on the world stage, and the former England captain admitted that a move to Milan represented a move back into the mainstream. "Moving to America was a big step for me because there was a lot of people who were criticizing the move, but I still believe it was a move where I wanted to challenge myself and I was able to challenge myself in different ways," Beckham told a packed press conference in Milan. "But I have always said that I would always miss playing at the highest level. I'm not saying that in America they won't get to the highest level -- it will take time and it will happen. But with five months off during the season I personally can't do that. "I needed to be able to be playing top-flight football to keep myself fit, to keep myself in contention for other things that are going on." Beckham, who began the press conference by addressing the assembled media with a few words in Italian, will be in the stands to watch his new team take on Udinese on Sunday. He will then join them at a training camp in Dubai and could make his debut when the Serie A season resumes with a trip to Roma on January 11. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder added: "I'm really happy to be here, it is a great honor. I hope to add to the team, I hope to give everything that I've always given in my career. "To be able to have the chance to play for another one of the biggest clubs in the world, I've played for the biggest club in England, the biggest club in Spain and now I'm going to be playing for the biggest club in Italy, is amazing. "I've been very lucky in my career to have done that, and I'm just going to enjoy it because I think to be given this opportunity is incredible." added Beckham. |
President Robert Mugabe describes U.S. and West as "stupid and foolish" Power-share deal is stalled because of dispute over control of ministries . Zimbabwe faces cholera epidemic, economic crisis . Mugabe has resisted international calls for him to step down . | cfee25047af56c96372a9c0eb83fafbb8d74fa15 | HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe described the U.S. government and Western nations as "quite stupid and foolish" Tuesday for trying to be involved in the African country's affairs. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has ignored international calls for him to step down. Mugabe made the comments at the funeral for a former senior soldier, just days after a top U.S. diplomat said the United States no longer supports a power-sharing deal between Mugabe and his political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, that might pave the way for economic, health and other reforms. Jendayi Frazer, U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said Sunday that the U.S. felt a viable unity government was not possible with Mugabe in power. At the funeral, Mugabe reacted: "The inclusive government ... does not include Mr. Bush and his administration. It does not even know him. It has no relationship with him. Watch U.S. say Mugabe needs to go » . "So let him keep his comments to himself. They are undeserved, irrelevant and quite stupid and foolish. Who are they to decide who should be included or should not in an inclusive government?" Mugabe and Tsvangirai, who leads the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, signed the unity deal September 15, but Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and the MDC have failed to implement it because they cannot agree on who should control key ministries. Under the power-sharing proposal brokered by former South African leader Thabo Mbeki, Mugabe would remain president while Tsvangirai would become prime minister. Watch what options the international community has in Zimbabwe » . U.S. President George W. Bush and other leaders have urged Mugabe to step down amid a cholera epidemic that the United Nations says has killed more than 1,000 people since August. Mugabe blames Western sanctions for Zimbabwe's worst economic and humanitarian crisis since independence from Great Britain 28 years ago. The nation is facing acute shortages of fuel, electricity and medical drugs. The inflation rate -- the highest in the world -- is 231 million percent. Mugabe, referring to Bush's call for him to leave office, said: "We realize that these are [the] last kicks of a dying horse. We obviously [are] not going to pay attention to a sunset administration. Zimbabwe's fate lies in the fate of Zimbabweans. They are the ones who make and unmake the leaders of the country. Their decision alone is what we go by." Bush leaves office January 20. Tsvangirai announced Friday that his party will withdraw from efforts to form a unity government unless 42 kidnapped party members are released or brought to court to face formal charges by New Year's Day. |
Law officials says they still don't know location of family . Man's father says he spoke to all four family members . Family's car found abandoned in South Dakota on Tuesday . Sheriff says family went missing after deputy check on domestic abuse complaint . | ea399aea85d66cf944fc8884c8196fdfe4246dd3 | (CNN) -- Authorities in South Dakota and Nebraska on Friday suspended a search for a missing Nebraska family after a relative told authorities he spoke to his kin and said they are doing well. The Schade family of Creighton, Nebraska, is not missing, a relative says. Law officers still don't exactly know the location of Matthew Schade of Creighton, Nebraska; his wife Rowena, and their two children -- a daughter, 11, and a son, 8. But authorities think they might be in Nebraska because officials received a tip that a brush truck they suspect the couple stole from a volunteer fire department in South Dakota has been found abandoned in Antelope County, Nebraska. A brush truck is a type of small fire truck. The family was last seen on March 20 in Knox County, where Creighton is located. Knox Sheriff James Janecek said the family had gone missing after an officer went to their house on a domestic abuse complaint. Matthew Schade had been on probation for burglary and is wanted for violation of probation and failure to report a change of address, Antelope County Attorney Michael Long told CNN. Schade's father, Chet Schade, contacted the Knox sheriff's office on Thursday afternoon. He confirmed he had spoken with all four family members and said they were alive and well. The Knox County sheriff's office is urging the couple "to contact authorities immediately to resolve the situation." "They could only help themselves by giving us a call," Janecek said. Searchers had been searching for the family in South Dakota's Black Hills until it was determined the couple possibly made their way back to Nebraska. "The investigation clearly shows the Schade family is no longer in the Black Hills area," said the sheriff's office in Pennington County, South Dakota. Investigators think the Schades might have gone camping on U.S. Forest Service property in the Black Hills. Schade had visited the area in the past, and law officers found the family's Ford Taurus on Tuesday in Silver City, South Dakota. CNN's Kara Devlin and Joe Sterling contributed to this report. |
Hustler, "Girls Gone Wild" owners seek $5 billion bailout . Larry Flynt and Joe Francis say porn industry isn't suffering, but why take chances? Brown says this doesn't require commentary or condemnation . | bc3f96a46b6c8441d04547b6acd79689122724b5 | Editor's note: Campbell Brown anchors CNN's "Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull" at 8 p.m. ET Mondays through Fridays. She delivered this commentary during the "Cutting through the Bull" segment of Wednesday night's broadcast. CNN's Campbell Brown says Flynt and Francis have brought some absurdity to the financial news. (CNN) -- I have to mention tonight the headline that caught my eye on the CNN Ticker earlier today: "Porn Industry Seeks Federal Bailout." Yeah, you heard me. The porn industry wants a bailout. Leave it to Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and "Girls Gone Wild" CEO Joe Francis to take the absurdity of what is going on now with our federal bailout program to a whole new level. According to their press release, the adult entertainment industry needs $5 billion of your tax money because it, too, has been hit by the economic downturn. They concede the $13 billion industry is in no fear of collapse, but say in this environment, why take chances? I don't really think this requires commentary or condemnation, just thought you would enjoy it. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Campbell Brown. |
Villagers in Broughton summoned police after Google car arrived . Residents say the Street View service will help burglars scout targets . Google says it isn't breaking any laws . | cc9722663f76c0e2c449c3587a656c1790c1946b | (CNN) -- Google's ambitious plan to offer a 3-D street level view of communities across three continents hit a snag when angry residents of a UK village blocked the search engine's camera car from photographing their homes. Broughton, can be seen from the air on Google Earth, but not from the ground. Fearing the appearance of their well appointed properties on the Web site would attract criminals scouting for burglary targets, villagers in Broughton, north of London, summoned the police after spotting the car. "I was upstairs when I spotted the camera car driving down the lane," resident Paul Jacobs told The Times of London. "My immediate reaction was anger: How dare anyone take a photograph of my home without my consent? I ran outside to flag the car down and told the driver he was not only invading our privacy but also facilitating crime. "This is an affluent area. We've already had three burglaries locally in the past six weeks. If our houses are plastered all over Google it's an invitation for more criminals to strike. I was determined to make a stand, so I called the police." Google's Street View project to map 360-degree images of roads and homes across the world has generated numerous complaints over privacy, despite automated software that blurs faces and car licence plates. A Google spokesman, quoted by the UK Press Association, said: "Embarking on new projects, we sometimes encounter unexpected challenges, and Street View has been no exception. "We know that some people are uncomfortable with images of their houses or cars being included in the product, which is why we provide an easy way to request removal of imagery. Most imagery requests are processed within hours." The spokesman added: "We take privacy very seriously, and we were careful to ensure that all images in our Street View service abide by UK law." |
Afghan forces investigating death of woman caught in crossfire of gunbattle . NATO says 12 militants also died in the battle in Logar province . NATO said initial indications are the woman was killed by militants . | 11985544e10ab6e31b85fa88afc85df7c67afde6 | KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- NATO-led troops killed 12 insurgents in a firefight Friday in Afghanistan, and a civilian caught in the crossfire was apparently killed by militants, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. U.S. Marines fire 120mm mortars on Taliban positions on April 3 in Now Zad in Helmand province, Afghanistan. The incident occurred south of Kabul in the eastern Afghan province of Logar, when Afghan security forces and ISAF troops were conducting an operation. It comes as NATO members meet in Europe to discuss the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and as human rights groups this week urged NATO and the U.S. military to avoid civilian casualties and develop a well-coordinated condolence payment system for civilians victimized in the war. Troops saw a large group of insurgents placing a roadside bomb. The militants retreated to a compound and attacked ISAF troops with small arms. Troops surrounded the compound and urged them to surrender peacefully after it was cordoned off. It also asked the people in the compound to release women and children but no civilians left. Troops assaulted the compound and 12 male insurgents were killed in gunfire. Troops found one woman who was killed in the crossfire by insurgent small arms fire, ISAF said. An investigation is being conducted by Afghan National Security Forces at the site. Initial indications show that the woman was killed by insurgent small arms fire. Eight AK47 rifles, two rocket propelled grenade launchers, several rocket canisters, 82mm mortars, and two heavy machine guns were found in the compound. "ANSF and ISAF are making significant progress against insurgent groups in Logar province who are involved in murdering civilians with IEDs," said Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette, ISAF spokesman. "Today's firefight illustrates the difference between ISAF troops who risk their lives to protect civilians, and insurgents who deliberately and tragically place civilians at risk." Also, ISAF reported the death of a soldier from the NATO-led force Friday in eastern Afghanistan. The soldier died of wounds and another was injured after what was described as a "hostile incident." "On behalf of the men and women of the International Security Assistance Force, I offer our heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of the brave soldier killed, and our support to the soldier wounded in this incident," Blanchette said. "As we recognize their sacrifice in our battle against a vicious insurgency, we will continue supporting the Afghan National Security Forces so that the Afghan people reap the tangible benefits of peace in their day-to-day lives." Overnight in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, troops killed four militants in an operation targeting a mid-level Taliban commander responsible for attacks against Afghan civilians and coalition forces. The commander directed attacks in December in Musa Qala, including one that killed 12 Afghan civilians. |
A large Antarctic ice shelf is cracking and may break away . Scientists are investigating whether or not climate change is to blame . Satellite photos show cracks in the Wilkins Ice Shelf . The ice sheet formed over thousands of years by accumulated snow . | 081e728adb742dc87aa6d9a2d25b6d7199a0e617 | (CNN) -- A large ice shelf is "imminently" close to breaking away from part of the Antarctic Peninsula, scientists said Friday. Scientists are investigating whether the ice breakup is caused by global climate change. Satellite images released by the European Space Agency on Friday show new cracks in the Wilkins Ice Shelf where it connects to Charcot Island, a piece of land considered part of the peninsula. The cracks are quickly expanding, the ESA said. Scientists are investigating the causes for the breakups and whether it is linked to global climate change. The Wilkins Ice Shelf -- a large mass of floating ice -- would still be connected to Latady Island, which is also part of the peninsula, and Alexander Island, which is not, said professor David Vaughan, a glaciologist at the British Antarctic Survey. The ice shelf experienced a great amount of changes last year, the ESA said. In February 2008, the shelf dropped 164 square miles (425 square kilometers) of ice. In May it lost a 62-square-mile chunk. That meant the "bridge" of ice connecting Wilkins to the islands was just 984 yards wide at its narrowest location, the ESA said. Further rifts developed in October and November, said Angelika Humbert of the Institute of Geophysics at Germany's Muenster University. "During the last year the ice shelf has lost about 1800 square kilometers (694 square miles), or about 14 percent of its size," Humbert said. Antarctica's ice sheet was formed over thousands of years by accumulated and compacted snow. Along the coast, the ice gradually floats on the sea, forming massive ledges known as ice shelves, the ESA says. Several of these ice shelves, including seven in the past 20 years, have retreated and disintegrated. The Wilkins Ice Shelf had been stable for most of the past century before it began retreating in the 1990s. "It had been there almost unchanged since the first expeditions which mapped it back in the 1930s, so it had a very long period of real stability, and it's only in the last decade that it's started to retreat," Vaughan said. Wilkins is the size of the state of Connecticut, or about half the area of Scotland. It is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened. If the ice shelf breaks away from the peninsula, it will not cause a rise in sea level because it is already floating, scientists say. Some plants and animals may have to adapt to the collapse. The Antarctic Peninsula is the piece of the continent that stretches toward South America. |
NEW: Johanna Sigurdardottir sworn in Sunday . Sigurdardottir was social affairs minister in outgoing Cabinet . Predecessor Haarde resigned after the collapse of Iceland's main banks . She has been a member of Iceland's Parliament for 30 years . | 45f082a9280d94f7426a7d5b8736df38c4d03f88 | (CNN) -- Johanna Sigurdardottir was sworn in as Iceland's prime minister on Sunday, becoming the world's first openly gay premier and the first woman to take the post in Iceland. Johanna Sigurdardottir is a former flight attendant and union leader. Sigurdardottir, 66, took office less than a week after the Cabinet resigned amid fallout from Iceland's financial collapse. A former flight attendant who entered politics via the union movement, Sigurdardottir was minister of social affairs and social security in the outgoing Cabinet, which resigned Monday. Iceland has been in political turmoil since October, when its currency, stock market and leading banks collapsed amid the global financial crisis. The island nation's Nordic neighbors sent billions of dollars to prop up the economy, as did the International Monetary Fund in its first intervention to support a Western European democracy in decades. But weekly demonstrations -- some verging on riots -- finally forced Prime Minister Geir Haarde and his coalition to resign en masse on January 26. The country's president turned to the Social Democratic Alliance party to form a new government, and they selected Sigurdardottir to lead it. She has been a member of Iceland's Parliament for 30 years, and was in her second stint as minister of social affairs. She started her career as a flight attendant for the airline that became IcelandAir. She was active in the flight attendants' labor union during her 11 years with the airline, according to her official resume. She briefly led her own political party, which merged with other center-left parties to form the Alliance party. Sigurdardottir is Iceland's first female prime minister, although not the North Atlantic nation's first female head of state -- Vigdis Finnbogadottir became its fourth president in 1980. Sigurdardottir lists author and playwright Jonina Leosdottir, 54, as her spouse on her ministry Web site. She has two children from an earlier marriage. Her prime ministership may be short-lived. The government she is forming is only due to last until the next elections, which must take place by May and could be held in April. A statement posted by the new government on Iceland's Web site promised elections "as soon as circumstances allow," and said the interim government "will base itself on a very prudent and responsible policy in economic and fiscal matters." The statement added that the government will treat as priorities "the principles of sustainable development, women's rights, equality and justice." Stonewall, a leading British gay and lesbian rights group, welcomed Sigurdardottir's appointment as a milestone. "It really does matter. It is helpful" to have an openly gay prime minister, said Gary Nunn, a Stonewall spokesperson. "We are trying to foster the ambition that young people can be anything they want to be." |
NEW: Wind-driven fire had grown to 8,000 acres Saturday night . Two homes and one business destroyed, hundreds threatened in Wheeler . Wind gusts up to 60 mph hampered helicopters and other firefighting vehicles . | 9fa3b932140bb7d4275c5093a24242fc6ee69e21 | (CNN) -- Parts of the Texas town of Wheeler were evacuated Saturday as strong, shifting winds fanned wildfires that had already destroyed three buildings, law enforcement officials said. Wildfires in the Texas panhandle are being fed by sustained winds of about 40 mph. Two homes and one business had been burned down by a fire that had grown to engulf about 8,000 acres by Saturday night, said Lewis Kearney, a spokesman for Texas emergency services. Another 12 homes had been damaged, and 300 homes and 60 business were threatened, according to a report from state emergency officials. The heavy winds -- sustained at about 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph -- were making it hard for helicopters and other firefighting vehicles to battle the blaze, Kearney said. Further complicating matters were three other smaller fires, about 100 acres each, elsewhere in the state that had already stretched emergency resources. There were no immediate reports of injuries in the Wheeler fire. About 200 residents of the town of about 1,400 people on the eastern edge of the Texas panhandle were evacuated Saturday, state officials reported. The fire was believed to have started at about 4 p.m. ET Saturday, according to the state report. |
Protesters carrying Tibetan flags chanted "China Murderers" Police say five activists arrested . Wen Jiabao on three day visit to UK . | 920f852c08f4fad73ac66079c5d61d2d2026e7a9 | LONDON, England (CNN) -- Pro-Tibet activists jumped security barriers and scuffled with police outside the Chinese embassy in London Sunday as hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest a visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. A pro-Tibet protester runs past a police cordon outside the Chinese Embassy in London. Protesters carrying Tibetan flags chanted "China Murderers," and "China Out of Tibet," as Wen, on a three day trip to Britain, arrived at the embassy. China has long been criticized by the international community for its human rights record in Tibet. Tibetans are pushing for autonomy from China and greater religious freedom. Wen was greeted at the embassy by a firecracker display in honor of the Chinese New Year before being escorted inside by security personnel. A group of protesters attempted to jump over security blockades when Wen's motorcade arrived at the embassy. Several were wrestled to the ground by police and arrested. Police said five people were detained, according to the UK's Press Association. Approximately 150 Chinese counter-protesters were also at the demonstration chanting pro-Chinese slogans. Watch demonstrations outside the Chinese embassay in London » . Wen is due to meet British opposition party leaders on Sunday before sitting down with Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday. Brown was among a number of international leaders who skipped the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, amid an intense campaign from human rights groups opposed to China's international policies and human rights record. |
NEW: Judge reopens deportation hearings on accused former death camp guard . NEW: John Demjanjuk's attorney says client's health "has seriously deteriorated." Demjanjuk, 89, has been fighting charges of war crimes for more than two decades . Germany accuses him of being accessory to 29,000 murders at Sobibor . | fda8bc70b80bba64403fedee42c1bd993de476fe | (CNN) -- An immigration judge with the U.S. Justice Department has granted a stay to John Demjanjuk, the Nazi war crimes suspect who had been ordered deported to Germany, his lawyer said Friday. John Demjanjuk appears in court in Jerusalem in 1987 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. John Broadley said the stay was ordered after Judge Wayne Iskra in Arlington, Virginia, decided to reopen deportation proceedings. "In the four years since his deportation was ordered, his health has seriously deteriorated," Broadley told CNN in a telephone interview. Broadley had argued that Sunday's plan to send Demjanjuk to Germany, which has issued an arrest warrant for him, and putting him through the rigors of a trial there would be tantamount to torture. Demjanjuk -- a Ukrainian -- is accused of involvement during World War II in killings at a Nazi German death camp in Poland. He denies the allegations. The retired auto worker celebrated his 89th birthday Friday with his wife at their home in Cleveland. Broadley said Demjanjuk suffers from pre-leukemia, kidney problems, spinal problems and "a couple of types of gout." German authorities issued the warrant for Demjanjuk on March 10, accusing him of being an accessory to 29,000 counts of murder as a guard at the Sobibor death camp from March to September 1943. Demjanjuk says he fought in the Soviet army and later was a prisoner of war held by the Germans. Demjanjuk has been fighting charges of Nazi war crimes for well over two decades. He was extradited from the United States to Israel, where he was convicted in 1986 of being "Ivan the Terrible," a guard at the notorious Treblinka extermination camp. The conviction was overturned by Israeli courts on appeal and he returned to the United States. The United States filed new charges against him in 1999, again alleging that he had been a concentration camp guard. A federal judge found in 2002 that Demjanjuk had been a guard at the Sobibor death camp, where a quarter of a million people were killed during World War II, and at two other concentration camps. Prosecutors argued that Demjanjuk concealed his history when he came to the United States in 1952. He was stripped of U.S. citizenship and has been awaiting deportation since 2005, despite fighting his case all the way to the Supreme Court. CNN's Diana Magnay contributed to this report. |
Family of Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers consents to coverage of his casket's return . Body of Myers brought to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Sunday night . This is first time that media coverage has been allowed since ban in 1991 . In February, President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates overturned policy . | 246fee6f3582fbd73b3abd3ea1b4af76e7d8cfba | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For the first time since media coverage was banned in 1991, the return of the body of a fallen member of the U.S. armed forces was opened to news outlets late Sunday. A transport plane carries caskets of U.S. servicemen in this photo the Pentagon released in 2005. The U.S. Air Force informed media on Sunday that the family of Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers consented to allowing coverage of his casket being returned to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Myers, 30, of Hopewell, Virginia, was a member of an engineering unit based in Britain. He died Saturday in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military reported. In February, President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates overturned a policy that dated back to the first Persian Gulf war. They agreed to allow reporters to observe the remains of American troops being returned to the U.S. military mortuary at Dover, as long as families agreed. The policy was supposed to take effect on Monday, and no reason was given why reporters were allowed to view the proceedings on Sunday. Watch report on lifting of the ban » . |
Charla Nash, 55, transferred from Connecticut by airplane . Friend's chimp mauled and bit her on Monday . Woman received extensive injuries to face, hands, doctors have said . Connecticut's attorney general wants primates banned as pets in that state . | 27616d370c21befb5334174c2417a160e016317d | (CNN) -- A Connecticut woman attacked Monday by her friend's pet chimpanzee was taken Thursday from a Connecticut hospital to the famed Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, a hospital spokeswoman said. She would not divulge the victim's condition nor the reason for the move. Travis, seen here as a younger chimp, was fatally shot by police after attacking Nash, authorities say. Charla Nash, 55, was transferred by airplane and ambulance to the clinic, where doctors in December performed the first facial transplant in the United States. The attack has raised questions about whether exotic animals should be kept as pets. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday that primates and crocodiles should be added to a state list of animals citizens are not allowed to own. Nash initially was taken to Stamford Hospital, where she underwent seven hours of surgery after she was attacked by the 14-year-old chimp, named Travis. Nash's friend, Sandra Herold, 70, had called Nash for help in getting the animal back inside her house after he used a key to escape. When Nash arrived at Herold's Stamford home, the chimp, who has been featured in TV commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy, jumped on her and began biting and mauling her, police said. Doctors said Wednesday that Nash had received extensive injuries to her face and hands. A Stamford police officer fatally shot the nearly 200-pound chimp after the primate turned on him inside a police cruiser, police said. Herold told reporters at her home that she and the chimp slept together and that she considered him like a son. |
Robert Pires believes Villarreal can upset Arsenal's Champions League dream . Pires' final game for Arsenal came in 2006 Champions final loss to Barcelona . Arsenal striker Robin van Persie misses the trip to Spain with a groin injury . | 2dfdcae5329624556ee722563ae69ae63dacbcbe | (CNN) -- Robert Pires is confident Villarreal -- nickname 'the Yellow Submarine' -- can torpedo the Champions League dreams of former club Arsenal in Tuesday's quarterfinal first leg clash in Spain. Robert Pires made his final apearance for Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League final defeat against Barcelona. "We can beat them, for sure," said the former French internationa\. "We would not come on the pitch if we were not convinced that we are good enough to go through. "I would say that I expect a spectacular game between two teams that look like each other a lot. Hopefully we will see many goals." The 35-year-old spent six successful seasons at Highbury, and made his last appearance for the Gunners in the 2006 Champions League final when he was substituted in an early tactical change following the sending off of goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. Such an exit was not the way Pires wanted to bring the curtain down on an Arsenal career which had seen him help guide Arsene Wenger's side through an unbeaten Premier League campaign in 2003/2004. "I have always had a tremendous relationship with the Arsenal fans and these games will be the occasion for me to say goodbye to them," Pires told www.setanta.com. "Not having been able to say goodbye to them is a pain to me. "I wanted to have the chance to thank the Highbury public for their support, but I could not do it because my last game was the Champions League final with Barcelona. "Then I announced my departure to Villarreal three days later and did not see them again. Sincerely, this draw is emotional to me, and fills me with nostalgia as well, that is for sure." Pires was sent off in the 3-0 weekend defeat at Almeria that saw midfielder Santi Cazorla break an ankle in a match that left Manuel Pellegrini's team in fourth place. Spain international midfielder Marcos Senna is, though, expected to be fit to face the Gunners. Arsenal striker Robin van Persie misses the trip to Spain with a groin injury, but Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott have been passed fit for the clash at El Madrigal after a virus and knee injury respectively. Manager Arsene Wenger paid tribute to his players on arrival in Spain and maintained that he is "confident" of a positive outcome over the two legs. Midfielder Andrey Arshavin is ineligible having played for Zenit St Petersburg during the group stages. Striker Eduardo (groin) and midfielder Abou Diaby (thigh) remain sidelined, while long-term absentee Tomas Rosicky continues his recovery. |
President Obama has promised to sign Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act . Act would alter time limit for pay-discrimination suits, makes them easier to file . Limit would be based on date of most recent unfair paycheck, not the first . Act named for woman whose discrimination victory was overturned in 2007 . | 44f0c8c7c19b94858959a3b95f8490b5f3345705 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would make suing for pay discrimination easier by altering a time limit on such suits. The act is named for Lilly Ledbetter, seen here in 2008. Her discrimination lawsuit victory was overturned in 2007. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which passed 250-177, would give workers alleging unequal pay the right to sue within 180 days of their most recent paycheck. Current law says such employees must sue within 180 days of receiving their first unfair paycheck. Supporters of the new legislation say that, under the current law, an employer merely needs to hide unfair pay practices for three months before being able to continue them without penalty. The act, named for a former Goodyear Tire employee who sued the company for gender discrimination in 1998, would effectively overturn a 2007 Supreme Court decision on the limit. Ledbetter was awarded $360,000 in back pay by a federal judge in Alabama, but the verdict was overturned in a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in May 2007. The court said that even though she filed her complaint within 180 days of when she first learned that she was getting paid less than comparable male employees, she had failed to file within 180 days of the first unequal paycheck. After Tuesday's House vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the chamber had "taken a bold step" in passing the legislation. "In doing so, it has injected fairness, reason and common sense back into policy," Pelosi said. The legislation, which passed the Senate on Thursday, now goes to President Barack Obama, who has promised to sign it into law. It is the first major piece of legislation Congress has sent to Obama for his approval. On the campaign trail, Obama and Republican nominee Sen. John McCain debated the bill. Obama heavily emphasized what he called the plan's benefits to working women, while McCain criticized it as a boon for trial lawyers. Pelosi said Obama called to congratulate her on the bill's passage. Obama danced with Ledbetter at one of his inaugural balls, and she spoke at the Democrat National Convention at which he accepted his party's nomination. "My case is over -- I will never receive the pay I deserve," Ledbetter said in that speech. "But there will be a far richer reward if we secure fair pay for our children and grandchildren, so that no one will ever again experience the discrimination that I did." |
NEW: Police imply person or persons involved in Sandra Cantu's death from area . Police plan to church near mobile park home where Sandra's family lived . Sandra was found in suitcase in a dairy-farm pond near her California home . Sandra had been missing since March 27 from her home in Tracy, California . | a1706a9e4b39e4233e70b396cb6855db06651e14 | (CNN) -- Police said they are pursuing leads in the death of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, whose body was found Monday stuffed into a suitcase in a dairy-farm pond near her Tracy, California, home. Sandra Cantu, 8, disappeared March 27. Her body was found at a dairy-farm pond near her Calilfornia home. "We are heading in a direction," Tracy police Sgt. Tony Sheneman told reporters. "To comment on that would compromise the investigation, and I can't do that." A search warrant was executed at the Tracy mobile home park where the girl lived, and a related search was to be conducted Tuesday at a nearby church, he said. He implied more than one person may have been involved in the death of Sandra, who had been missing since March 27. "Investigators are looking at additional information they received since yesterday and, hopefully, that will lead us to Sandra's killers," he said. Asked if his use of the plural meant police were looking for more than one person, he responded, "We have no specific suspects, ma'am." Sheneman also implied the killer likely was familiar with the location where the body was found. He said he himself was unfamiliar with the location where the girl's body was found, despite having lived in the community for nearly 12 years. "Someone would have to be familiar with that area to know to go there," he said. Watch how the suitcase was found » . Sheneman said police had no one in custody, despite having interviewed hundreds of people regarding the case. "Everyone that we speak to right now is being considered a person of interest," he said. "We're not eliminating anyone." The autopsy was being conducted Tuesday, but it was not clear when the report would be available. "It's going to be some time before we hear from the coroner," Sheneman said. "I can't tell you when that's going to be." More than 10 search warrants have been executed as part of the investigation and "a lot" of evidence has been recovered, Sheneman said. The day Sandra was last reported seen, she returned home from school, kissed her mother and left to play with a friend who lives nearby. A short time later, wearing a pink Hello Kitty T-shirt and black leggings, she left to go to another friend's home, according to a family spokeswoman. Police said Monday the girl's clothing helped them identify the body. |
Megan Joy dropped from "American Idol" on Wednesday night . She had dismissed judge Simon Cowell's criticism; Cowell dismissed her . Joy says "Idol" has opened up new worlds for her . | 899df0fd859b4c43b75d25482bcd471d93911b0c | LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- It's no secret that "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell often shows no mercy toward aspiring singers. Quirky, tattooed contestant Megan Joy Corkrey discovered that Wednesday night during the elimination round on the popular singing competition. Megan Joy said she and Simon Cowell remain on good terms. Megan Joy, who dropped her last name, told Cowell that she "didn't really care" about his criticisms of her Tuesday night performance of Bob Marley's "Turn The Lights Down Low," which he described as "boring, indulgent and monotonous." Those comments sealed the 23-year-old single mother's fate. Host Ryan Seacrest asked Cowell if he would be using the "save" rule in Megan's case. Cowell demurred: "Megan, with the greatest respect, when you said that you don't care -- nor do we. So I'm not going to pretend that we're even going to contemplate saving you," replied Cowell. "I don't care that Simon didn't like that song," Joy said in an interview with CNN on Friday. "I truly didn't and I still don't. I still loved it, I sang it the way I wanted to." Watch what CNN's Michelle Wright said about Megan Joy » . Despite all the bickering, Joy says that she and Cowell remain on good terms. After Wednesday's program, she says they both laughed and he told her that he enjoyed watching her. Watch what CNN's Lisa Respers France thought of performance » . Furthermore, the self-described "dork" says her "American Idol" experience has opened new doors to her future. "Before all this competition, I thought I was just going to be a stay-at-home mom," Joy said. "Now, I am interested to see all sorts of different things I could possibly try and dabble. ... I'm excited to just see what's out there." And those bizarre moments onstage Wednesday when she flapped her arms and squawked like a bird? Joy says that's just her personality. "I do a lot of sound effects all the time, bird noises, animal noises," she said. "Wednesday, I kind of had a feeling it was going to be me ... so I decided that I'm just going to be myself and be silly out there." |
Fargo spokeswoman says city has goal of filling 1 million more sandbags . "I don't think people are as worried" as they were in late March, she says . National Weather Service issued flood warning due to precipitation forecast . | 021ea5c8d96f0466c810ec304059095437886dab | (CNN) -- In anticipation of more flooding next week, residents of Fargo, North Dakota, began stacking sandbags Wednesday for the second time in just over two weeks along the banks of the Red River. A trucker relaxes April 1 on sandbag pallets in Fargo, North Dakota, which is preparing for more flooding. They hoped to fill 1 million, said Fargo spokeswoman Karena Lunday. "If we get a million, that will be a total of 4 million we've made since the flood started," she said. The first sandbag effort began about March 23. The Red River crested at nearly 41 feet at Fargo on March 28, breaking a record that had held since 1897, when the Red River reached 40.1 feet. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning Tuesday, predicting that melting snow -- and possibly rain -- will start to raise river levels on the Red River south of Oslo, Minnesota, this week. Lunday said forecasters expected the river to crest there between April 16-18, possibly reaching 35 feet on April 14. "I don't think people are as worried as they were the last time, but the possibility of getting up to 40 feet is a concern," Lunday told CNN. The Red River meanders along the border between North Dakota and Minnesota, so many other cities also were bracing for flooding. |
Barack Obama merchandise is a big hit among new president's supporters . T-shirts, earrings, champagne and cookies are popular items . Obama face masks and Spiderman comic featuring Obama fly off shelves . | 3a8a6d9b9cfa2e53e3916d723488226d7dc8b28c | LONDON, England (CNN) -- The global economy is in the doldrums but the market for merchandise featuring the world's new mega-star shows no sign of tailing off. Obama T-shirts and merchandise are flying off the shelves at the moment. At the inauguration ceremony for U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday, thousands wore T-shirts, caps and watches featuring his image and even popping bottles of Barack bubbly. Pens, pin badges and $5 cookies emblazoned with Obama's image are hugely popular in the U.S. while the Internet is helping to satisfy demand for other items around the world. Here are some pieces of merchandise available online: . Barack Obama action figure: 15-centimeter (6-inch) tall, electroplated statue in a gold suit could be yours for $39. However, the seller says that due to high demand the action figure is sold out. Barack Obama thimble: If you're curious, then these are made out of porcelain so would be unsuitable for conventional sewing. Obama face masks: These flew off the shelves when they first hit the markets in Japan in December and could be a hit at a fancy dress party. Barack Obama earrings: To symbolize Barack Obama's African heritage, these earrings have a photograph of the president on a tiny map of the continent made from wood. Replica inauguration tickets: The government printed 250,000 tickets for the inauguration in Washington, but some were reportedly sold online for $40,000. Pick up a framed replica then for just a few dollars. Have you purchased any Obama merchandise? Share your stories with us . Obama campaign poster: A set of six Obama campaign posters are on sale for $3,000. New York Times inauguration newspaper could be yours for $10.50, plus $12.80 to post it from the U.S. of course. "RUN DC" T-shirt: Was Obama in the 1980s hip-hop band? He certainly looks like it when dressed in geeky glasses, trilby hat and chain. |
Couple won auction to clone family dog, biotech company says . Lancey is world's first commercially cloned dog, company says . DNA of deceased dog sent to S. Korea, and cloned puppy born November 18 . Humane Society says it's against commercial cloning of animals . | d43fb2b8f2a2c85e4cce3e32c94cf81aeba8c9be | (CNN) -- Every dog has his day, but Sir Lancelot -- or at least his carbon copy -- has a second one. Edgar and Nina Otto show off 10-week-old Lancey, a clone of "the most human of any dog we've ever had." A Boca Raton, Florida, couple paid a California firm $155,000 to clone their beloved Labrador retriever, who died from cancer a year ago. The clone, a 10-week-old puppy dubbed Lancey, was hand-delivered to them earlier this week by Lou Hawthorne, chairman of BioArts International, a biotechnology company. "One minute with Lancey and you know he's special. He's both extremely aware and very sweet," Hawthorne said in a BioArts statement. Edgar and Nina Otto said they began thinking about cloning Sir Lancelot about five years ago. "I said 'Well, you know, it wouldn't hurt to have his DNA frozen,' and that's what we did," Nina Otto told CNN affiliate WPBF. The Ottos were one of five families to bid and win a BioArts auction for a chance to clone their family dog, according to a BioArts statement. Lancey is the world's first commercially cloned dog, the company said; the Ottos are the first of six current clients to receive their clone. Sir Lancelot's DNA sample was sent to the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in Seoul, South Korea, which provides cloning services to BioArts. Researchers there put the DNA into an egg, and Lancey was born November 18, according to BioArts. The Ottos said they have had many beloved dogs over the years -- and have nine others currently -- but maintain Sir Lancelot was special. "Sir Lancelot was the most human of any dog we've ever had," Edgar Otto said in the BioArts statement. "He was a prince among dogs." In an interview with WPBF, Edgar Otto said Sir Lancelot "was a very, very, very special dog to us. And we've given a lot more to the Humane Society than we've ever spent on this project." Watch the Ottos talk about Lancelot and Lancey » . For its part, the Humane Society of the United States says it's against the commercial cloning of animals. "Given the current pet overpopulation problem, which costs millions of animals their lives and millions in public tax dollars each year, the cloning of pets has no social value and in fact may lead to increased animal suffering," the organization said on its Web site. "For those looking to replace a lost pet, cloning will not create an animal identical to the one who is gone; cloning cannot replicate an animal's uniqueness. Cloning can only replicate the pet's genetics, which influence but do not determine his physical attributes or personality." The Ottos, however, said replicating Sir Lancelot's genetics is enough for them. Edgar Otto said he realizes Lancey might not be just like their departed dog, but "if he's different, we're not going to love him any less." Edgar Otto is the son of the late Edwin Otto, who was part of the founding of NASCAR and a "motorsports pioneer," according to www.ottomotorsports.com. |
Los Angeles police investigating leak of photo of a battered woman . TMZ Web site says photo is of R&B singer Rihanna . Rihanna allegedly attacked by her boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, on February 8 . The two were scheduled to perform at the Grammys . | 095847ff43bfc2c06e4bac2e12f0336d3628b110 | (CNN) -- Los Angeles police have launched an internal investigation to determine who leaked a picture that appears to show a bruised and battered Rihanna. Rihanna was allegedly attacked by her boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, before the Grammys on February 8. The close-up photo -- showing a woman with contusions on her forehead and below her eyes, and cuts on her lip -- was published on the entertainment Web site TMZ Thursday. TMZ said it was a photo of Rihanna. Twenty-one-year-old Rihanna was allegedly attacked by her boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, on a Los Angeles street before the two were to perform at the Grammys on February 8. "The unauthorized release of a domestic violence photograph immediately generated an internal investigation," an L.A. police spokesman said in a statement. "The Los Angeles Police Department takes seriously its duty to maintain the confidentiality of victims of domestic violence. A violation of this type is considered serious misconduct, with penalties up to and including termination." A spokeswoman for Rihanna declined to comment. The chief investigator in the case had told CNN earlier that authorities had tried to guard against leaks. Detective Deshon Andrews said he had kept the case file closely guarded and that no copies had been made of the original photos and documents. Brown was arrested on February 8 in connection with the case and and booked on suspicion of making criminal threats. Authorities are trying to determine whether Brown should face domestic violence-related charges. Brown apologized for the incident this week. "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired," the 19-year-old said in a statement released by his spokesman. "I am seeking the counseling of my pastor, my mother and other loved ones and I am committed, with God's help, to emerging a better person." CNN's Brittany Kaplan contributed to this report. |
EW: Singer achieves hooky dance-pop greatness . Robyn had early success in the 1990s with hits such as "Show Me Love" Her look and style has been compared to singer Pink . | bc928cf8714e0a3f2d0d3774e76dae64ef84c203 | (Entertainment Weekly) -- If there were any justice, the divas who've been trading off the No. 1 slot -- Mariah, Madonna, and newcomer Leona Lewis -- would also be slugging it out with a platinum-blond dark horse from Scandinavia. Swedish singer Robyn performs in London on April 19. Enter Sweden's Robyn, who arrives Stateside with "Robyn," an album that's a veritable parade of Songs of the Summer. After landing a few mediocre teen-pop hits in the '90s (namely "Show Me Love"), she's forsaken her white-soul dullness for hooky dance-pop greatness with help from electro-favoring fellow Swedes like the Teddybears and the Knife. From the girly hip-hop of ''Konichiwa Bitches'' to the Eurodisco defiance of ''With Every Heartbeat,'' she's developed a real backbone to go with that asymmetrical 'do. Not since Pink's "M!ssundaztood" has an easily dismissed young thrush made so unexpected a leap to career artist. That comparison starts with Robyn's first single, ''Handle Me'' -- a less nasty but even hookier version of Pink's lounge-lizard-repelling "U + Ur Hand." But she hardly sticks to playing a tough cookie: The next song, "Bum Like You," offers an amusing, knowing lesson in How to Fall for a Jerk 101. Meanwhile, in the pensive, timbales-'n'-synths-driven "Who's That Girl," Robyn decries her guy's impossible standards. "Good girls are pretty, like, all the time," she sings. "I'm just pretty some of the time." Her album, however? Fantastic all of the time. EW Grade: A E-mail to a friend . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . Copyright 2009 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved. |
The Marines' Toys for Tots program has distributed donated toys for 60 years . Bad economy has resulted in more requests for toys and fewer donations . Marines will fall short of 16.6 million toys distributed last year . In Atlanta and San Francisco areas, donations down 30 percent . | e48522648be20bb709bff82ff7e042e2499c8a8b | (CNN) -- The Marines have been making children's Christmas dreams come true for nearly 60 years, but the corps may be seeing fewer smiles this year. Volunteer Betty Whelan sorts donated toys in a Toys for Tots center in Boston, Massachusetts. With demand up due to the poor economy and toy donations down, Toys for Tots, the Marine Corps' program that distributes Christmas toys to children in need, is facing one of its toughest years, according to Bill Grein, the Toys for Tots Foundation vice president. Grein said the program last year distributed approximately 16.6 million toys and books, but this year he doesn't think they will be able to reach that number. "We always run out of toys before we run out of children," he said, but this year "it's a major problem." Grein said that the program is getting more requests than in previous years and cities like Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Miami, Florida; Fresno, California; Atlanta, Georgia, and many others are hurting for donations. "Every kid deserves a present," said Marine Sgt. Daniel Sampson of the Toys for Tots program in Boston, Massachusetts. "Right now, we're not sending out as much as we should be." In the Washington area, the Marines need to find toys for 82,000 children, but "we are tens of thousands of toys behind," Master Sgt Timothy Butler said. If they can't fill the need and get every child on the list a toy for Christmas, Butler said, "It's gonna break my heart." Last year, the Marines were able to raise $13,000 in donations from people at Union Station, a major commuter hub in downtown Washington, but this year the Marines will be "lucky to get half that," Staff Sgt. Johnny Noble said. In Atlanta, Toys for Tots administration chief Edward Barrett said they had received 241,814 donations, well short of their goal of 800,000. Barrett understands that the economy has a lot to do with the lack of contributions, and he estimates that donations are down by about 30 percent this year. In San Francisco, California, Gunnery Sgt. Timothy Anthamatten said the Toys for Tots program there was also seeing a 30 percent decrease in toy and monetary donations. In Boston, last minute donations came to the rescue. According to volunteer Kay Carpenter, the Boston Toys for Tots program used money that came in last week to buy $15,000 worth of toys, hopefully, enough to fill all of their orders. But, nationally, Toys for Tots bins are still empty. "We're Marines and we set goals," Edwards said, "and when we can't achieve those goals that's frustrating." CNN's Bethany Swain contributed to this report. |
NEW: Ruth Madoff made withdrawals in November and December . Money taken from Massachusetts company "intertwined" with New York company . Madoff faces one charge of securities fraud and could face up to 20 years in prison . | f90e6e64c3862a562b81057b898fd24fc362cf4a | NEW YORK (CNN) -- The wife of accused swindler Bernard Madoff pulled $15.5 million out of a Madoff-related brokerage firm in Massachusetts in the weeks before his arrest, authorities there disclosed Wednesday. Bernard Madoff is under 24-hour house arrest in his Upper East Side luxury apartment. The withdrawals by Ruth Madoff took place in November and December, according to a complaint filed by state regulators against Cohmad Securities, a firm they said was "intertwined" with Madoff's New York-based company. The regulators say Cohmad has refused to provide information about its ties to Madoff, who is accused of running a Ponzi scheme that may have cost investors up to $50 billion. Daily wire transaction reports show Cohmad was aware of transfers to and from Madoff-related accounts, the filing states. "For example, the few reports produced by Cohmad show that Ruth Madoff withdrew $5.5 million on November 25, 2008 and withdrew $10 million on December 10, 2008," investigators said. Bernard Madoff, 70, was arrested December 11 and is currently under house arrest in his Manhattan luxury apartment. He faces one charge of securities fraud in connection with an international scheme that has cost some investors their life savings and could face up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine if convicted. In January, prosecutors tried to revoke his $10 million bail after he mailed more than $1 million worth of diamond-studded jewelry to friends and family, a move they said showed he was trying to move assets out of government hands. But a judge ruled Madoff was neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk. Prosecutors and Madoff's lawyers have agreed for a second time to push back the deadline for an indictment or probable cause hearing for the former investor, sources close to the case said Wednesday. The previous deadline of Wednesday -- which was itself a delay -- has now been moved back another 30 days. Madoff and the Securities and Exchange Commission already have agreed to a partial civil judgment against the disgraced investment manager, one that could eventually force him to pay fines and return investors' money. Under the terms of the deal, Madoff will keep a previously reached agreement to freeze his assets and not to violate any other securities laws, but it does not require him to admit or deny any allegations. CNN's Allan Chernoff and Amy Sahba contributed to this report. |
Photographer Peter Turnley covered President Barack Obama's inauguration . He traveled by bus with 40 African-Americans from Brooklyn, New York . Moment was like no other "in terms of its historic magnitude," Turnley says . | 6374622dc8d44ade1b2d395288d6b587eba595d4 | Editor's Note: For more than two decades, world-renowned photojournalist Peter Turnley has covered nearly every significant news event and world conflict in Bosnia, Rwanda, Chechnya, Haiti, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq. His photographs have graced the covers of Newsweek, National Geographic, Le Monde, Le Figaro and The London Sunday Times. Peter Turnley took this photo of an Obama supporter on Inauguration Day. NEW YORK (CNN) -- On Sunday morning, I boarded a bus in Brooklyn with a group of approximately 40 citizens from New York, all African-American, each of whom would not have missed for almost anything the inauguration of President Barack Obama. I have been a photojournalist for the past 25 years and have had the incredible opportunity to witness many of modern history's defining moments: the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, the end of apartheid in South Africa and Nelson Mandela walking out of prison in 1991, and most of the world's conflicts of the past three decades. This moment means 'everything is possible' » . When our bus pulled into Maryland on the eve of the inauguration, I knew after hearing the words of my fellow passengers, in some sense fellow pilgrims, that I was in the midst of a moment of history like maybe no other I had ever witnessed -- certainly in terms of its historic magnitude, and certainly not in America. It is the words of these passengers, and those of many others that I have met in the past two days, that are representative to some degree of what this moment means. Read more on the AC360 blog. |
Psychologist Dr. Josh Klapow gives tips for couples on decision-making . Be specific about what you want, Dr. Klapow says . Klapow: Stay on track while you are discussing your goals . Collective decisions require a compromise, Dr. Klapow says . | b6331b978d2bb29c403341084ed7d8955d95be71 | (OPRAH.com) -- Decision-making can be challenging for anyone, but when a couple needs to make a collective decision, the challenge becomes greater, psychologist Dr. Josh Klapow says. Remind your partner that you are a team and collaboration is needed when facing differing opinions. The key is to recognize that the decision-making process is the same regardless of the type of decision, Dr. Klapow says. "Making decisions as a couple is not so much about what you decide on, but rather how you go about the process of making the decision," he says. "If you approach each decision with the same game plan, then over time, you will become experts at decision-making." Dr. Klapow shares his five "smart" (set, monitor, arrange, recruit and treat) steps to collective decision-making. Set a specific goal . Make sure you are very specific about what you want, Dr. Klapow says. For example, a goal of saving money is not specific enough; however, saying that you want to save an extra $100 per month by automatic deduction from your paychecks to pay off your credit card is specific. "The more specific you are, the better," he says. Monitor your discussion . As you are discussing the decision at hand, make sure you are staying on track, Dr. Klapow says. "Very often couples will start discussing a goal and stray to some other topic, which can lead to frustration," he says. "If you notice yourself or your spouse getting off the subject, quickly come back to the specific goal." Oprah.com: The five best things to do for your relationship . Arrange the situation for success . Decision-making doesn't work well when someone is tired, hungry, short of time or preoccupied with other activities. "Before you start the discussion, make sure each of you is in the right frame of mind and you have the time," Dr. Klapow says. If not, take a break from the discussion because it likely won't be productive. Recruit support from one another . A collective decision means that sometimes there will be a compromise, Dr. Klapow says. If you are going into the discussion to win, then you are not making a collective decision -- you are fighting a battle, he says. "Remind each other that you are a team and that you are in it to win collectively, not necessarily individually," he says. Treat yourselves . Because decision-making can be one of the toughest challenges a couple faces, celebrate the success of a decision together. "A hug, a celebratory reward -- anything that acknowledges that together you have accomplished this task -- will help keep you motivated to make decisions together again," Dr. Klapow says. From The Peete's "Oprah & Friends" on Sirius XM Radio show . Subscribe to O, The Oprah Magazine for up to 75% off the newsstand price. That's like getting 18 issues FREE. Subscribe now! TM & © 2009 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
NEW: Police search church near mobile park home where Sandra Cantu lived . Police would not say what evidence led to search of church . Cantu was found in suitcase in a pond near her California home . Cantu had been missing since March 27 . | 9bc6734ed55d75382fbbd6fafec91b16c313ef23 | (CNN) -- Authorities searched a church near where an 8-year-old California girl was found dead Monday in the hopes of finding clues that would lead to her killer. Mourners leave condolences for Sandra Cantu, who was found dead on April 6 in Tracy, California. The body of Sandra Cantu of Tracy, California, was found stuffed into a suitcase in a dairy-farm pond. Cantu had been missing since March 27. Tracy police Sgt. Tony Sheneman told CNN's Nancy Grace he would not elaborate on what evidence led them to Clover Road Baptist Church. He would say only that detectives developed probable cause that persuaded a judge to sign a search warrant. Lane Lawless, the church's pastor, told CNN affiliate KCRA he was questioned for about three hours by police, adding that he had nothing to do with Cantu's disappearance or death. "We have fully cooperated with the police," Lawless told KCRA. "We have answered all their questions." Authorities also searched the mobile home park Tuesday where the girl lived. Watch report on murder investigation » . "Investigators are looking at additional information they received since yesterday (Monday) and, hopefully, that will lead us to Sandra's killers," Sheneman said. Asked if his use of the plural meant police were looking for more than one person, Sheneman responded, "We have no specific suspects." Watch Sheneman say there has not been an arrest in the case » . Sheneman also implied the killer likely was familiar with the location where the body was found. He said he himself was unfamiliar with the location where the girl's body was found, despite having lived in the community for nearly 12 years. "Someone would have to be familiar with that area to know to go there," he said. Watch how the suitcase was found » . Sheneman said police had no one in custody, despite having interviewed hundreds of people regarding the case. "Everyone that we speak to right now is being considered a person of interest," he said. "We're not eliminating anyone." The autopsy was being conducted Tuesday, but it was not clear when the report would be available. "It's going to be some time before we hear from the coroner," Sheneman said. "I can't tell you when that's going to be." More than 10 search warrants have been executed as part of the investigation and "a lot" of evidence has been recovered, Sheneman said. The day Cantu was last reported seen, she returned home from school, kissed her mother and left to play with a friend who lives nearby. A short time later, wearing a pink Hello Kitty T-shirt and black leggings, she left to go to another friend's home, according to a family spokeswoman. Police said Monday the girl's clothing helped them identify the body. |
NEW: Maersk Alabama eluded pirates for more than three hours . Crew says hijacker released in hopes of freeing captain, but hijackers reneged . 4 hijackers boarded Maersk Alabama off coast of Africa . Crew member details story in quick phone calls to wife, father in U.S. | b3995561405141185ab01e410eb751318324e97a | BUZZARDS BAY, Massachusetts (CNN) -- A crew member aboard a freighter seized by pirates off east Africa said Wednesday that the crew had captured one of four pirates who hijacked their vessel, but they released him in a failed hostage trade. Shane Murphy is one of the crew members on board the U.S. ship that was hijacked off Somalia's coast. The crew of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama had hoped their release of the pirate would lead the pirates to release Capt. Richard Phillips, but it did not, crew member Ken Quinn told CNN in a satellite telephone call. Instead, the four pirates -- who had scuttled their boat when they boarded the ship armed with AK-47s -- took Phillips with them aboard the ship's 28-foot lifeboat, Quinn said. The crew had earlier overpowered the pirates and forced them off the ship, according to messages from first officer Shane Murphy. Murphy relayed the information in quick phone calls to his wife and father in his home state of Massachusetts -- where his father, Joe Murphy, is a maritime instructor, and his son once lectured about dealing with hostage situations. Watch Shane Murphy's wife recall the conversation » . Joe Murphy, who teaches at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, said the crew sent a distress signal to which the U.S. Navy responded immediately from almost 200 miles away. The ship had eluded the pirates for more than three hours off the coast of Somalia before being boarded, Joe Murphy said his son reported. After hiding from their attackers, then leading them to believe they were more in command of the situation than they really were, the crew jumped the pirates, capturing one of them, the elder Murphy said his son told him. "It was by sheer force," he said. "They have no weapons -- it must have been, obviously, that they overpowered them." He said three other pirates "had gone into the water." Pentagon officials confirmed that four hijackers had boarded the Maersk Alabama Wednesday morning, and that one had been in custody. Joe Murphy said his son was in contact with the pirates Wednesday evening, helping negotiate for the release of the captain. He said he can only shake his head at the timing of the attack. Two weeks ago, Shane Murphy visited his father's class to lecture the students on situations like the one he now faces. "This is a classic example of Murphy's law," Joe Murphy said. "I teach the course, my son goes to sea and he gets captured." He said that, despite his concerns, he has faith that his son's experience and knowledge will help wrap up the tense situation. "Hopefully, it's all going to work out," he said. "I think this is going to end as a very positive story." CNN's Jason Carroll and Tom Watkins contributed to this report. |
German TV: Two people killed in a shooting at a courthouse . Report: Gunmen believed to have killed himself . Court spokesman: Reported that there was "no more danger" Landshut is about 55 kilometers northeast of Munich . | 2d1f4554e1ed330f58ad407ff092639db803a044 | (CNN) -- Two people were killed and two were severely wounded Tuesday in a shooting at a courthouse in Landshut, Germany, police said. A police car sits outside the courthouse in the German city of Landshut. The gunman, a 60-year-old man, was among the dead, Bavarian Police said in a statement. It happened around 10:15 a.m. (4:15 a.m. ET) during a break in a court proceeding about inheritance, Landshut police spokesman Leonard Mayer told CNN. The man began shooting once he stepped outside the courtroom, police said. He wounded three people before turning the gun on himself, Mayer said. One of the victims, a woman, died about 2 1/2 hours later, Bavarian Police said. Watch more about the shooting » . The lives of the two wounded victims are not in danger, he told CNN. The courthouse has no metal detectors or security checks that would have turned up the shooter's weapon, Mayer said. This latest shooting in Germany took place less than a month after a school massacre in the southwestern town of Winnenden, in which a total of 16 people were killed. |
Agency seeing whether veteran's AIDS infection, endoscopy equipment linked . 16 other vets at 2 VA facilities also test positive for hepatitis . More than 10,000 vets possibly exposed to HIV, hepatitis while having procedures . Equipment used in procedures at 3 VA facilities hadn't been properly cleaned . | cb108b8ca523b2cff8e7d029a8031e6ecdefa5e9 | MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched an investigation into whether there is a connection between improperly sterilized endoscopy equipment and a veteran's positive HIV test. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, requested that the VA look into potential contamination at its facilities. This comes after more than 10,000 veterans were possibly exposed to HIV and hepatitis at three VA facilities while undergoing colonoscopies and other procedures with equipment that had not been properly cleaned. The VA sent letters to those veterans offering free testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. "The VA prides itself on being accountable, and we are extremely concerned about this matter, and as a result we have initiated an investigation," Dr. Michael J. Kussman, the VA's undersecretary for health, said in a news release Friday. "We have an obligation to provide those who have served and sacrificed for our Nation the care they deserve." Along with the positive HIV test, the VA says 16 other veterans have tested positive for hepatitis B and hepatitis C at two VA facilities. Of all the 17 positive test results, 11 were at the VA's Murfreesboro, Tennessee, facility, and six were from the VA's Augusta, Georgia, hospital. Thousands of other veterans are being tested at the VA hospital in Miami, and the VA says it is waiting to verify results there. So far, 3,174 veterans have been notified of their test results. VA officials decline to say where the veteran who tested positive for HIV was treated. Watch more on the contamination controversy » . Officials stress that the positive results don't necessarily mean the equipment is to blame. The VA is conducting an epidemiological investigation at the facilities to determine if the veterans who have tested positive for hepatitis have similar strains of the virus. Meanwhile, lawmakers are also calling for an investigation. In a letter last month to Gen. Eric Shinseki, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, requested that the VA Office of Inspector General "begin an investigation into the potential problems of contamination; whether any patient has contracted an infection from unsterilized equipment; and, most importantly, how we can prevent such problems from happening again." The VA says it's reviewing procedures at other facilities. So far, it says, it has encountered no additional problems. In the meantime, the VA has brought in additional personnel to help with testing and counseling in Miami, Murfreesboro and Augusta. It has also set up a toll-free number that VA patients and their families can call, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for additional information: 1-877-575-7256. The VA says it will pay for treatment for the infected vets even if they didn't get hepatitis or HIV from the dirty equipment. "We are making sure to take corrective measures to ensure veterans have the information and the care necessary to deal with this unacceptable development," Kussman said. |
Josef Fritzl accused of keeping daughter captive for decades, on trial March 16 . Fritzl faces murder charge as one of 7 children he fathered by daughter died . Other charges include incest, rape, assault and involvement in slave trade . | a25e8006e5b206565aad85f820381e1d58840ab3 | (CNN) -- Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man accused of keeping his daughter in a cellar for decades and fathering her seven children, will go on trial March 16 on six charges including murder and incest. Josef Fritzl admitted fathering seven children by his daughter during her 24-year captivity. The Austrian Press Agency reported Thursday the trial was expected to last about five days and be held behind closed doors. Further details about the case would be announced Friday, it said. Fritzl, 73, was charged in November with incest and the repeated rape of his daughter, Elisabeth, for 24 years. But he was also charged with the murder of one of the children he fathered with her, an infant who died soon after birth. State Prosecutor Gerhard Sedlacek said Michael Fritzl died from lack of medical care. In all, Fritzl faces six charges at trial: murder, involvement in slave trade (slavery), rape, incest, assault, and deprivation of liberty, Sedlacek's office said. If convicted, he could face life in prison. The case first came to light in April 2008 when Elisabeth's then-19-year-old daughter, Kerstin, became seriously ill with convulsions. Elisabeth persuaded her father to allow Kerstin to be taken to a hospital for treatment. Hospital staff became suspicious of the case and alerted police, who discovered the family members in the cellar. Fritzl confessed to police that he raped his daughter, kept her and their children in captivity, and burned the body of the dead infant in an oven in the house. Elisabeth told police the infant was one of twins who died a few days after birth. When Elisabeth gained her freedom, she told police her father began sexually abusing her at age 11. On August 8, 1984, her father enticed her into the basement, where he drugged her, put her in handcuffs and locked her in a room, she told police. Fritzl explained Elisabeth's disappearance in 1984 by saying the 18-year-old girl had run away from home. He backed up the story with letters he forced Elisabeth to write. Elisabeth Fritzl and all but three of her children lived in the specially designed cellar beneath her father's home in Amstetten, Austria, west of Vienna. The other three children lived upstairs with Fritzl and his wife; Fritzl had left them on his own doorstep, pretending his "missing" daughter Elisabeth had dropped them off. Under Austrian law, if Fritzl is convicted on several offenses, he will be given the sentence linked to the worst crime. In addition to murder, he will face the following charges: . |
NEW: "This is a huge day for veterans and troops," chief of veterans group says . Government is establishing a new system for updating medical records . Joint virtual lifetime electronic record aims to streamline data between Pentagon, VA . Obama: System will "cut through red tape," allow new vets to get benefits faster . | 9ed8f14201d86fc62466be015f77cfd5eb4e3f92 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The federal government is establishing a new system for updating medical records of servicemen and women during and after their military careers, President Obama announced Thursday. President Obama made veterans' affairs a big priority in the 2008 campaign and continues to do so. The joint virtual lifetime electronic record will, among other things, help ensure a streamlined transition of health care records between the Pentagon and the Veterans Administration. It will provide "a framework to ensure that all health care providers have all the information they need to deliver high-quality health care while reducing medical errors," the White House said in a background statement. "When a member of the armed forces separates from the military, he or she will no longer have to walk paperwork from a [Defense Department] duty station to a local VA health center. Their electronic records will transition along with them and remain with them forever," Obama said in remarks delivered near the White House. The system will "cut through red tape" and allow new veterans to start receiving their benefits more quickly, he promised. During the announcement, Obama was joined by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. "We welcome this news. ... This is a huge day for veterans and troops," Paul Rieckhoff, head of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told CNN. "This is a good way for [Obama] to come back from Iraq and make a powerful statement." The White House recently proposed a significant budget increase for the Veterans Administration, including an 11 percent hike in fiscal year 2010. In March, however, the administration abandoned a controversial plan to charge private insurers for treatment of veterans' service-connected ailments. Veterans' representatives and members of Congress angrily opposed the proposal, which White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said was never finalized. |
Witnesses say missile was fired from drone plane flying low over village, official says . Militants fired back at pilotless drone, according to official in Pakistan's tribal region . Strike is the 12th this year, compared to just three in same period last year . U.S. military in Afghanistan routinely doesn't comment on reports of drone attacks . | 83693e32ed3819b76d17b6341caff5aa14f8a5a0 | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A suspected U.S. missile struck a village Wednesday in Pakistan's tribal region, killing three Taliban militants and wounding four others, according to local officials and media reports. People inspect the damage from a suspected U.S. missile strike in northwest Pakistan last month. The strike is the 12th missile attack this year, compared with three attacks during the same period in 2008. The missile -- fired from an unmanned drone -- was targeting a pickup truck carrying suspected militants near the town of Wana in South Waziristan in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, according to Nasim Dawar, an official with the South Waziristan administration. Witnesses and intelligence sources said the drone was flying low and the militants fired at it before the missile strike, Dawar said. Two nearby shops were destroyed in the missile attack, he said. The U.S. military in Afghanistan routinely offers no comment on reported cross-border strikes. However, the United States is the only country operating in the region known to have the capability to launch missiles from drones, which are controlled remotely. Journalists Janullah Hashimzada and Nazar Ul-Islam contributed to this report. |
Suspect says four children accidentally burned with sulfuric acid . Tracy Lynn Escobedo's surrender documented by local TV station . Children hospitalized; three stable, one "not very good," police say . | 9fbe38bbf883072e79306b05932b54cb79698dc4 | (CNN) -- A man who was sought by police in Texas after four children were burned with sulfuric acid has turned himself in, authorities said Monday. Tracy Lynn Escobedo is taken into custody for allegedly burning four children with sulfuric acid. Tracy Lynn Escobedo, 27, called CNN affiliate KXII-TV and asked that a crew videotape him as he turned himself in Sunday. "I would never throw acid at nobody. It was an accident," Escobedo says repeatedly on the video as he surrenders to Cooke County sheriff's deputies. "I ran because I was scared. I hurt my kids. It was an accident. ... I would never hurt my kids. I love them." Escobedo is charged with four counts of injury to a child, the sheriff's office said. The children involved were ages 14, 7, 4, and 18 months, authorities said. In the incident last week near Gainesville, Texas, a container of sulfuric acid ruptured in a pickup truck, police said. Cynthia Stout -- a woman believed to be the mother -- and three of the children were left at a cafe by Escobedo, who took the baby with him, authorities said. Escobedo then gave the baby to another woman, believed to be a relative, at a residence, authorities said. When police arrived at the cafe, Stout attempted to flee and resist arrest, but was taken into custody, authorities said. She was being held on suspicion of child endangerment. It was unclear why sulfuric acid was in the truck. Cooke County Sheriff Michael Compton said all four children are being treated at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Speaking to CNN early Monday, Compton said the condition of the 7-year-old "is not very good, I don't think. The others are stable." The state has temporary custody of the children, Compton said. |
Child abuse reports in Jamaica have risen dramatically in past year, officials say . Justice Minister: Flogging, other forms of physical abuse are part of Jamaican culture . In 2008, 73 children were killed in 10-month span, according to police report . | edadaf5556e83d5f498d4fd4b4e132a73e66376e | (CNN) -- The number of child abuse reports in Jamaica increased dramatically in 2008, the nation's Office of Children's Registry reported Saturday. The office received 3,784 child abuse reports last year, up from only 425 complaints in 2007, a significant increase for a nation with a population of about 2.8 million. OCR Registrar Carla Edie told the Jamaican government news service, JIS, that the people of Jamaica have become "increasingly mindful of their legal responsibility to report such incidents," and are increasingly concerned about child safety, given a recent trend of violence against minors in the country. According to JIS, a police report issued late last year said that, between January 1, 2008 and November 1, 2008, 73 children were murdered and 383 cases of carnal abuse were reported. Flogging and other forms of physical abuse are a part of Jamaican culture, Justice Minister Dorothy Lightbourne told JIS in an interview. "There are many parents who even threaten to 'murder' their children, even some as young as two years old," Lightbourne said. Regarding official child abuse reports, Edie also said that the large increase can be attributed to growing awareness that the Office of Children's Registry is the department responsible for tracking and acting on such information, and not other government and police agencies that handled those reports in the past. In addition, "if someone has information of suspected child abuse and fails to make a report to the Registry, that person can be charged a maximum fee of $500,000 or-and six months imprisonment," Edie told JIS. In response to increased demand, the OCR will increase its operating hours and staff. |
Adam Sandler wore cast for part of "Bedtime Stories" filming . Some scenes required a body double after star broke ankle . Sandler says he let himself go after "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" | 219db76c779d82ae3b9b517e37e08b7f75d823e3 | LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Packing on the pounds over the holidays? Adam Sandler can sympathize. He recently put on some weight himself. Adam Sandler had to cope with more than just falling gumballs in his latest comedy, "Bedtime Stories." The comedian got buff for the movie "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" (in which he showed a lot of skin), but then he said he let himself go just a bit. "[For 'Zohan'] I worked out like a madman," he told CNN. "And then I started getting fat again." Concern over his physical conditioning led to an unintended consequence -- a broken bone. "[One Saturday] I ate so much food, that I was laying in bed. I was fat as heck and I said, 'I better play some ball.' I went out and played basketball, broke my ankle. I said, 'Maybe I should have stayed fat.' " The mishap occurred as he was filming his latest comedy, "Bedtime Stories." In scenes that involved walking around, Sandler needed a body double. "I'm shooting the movie with the cast on," he said. "We did about six, seven weeks of shooting. If I was standing here and I had to walk to the door, I would stand up [then the camera would cut to] a guy with my outfit on that took the walk." Sandler is on the mend, but he said his ankle is still a little swollen. "Bedtime Stories" opens Christmas Day. |
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has revealed a love for ABBA's hits . ABBA tribute band founder says he flew group to Russia for private concert . Rod Stephen says there were only eight people in the audience . | a727d15bb73aa29bd4639e0a95fcfc776cf0c3f3 | LONDON, England (CNN) -- Vladimir Putin spent the Russian New Year boogying to the hits of ABBA after spending $30,000 to fly a tribute band to a lake town north of Moscow. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin flew an ABBA tribute band to Russia for a private concert. According to Bjorn Again founder, Rod Stephen, Putin disco pointed to the ABBA classics "Super Trouper" and "Mamma Mia" at a gathering of only eight guests. Stephen said he received a phone call from the Kremlin prior to Christmas. "It was pretty mad. It was the type of phone call everyone gets everyday from Moscow. I thought someone was taking the piss." Stephen said an agent in Moscow then set the gig up, and he was told it was for Russia's "number two." He said the band were flown to Moscow and then had a nine-hour bus trip to Lake Valdai -- where Putin has held high-level meetings in the past -- on January 22 (the traditional date of Russian New Year's eve). "The band and crew were searched at checkpoints by people with appropriately sized weapons," Stephen said. He said the band played behind a heavy gauze curtain, which made it hard for them to see the audience. However, the could make out Putin's profile and that of the other seven guests. Stephen said it was initially "roaring" at the venue. "When the band started people were sitting on sofas. But then Putin was up and dancing to Super Trouper and Mamma Mia, pointing fingers up and down." The band played for an hour before being shown out as the guests went to watch a fireworks display. Stephen said they were paid $30,000 and their expenses covered. He described it as the "weirdest" gig the band had done. "I've had phone calls from the agency saying 'don't talk to anyone else we are getting grief from the Kremlin,' but there was no non-disclosure contract." |
Singer-actress Mandy Moore engaged to rocker Ryan Adams . Moore has had top 10 music success, better known for movie roles . Adams a prolific singer-songwriter as soloist and with Whiskeytown, Cardinals . | 5adcde44f312af50f5e78a133efaa75a263f0350 | LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Mandy Moore is getting a license to wed rocker Ryan Adams. Mandy Moore has been with Ryan Adams for about a year. Moore's publicist confirmed Thursday the 24-year-old singer-actress is engaged to marry Adams, 34, who is known for producing rock music with a country influence. Spokeswoman Tracy Bufferd gave no details about wedding plans. Rumors first surfaced almost a year ago that Moore and Adams were dating as paparazzi photos surfaced of the couple out together in Los Angeles. Moore's role as a bride in the 2007 movie "License to Wed" may help her as she moves toward the altar. The romantic comedy featured Robin Williams as "Reverend Frank," who put Moore's character and her fiance through a "marriage preparation course" before they could get hitched in his church. Her first success as a recording artist came in 1999 with her debut album, "So Real," which went platinum with the help of her top 10 single "Candy." |
Kurt Cobain died 15 years ago, a suicide at 27 . Cobain, frontman for band Nirvana, has been influential in music . Even his hometown has honored him; Cobain had derided it . Attorney for Courtney Love, Cobain's widow, says many "looted the estate" | 9ea356a682fa803869e65029dbcb81c0df42b7c4 | SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- The park bench facing Lake Washington is covered with flowers, poems, a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes and graffiti. Fans leave flowers and mementos in honor of Kurt Cobain near his Seattle home. "I miss your beautiful face and voice," one dedication reads. "Thank you for inspiring me," says another. "RIP Kurt." Fifteen years ago Wednesday, at a house adjacent to the park, Kurt Cobain's dead body was discovered by an electrician. The Nirvana frontman, 27, had committed suicide, police later ruled, killing himself with a shotgun while high on heroin and pills. His death ended a battle with hard drugs and added Cobain to a long list of legendary musicians, such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, whose careers were cut short by their addictions. Cobain's ashes were reportedly scattered in a Washington state river and a New York Buddhist temple. Nirvana band mates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl eventually formed other bands. Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, stayed in the limelight with an acting career and legal problems surrounding her own drug problems. Frances Bean, the couple's daughter, has largely lived outside the public eye. What was unclear when Cobain died was whether the music Nirvana created would endure or fade away like the grunge craze it helped to inspire. "At one point I thought, 15 years on, no one would really know who Kurt Cobain was outside of a group of diehard fans," said Jeff Burlingame, a Cobain biographer who grew up with the musician in Aberdeen, Washington, and knew him when he was a teenager who, without a place to sleep, crashed on mutual friends' couches. But Nirvana's music endured, and Cobain even found fans in his hometown of Aberdeen, which he had derided as a small-minded town. "The old-timers who were there when Kurt was around really took offense to some of the things he said about the area, so they had no real reason to honor him," said Burlingame, who co-founded the Kurt Cobain Memorial Committee. A famous son is a famous son, though. Now, visitors arriving in Aberdeen are greeted with a sign that reads "Come As You Are," after a famous Nirvana song. Cobain Memorial Committee members, who include Cobain's paternal grandfather, hope to establish a community center in the late rocker's honor that would give area youth a place to play music and pursue artistic interests. A concert will be held Friday in Seattle to honor Cobain and raise money for the center. When Cobain died, he left behind a fortune that was estimated in the millions. Even more money poured in over time from the royalties from his songs. But a lawyer hired by Love, Rhonda Holmes, says most of that money is missing. According to Holmes, Love recently discovered that "managers, assistants, CPAs, lawyers, people like that who were supposed to be entrusted with carrying for their well-being and finances basically looted the estate." Forensic accountants are now trying to determine where tens of millions of dollars from Cobain's estate ended up and how it could be recovered, Holmes said. |
NEW: Attack is deadliest on U.S. forces in more than a year . Suicide bomber explodes truck at national police headquarters in Mosul . Five Americans among eight dead; 60 others wounded . Mosul, 260 miles north of Baghdad, called last urban stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq . | e66cd5d0c9242f7fbdccbded7b44b46946539ea6 | BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Five U.S. soldiers were killed Friday in a suicide bombing in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul -- the single deadliest attack on U.S. troops in more than a year, the U.S. military said. A suicide truck bomber breached the outer security barrier of Iraqi National Police headquarters in southern Mosul, and detonated his explosives, killing eight people and wounding 60 others, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said. A U.S. soldier was also among the wounded, the U.S. military said. The ministry said those killed include five Americans, two Iraqi policemen and an Iraqi soldier. At least two individuals suspected of being involved in the attack were detained, the U.S. military said. It is the deadliest attack on U.S. forces since March 10, 2008, when five U.S. soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Baghdad. Despite a number of military operations in this volatile city during the past year, Mosul remains one of the most violent places in Iraq. Last year the U.S. military said Mosul was the last urban stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq. Mosul is the provincial capital of Nineveh and is about 260 miles, or 420 kilometers, north of Baghdad. Watch a suicide bomb attack kills 5 U.S. soldiers » . U.S. and Iraqi military forces plan to pull out of Mosul to allow Iraqi police to control security in the city. But police are not quite ready yet, according to an Iraqi general. "We need to bring the police to the required level. The deadline is the end of July, and it's not enough time to prepare the police," said Gen. Hassan Karim, commander of Nineveh operations for the Iraqi army. "(That) means we'll need U.S. forces to stay in Mosul." CNN's Nic Robertson contributed to this report . |
FDA decides to extend the usage of morphine sulfate oral solution 20 mg/ml . Hospital, hospice groups had said pulling drug would cause hardship . FDA said until alternatives are developed, easing of pain must remain a priority . FDA estimates several thousand drugs marketed without approval . | 1ea9dd5aceb24120aa8d349a8990352f8ceb921b | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A form of liquid morphine used by terminally ill patients will remain on the market even though it is an "unapproved drug," according to a decision by the Food and Drug Administration. Last month, the FDA warned nine companies to stop selling unapproved pain-relief drugs. After talking with hospital and hospice organizations, which expressed concern that taking the product off the market would result in hardship for terminally ill patients and their caregivers, the agency decided to extend the usage of morphine sulfate oral solution 20 mg/ml. The agency wants to ensure there is no shortage of the drug while patients wait for an approved product to take its place. "While the FDA remains committed to ultimately ensuring that all prescription drugs on the market are FDA approved, we have to balance that goal with flexibility and compassion for patients who have a few alternatives for the alleviation of their pain," Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of the FDA's Center for drug Evaluation and Research, said Thursday. "In light of the concerns raised by these patients and their health-care providers, we have adjusted our actions with regard to these particular products." Last month, the FDA sent warning letters to nine companies telling them to stop manufacturing 14 unapproved narcotics that are widely used to treat pain. Seven of those companies made or distributed the oral morphine. The morphine elixir is widely used by terminal patients in hospital and home hospice care settings and is manufactured by Lehigh Valley Technologies Inc., Mallinckrodt Inc. Pharmaceuticals Group, Boehringer Ingelheim Roxane Inc. and Cody Laboratories, Inc. In its warning letter last month, the agency gave the companies 60 days to stop manufacturing the drug before enforcement action was taken. Thursday's announcement did not prompt immediate reactions from the companies. A spokesman for Cody Laboratories said the firm did not have all the details of the decision. Other companies did not immediately return calls from CNN. The FDA estimates there are several thousand drugs, mostly older products, marketed illegally without FDA approval in this country. Once an illegally marketed drug is identified, enforcement action begins because the agency does not have information on the quality of these drugs and has not had an opportunity to approve their labeling. In 1976 the agency began a program to bring companies manufacturing these drugs into compliance. Thursday's announcement applies only to the morphine sulfate elixir 20mg/ml, and the warning letters sent to the other product manufacturers are still in effect. Currently there are no approved morphine sulfate oral solution 20mg/ml products on the market. Until there are, the FDA says it will allow companies making and distributing the unapproved drugs to continue, until 180 days after any company receives approval to manufacture a new morphine replacement drug of the same dosage. The FDA says it expects all companies marketing unapproved drugs to submit the necessary applications to get approval for those drugs. |
The Obamas' belongings will be moved into the White House on Tuesday . Most of the Bush family items are already moved to Crawford ranch, Dallas home . Bush move started last summer, according to a White House aide . | 3a0a3241e9d1c494d6914e8d73558d315941dc39 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On Inauguration Day, there's one scene at the White House that won't be playing out exactly as it has during past transitions: the traditional moving of the outgoing first family's belongings. President Bush walks out of the White House Oval Office on January 10. Anita McBride, chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush, tells CNN that the Bushes have moved almost all of their belongings out of the White House ahead of schedule. "There won't be ... the moving trucks for the Bushes coming here," McBride said, adding, "The only things really left for President and Mrs. Bush are their personal belongings and luggage that they'll take that day." McBride said Mrs. Bush directed residence staff early -- in the summer of 2008 -- to prepare the White House for the personal transition. "It's probably the librarian in her," McBride said of Mrs. Bush, a former librarian. "Maybe we've got a bit of a Dewey Decimal system of move-out process, but that certainly made it easier for the residence staff, and they very much appreciate it," McBride said. The actual clearing out of the Bushes' belongings began over the summer, McBride says, when many items were packed and taken to Crawford, Texas. Then, during the Christmas holiday, the Bushes moved their personal things out of Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, according to McBride. That means on Inauguration Day, while President Bush and Mrs. Bush, along with President-elect Obama and his family, are at the Capitol, staff in the White House residence will have more time to unpack and prepare the Obamas' personal belongings. "They have rehearsed this over the last few weeks, everyone has their marching orders, it will be all hands on deck," said McBride. "The residence staff will be here that morning, and they know what their jobs are when the moving truck for the Obamas' move-in arrives," she said, adding, "Their things will be unpacked, and their clothes will be in their rightful place, and whatever furniture that they may have selected from the White House furniture collection will be in the place that they want it to be." |
Bouteflika, 72, win third term comfortably with 90 percent of vote . Lawmakers abolished constitutional term limits last year . Political opponents claim vote was a charade . Algeria is fighting an Islamic insurgency and an ailing economy . | f8bf8957ce92ffec582b10d89b487bae0f0515c9 | (CNN) -- Incumbent leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika has won a third term in office after a landslide victory in Algeria's presidential election, media reports said Friday. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika arrives to cast his vote at a school in Algiers. Bouteflika's victory came despite calls from his political opponents for voters to boycott the polls. They claim the election was a charade, with the other presidential candidates -- from left-wing parties to Islamists -- standing no real chance. The 72-year-old was elected with over 90 percent of the vote, Reuters.com quoted the official in charge of organizing Thursday's presidential election as saying. "Bouteflika has won ... 90.24 percent of the votes cast," Interior Minister Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni told a news conference. Algerian lawmakers, most of them loyal to the president, cleared the way for him to stand for re-election last year by abolishing constitutional term limits. Critics said that would allow him to serve as president-for-life. Supporters of Bouteflika say he deserves credit for steering the North African country, an oil and gas producer, back to stability after a bloody civil conflict in the 1990s that killed an estimated 150,000 people. But critics say he is using the threat of renewed violence from Islamic militants to mask the country's deepening economic problems. "I continue to regard the restoration of civil peace as a national priority, as long as hotbeds of tension and pockets of subversion survive," Bouteflika, running for a third term, said in his final campaign speech on Monday, Reuters.com reported. He has also promised to spend $150 billion on development projects and create 3 million jobs, his remedy for an economy in which energy accounts for about 96 percent of exports but where other sectors have been choked by red tape and under-investment. |
Congressman wouldn't admit affair with murdered former intern . Honest answer might have helped Gary Condit, news anchor says . Chung recalls scandal for "Reliable Sources" Sunday on CNN . | 4ef74e484fc5ff577a5d99fbdc6d9456523b9254 | (CNN) -- Nearly eight years later, Connie Chung still remembers being surprised. "Stonewalling is what gets politicians in trouble, when they ... try to cover up," Connie Chung says. It was one of those television moments that linger in the national consciousness, like Barbara Walters sitting down with Monica Lewinsky, Dan Rather with Saddam Hussein, or Jay Leno asking Hugh Grant what the hell he had been thinking. Chung was with ABC then, and she got the "get" -- the first interview with Gary Condit, the California congressman at the center of the Chandra Levy media frenzy. The former Washington intern, you'll recall, had been found murdered in Rock Creek Park, and law enforcement sources let it be known that the married Condit had been having an affair with her. In an interview airing Sunday on "Reliable Sources" (10 a.m. ET, during CNN's "State of the Union with John King"), Chung says she was surprised when Condit refused to acknowledge the romantic relationship. "Stonewalling is what gets politicians in trouble, when they stonewall or they try to cover up," she says. "I think that the general public and the news media wanted him to be honest, and if he could be honest about that part of the story, then he could be -- then he would be believed when he was answering other questions as to whether or not he had anything to do with her disappearance." I often focus on media excess and media mistakes on the program, but we also try to highlight good journalism. The segment includes two Washington Post reporters, Sari Horwitz and Scott Higham, who cracked the Levy mystery in a 13-part series last year. They did what the D.C. police could not: They identified Ingmar Guandique, an illegal Salvadoran immigrant, as Levy's likely killer. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for the imprisoned suspect this week. But Horwitz and Higham talk about how they were roundly criticized for resurrecting the case and accused of sensationalizing it. It's clear that Levy's case became a huge deal in 2001 because of the Condit connection. At the same time, Chung says, "The news media had changed. This was the gradual evolution of what the news media was doing. There was flavor of the week, the story du jour." The Levy frenzy became the precursor for the missing-women TV melodramas that followed: Laci Peterson, Stacy Peterson, Natalee Holloway. The stories of women who were not celebrities, whom no one had heard of before, became national soap operas because they drove cable and morning show ratings. At least, in Levy's case, the soap opera appears to be drawing to a close. |
Military forces from various countries are patrolling pirate-infested waters off Somalia . Nearly 100 vessels have come under fire in the area, with almost 40 being hijacked . The resolution allows national, regional military forces to chase pirates into Somalia . U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Bush backed the move . | b8be6b1ec009ab5a36eeb31e611bb5cdf698f927 | (CNN) -- The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Tuesday aimed at combating piracy along the Horn of Africa by allowing military forces to chase pirates onto land in cases of "hot pursuit." French troops on the lookout for pirates in the Gulf of Aden on November 25. Military forces from various countries, including the United States, are patrolling pirate-infested waters off Somalia, where attacks have surged this year. Nearly 100 vessels have come under fire, according to the International Maritime Bureau, and almost 40 vessels have been hijacked. The Security Council resolution, which passed unanimously, expands upon existing counter-piracy tools, including a stipulation that would allow for national and regional military forces to chase pirates onto land -- specifically into Somalia where many of the pirates are based. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was at the U.N. on Tuesday for a discussion of the piracy problem and the Security Council vote. "I wouldn't be here seeking authorization to go ashore if the U.S. government -- perhaps most importantly the president of the United States -- were not behind this resolution," Rice said after the vote. Asked if she thought U.S. troops would soon be on land chasing pirates, Rice would not speculate. "The United States is part of an international effort," she said. "We do have naval forces that have been involved in this effort. What this (resolution) does is to authorize that the boundary of the maritime cannot become a safe haven boundary for pirates. What we do -- or do not do -- in issues like hot pursuit, we'll have to see ... case by case." Earlier, in remarks to the Security Council, Rice described the growing problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia as "a symptom." "It's a symptom of the instability, the poverty, the lawlessness that have plagued Somalia for the past two decades," she said, adding that the Bush administration "does believe that the time has come for the United Nations to consider and authorize a peacekeeping operation." Asked about reports that two more ships were attacked by pirates this week, Rice said those show "the increasing problem that this is. The pirates are a threat to commerce, they are a threat to security and perhaps most importantly they are a threat to the principle of freedom of navigation on the seas." With increased patrols in the area by several countries, reports of exchanges of fire have become more frequent. In one of the most recent piracy attacks, Indian officials said Saturday they had captured 23 people suspected of trying to take over a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden. In addition to the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni suspects, Indian navy officials also seized two small boats and "a substantial cache of arms and equipment," the Indian military said in a statement. |
Police say December 7 beating of Jose Sucuzhanay may have been a hate crime . Authorities say attackers shouted racial slurs; Sucuzhanay died Friday . Brother: He'll be remembered as "a victim of a hate crime" | 233636cc350459e9238e2079c86c595980e72e6c | NEW YORK (CNN) -- A few hundred people on Sunday marched in Brooklyn to protest last week's fatal beating of a 31-year-old Ecuadorean man -- an incident authorities say may have been a hate crime. Jose Sucuzhanay was beaten December 7 after leaving a party at a church. The demonstrators -- holding signs reading "No more hate crimes" -- walked a half-mile in the neighborhood where police say Jose Sucuzhanay was hit in the head with a bottle and beaten with an aluminum baseball bat on December 7. Sucuzhanay died of his injuries Friday at Elmhurst Hospital, hours before his mother arrived in New York from Ecuador, his family said. Police said Sucuzhanay's attackers yelled racial slurs; no arrests have been made in the case. One of his brothers, Diego Sucuzhanay, said Sunday he is convinced the attack was a hate crime. "Nothing was taken from him," said Diego Sucuzhanay, who didn't join the demonstration, opting instead to help his mother make arrangements to return the body to Ecuador. Watch marchers protest against hate crimes » . Police said Jose Sucuzhanay and his brother Romel had left a party at a church when several men approached them in a car in Brooklyn's Bushwick section, about a block from the brothers' home. The men shouted anti-gay and anti-Latino vulgarities and attacked the brothers, police said. Romel, 34, escaped with minor scrapes and has talked with detectives. Police have released a sketch of one possible suspect in the case. Police are offering a $22,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in the attack. In a statement, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the attack "a pointless and gutless crime." He promised authorities would find and prosecute those responsible. Family spokesman Francisco Moya said Jose Sucuzhanay had lived in the United States for more than a decade and was a legal resident. Diego Sucuzhanay said Jose set up a successful real estate business in a low-income area, thinking he could make a difference there. He said his brother wanted to help everyone and hired a diverse team, including four African-Americans and two Latinos. He was raising two children: a 9-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. "We were proud of him," Diego Sucuzhanay said. He said the family had wanted Jose's mother to get to his bedside before he died. Doctors told them Jose was brain dead since the attack, and that machines kept him alive until his heart failed Friday. At a press conference Sunday outside the hospital, Diego Sucuzhanay touched his chest and said: "My heart is broken, but my brother's [memory] will live on. " Asked in an interview with CNN how his brother would be remembered, he paused several seconds and answered: "For being the victim of a hate crime." Though he didn't participate in the demonstration, he said he was grateful to those who did, and that everyone needs to practice tolerance. "We definitely have to speak out," he said. |
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