NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Mary J. Blige has sung her way to nine Grammy Awards and sold 40 million albums worldwide. "I know I'm definitely gonna pursue this as a profession, acting," Mary J. Blige said. With music credentials like that, the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" needed a new challenge. So Blige decided to stretch her range to the big screen. The singer stars in the new Tyler Perry film "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" alongside Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson, Perry and Gladys Knight. Being in the film allows Blige to test her acting chops and sing as well. Her character, Tanya, is a club owner who takes the mic at least twice in the film. And whether she's in character or not, Blige's ability to communicate a song can take your breath away. CNN spoke with Blige about Tyler Perry, her acting angst and music. The following is an edited version of that interview: CNN: What does the title of the film "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" mean? Mary J. Blige: Well, the title "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" is basically saying "I don't need anyone to help me do worse or feel worse than what I already feel." So if you're coming with negative energy, please keep it moving, you know? If you're coming with negative deposits, you've gotta go. That's basically what it's saying. CNN: Were you nervous about acting in this film? Blige: I was definitely nervous, because acting is not my first profession, so I had to go and get an acting coach and really figure this thing out. It helped a lot. It relaxed me to have a little more information about it. And I find that actors are highly underrated; they don't get all the credit they deserve, because this is a hard job. That's a hard job. CNN: Were you bitten by the acting bug? Blige: Well, I'm gonna be open to scripts, and I'm ready to receive more scripts from anywhere. I know I'm definitely gonna pursue this as a profession, acting. I was definitely bitten by the acting bug. CNN: Did you feel any pressure to write songs for this film, as opposed to writing for one of your albums? Blige: There's not any pressure in writing songs. Writing a song for the movie versus writing songs for my album because ... you get it all from inspiration from somewhere, you know? I got all the lyrics from the actual movie, and I got all the lyrics for my songs from my life so, and other people's lives. CNN: Do you want to hear poetry in your lyrics? Blige: I would love to hear poetry in my lyrics. CNN: Tell me about Tyler Perry. Blige: Wow, working with Tyler Perry was -- it's always a treat. He's the most kind, generous, you know, supportive professional man. He's a really good person to have in such a tough business. It's like a pillow for your head. ... You just get to lay on it after laying on rocks for so long. CNN: What is the link between spirituality and music in the film and in life? Blige: Well, I think the link with the spirituality and the music is that we all have a place where we need to go to heal, and most of the time people go to music to heal. Whether it be gospel or secular, but it all comes from some song that pulled you through your life or helped you through college or something like that. CNN: Do you think this film is about redemption? Do you think people can really change? Blige: I definitely feel this film is a lot about redemption. You saving yourself first of all, and believing you can be saved and wanting the help. I think it takes time

Is acting Mary J. Blige's first profession?

Which singer is starring in "I Can Do Bad All By Myself"?

What is the name of the new Tyler Perry film?

What did the star say the movie is about?

Answer: is not

Answer: Mary J. Blige

Answer: "I Can Do Bad All By Myself"

Answer: redemption.

Answer: Mary J. Blige

Answer: Mary J. Blige

Answer: Mary J. Blige

Answer: "I Can Do Bad All By Myself"

Summary:
Singer Mary J. Blige stars in new Tyler Perry film "I Can Do Bad All By Myself"
Film allows Blige to test acting chops and sing as well as owner of club .
"I was definitely nervous, because acting is not my first profession," Blige says .
Blige: Movie is about redemption, saving yourself and healing from wounds .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Misdemeanor assault charges have been dropped against "24" star Kiefer Sutherland in a head-butting incident at a New York City nightclub, according to Alicia Maxey Greene, spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's office. Kiefer Sutherland turns himself in to the NYPD on May 7. Charges against him have been dropped. "We decided to drop the charge after a full investigation, including after speaking to a complaining witness, who was uncooperative," Greene told CNN Tuesday. The charges stem from an incident in which Sutherland allegedly head-butted designer Jack McCollough at a New York City nightclub in May. McCollough had claimed he was "the victim of a vicious, violent, unprovoked assault," according to a statement released after the incident from McCollough's publicist.. Several weeks after the incident, Sutherland and McCollough issued a joint statement, through Sutherland's attorney, in which Sutherland apologized.

What television drama does Kiefer Sutherland star in?

what did manhattan da's office say was dropped

What kind of charges was dropped against the actor?

what show does kiefer sutherland star in

Answer: "24"

Answer: May 7.

Answer: Misdemeanor assault charges

Answer: "24"

Answer: Misdemeanor assault

Answer: an incident in which Sutherland allegedly head-butted designer Jack McCollough at a New York City nightclub in May.

Answer: "24"

Summary:
Manhattan DA's office: Misdemeanor assault charges against actor dropped .
Charges stemmed from alleged head-butting incident at New York club in May .
Kiefer Sutherland stars in the hit television drama "24"


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- More than $20 million from dozens of clients is unaccounted for in the aftermath of what police say was a murder-suicide by the attorney who invested the money, according to a source with direct knowledge of deceased lawyer William Parente's financial dealings. Police say Stephanie Parente's father killed his family and himself in a Baltimore hotel Monday. Some investors fear their entire life savings have been wiped out, said the source, who based the $20 million amount on knowledge of Parente's finances. Some other investors are missing what could amount to another $7 million, CNN has learned, so the total of missing money tied to Parente could be upwards of $27 million. Baltimore County, Maryland, police say Parente, 59, killed his family before committing suicide. The bodies of Parente, his wife and their two daughters were found in a hotel room in Towson, Maryland, on Monday. The source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive financial information involved, said one investor had been involved with Parente for more than 15 years, receiving regular monthly payments from Parente until April 16, four days before the bodies were found. The source said Parente solicited personal loans from clients at high interest, promising to use the money for bridge financing of real estate projects such as shopping centers. The source did not know whether Parente, of Garden City, New York, had actually used the money for any legitimate investments. The source, who knew Parente for more than 15 years, described him as "serious, somber and conservative." Parente told investors he was generating returns of more than 13 percent even in down markets, according to the source. Investors were not given investment statements and were not charged a management fee, but Parente did provide notices informing investors that he owed them money, according to the source. In other developments Friday, police said Parente bought a set of knives from a Crate and Barrel store in Towson, and one of the knives is believed to be the one Parente later used to take his own life. Baltimore County police said that knife is being tested as evidence in the murder/suicide case. Investigators say they found a receipt for the knife in the hotel room where the deaths took place, and the time stamped on the receipt was 5:25 p.m. Sunday. Police have said Parente's wife, Betty, 58, and daughters Catherine, 11, and Stephanie, 19, were killed by asphyxiation and blunt force trauma Sunday afternoon. Authorities said Parente took a call about midnight Sunday from his elder daughter's college roommate asking whether she was returning to her dormitory. Police believe Parente's daughter was already dead. He told the roommate his daughter was spending the night at the hotel with the family. Also Friday, other details emerged about some of Parente's other clients. One of Parente's investors was Queens lawyer Bruce Montague, and Montague's office has heard from 10 Parente clients whose investments are unaccounted for. Together, those clients had invested about $7 million. Through a law partner, Craig Gardy, Montague said he is missing $450,000. The clients are from New York, New Jersey, California and Florida, according to Montague's office. The office has referred those clients to the FBI. Gardy said Montague, who considered Parente to be a personal friend, remains too devastated about the deaths to provide details himself, but he authorized his partners to speak on his behalf. The scenario as given by his partners was that after the Bernard Madoff scandal broke last fall, Montague got "cold feet" and repeatedly asked Parente for his investment money back. On April 16, Montague tried to deposit a check from Parente for $245,000. On Tuesday, April 21, when Montague's bank notified him the check did not clear, he called Chase bank, where Parente's funds were held. Montague was told Parente's account was empty, according to Gardy, and it would be useless to deposit other checks received from Parente. Then Montague called

How much money did Parente take from patients?

Answer: his family and himself

Answer: $20 million

Answer: More than $20 million

Answer: his family and himself

Answer: More than $20 million

Answer: Stephanie Parente's father

Answer: a management fee,

Summary:
Police say William Parente killed wife, 2 daughters and himself .
Parente may have taken more than $27 million from dozens of clients .
Clients got no investment statements and were not charged a management fee .
A client nervous after Madoff case found there was no money in Parente's account .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- NYPD officers on counter-terrorism patrol helped deliver a baby during morning rush hour in the middle of New York's bustling Penn Station Wednesday. Caesar Penn Boothe was delivered under the Penn Station departures sign at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday. "Forget the ambulance, forget everything else -- I'm going to have the baby right here," new mother Marie Boothe recalled at a news conference later in the day. Three members of the police department's counter-terrorism patrol team who were in the station and an Amtrak police officer stepped in to help deliver the seven-pound baby boy under the departures sign at 7:20 a.m. The newborn was greeted by fellow commuters in typical New York City fashion. "They started yelling, 'Name him Penn, after Penn Station!'" said Marie Medina, one of the NYPD officers who aided in the special delivery. Caesar Penn Boothe, whose middle name reflects his birthplace, was taken to Bellevue Hospital along with his mother, and the two were reported to be doing well.

What were the words of mother?
What was the baby's name?
What was the baby named?
What did the mother say?
Who helped deliver the baby?

Answer: I'm going to have the baby right here,"

Answer: Caesar Penn Boothe

Answer: Caesar Penn Boothe

Answer: "Forget the ambulance, forget everything else -- I'm going to have the baby right here,"

Answer: NYPD officers on counter-terrorism patrol

Summary:
"Forget the ambulance ... I'm going to have the baby right here," said mother .
Baby named Caesar Penn Boothe; middle name reflects his birthplace .
Three counter-terrorism patrol officers and Amtrak police officer helped deliver baby .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Natasha Richardson, a film star, Tony-winning stage actress and member of the famed Redgrave acting family, died Wednesday after suffering injuries in a ski accident, according to a family statement. She was 45. Natasha Richardson fell on a beginners' slope in Canada. Richardson, wife of actor Liam Neeson, was injured Monday in a fall on a ski slope at a Quebec resort about 80 miles northwest of Montreal. Richardson's family released a statement saying, "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time." According to a statement from Mont Tremblant Ski Resort, Richardson fell during a lesson on a beginners' trail.  Watch a report on Richardson's life » "She did not show any visible sign of injury, but the ski patrol followed strict procedures and brought her back to the bottom of the slope and insisted she should see a doctor," the statement said. Richardson, accompanied by her instructor, returned to her hotel, but about an hour after the fall was "not feeling good," the statement said. An ambulance was called, and Richardson was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to Hopital du Sacre-Coeur in Montreal. From there she was transferred to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Friends and colleagues were saddened by her death. "Natasha was brilliant, beautiful, funny, talented beyond measure, as emotionally raw as she was razor sharp," said Jodie Foster, who worked with Richardson in "Nell," in a statement. "Tasha loved fiercely and that love continues in all of us who knew her. May Liam, her beautiful boys and her loving family hold her close as they move through this tragic moment." "Natasha combined the best of [her parents, Vanessa] Redgrave and [Tony] Richardson: the enormous depth and emotional force of a great actor on the one hand, and the intelligence and objectivity of a great director on the other. She was a one-of-a-kind, a magnificent actress," said director Sam Mendes in a statement. Mendes directed Richardson in her Tony-winning "Cabaret" performance. Richardson was practically born to perform. Her grandfather, Sir Michael Redgrave, was a famed British actor. Her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, is an Oscar-winning actress, and her father, the late director Tony Richardson, helmed such films as "Look Back in Anger," "The Entertainer" and the Oscar-winning "Tom Jones." Natasha Richardson's uncle Corin Redgrave, aunt Lynn Redgrave, and sister Joely Richardson are also noted performers. But being part of a family of actors wasn't always easy for Richardson. Her parents divorced when she was 4 and her mother, involved in controversial political causes, gave away a lot of money, putting the family in financial straits, according to the BBC. Then there was the family heritage, of which Richardson once said, "Though my name opened doors it didn't get me work, and a lot of pressure comes from having a mother who is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation," the BBC reported. In 2007, Richardson worked with her mother in the film "Evening." Richardson said she made one point to director Lajos Koltai about the relatives working together. "This is a unique opportunity," she said she told him. "This is the one time my mother and I are going to play mother and daughter on screen, so you've got to take advantage of it."  Watch Richardson talk about working with her mom » Richardson's first film role was a bit part in her father's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1968), made when she was 4. After a handful of roles through her teens and early 20s, she broke through as Mary Shelley

Who fell Monday?
Who appeared fine but then became ill?
Who fell on Monday while skiing?
What caused her death?
Where  did she fall?
who is she married to?

Answer: Natasha Richardson

Answer: Natasha Richardson,

Answer: Natasha Richardson

Answer: injuries in a ski accident,

Answer: on a ski slope at a Quebec resort about 80 miles northwest of Montreal.

Answer: Liam Neeson,

Summary:
Actress Natasha Richardson fell Monday while skiing .
Richardson appeared fine, but became ill soon after .
Actress, 45, was daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, wife of Liam Neeson .
Family says they are "shocked and devastated," thank all for support .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Nearly 27 years ago, amid a crowd of people in Central Park, Ruth Bendik's wallet was stolen. The culprit is still at large, but the wallet has been found -- in the hollow trunk of a cherry tree. Nearly 27 years ago, amid a crowd of people in Central Park, Ruth Bendik's wallet was stolen. The wallet was snatched on October 24, 1982, while Bendik, now 69, was in Central Park watching the New York marathon. She went to greet runners at the end of the race and, "when I got out of the crush of people, I realized my purse was much lighter," Bendik told CNN. "I was just so grateful not to have been harmed." Last week, Josh Galiley, tree-care supervisor for the Central Park Conservancy, was chopping down a hazardous black cherry tree near Rumsey Playfield when he discovered her blue leather wallet in the trunk of the tree, which he estimates is around 65 years old and 50 feet high. "I started poking in the soft stuff and this wallet turned up. Having been that low in the tree ... the location indicated it had been there for quite some time," Galiley told CNN. The old wallet was a unique find, he said. "When you're cutting a tree and it's hollow, you expect stuff inside, shreds of material, old marbles, really just knickknacks compared to this," he said, "Nothing with a story. ... We peeked in and there were dates from the early '80s. We figured this was different." After the wallet was recovered, Galiley said, officials were careful to inform Bendik properly. "We thought she may not want to relive it," he said. Bendik sang praises for the individuals who returned her wallet, including detective Frank Irizarry, who helped track her down. "The lengths they went to find me, the extent that they went through and the fact that they were concerned about my feelings really impressed me," she said. The wallet still contained her old driver's license and credit cards, she said, although $20 was missing. "Twenty dollars was a lot of money then," she said. After two decades, much more has changed. Referring to two of her old bank cards from Manufacturers Hanover Trust Bank and Banker's Trust, Bendik said, "I was shocked that both banks had closed." But some things haven't changed. Bendik continues to have fond memories of Central Park. The Ohio native, who has lived in New York for 40 years, still describes the park as one of her favorite areas in the city. "It's a public place in an impersonal city," she said, "It brings everyone together in a pleasant way of reconnecting with nature and beauty." Today, Bendik smiles at the idea of her wallet buried in a cherry tree in Central Park for nearly 30 years, and she's happy to have it in her hands again. "After all these years it's still available as a time capsule of my life."

Where was Ruth Bendik's wallet snatched?

Answer: Josh Galiley,

Answer: old driver's license and credit cards,

Answer: Central Park,

Answer: in the hollow trunk of a cherry tree.

Answer: Ruth Bendik's wallet

Answer: Nearly 27 years ago,

Answer: in the hollow trunk of a cherry tree.

Answer: $20

Summary:
Ruth Bendik's wallet was snatched in 1982 during the New York marathon .
Worker found wallet while chopping down a black cherry tree in Central Park .
Wallet still contained driver's license and credit cards, but $20 was missing .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Nearly a year after surviving a plane crash in South Carolina, disc jockey Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein was found dead in his New York apartment Friday afternoon, his publicist said. He was 36. Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein was one of two people who survived a 2008 plane crash in South Carolina. "The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear," his publicist, Jenni Weinman, said in a statement confirming the performer's death. "Out of respect for his family and loved ones, please respect their privacy at this time." Goldstein was found unconscious and unresponsive in his lower Manhattan apartment Friday afternoon, New York police said. The cause of death would be determined by medical examiners, but "there is no criminality suspected at this time," a police statement reported. Goldstein and Travis Barker, the drummer for rock band Blink-182, were the only survivors of a September plane crash in South Carolina that left both critically injured. Four others aboard the plane were killed when the Learjet skidded off a runway during takeoff from Columbia.  Watch more about his career » "Daily I live with the guilt and grief of what happened that night, what I saw, who was lost and why I was spared," he wrote in a December post on his Web site. "I have no words to express the pain that comes with knowing four people died, while I lived." In addition to spinning beats at clubs and festivals, Goldstein was known for dating reality-TV star Nicole Richie and singer-actress Mandy Moore. "I am absolutely heartbroken," Moore said in a statement. "For those of us lucky enough to have known him, Adam radiated a contagious exuberance for life and also personified the very definition of a true friend. To say that he will be missed beyond words is an understatement. My heart goes out to his loved ones." iReport.com: DJ AM "bridged communities" At the time of his death, he had been working on an MTV show about drug addiction that had been scheduled to debut in October. Goldstein himself had been a crack cocaine addict who said he wanted the show to help others recover. CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report.

Where was Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein found unconscious?

When did the plane crash in South Carolina?

Was there any criminal activities suspected?

When did the plan crash in South Carolina?

Answer: "there is no criminality suspected at this time,"

Answer: his lower Manhattan apartment

Answer: 2008

Answer: no criminality

Answer: Goldstein was found unconscious and unresponsive in his lower Manhattan apartment Friday afternoon,

Answer: "The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear,"

Answer: in his New York apartment

Answer: 2008

Summary:
Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein was found unconscious in his apartment .
There is no criminality suspected at this time," police say in statement .
"The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear," Goldstein's publicist says .
He was one of two survivors of a September plane crash in South Carolina .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Obesity is the No. 1 health crisis in the United States, and the nation could be at risk without immediate action, former President Clinton said at CNN's first Fit Nation Summit.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta and former President Clinton lead the discussion at the first Fit Nation Summit.

"We need to do something about it for our children, and for our country, because something like this could easily collapse our nation if we don't act now," Clinton said.

Clinton and CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, gathered with experts from across the country Wednesday to explore solutions to America's obesity crisis.

Two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight or obese; the same is true for one-third of U.S. children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity carries increased risk of myriad health problems, including hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

Gupta, Clinton and a panel of experts addressed such proposed solutions as healthy school lunches, elimination of trans fats, the need for healthier food in urban communities and the importance of supporting community-based efforts to fight obesity.  Watch Gupta explain the solutions proposed at the Fit Nation Summit »

Clinton, who's been tackling the obesity issue over the past few years with his Alliance for a Healthier Generation, stressed the need to help educate people about the importance of a healthy diet and exercising together.

Motivating Americans, especially kids, won't be easy, Clinton said. "They need to be handled with care. Kids need to know it's important, but [fitness] can't be boring," he said. "There's no shame, there's no embarrassment. We have to let them know it's all good, but you have to do it."

Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a strong advocate against trans fats in foods, stressed that the Food and Drug Administration should ban trans fats altogether and stop leaving it up to local and state governments.

Trans fats, at one time, thought to be good fat substitutes, over the years have been shown to raise LDL or bad cholesterol in people and lower their HDL, or good cholesterol. "They're just not good for our health, Jacobson said.

However, Dr. Robert Eckel, former president of the American Heart Association, warned, "Although we support the removal of trans fats, our biggest concern is what they'll be replaced with. We need to think about that, because there will be a substitute."

The panel took questions from an audience of 150 people -- mostly obesity experts or those who work in industries that deal with obesity.

Gupta was inspired to launch Fit Nation, an ongoing, multiplatform, grass-roots initiative against obesity. Over the past three years, Gupta and the CNN Medical Unit have crisscrossed the country, asking Americans to take charge of their weight by exercising more and eating healthier.

This year, Gupta traveled from Michigan to California asking the public to pledge to add 1 million hours to their collective lives by getting off the couch and exercising. Since he began the tour in April, the campaign has surpassed its goal, with exercise pledges close to four times that amount.

Gupta said he hopes that legislators and administrators who can make a difference in policy and perhaps change attitudes about obesity will hear the solutions discussed at the summit.

"I''ve covered a lot of stories on obesity," Gupta said. "There's a battle going on, and we need to win the battle. I've talked to people out there and many are just blasé.

"This is our opportunity to make them care." E-mail to a friend

What channel held the Fit Nation Summit?

Which former president appeared at the summit?

Experts called for which types of fat to be replaced?

What has been suggested to fight obesity?

What problem is being discussed at the Fit Nation Summit?

Which former president spoke at the summit?

What does President Clinton a solution to

Answer: CNN's

Answer: "They're just not good for our health,

Answer: Clinton

Answer: trans

Answer: healthy school lunches, elimination of trans fats, the need for healthier food in urban communities and the importance of supporting community-based efforts

Answer: solutions to America's obesity crisis.

Answer: Dr. Sanjay Gupta and former President Clinton

Answer: Fit Nation Summit.

Answer: Clinton

Answer: Obesity is the No. 1 health crisis in the United States, and the nation could be

Answer: America's obesity crisis.

Summary:
Experts gather at CNN's first Fit Nation Summit to propose obesity solutions .
Former President Clinton: Without obesity solution, nation risks "collapse"
Motivating youngsters, removing shame, embarrassment called key .
Experts: Removing trans fats, finding healthy replacements also critical .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- One summer night in 2004, 3-year-old Riley Fox lay asleep on a couch not far from her 6-year-old brother on a chair in the living room. Their father was sleeping in a nearby bedroom. The FBI joined the search for the killer of 3-year-old Riley Fox last month. Just before 8 a.m., Kevin Fox was awakened by his son. The boy told his father that Riley was missing from the sofa. Fox searched for his daughter for 40 minutes inside and outside their Wilmington, Illinois, home and then called police, according to authorities. His wife, Melissa, was in Chicago participating in a charity walk, and when she found out, she rushed home. Nearly 500 volunteers, along with police and family, searched for the little girl. Her body was found later that day in a river in Forked Creek, Illinois, just 4 miles from the family's home. She'd been bound and gagged with duct tape, raped and drowned, according to the Will County Sheriff's Office and the coroner's report. It was June 6, 2004, the start of a horrific ordeal for the family. Fox was arrested and charged with the killing, only to be exonerated by DNA evidence. More than five years later, authorities have yet to capture Riley's killer. Kathleen Zellner, Fox's attorney, said that the crime scene was brutal and that the theory is that Riley was snatched from her home, sexually assaulted and then thrown from the bridge overlooking the river where she drowned. Because her hands were bound and her mouth covered with duct tape, she was unable to swim or save herself, Zellner said. According to Zellner, Fox says that the night his daughter disappeared, he had gone to a street fair while the children's grandparents looked after them. On his way home, about midnight, Fox picked up his two sleepy children from their grandparents and put them to bed in the living room of the 500-square-foot cement box family home. Riley often fell asleep on the sofa and her 6-year-old brother on the chair near her while watching TV, Zellner said. Fox has said the front door was wide open when he awoke, Zellner said, as was the back door. He has said he locked the front door before he'd gone to bed. The back door's lock had been broken weeks ago; they typically propped a stack of laundry baskets against it to keep it shut. According to the family, those baskets had been removed and placed on top of the laundry machine by someone other than family members. "From the beginning, we believed that someone was already inside the house waiting when Kevin got home with the kids that night, " Melissa Fox said. "But it was clear that police were looking at Kevin suspiciously." Indeed, five months later, Will County sheriff's officers arrested and charged Kevin Fox with the sexual assault and murder of his daughter. Zellner says the arrest came after authorities coerced a confession from him after 14 hours of relentless questioning. Fox spent eight months in jail, but DNA evidence from the rape kit conducted on Riley's body finally exonerated him. There was no semen found during the autopsy, Zellner says, but saliva of an unidentified male was found on the duct tape covering Riley's mouth and elsewhere on her body. In late 2007, the family won a $15.5 million wrongful-arrest suit against the sheriff's detectives. The Foxes believe that the perpetrator was someone in the community who had been watching and targeting their daughter for some time. "For weeks before her disappearance, I couldn't shake a feeling of uneasiness, strange noises at night outside our house, as if someone were lurking and watching us," Melissa Fox said. Zellner believes that another big clue was a red car similar to a Chevrolet Cavalier parked outside the Fox home that night, before Kevin Fox and his children returned home. "It's only been in the last few weeks that investigators have actively begun

What sort of evidence exonerated Riley's father?

What was the age of Riley Fox when she died?

What is the name of the child who was slain?

Who was initially charged with her killing?

Answer: DNA

Answer: One summer night in 2004,

Answer: June 6, 2004,

Answer: 3-year-old

Answer: Riley Fox

Answer: Kevin Fox

Summary:
FBI joins investigation into death of 3-year-old Riley Fox, slain in 2004 .
Riley was reported missing from home; her body was found that day .
Authorities initially charged father in the killing, but DNA exonerated him .
Attorney for family blasts law enforcement for lack of progress on case .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Oooooooshie the clown knows the instant effect he has on patients. The Lev Leytzan clowns perform for children and patients in hospitals to spread laughter and joy. "When you walk out of a room hearing people laugh and smile, you hear them talking about it," said the clown, whose real name is Asher Mechanic. He entertains children and patients as part of a clown troupe in New York called Compassionate Clown Alley, bringing laughter to those in hospitals. "It's the spreading of giving from one person to another, like a chain reaction," Mechanic said. The clown organization is also known as Lev Leytzan, a name derived from the program's roots working with Jewish youth. In Hebrew, lev means heart, and leytzan is a clown, so the translation is "The Heart of the Clown."   Watch the clowns talk about their work. » "Lev Leytzan allows me to take [something] scary and mundane for the patient and into something exciting beautiful and playful," said the group's founder, Dr. Neal Goldberg, a Woodmere, New York-based clinical psychologist. For the last two and half years, the clowns have been bringing cheer to the patients at the South Nassau Communities Hospital. "The patients get satisfaction from having some sunshine coming to them in the hospital," said Phyllis Citera, director of volunteer services at the hospital.  "Sundays at the hospital are typically quiet, especially for those patients who don't have visitors stopping by. The clowns especially cheer them up." A positive approach empowers people who are ill, said Goldberg, who works with children, teenagers and young adults. Six years ago, while working on a bereavement project, he realized he was making a clown of himself and others in an effort to help people cope with pain.  He wondered what would distract the patients from their pain and bring joy. Inspired by the work of Dr. Patch Adams, who was portrayed by Robin Williams in the 1998 film "Patch Adams," Goldberg thought of running a similar program in which he and others could bring joy to people in orphanages, hospitals and retirement homes using the same whimsical approach. Goldberg researched the subject before putting on a red nose and trying out therapeutic clowning for himself. "I found it powerful in terms of my own growth and freedom of expression and creativity, and thought it would be something wonderful and powerful to bring back to the community, to teens in particular," he said. Goldberg's clowns range from 13 to 22 years old and say they find it both empowering and humbling. "As a clown, you get more than you give," said Dassy Newman, a former clown. "You can't hold back, you have to give it all. You have to give your heart, your soul, your energy, everything. It's the most exhausting thing you've ever done, but at the same time it's the most exhilarating." Dr. Carolyn Fein-Levy, a pediatric oncologist at Schneider Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park, New York, said Goldberg's clowns provide relief to the patients. "Whenever the clowns are around, the children are happier," Fein-Levy said. "When they are happier, their parents enjoy watching them. They recapture their childhoods lost as a result of being sick. Clowns are a good distraction and it helps them feel normal. Nothing is more important for them than feeling normal, because their lives are not normal while going through therapy." She also teaches an oncology class to the Lev Leytzan clowns. "It adds another dimension to their training and gives them an overview and an understanding to know what it's like to be a kid with cancer," she said.  Fein-Levy also draws from her own experience, having survived ovarian cancer as a child after a year of chemotherapy. "I teach in the clown school but I'm not worried about patients being harmed," she said.  "

What did the clowns say?
Where does Lev Leytzan perform?
What is the Clown group Lev Leytzan?
What did the founder say?
How long has Lev Leytzan been together?
What is the name of the clown group?
Who is in the clown group?

Answer: "When you walk out of a room hearing people laugh and smile, you hear them talking about it,"

Answer: for children and patients in hospitals

Answer: perform for children and patients in hospitals

Answer: "Lev Leytzan allows me to take [something] scary and mundane for the patient and into something exciting beautiful and playful,"

Answer: two and half years,

Answer: Lev Leytzan

Answer: Lev Leytzan

Summary:
Clown group Lev Leytzan gets name from working with Jewish youth.
Founder says he was inspired by Dr. Patch Adams to bring joy to patients .
Clowns who perform for patients say experience is humbling .
Mantra of group is "serious clowning, a story behind every smile"


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- President Obama mixed policy discussion with personal reflections on his daughters and, yes, a few jokes in an appearance on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman." President Obama jokes with David Letterman in New York in an interview taped Monday afternoon. It was the first time a sitting president has been a guest on the popular late-night entertainment show, according to the CBS Web site. It was taped Monday afternoon. After taking the stage to a huge ovation, Obama teased Letterman about being surprised to see the event on his daily schedule, saying: "That's one of those where you ask your advisers, 'Who's responsible for this?' " Later, when talking about summer activities of daughters Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, Obama said that they "goofed off," which he added was something he couldn't do. Letterman quickly quipped: "Well, others have," prompting a big laugh from both the audience and the president. On topical issues, Obama promised to ask "tough questions" before deciding whether to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, saying it was necessary to have a clear strategy in place before deploying resources.  Watch Obama talk with Letterman » He said his "No. 1 job" is to make sure the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks can never harm the United States again. Asked about the economy, Obama called the $787 billion economic stimulus package passed in his first month in office a "tourniquet" that prevented the recession from getting worse. Complete economic recovery will take time, he warned, but added that the situation appeared to be getting better. On the hostile debate over his push to overhaul the nation's health care system, Obama disagreed with the analysis by some that the public anger against him is fueled by racism. He drew a big laugh by pointing out he was black before he became president, then noted that his election by the American public "tells you ... a lot about where the country is at." "I think that what's happened is that whenever a president tries to bring about significant changes, particularly during times of economic unease, then there is a certain segment of the population that gets very riled up," Obama said. Previous presidents including Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan also generated emotional opposition, Obama said. "This is not untypical," he said. "One of the things you sign up for in politics is, folks yell at you."

What did Obama's daughter do this summer?

What will Obama ask before sending more troops to Afghanistan?

What was Obama's first time sitting president as?

What will Obama ask before sending in more troops?

Who was the first sitting-president to be a Letterman guest?

Answer: they "goofed off,"

Answer: "tough questions"

Answer: a guest on the popular late-night entertainment show,

Answer: "tough questions"

Answer: "tough questions"

Answer: "goofed off,"

Answer: President Obama

Summary:
President Obama's visit first time a sitting president has been "Letterman" guest .
Obama says he'll ask "tough questions" before sending more troops to Afghanistan .
President says he doesn't think racism fuels opposition to health care overhaul .
What did daughters Malia and Sasha do this summer? They "goofed off," he says .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Prodding Israel and the Palestinian Authority to restart talks aimed at a permanent resolution of their decades-old conflict, President  Obama dropped a demand for an Israeli settlement freeze, U.S., Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Benjamin Netanyahu, left, President Obama and Mahmoud Abbas. "Simply put, it is past time to talk about starting negotiations. It is time to move forward," Obama told reporters before a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "It is time to show the flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that is necessary to achieve our goals," Obama said. Obama first met separately with Netanyahu  and Abbas on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in what he called "frank and productive" talks. The session was the first among the three leaders since Obama took office in January. George Mitchell, Obama's envoy for the Middle East, attended Tuesday's talks. He said the talks were "at all times cordial," but "direct" and sometimes "blunt." Obama told Abbas and Netanyahu that, "The only reason to hold public office is to get things done," and that everyone "must take risks for peace," Mitchell said. Mitchell told reporters the U.S. is "not identifying any issue as being a precondition or an impediment to negotiation." But the United States and Israel have publicly disagreed on Israeli plans to build more housing on land the Palestinians regard as theirs. Previous Obama administration demands for a freeze have been ignored by the Netanyahu government.  Watch Netanyahu address peace, settlements » Abbas has so far rejected resuming talks with Israel until the Jewish state halts all settlement building in the occupied West Bank and in predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem. Arab states also have balked at the U.S. request to take confidence-building measures toward Israel until Israel freezes settlement construction. Sitting with Netanyahu and Abbas, Obama softened his regular language on a settlement "freeze," saying that Israel has had meaningful discussions about "restraining" settlement activity. "But they need to translate these discussions into real action on this and other issues," he said. "Obama told Abbas that he couldn't get the settlement freeze and promised to keep trying, but that it shouldn't be a condition for talks and it was time to move on," one Palestinian aide to Abbas said. Several U.S. officials said that Obama told Abbas that although the U.S. believe a settlement freeze would create a better atmosphere for talks to begin, the lack of one should not be used an as excuse not to talk. "Let's not have the perfect be the enemy of the good," Obama told Abbas, according to the officials.  Watch Obama: 'We have to find a way forward' » "It's been apparent for some time that the Israelis were going to fall short of what is necessary on the settlement freeze," one senior U.S. official said. "But our view is let's get to negotiations and settlements will be addressed within those final status issues" A senior Israeli diplomat said Israel agreed to not building any new settlements, no outward expansion of existing growth and to only build for "natural" growth within existing settlements. He said Israel also agreed not to encourage Israelis to move to settlements, which would increase the population. "A complete settlement freeze wasn't physically or politically possible, especially in the absence of any Arab or Palestinian concessions," the Israeli diplomat said. "There was a time the gaps had significantly narrowed, but now they were starting to widen. The administration recognized, rather than have them widen further, we should start negotiating." The Palestinian aide to  Abbas said Obama's failure to secure a settlement freeze has weakened him in the eyes of the Palestinian delegation, because it casts doubt on his ability to move Israel during final status negotiations. The Palestinians did win an important point, however, with Obama making clear that the peace talks would not start from scratch, which Netanyahu had favored

What did Israel agree to on West Bank settlement growth?

Answer: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

Answer: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Answer: "It is time to show the flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that is necessary to achieve our goals,"

Answer: "It is time to show the flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that is necessary to achieve our goals,"

Answer: resolution of their decades-old conflict,

Answer: "Simply put, it is past time to talk about starting negotiations. It is time to move forward,"

Answer: not building any new settlements,

Answer: Benjamin Netanyahu,

Summary:
NEW: Israel agrees to some limits on West Bank settlement growth .
"It is past time to talk about starting negotiations," President Obama says .
Obama meets separately, then jointly, with Netanyahu and Abbas .
Meetings come as hopes for renewed Israeli-Palestinian talks have dimmed .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Spiritual leaders of New York's African-American Muslim communities lashed out Friday at a purported al Qaeda message attacking President-elect Barack Obama and, using racist language, comparing him unfavorably to the late Malcolm X. Ayman al-Zawahiri said Obama was the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X. The imams called the recorded comments from al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri "an insult" from people who have "historically been disconnected from the African-American community generally and Muslim African-Americans in particular." "We find it insulting when anyone speaks for our community instead of giving us the dignity and the honor of speaking for ourselves," they said in a statement read during a news conference at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial, Educational and Cultural Center. The al Qaeda statement, an 11-minute, 23-second audio message in Arabic with subtitles in English, appeared on the Internet on Wednesday. Its authenticity has not been confirmed. The message said Obama represents the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X.  Watch al Qaeda official criticize Obama » The speaker also said Obama, former and current Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice and "your likes" fit Malcolm X's description of "house slaves." An English translation of the message used the term "house Negroes," Malcolm X's term for blacks who were subservient to whites. The term refers to slaves who worked in white masters' houses. Malcolm X said those slaves were docile compared with those who labored in the fields. iReport.com: Should Obama react to comments? Malcolm X, the fiery African-American Muslim activist from the 1950s and 1960s, was an early member and leader of the Nation of Islam. He left that group in 1963 over disillusionment with its then-leader, Elijah Muhammed, but remained a Muslim. After months of death threats, he was assassinated in 1965 by members of the Nation of Islam, who shot him 16 times at close range. The three men who were convicted of the crime have been paroled. On Friday, Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, recalling Malcolm X's legacy, said that he "stood for human rights and the principle of self defense ... international law. He would have rejected, and we who are Muslim African-Americans leaders reject, acts of political extremism." The Council on American-Islamic Relations also condemned Zawahiri's comments in a statement issued Thursday. "As Muslims and as Americans, we will never let terrorist groups or terror leaders falsely claim to represent us or our faith," the statement said. "We once again repudiate al Qaeda's actions, rhetoric and world view and re-state our condemnation of all forms of terrorism and religious extremism."

Who fit Malcolm X's definition of house negro?

Who responded to comments made by an al Qaeda official?

President-elect Barack Obama fit whose definition of a "house Negro"?

What did U.S. Muslim leaders respond to?

Which secretaries of state were denigrated?

What was the response of US Muslim leaders?

Answer: Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice

Answer: Spiritual leaders of New York's African-American Muslim communities

Answer: "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X.

Answer: Ayman al-Zawahiri

Answer: Ayman al-Zawahiri

Answer: al Qaeda

Answer: at a purported al Qaeda message attacking President-elect Barack Obama and, using racist language,

Answer: Obama

Answer: Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice

Answer: lashed out

Summary:
U.S. Muslim leaders respond to comments reportedly made by al Qaeda official .
Official said President-elect Barack Obama fit Malcolm X's definition of "house Negro"
Official also denigrated Secretaries of State Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- The British are coming, the British are coming -- to Brooklyn? By subway? Barclays has paid $300 million for the naming rights to the New Jersey Nets arena. New York's struggling Metropolitan Transportation Authority has sold the naming rights to the second-busiest subway stop in Brooklyn. The Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street Station will now have the name of a British bank, Barclays, added to it. Several subway riders are outraged that Barclays has purchased the naming rights to this subway stop, which sees about 10 million people go through it each day. One straphanger said, "A London Bank shouldn't be the name of this train station; it's something that belongs to the public domain." Another said, "It's just everywhere we go, everything we do, it's just branding, branding, branding. It's America now." Renaming the Atlantic-Pacific Station is tied to the construction of Barclays Center, the new sports arena for the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets. Barclays is paying developer Forest City Ratner $300 million for naming rights to this arena. Ratner, in a separate deal, will be paying the Metropolitan Transportation Authority $200,000 a year for the next 20 years to rename this commuter hub. Authority Press Secretary Jeremy Soffin said, "Like transit systems all over the U.S. and around the world, we are facing budget deficits." In an effort to bridge the authority's $1 billion deficit, the transit giant that oversees the operation of the city's subways, buses and rail lines wants to follow the Barclays example with stations throughout the system. Though the Atlantic-Pacific subway station is the first in New York for which naming rights have been sold, across the country, there have been several cases of public transportation systems using naming rights to increase revenue. In 2003, the Las Vegas monorail system signed a 12-year, $50 million deal with Nextel to put its name on the station in the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Cleveland Bus System sold station names to two hospitals for $1.1 million a year. Internationally, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority has been selling the naming rights of 23 metro stations. However, not all naming rights deals are successful. In 2001, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority tried to raise $22 million by auctioning the naming rights to four historic "T" stations. It received no bids. Reassuring the public that there are certain lines they won't cross when it comes to renaming stations of historical value, Soffin said, "It's a very clear line there, and we want to be as open as possible, but we're not sort of selling the shop here."

Which is the second busiest station in Brooklyn?

What is the second busiest station in Brooklyn?

How much did the basketball arena developer pay?

How much did the developer pay for rights?

Answer: in Brooklyn.

Answer: Barclays

Answer: Atlantic Avenue-Pacific

Answer: The Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street

Answer: $300 million

Answer: $300 million

Summary:
Basketball arena developer pays $200,000 a year for 20 years for rights .
Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street station is second busiest in Brooklyn .
Riders express disappointment at "branding" of subway stop .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- The FBI has begun interviewing clients of deceased Garden City, New York, lawyer William Parente as part of an investigation into his financial dealings, according to FBI spokesman James Margolin.

Stephanie Parente, 19, was found dead along with her sister and parents in a Baltimore hotel Monday.

Margolin said the investigation was launched at the request of police in Baltimore County, Maryland, where Parente, his wife and their two daughters were found dead in a hotel room earlier this week.

"We're looking into Parente's business interests and whether there's any impropriety there and any crime was committed," Margolin said.

Baltimore County police say Parente, 59, killed his family before committing suicide. There have been allegations of financial impropriety in the course of the investigation, said police spokesman Cpl. Mike Hill at a news conference Wednesday.

A law enforcement source told CNN a cell phone belonging to Parente was recovered in the hotel room where the bodies were found. In an attempt to locate surviving family members, investigators contacted people in the phone's directory, and some of those people said they were Parente's investment clients.

The New York attorney general's office confirmed it received a complaint alleging financial wrongdoing from attorney Bruce Montague of Queens, New York.

CNN spoke with Montague's law partner, Steve Drelich, who said he was speaking on Montague's behalf because Montague is distraught over the death of Parente, whom he considered a personal friend as well as a financial adviser. Drelich confirmed Montague was a client of Parente's, and said the two had known each other about six years and that Montague had been investing with Parente for about that long.

Drelich said Montague's estimated losses in investments with Parente total about $450,000.

Drelich said recently Montague "got nervous and asked [Parente] for his money back," in light of highly publicized scandals involving other investors and financial advisers.

Drelich said when Montague kept asking Parente about the money, he was told "it was in a Canadian bank and [Parente] was having trouble getting the money back."

Montague finally received six checks late last week, Drelich said.

"Four of the six checks bounced. We were told there was no money in the account. ... We were told by the bank that the checks were bouncing," Drelich told CNN. Drelich said he doesn't know the amounts of the two checks that did clear for Montague.

It was not until news broke about the Parente family deaths and apparent murder-suicide investigation that Montague contacted authorities, Drelich said.

But Drelich emphasized that Montague was more upset with the deaths than any financial loss.

"You can always make more money," Drelich said. "But Bruce is devastated about the family. He considered [Parente] a friend, but he's especially concerned about the family."

Drelich said his office received calls from at least five other people who said they invested money with Parente, with callers claiming more than $4 million in total investments with Parente. Drelich said his office referred those callers to the state attorney general's office.

Baltimore County police said Parente killed his wife, Betty, 58, on Sunday, April 19, using "blunt force trauma" and asphyxiation.

Police said he killed his daughter Catherine, 11, around the same time, using the same method.

Later that day, his daughter Stephanie, 19, a Loyola College sophomore, was killed also by blunt force trauma and asphyxiation, according to police. Citing hotel records, police said the room was accessed by its electronic key at around 4 p.m. on Sunday, making it plausible that Stephanie entered the room.

Later that evening, police said, Stephanie's college roommate, worried that she had an exam the next morning and hadn't come home, called the room and spoke to William Parente. Parente told the roommate Stephanie would be spending the night. Police believe she was dead at the time.

Parente died some time later by cutting himself, police said, but would not elaborate further

who is looking for financial impropriety?

Answer: lawyer

Answer: Parente's business interests

Answer: his family

Answer: Margolin

Answer: Montague

Answer: killed his family before committing suicide.

Summary:
FBI looking for financial impropriety after man's clients talked about money loss .
Police say William Parente killed wife, two daughters in hotel room .
Family ID'd as William and Betty Parente, Stephanie, 19, Catherine, 11 .
Police say Parente, an attorney, fatally cut himself .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- The New York State Assembly passed a same-sex marriage bill Tuesday evening, bringing New York one step closer to legalizing such marriages. Gov. David Paterson has said he'd sign a same-sex if it's passed by the New York Senate. The bill, which passed 89-52, will now go on to the state Senate for a vote. If it is passed there, it will go to Gov. David Paterson, who has made it clear he will sign the bill. "I applaud ... members of both parties for moving this historic legislation forward," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement released by the mayor's office. "I hope New York will soon become the latest state to adopt a law whose time has come." State Sen. Thomas K. Duane, a Democrat, said in a statement, "I am confident that this year my Senate will uphold this fundamental legal principle and vote for my right, our right, to be married this year." This is the second time New York's Marriage Equality Legislation has been approved by the State Assembly -- it passed in 2007, but subsequently stalled in the then Republican-controlled Senate.

Which bill will go to the state Senate?
Who is the mayor of New York City ?
did many oppose it?
Which State Assembly passes bill?
will the bill go to the senate

Answer: a same-sex marriage

Answer: Michael Bloomberg

Answer: 89-52,

Answer: New York

Answer: on

Summary:
New York State Assembly passes bill by vote of 89 to 52 .
Same-sex marriage bill will go to the state Senate .
Gov. David Paterson has said he would sign a same-sex marriage bill .
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg applauds legislators for vote .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- The U.S. government paid more than $1.7 million in defense contracts over the last decade to companies owned by leaders of Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect, with tens of thousands allegedly winding its way back to Jeffs and his church. The Pentagon had contracts with three companies with ties to Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect. In fact, some of the deals were made after Jeffs was named to the FBI's "Most-Wanted List" and remained in place while he was on the run. CNN has learned that between 1998 and 2007, the United States Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency purchased more than $1.7 million worth of airplane parts from three companies owned by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which practices polygamy. Those companies are Utah Tool and Die, Western Precision and NewEra Manufacturing. Today, the companies all operate under the name NewEra Manufacturing, a company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that says it supplies precision components "for the aerospace, military, medical, recreational and other commercial entities." "It was my understanding that Western Precision was paying roughly $50,000 a week into the coffers of the church," former sect member Richard Holm said. "It would have been close to $200,000 a month." Holm said he helped build Western Precision. A court affidavit signed by a man whose father was the president of Western Precision makes similar allegations. "During 2003, the amount being sent to the storehouse and the FLDS was around $100,000 per month," John Nielsen said in the October 26, 2005, affidavit. "I have personal knowledge that checks sent to the FLDS Church/Warren Jeffs by [Western Precision] are payable to the FLDS Church and/or Warren Jeffs." Private investigator Sam Brower, who monitors the sect, said money earned through business dealings with the U.S. government was used to build Jeffs' compounds across the country, including the one recently raided in Eldorado, Texas. More than 400 children, including teenage girls, were removed from that ranch amid claims of child abuse and forced marriage and motherhood.  Watch a mom plead: 'We need our children' » Brower says dozens of companies tied to FLDS are working on contracts with federal or local governments. The Pentagon would confirm only it had contracts with three. A man who answered the phone at NewEra Manufacturing said it had no comment. The companies have not been charged with wrongdoing. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell emphasized that point. "The Department of Defense awards contracts on the basis of who can most effectively meet our requirements for supplies or services at the most reasonable cost to the taxpayer," he said. "We do not consider religious affiliation or marital status when selecting vendors, but illegal activity is certainly cause for termination of a contract and perhaps even debarment, which could prevent a contractor from doing business with department ever again." He added, "However, DoD is not aware of any criminal allegations against anyone managing the companies in question." Bob Maginnis, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who now works with a contractor for the Pentagon, said the department does background checks before signing contracts. "The DoD is obviously abiding by the law, and if we want them to look deeper and discriminate on religious or other activities we need to tell them." But he added, "If there was a direct line between Jeffs and this company, and his name was associated with a contract, then that should have come to attention of those that were bidding contract." It's unclear whether Jeffs' name was on any contract, but other senior members of his church were managing the companies. What might taxpayers think of it all? "They're just going to shake their head and say here's another example of our tax money going down the drain to support this polygamist in Texas who abuses children and women," Maginnis said. "They'll be appalled and rightly so." Jeffs is serving time in Utah after his 2007

Who bought airplane parts from companies tied to Warren Jeffs?

The Pentagon bought airplane parts from whom?

What armed force was the retired colonel?

Nothing illegal happened according to whom?

Answer: the United States Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency

Answer: the FBI's "Most-Wanted List"

Answer: FBI's "Most-Wanted List"

Answer: had contracts with three companies with ties to Warren Jeffs' polygamous

Answer: three companies owned by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

Answer: Utah Tool and Die, Western Precision and NewEra Manufacturing.

Answer: who now works with a contractor for the Pentagon, said the department does background checks before signing contracts.

Answer: Army

Answer: Geoff Morrell

Summary:
Pentagon bought airplane parts from companies tied to Warren Jeffs .
Contracts continued even after Jeffs was on FBI "Most-Wanted List"
Pentagon defends contracts, stands by them as appropriate .
Retired Army colonel says nothing illegal happened, but people will be "appalled"


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- The YouTube and Carnegie Hall generations collided Wednesday night in New York City as a nearly sold-out audience looked on in amazement.

Images from musicians' videos are projected during the YouTube Symphony Orchestra concert in New York.

Almost 100 musicians from around the world -- the world's first symphony orchestra comprised of members who auditioned solely online -- played their debut gig. They may have forever changed the audition process in their journey.

The YouTube Symphony Orchestra bore a new era of classical performance at Carnegie Hall, and according to a YouTube employee, that's exactly what they wanted to do.

"We hope this is game changing in the sense it redefines audition space, it brings people closer together and lets them collaborate, transcending geographical and linguistic boundaries," said marketing manager Ed Sanders.

Participants were chosen from more than 3,000 YouTube video submissions from more than 70 countries and territories spanning six continents, according to a press release.  Watch orchestra play »

Their YouTube channel has received more than 15 million page views thus far with members hailing from more than 30 countries. The symphony orchestra's members participated in the three-day Classical Music Summit at Julliard and their Carnegie Hall debut served as the finale.

Michael Tilson Thomas directed the performance and also served as the artistic adviser and conductor to the orchestra. He refined and nurtured each member through their musical selections online until the entire orchestra met in the real world a few days ago.

"For us it's somewhere between a classical music summit conference and a scout jamboree with an element of speed dating thrown in," Thomas said.

While some participants traveled from as far as South Korea, Malaysia and Lithuania, bass player Kurt Hinterbichler lives in New York City. A theoretical physicist working on his doctorate at Columbia University, Hinterbichler was enamored at being chosen to participate.

"Carnegie Hall is still sort of the unofficial pinnacle of achievement of the classical music world," he said. "You know once you've made it to Carnegie Hall you've really made it."

So, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? "Upload, upload, upload [YouTube videos]," joked Thomas, updating the old "practice, practice, practice" punchline.

Violin player Jennifer Lindsay, who is a systems engineer by day, said she was floored when she learned she was selected. "YouTube gave me this opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall. There's no other way that someone like me who is not even a professional musician would have ever made it."

World-renowned composer Tan Dun created a piece especially for the orchestra titled "Internet Symphony No. 1, Eroica." Dun told YouTube his inspiration for this piece came from the streets of many international cities.

"On the streets of New York, London, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, I heard the street noise...then I thought this is the spirit beyond, this is the spirit of today."

Dun has also created music for the movie "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" and the Beijing Summer Olympics.

The symphony orchestra played to a Carnegie Hall audience that was almost 90 percent of capacity.

Audience members seemed to love not only the performance, but the idea as a whole. Peter Newton and his wife were on vacation in New York from London and decided to attend the concert.

"The mixture between the music and democracy... it's interesting that at the end of the day, you bring them together for this performance," he said.

Aaron Polsky attended the performance in support of his sister, who helped organize it. He was amazed at how limitless the performance seemed. "I think it's great... there are really no boundaries other than owning a computer and an Internet connection."

Musicians Lindsay and Hinterbichler both said they had no doubts the event would be a success.

"Absolutely do not underestimate the motivational power of playing at Carnegie Hall," Lindsay said. Hinterbichler agreed, "We've got world class conductors, it will come together."

what did YouTube Symphony Orchestra play

Who assembled the musicians from around the world?

what was assembled from musicians around the world

What is the name of hall where the event occurred?

Where did generations collide on Wednesday?

what is the answer to how do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Answer: YouTube Symphony

Answer: Classical

Answer: YouTube Symphony Orchestra

Answer: Carnegie Hall,

Answer: YouTube

Answer: first symphony orchestra comprised of members who auditioned solely online

Answer: Carnegie

Answer: New York City

Answer: "Upload, upload, upload [YouTube videos],"

Summary:
The YouTube and Carnegie Hall generations collided Wednesday in New York City .
YouTube Symphony Orchestra played a live concert to an amazed audience .
Orchestra assembled from musicians around the world who "auditioned" online .
So, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? "Upload, upload, upload videos"


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- The husband of a woman who authorities say was impaired by marijuana and alcohol when she caused a head-on collision that killed eight people, including herself, has rejected claims of substance abuse by his wife. Daniel Schuler, left, and his attorney, Dominic Barbara, speak at Thursday's news conference. "I've never seen her drunk since the day I met her," Daniel Schuler, referring to his wife, Diane, said Thursday. "I'm not angry at her. I'd marry her again tomorrow." Accompanied by his attorney, Schuler held a news conference to counter claims by authorities, who said Tuesday that Diane Schuler, 36, had a blood alcohol level of 0.19 percent -- more than twice the legal limit for drivers -- and had marijuana in her system when she drove a minivan the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway and ran head-on into an SUV. Three adults in the SUV were killed in the July 26 collision, as were Schuler and four children -- her daughter and three nieces -- who were in the minivan. A fifth child in the minivan, Schuler's son, survived. On Thursday, Dominic Barbara, Daniel Schuler's lawyer, cited a list of medical aliments inflicting Diane Schuler before the crash. She apparently had a tooth abscess for two months, diabetes at "various levels" and a mysterious lump on her leg that seemed to move, he said.  Watch Daniel Schuler defend his wife » "I think she had a stroke," said Barbara, who admitted he had no evidence to support his claim. "And I think from the stroke came all the other issues of what happened." The crash happened about 30 miles north of New York after Schuler and the children left a campground where her family had stayed. Barbara said nobody at the camp saw Diane Schuler with alcohol. He said investigators interviewed nine people who spoke with Diane Schuler before she embarked, and those people did not smell marijuana or alcohol on her breath. "Actually, it was the opposite," Barbara said. "She was happy. She was talking to people." Authorities said Tuesday that a broken vodka bottle was found in the minivan after the crash. Barbara said he couldn't explain the bottle, but he said, "Something had to have happened." Daniel Schuler and his lawyer said they have yet to decide on whether they want another autopsy. Jay Schuler, Daniel Schuler's sister, said Thursday that Diane Schuler was reliable and loved children. "There's no way she'd do this," Jay Schuler said. "She was responsible." The statements by Schuler and his attorney differed from the toxicology report released Tuesday by the Westchester County District Attorney's Office. Besides the 0.19 percent blood alcohol level and marijuana, tests showed Diane Schuler had 6 grams of alcohol in her stomach that had yet to be metabolized, according to Maj. William Carey of the New York State Police. Meanwhile, an attorney representing families of two SUV occupants who died in the wreck said a lawsuit is likely. "If I could prognosticate, it appears that there will be a civil suit," said Marshall Nemark, an attorney representing the families of Michael Bastardi and his son, Guy Bastardi, who were killed in the crash along with a friend.

What did Authorities say her condition was when she caused the fatal crash?

How many people were killed in the wreck?

Answer: about 30 miles north of New York

Answer: impaired by marijuana and alcohol

Answer: eight

Answer: "I've never seen her drunk since the day I met her,"

Answer: marijuana and alcohol

Answer: "I've never seen her drunk since the day I met her,"

Answer: eight

Answer: eight

Summary:
Diane Schuler's husband says she didn't abuse alcohol, drugs .
Authorities: Schuler was intoxicated when she caused fatal crash in New York .
Wreck killed eight people, including Schuler, her daughter and three nieces .
Attorney: No one saw Schuler with alcohol before she began drive .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- The largest mass transit project in the country got under way Monday with the help of federal stimulus dollars, as public officials broke ground on a second passenger rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River. Work on the country's largest mass transit project began Monday. The new tunnel will link New Jersey with New York and eventually will double capacity on the nation's busiest rail corridor, running from Washington to Boston, Massachusetts, officials said. Officials participated in the groundbreaking for the $8.7 billion project as commuter trains passed behind them in North Bergen, New Jersey, before entering the existing train tunnel, which went into operation in 1908. "As we start digging this tunnel, I think that what really it means, we are digging our way out of an economic crisis," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey. "As we're getting under way, we're seeing the dividends of the Recovery Act being paid right now." The Department of Transportation announced Monday that it will commit $3 billion to the project over its lifespan. Of that, $130 million is coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the department said.. It is the largest commitment to any transportation project anywhere in the United States in the history of the Department of Transportation, according to administrator Peter Rogoff of the Federal Transportation Administration. "This is what President Obama means by recovery. It means putting people back to work now to improve the lives of so many others for years to come," Rogoff said. The project -- known as ARC, for Access to the Region's Core -- is expected to create 6,000 design and construction jobs. "This is going to promote mobility, reduce commuter congestion, staunch carbon emissions, enhance regional competitiveness and lay a foundation for an extraordinary expansion of mass transit in the most densely populate state in the nation, New Jersey," New Jersey Gov. John Corzine said. New Jersey Transit says 170,000 passengers now travel through the existing train tunnel beneath the Hudson River to New York each day. When completed, the second tunnel will enable that figure to increase to 255,000 passenger trips. The additional passengers will disembark at a new concourse to be built at Penn Station in New York, 150 feet below street level.

What is Access to the Region's Core, expected to create?

Answer: passenger rail tunnel

Answer: New Jersey with New York

Answer: The Department of Transportation

Answer: New Jersey with New York

Answer: The Department of Transportation

Answer: 6,000 design and construction jobs.

Answer: 6,000

Answer: Department of Transportation,

Summary:
Tunnel will link New Jersey with New York, doubles commuter rail capacity .
Part of project financed by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act .
ARC, Access to the Region's Core, expected to create 6,000 jobs .


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.

What is the possible punishment Madoff faces?

Answer: He faces one charge of securities fraud in connection

Answer: up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine if convicted.

Answer: $15.5 million

Answer: brokerage firm

Answer: up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine if convicted.

Summary:
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 .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Three Staten Island men are charged with violating voting rights, accused of assaulting African-Americans after Barack Obama's win in the November presidential election, authorities said Wednesday. A grand jury indicted Ralph Nicoletti, 18, Michael Contreras, 18, and Brian Carranza, 21, on charges of conspiracy to interfere with voting rights. All three pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday afternoon. According to the indictment, the three "knowingly and intentionally" conspired to intimidate African-Americans "in the free exercise and enjoyment of a right ... and because of having so exercised that right, to wit, the right to vote." Nicoletti and Carranza are white, and Contreras is Latino. They face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. At the arraignment, Nicoletti and Contreras were ordered held without bail, while Carranza was released on a $200,000 bond but ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device. Contreras' attorney, public defender Len Kamdang, could not be reached for comment. Nicoletti's attorney, Bob LaRusso, had no comment. Prosecutors said in court filings that on the night of November 4, the defendants were at a "makeshift outdoor clubhouse" in the Rosebank section of Staten Island when they learned of Obama's victory. At that point, prosecutors said, Nicoletti drove Contreras, Carranza and another friend to the predominantly African-American Park Hill neighborhood in Staten Island. Their purpose, prosecutors said, was to assault African-Americans because of Obama's win. Their first victim, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, was 17-year-old Ali Kamara, whom they beat with a metal pipe and a collapsible police baton. Kamara escaped after suffering a concussion and injuries to his legs. "The first swing that swung -- it hit my head. It cut my head," Kamara told CNN affiliate WABC. "I got staples on my head now." Kamara said he hid in a neighbor's backyard until the boys moved on. Continuing to the Port Richmond section of Staten Island, the group assaulted a second African-American man, pushing him down, the federal prosecutors alleged. They then allegedly accosted a Latino man, demanding to know how he voted, and shouted profanities about Obama at a group of African-Americans at a hair salon. Next, prosecutors said, the group targeted Ronald Forte, a man they mistakenly believed to be African-American who was walking along Blackford Avenue in predominantly African-American Port Richmond. Forte is white, but because he was wearing a hoodie, the men were unable to identify his race and assumed that he was African-American. According to the indictment, the men decided to assault Forte with the police baton as they drove by, but at the last moment, Nicoletti swerved the vehicle directly into the 38-year-old man instead. Forte was thrown onto the hood of the car, shattering the front windshield. According to Staten Island Real Time News (silive.com), Forte was in a coma for 45 days, returning to his family's home in New Jersey in mid-December, said his mother, Eileen. She added that her son now has serious brain damage and motor control problems. "He's not good. He's never going to be good," she said. "Every day, I just see something different, and it's so scary." U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell decried the attacks. "Violence and intimidation aimed at interfering with the constitutional rights of every citizen, including the right to vote, will not be tolerated," he said in a written statement. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Nicoletti has an extensive history of violent criminal activity including burglary, car break-ins, firebombing, assault, and marijuana and cocaine distribution. He is also a member of the "Rosebank Crew" (RBK) founded by his now-incarcerated younger brother, Anthony Nicoletti. Investigators found a cache of weapons and police batons stolen from vehicles owned by police, as well as letters from Nicoletti's brother

What three men conspired to intimidate African-Americans?

How many men were involved in the conspiracy to intimidate?

What two were held without bail while the other was out with a monitoring device?

Answer: Ralph Nicoletti, 18, Michael Contreras, 18, and Brian Carranza, 21,

Answer: Nicoletti and Contreras

Answer: Three

Answer: Nicoletti and Contreras

Answer: Three Staten Island men

Answer: intimidate African-Americans

Answer: African-Americans

Summary:
Indictment says three men conspired to intimidate African-Americans .
They've pleaded not guilty of conspiracy to interfere with voting rights .
Two held without bail; other out on bail with monitoring device .
Prosecutors: Men went to African-American neighborhoods, assaulted 3 people .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Three professors and a former professor at Columbia University's Teachers College received hate mail this week, the New York Police Department said. It's the campus that was shaken by several bias crimes directed at black and Jewish professors in 2007.

Columbia University's Teachers College is once again the target of a hate campaign.

Three professors received manila envelopes Tuesday with images of swastikas in them.

The fourth, a former professor who is an African-American, was sent a manila envelope containing an image of a noose, according to NYPD deputy commissioner Paul Browne.

Among those receiving a swastika image was Elizabeth Midlarsky, a Jewish psychologist who has studied psychological principles in the context of the Holocaust, police said.

In 2007, her office door was spray-painted with a swastika. (A swastika is the right-angles cross symbol used on Nazi Germany flags).

The NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is leading the investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made.

"The TC community deplores these hateful acts, which violate every Teachers College and societal norm," said an e-mail Wednesday to faculty and students from the college's president, Susan Fuhrman; and dean, Tom James.

No arrests were been made in the 2007 incidents. Police declined to say if they believe there is a connection between those cases and the mailings this week.

What agency is in charge of the investigation?

What happened to the psychologist's office door in 2007?

Answer: Elizabeth Midlarsky,

Answer: The NYPD Hate Crimes Unit

Answer: Elizabeth Midlarsky,

Answer: Three professors and a former professor at Columbia University's Teachers College

Answer: received hate mail

Answer: Paul Browne.

Answer: spray-painted with a swastika.

Summary:
Three professors, one former one at Columbia University receive hate mail this week .
Jewish psychologist at Teachers College among those receiving swastika .
In 2007, same psychologist's office door was spray-painted with a swastika .
NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is leading investigation; no arrests made .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Three professors and a former professor at Columbia University's Teachers College received hate mail this week, the New York Police Department said. It's the campus that was shaken by several bias crimes directed at black and Jewish professors in 2007. Columbia University's Teachers College is once again the target of a hate campaign. Three professors received manila envelopes Tuesday with images of swastikas in them. The fourth, a former professor who is an African-American, was sent a manila envelope containing an image of a noose, according to NYPD deputy commissioner Paul Browne. Among those receiving a swastika image was Elizabeth Midlarsky, a Jewish psychologist who has studied psychological principles in the context of the Holocaust, police said. In 2007, her office door was spray-painted with a swastika. (A swastika is the right-angles cross symbol used on Nazi Germany flags). The NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is leading the investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made. "The TC community deplores these hateful acts, which violate every Teachers College and societal norm," said an e-mail Wednesday to faculty and students from the college's president, Susan Fuhrman; and dean, Tom James. No arrests were been made in the 2007 incidents. Police declined to say if they believe there is a connection between those cases and the mailings this week.

Who is leading the investigation into these hate crimes?

what crime unit is leading the investigation

Answer: Three professors and a former professor at Columbia University's Teachers College

Answer: Elizabeth Midlarsky,

Answer: The NYPD

Answer: NYPD Hate

Answer: Three professors

Summary:
Three professors, one former one at Columbia University receive hate mail this week .
Jewish psychologist at Teachers College among those receiving swastika .
In 2007, same psychologist's office door was spray-painted with a swastika .
NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is leading investigation; no arrests made .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Toward the end of her marriage, Rabia Iqbal said she feared for her life. Robina Niaz said the Quran "condemns" abuse of women. "If we witness injustice, we're required to speak up." Iqbal was born in New York to parents who had immigrated to the United States from the tribal areas of Pakistan. She had a strict Muslim upbringing and when she was 16, her parents arranged her marriage to a 38-year-old man. She claims her husband turned violent during their 10 years of marriage. When she finally left him, she did not know where to turn. Going home wasn't an option, she said. "My parents ... made clear that they would disown me," Iqbal said. "My father even said ... 'You're lucky you live in America because if you lived back home, you would have been dead by now.' " She was hiding out in her office at work when a friend put her in touch with Robina Niaz, whose organization, Turning Point for Women and Families, helps female Muslim abuse victims. "It was such a relief ... to speak about things that ... I thought no one would understand," said Iqbal, who has received counseling from Niaz for more than two years and calls Niaz her "savior." "Robina understood the cultural nuances ... the religious issues," Iqbal said.  Watch Iqbal tell her story » A devout Muslim, Niaz stresses that there is no evidence that domestic violence is more common among Muslim families. "Abuse happens everywhere," said Niaz. "It cuts across barriers of race, religion, culture." But, she said, Muslims are often reluctant to confront the issue. "There's a lot of denial," she said. "It makes it much harder for the victims of abuse to speak out." When Niaz launched her organization in 2004, it was the first resource of its kind in New York City. Today, her one-woman campaign has expanded into a multifaceted endeavor that is raising awareness about family violence and providing direct services to women in need. Niaz said she firmly believes that domestic violence goes against Islamic teachings, and considers it her religious duty to try to stop abuse from happening. "Quran condemns abusive behavior of women," she said, noting that the prophet Mohammed was never known to have abused women. "Allah says, 'Stand up against injustice and bear witness, even if it's against your own kin. So if I see injustice being done to women and children, I have to speak up. It's my duty." Niaz's mission began after a difficult period in her own life. Born and raised in Pakistan, she had earned a master's degree in psychology and had a successful career in international affairs and marketing when she moved to the United States to marry in 1990. "It was a disastrous marriage," she said. As Niaz struggled to navigate the American legal system during her divorce, she said she appreciated how lucky she was to speak English and have an education. She realized that many immigrant women without those advantages might be more likely to stay in marriages because they didn't know how to make the system work for them. "If this is how difficult it is for me, then what must other immigrant women go through?" she remembered thinking. After volunteering with South Asian victims of domestic violence, Niaz, who speaks five languages, got a job using those skills to advocate for immigrant women affected by family violence. But Niaz's focus changed on September 11, 2001. "I was no longer a Pakistani-American ... I looked at myself as a Muslim." Niaz said the backlash many Muslims experienced after the terror attacks made abuse victims more afraid to seek help; they feared being shunned for bringing negative attention to their community.  Watch Niaz explain the effects of 9/11 on abused Muslim women » "Women who were caught in abusive marriages were trapped even

Whose organization helps female Muslim domestic violence victims?

Answer: Turning Point for Women and Families,

Answer: Robina Niaz,

Answer: domestic violence

Summary:
Robina Niaz's organization helps female Muslim domestic violence victims .
Turning Point for Women and Families was first resource of its kind in New York City .
Niaz: Domestic violence goes against Islamic teachings, but "denial" is a problem .
The Top 10 CNN Heroes will be announced on October 1 .


NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Two undocumented workers from Mexico and one from Ecuador have reached court settlements in recent weeks for a total of $3.85 million in damages for New York construction-site accidents, an attorney for the men announced Wednesday. "All three cases involve construction and terribly unsafe working conditions," the attorney, Brian O'Dwyer, said in a news conference. "We're here today to re-emphasize -- as we have in the past -- to the Latino community and all undocumented workers that they have the same rights once they're on the job as any New York citizen." A 33-year-old undocumented plumber from Mexico who was scalded by an exploding pipe at a Wall Street construction site in 2004 settled his damage claim for $2.5 million, according to a statement given to reporters at the news conference. The married father of two, who says he still has nightmares from the accident, hopes to open a restaurant or bar with the settlement money, his cousin told reporters. In a separate statement, owners of the Wall Street site said only that the injured plumber was "employed directly by [the] contractor and not by the owner of the property nor the managing agent." Reached through a public relations firm, a spokesperson for the contractor, Swig Equities, had no comment. Another undocumented Mexican worker suffered severe injuries to his left foot and other parts of his body when a steel beam fell on his lower body at a building site in downtown Manhattan, the news conference statement said. The 52-year-old settled his damage claim against Beway Realty Corp. and F.J. Sciame Construction Co. Inc. for $750,000, according to the statement. David Koeppel, a managing member of Beway Realty, said he was not familiar with the case. F.J. Sciame Construction, the site's contractor, did not respond to inquiries. A 36-year-old Ecuadorian laborer who worked at the Arverne by the Sea community in Queens -- a neighborhood The New York Times has called a "bright spot" in the housing market for its strong sales and low foreclosure rates -- settled a damage claim for $600,000, the news conference statement said. He was injured when three large 44x10-foot trusses, each weighing 200 pounds, collapsed onto him in August 2007, fracturing his hip and causing other injuries, according to the statement. The father of three, who had worked in construction for more than a decade and owned his own company at the time of the accident, said he was very sad after the accident because he did not know how he would support his family. His two sons, now 7 and 8, and his 16-year-old daughter were all born in the United States. "The contractor tried to blame me," he said at the news conference, speaking in Spanish. What message would he give other workers? "Don't be afraid to talk to a lawyer." Although he had not yet recovered enough to resume construction work, he hopes to use the settlement money to build a home for his family in New Jersey. Messages left for The Beechwood Organization, developers of Arverne by the Sea, were not returned. Joel Magallan, executive director of Asociacion Tepeyac, an immigrant advocacy group, said that while construction work is often dangerous, undocumented workers are likely to work at sites that lack safety equipment and OSHA regulation compliance. "This is a great day for the undocumented immigrants," Magallan said. "They have to know today that they have rights -- the same rights as other workers who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents." "Many workers are threatened by their employers with deportation or discharge if they bring their cases to court," O'Dwyer said. "What we find normally on work sites in New York is that deaths occur to the undocumented far out of proportion to their work in the workplace, and that is because of the fact that they just do not receive the safety protections," he said. In 2005, O'Dwyer won a historic $4 million settlement for a 33-year-old Mexican worker who had fallen 30 feet in a

How many workers from Mexico reached settlements?

In what city did the workers receive there injuries?

Where are the undocumented workers from?

According to the attorney, what is it undocumented workers have?

what Advocate says undocumented construction workers?

Answer: Two

Answer: New York

Answer: Ecuador

Answer: the same rights

Answer: Brian O'Dwyer,

Summary:
Two undocumented workers from Mexico, one from Ecuador reach settlements .
The three had been injured in different construction accidents around New York .
Attorney says undocumented workers have same rights once they're on the job .
Advocate says undocumented construction workers often have less-safe sites .