Princeton, New Jersey (CNN) -- In the week leading up to the meeting of world leaders in Washington, President Obama has been demonstrating a strong commitment to nuclear arms control.

Last week, he signed the first major agreement with the Russians since 2002, which reduces the number of nuclear warheads and long-range missiles.

Obama released the Nuclear Posture Review, saying the United States would not use nuclear weapons against countries that complied with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, even if they attacked with conventional weapons. At the same time, the president said the countries that refused to abide by the treaty could be subject to nuclear reprisal.

Although Obama's Nuclear Posture Review does not go nearly as far as many of his supporters were hoping, some Republicans immediately attacked.

Sens. John Kyl and John McCain warned that "we believe that preventing nuclear terrorism and nuclear proliferation should begin by directly confronting the two leading proliferators and supporters of terrorism, Iran and North Korea. The Obama administration's policies, thus far, have failed to do that, and this failure has sent exactly the wrong message to other would-be proliferators and supporters of terrorism."

Some Democrats, constantly leery about appearing weak on national security, will buckle as the politics of nuclear weapons heats up when the treaty with the Russians reaches the Senate for ratification. But the administration should pursue this treaty aggressively and with confidence that they can win public opinion on this issue.

The president must remind fellow Democrats, as well as Republicans, that historically the public has tended to strongly support nuclear weapons treaties, and the presidents who pursue them.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, President Kennedy proposed the Limited Test Ban Treaty. Proponents of a ban on atmospheric and underwater testing of nuclear weapons had unsuccessfully pushed for some kind of ban since the early 1950s. There were many powerful opponents of a treaty, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the Republican right. In 1963, they warned that a treaty would threaten America's military strength.

But Kennedy was determined to obtain a treaty. He had seen the possibility of nuclear war firsthand when the Soviets and the U.S. went eye-to-eye over missiles in Cuba. Kennedy also worried the Chinese were dangerously close to exploding their first nuclear bomb, something that also gave the Soviets an incentive to work toward some kind of treaty.

Negotiations over a limited test ban took place from March to May. Conservatives warned that verification would be impossible. On June 10, in an effort to move the process forward, Kennedy made a dramatic speech at American University in which he said, "I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war -- and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task."

On August 5, 1963, the U.S., Britain and the Soviet Union reached an agreement on the Limited Test Ban Treaty that prohibited atmospheric, space and underwater testing. The administration remained nervous about whether Republicans would be able to block its ratification. But by limiting the test ban rather than agreeing to a total moratorium, Kennedy undercut the opposition.

The Senate ratified the treaty 80-19. Polls showed that Americans overwhelmingly approved of the treaty. The following year, President Johnson used Sen. Barry Goldwater's opposition to the treaty as a central theme in the fall presidential campaign.

Democrats broadcast a series of ads aimed at scaring the public about the possibility of nuclear war under a Goldwater presidency. Polls consistently showed that Goldwater's position on nuclear weapons was his greatest weakness.

Hawkish Republican presidents have also discovered that nuclear arms reduction is popular with voters.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan launched his presidency with an aggressive program that turned away from arms negotiations with the Soviet Union and insisted on the toughest terms possible before negotiations could even begin. He staffed key positions with neoconservatives who opposed negotiations with the Soviets. The administration also vastly increased defense spending.

But the public was scared, and Reagan knew it. By 1983, the atmosphere was tense.

Some called it the most dangerous

Who shows strong committment to the nuclear arms control?

who shows a strong commitment to nuclear arms control

Answer: Some

Answer: to strongly support nuclear weapons treaties, and the presidents who pursue them.

Answer: appearing weak on national security,

Answer: President Obama

Answer: President Obama

Summary:
Barack Obama shows strong commitment to nuclear arms control, says Julian Zelizer .
He says other presidents have discovered controlling nuclear weapons is popular .
Some Democrats may be leery of taking a position seen as too dovish, he says .
Zelizer: Public prefers politicians willing to take risks to prevent nuclear war .


Princeton, New Jersey (CNN) -- When baseball slugger Mark McGwire admitted he had used steroids in his record-breaking 1998 season, he recalled refusing to talk about the subject in his 2005 testimony to Congress.

"After all this time, I want to come clean," McGwire announced. "I was not in a position to do that five years ago in my congressional testimony, but now I feel an obligation to discuss this and to answer questions about it. I'll do that, and then I just want to help my team."

McGwire's admission come as the House Judiciary Committee has been investigating the problem of brain injuries to football players, following heated discussions October 28, when the committee aggressively questioned NFL officials to figure out why the league had done so little to curb this well-known problem.

Any government inquiry of this kind draws the familiar charge that politicians should stay out of the business of sports -- even though the NFL and NCAA have in fact responded to congressional pressure by instituting rules to protect players from brain damage.

Still, Texas Rep. Lamar Smith said, we "should also avoid the temptation to legislate in this area. Football -- like soccer, rugby and even basketball and baseball -- involves contact that can produce injuries. We cannot legislate the elimination of injuries from the games without eliminating the games themselves."

This is a familiar refrain. Back in 2005, when several committees investigated the use of steroids in baseball, numerous sports officials warned this was not an issue with which Congress should concern itself.

Yet insisting on a firewall between sports and politics ignores the long-standing relationship between these two parts of American society. At the state and local level, sports teams depend on government assistance. There have been a large number of public subsidies, ranging from appropriations for stadium construction to the placement of public transportation near stadiums to tax breaks which the sports industry has depended on for growth.

At the federal level, sports owners have also benefited from government. In 1922, the Supreme Court exempted baseball from the antitrust laws. As a result of this, baseball owners were allowed to maintain their monopoly, stifling efforts to launch other leagues and using the exemption to collude on limiting the salaries of players.

Some legislators introduced bills trying to overturn the decision, but Congress never passed them. When the Senate held hearings about the exemption in 1958, a number of famous players, including Mickey Mantle and Jackie Robinson, showed up to speak about how the "reserve clause" undermined the rights of players.

Congress refused to take any action. Free agency did not start until the 1980s. It was only in 1998 that Congress finally passed legislation declaring that some rules, such as restrictions on the movement of players from one team to another, were subject to antitrust laws.

Football has a political history of its own. According to the sports historian Richard Davies, the National Football League started a team in New Orleans in 1966, right after Rep. Hale Boggs and Sen. Russell Long of Louisiana helped push through legislation that exempted the NFL from antitrust laws so that there could be a merger with the successful American Football League.

When New York Rep. Emanuel Celler insisted on long hearings to decide whether this was permissible, Sen. Long, desperate for a team, short-circuited the legislative process by having the Senate pass a bill by acclamation and attaching it to important anti-inflation tax legislation.

The House, under pressure, agreed to the bill at the last minute. "We couldn't have merged if Congress hadn't passed the law," said NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. "And without a merger, we couldn't have had a Super Bowl. If we'd tried to do it on our own, the antitrust people would have challenged us sooner than later."

There is also a long history of congressional investigations into sports.

In 1960, the Senate conducted hearings about the influence of organized crime in professional boxing. Americans were shocked when former middleweight champion Jake LaMotta admitted that he had thrown a fight against Billy Fox in November 1947. Members of the

Who balks at oversight yet take government assistance?

Answer: sports teams

Summary:
Julian Zelizer: McGwire steroids case reminds why congressional inquiry can be useful .
He says sports officials balk at oversight yet take government assistance .
Zelizer: Football head injury issue is a worthy subject for government investigation .


QINGDAO, China (CNN) -- Another round of toasts and exclamations of "hajiu" sounded out around me. I took a sip and set down my small glass of Tsingtao beer as my new friends downed theirs and refilled. Our seafood dinner, perched on the single cluttered table of a tiny antique shop, was punctuated regularly by such moments. A worker operates the giant fermentation units at the Qingdao Brewery plant in Qingdao. I joined in happily, although somewhat bemused, at each increasingly beery celebration of our host, the worldly Captain Jau. My company, a gathering from four regions of China, was engaging me in Chinese drinking etiquette, in the city of Qingdao. A few drinks in the People's Republic of China led me to discover European delights and other unexpected finds in this modest city. You'd be forgiven for not knowing where Qingdao (pronounced Chingdao) is. The Chinese city in Shandong province doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as Beijing, Shanghai, or even Xi'an. The 2008 Olympics gave it a place on the map as China's sailing hub; no longer a secret that holiday-making officials could keep for themselves. But my American spell-check doesn't recognize it (which says more about my spell-check), and you can still find pre-Cultural Revolution manhole covers. So what is it about this city that seduces the unassuming traveler? Nestled on the coast of Shandong province, almost exactly halfway between its big sisters, Beijing and Shanghai, Qingdao features as a handy pit-stop on East coast itineraries. It boasts great infrastructure, a charming climate, alfresco eateries, good coffee, sandy beaches, German history, international hotels, a brand new airport and even a famous brewery. Qingdao could pass itself off as a miniature Seattle if it weren't for the fact that pretty much no one outside of the five-star hotels speaks English, and that communism still articulates itself through the tourist beaches, stoically named Number One to Number Six. "In mainland China, Qingdao's history is uniquely international; in fact, more of the city's cultural identity is wrapped up in its German colonial past than even its prominent role in the emergence of Daoism" said Eric Blocher, editor of the English-language magazine Red Star. "The local culture bureau once joked to us that Qingdao is a 'cultural desert', because it doesn't have the dynastic lineage of Nanjing or Xi'an, or opera for that matter," Blocher said. "But that's not what makes a city livable, or even fun -- if your office is in downtown, you're never more than five minutes from a protected beach; there's always excellent seafood close at hand; you can buy China's best beer fresh, for 10 cents a pound, and walk around drinking it out of a plastic bag." Following this key advice, I visited Qingdao during the International Beer Festival in late August, an event aimed largely at a domestic Chinese market. The West knows beer. China does not. The annual Beer Festival aims to change this. While the bright lights and myriad beers flowed, one thing was obvious: this was for the tourists. True Qingdaonese people are fiercely proud of Tsingtao beer, produced just down the road on Beer Street, and little else is drunk here in homes or bars. Pijiu, beer in Mandarin, is hajiu in Qingdaonese, the regional dialect. When in doubt, this does as well for a toast as anything else. Indeed, there is no better way of celebrating an occasion than by toasting the guest of honor with a bag of fresh beer. If I was the guest of honor at Captain Jau's table, I certainly wasn't living up to expectations. Particularly not for my self-appointed etiquette guardian and "pure Qingdao boy," Loukas. As I raised my glass for a sip and Loukas jumped to toast the good weather for the nth time, it all became clear. In Qingdao, a beer glass is never raised without a toast. This serves three (frankly

What does the city host?
Where is Qingdao located?

Answer: 2008 Olympics

Answer: China

Summary:
Qingdao is located in northeast China, north of Shanghai .
The city hosts a beer festival and is home to distinctive European architecture .
The Tsingtao Brewery was founded in 1903 by German settlers .


QUANTICO, Virginia (CNN) -- Motorcycle accidents have killed more Marines in the past 12 months than enemy fire in Iraq, a rate that's so alarming, it has prompted top brass to call a meeting to address the issue, officials say.

Despite crashes, Gunnery Sgt. Art Tucker rides a sport motorcycle. "I enjoy it. ... It relaxes me," he says.

Twenty-five Marines have died in motorcycle crashes since November -- all but one of them involving sport bikes that can reach speeds of well over 100 mph, according to Marine officials. In that same period, 20 Marines have been killed in action in Iraq.

The 25 deaths are the highest motorcycle death toll ever for the Marine Corps.

Gen. James Amos, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told CNN that commanders are trying to drill down on what "we need to do to help our Marines survive on these sport bikes."

"The Marines are very serious about it," he said.  Watch these aren't your father's Harleys »

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Art Tucker knows all too well about the dangers of sport bikes. An owner of a Kawasaki Ninja, Tucker has had two crashes, and the second one nearly killed him.

"I sustained a broken collar bone; I tore the shoulder out of the socket; I tore three ligaments in the shoulder, the rotator cuff; I broke three vertebrae," said Tucker, a drill instructor for new officers.

"The worst was a head injury I received: a bruised brain. And it caused hemorrhaging, and from that I had partial paralysis of the left leg, full paralysis of the left foot and toes, and that was for approximately six months."

Amos said he and other top Marine officials will spend half the day Monday "focusing on nothing but motorcycle issues." The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James Conway, and other senior leadership will attend the meeting at the Quantico, Virginia, Marine base, he said.

About 18,000 of the nearly 200,000 Marines are believed to own motorcycles, Amos said.

The Marines have taken some measures. The Marine Corps has had a long-standing policy for all Marines who ride motorcycles to take a mandatory basic riding course. More recently, it added a second training course specifically designed to train Marines who ride sport bikes.

Any Marine caught riding, even on leave, without going through the training courses faces Marine Corps punishment, officials say.

On a recent day at the Quantico training track, Marines whizzed by on their bikes.

"I think the basic rider course has been great," said Cpl. Austin Oakley. "Here, they put you in situations you want to be wary of out in that open road."

Oakley said he recently returned to the United States from Japan, and he immediately jumped at the chance to buy a sport bike. He said it's not uncommon for Marines to have motorcycle clubs within their units.

"We'll go out on rides together. Fridays for lunchtime, we'll all meet up and go to lunch," Oakley said. "When I get on my motorcycle, it's me and the motorcycle. I don't need to go fast. I don't need to do anything like that. It's just being free."

The rise in motorcycle deaths isn't confined to Marines. The Navy says it's had 33 deaths on motorcycles over the past 12 months, a 65 percent jump from the previous time period. And authorities say motorcycle deaths have been a problem in the civilian world, too.

Military officials say they're not sure why the deaths are on the rise. They initially believed that the accidents might involve mostly young Marines and sailors about 18 or 19 years old. But Navy statistics show that five of the victims were 25, the most prevalent of any age involved in the crashes. And two 40-year-old sailors were killed in motorcycle crashes.

Amos said the Marines have seen a similar trend.

But he says the new training

What number of marines have been killed?

How many marines were killed on motorcycles?

How many Marines were killed on motorcycles in Iraq?

What kind of course have they implemented?

How many Marines were killed on motorcycles in the past 12 months?

Answer: Motorcycle accidents

Answer: Twenty-five

Answer: Twenty-five

Answer: sport

Answer: Twenty-five

Answer: mandatory basic riding

Answer: Twenty-five

Summary:
25 Marines killed on motorcycles in past 12 months, compared with 20 killed in Iraq .
Top Marine official: "The Marines are very serious about" addressing problem .
All but one of the deaths have involved super-fast sport bikes .
Marines have recently implemented a mandatory sport-bike course .


QUEENS, New York (CNN) -- For Victor Guevares, winning a bid at a raucous foreclosure auction two months ago was just the first step toward achieving his dream of home ownership. And after getting through several obstacles along the way, he finally moved his family into the two-story, three-bedroom house in Queens. Victor Guevares, second from right, bought a home at a raucous foreclosure auction two months ago. The auction process isn't as easy as it looks, Guevares said. "If you're going to an auction, do your research," he told CNN. CNN first met the Guevares family in March when he grabbed a home once worth $527,000 for less than half that price. Guevares had won an auction at USHomeAuction.com's foreclosure sale in New York. Banks and other lenders were unloading foreclosed houses, and many were selling at 50 percent to 60 percent below their highest values. Foreclosures skyrocketed in March and the first quarter of 2009 to their highest levels on record as banks lifted moratoria on filings. Foreclosure filings -- which include default papers, auction sale notices and repossessions -- reached 803,489 in the first quarter, according to a recent report by RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties.  Watch Victor Guevares give a quick tour of his new home » That is a 24 percent jump over a year earlier and a 9 percent increase compared to the previous quarter. Of those first-quarter filings, 341,180 happened in March, a 17 percent increase from February and a 46 percent jump from March 2008. Sitting with his stomach in knots on that March 8 afternoon, Guevares made the opening bid and kept pace until they passed $100,000, then $200,000. Looking shell-shocked, Guevares ended up with the winning bid: $230,000. But he soon realized there was much more to it, after plunking down $7,000 in auction fees and another $5,000 required from every bidder. And still, he couldn't immediately lock in a mortgage at the auction as he had hoped because records showed the home faced a possible code violation. "I had a problem," Guevares said. An inspection cleared that hurdle, and closing day ended happily with Guevares holding the deed to his first house. But he wasn't through yet. Guevares, a married father of two, wanted to have his family moved in by the end of May -- and had his work cut out, since the home was split into two apartments. He broke down a wall, opened up a staircase, put in new floors, repainted and created a sunroom. All that work brought his cost to roughly $280,000 -- about $20,000 less than the estimated value of the home, he said. Guevares spent the past 12 years renting and trying to save for his first home, and believes he came out ahead with the auction win. "I got a great deal on the house. My mortgage is $300 less than what I paid in rent," he said. The backyard is filled with garbage bags filled with debris, but the family was able to move in last week. Guevares' son, 8-year-old Devin, is reveling in his bright green room that has a window to peek out into his yard -- and the neighbor's. "They have a dog named Rocky, just the same as the dog we have," he said. Another perk: no more worrying about being quiet as he did at their apartment. "I can just scream," said Devin.

How much less is Guevares's mortgage than his rent?

How long did Gueveres save money for his first home?

Who spent 12 years renting as he saved for first home?

Who won the bid at the foreclosure auction?

What is $300 less than Guevares paid in rent?

Who won bid at a raucous foreclosure auction two months ago?

Answer: $300

Answer: 12 years

Answer: The auction process

Answer: Victor Guevares,

Answer: Victor Guevares,

Answer: My mortgage is

Answer: Victor Guevares,

Summary:
Victor Guevares won bid at a raucous foreclosure auction two months ago .
The auction process isn't as easy as it looks, Guevares says .
Guevares spent 12 years renting as he saved for first home .
"My mortgage is $300 less than what I paid in rent," says Guevares .


RAJASTHAN, India (CNN) -- Some call him the River Maker, others the Rainman of Rajasthan. His real name is Rajendra Singh. His nicknames come from his self-imposed mission to solve his state's water problems, one raindrop at a time. Rajendra Singh is trying to solve water issues in Rajasthan -- one of India's driest states. "Today with global warming and climate change so many things are going on. Yes, this is the global problem. This is the modern problem. The solution is indigenous water conservation," Singh says. Singh lives and works in Rajasthan, one of the driest states in India. It is the country's largest state in land mass but has only about one percent of the country's water resources. Singh has spent the last 25 years of his life practicing what he preaches there. His message is always the same. He says rainwater is a resource we cannot afford to waste, instead we should capture and utilize it. "If the drops come from the cloud, we can catch it!" He says with his hands stretched to the sky. "And that drop go[es] into the under[ground] aquifer and fulfills the aquifer. If that drop comes back so [it will] make springs, make a river." We caught up with him in Rajasthan's Alwar district. One of India's so-called "princely states" once ruled by Indian royalty. Back in the 1980s the government declared the area a dark zone: An area villagers could no longer pump up clean water because the water table had gotten so low. "When there was a famine there was a drought I had to leave." Farmer Narin Joshi told us who has lived in the area his whole life. "I had to work as a laborer in Delhi to make ends meet. There was no way I could earn any money here. I had to go." That meant leaving his wife behind to raise their children and try to keep them fed. "If there is a harvest we benefit from the farm." His wife Kalawati Devi his wife says. "And if there is no harvest we get nothing." For 10 years Joshi worked as a snack seller in Delhi sending back money to help his family survive. He says that all changed after Singh and his organization Tarun Bharat Sangh showed up. The group came to teach the villagers something their forefathers once practiced: The building of traditional dams called Johads. The dams are made of earth and rock. They are fashioned to capture the rain so the water will trickle down and replenish the aquifer eventually giving rise to water in the wells and bringing dead rivers back to life. But the work takes a community effort. One family is not enough to get it done. Singh says his role is to teach and motivate the community. "There are more than 10-thousand water harvesting structures we [have] made in last 25 years. And all these structures came through the community effort. I just motivate and realize to the community and [the] community joined hands with us and they made it!" It is easy to see the result when water becomes available again. Everything from water buffalo to majestic peacocks. Water snakes gather at the watering holes. Over the years Singh says his organization and the villagers of Rajasthan have revived seven rivers across the state helping more than a thousand villages. Now instead of traveling long distances carrying heavy vats of water, or migrating to the cities to make a living, the villagers can stay put and begin to enjoy their surroundings more. The availability of water brought the Joshi family back together again because the husband could finally make a living here. "I have planted many kinds of trees. For my livelihood I do farming." He says "My family and I are leading very peaceful lives."

How many harvesting structures have been made in the last 25 years?

Rajendra Singh has devoted his life to what?

What has Rajendra Singh devoted life to?

How many water structures have been made?

How many harvesting structures have been built?

What can't we afford to waste according to Singh?

What has Rajendra Singh devoted his life to?

How many water harvesting structures have been made in the last 25 years?

Who has devoted his life to solving Rajasthan's water problems?

Answer: Rajasthan,

Answer: 10-thousand

Answer: solve his state's water problems, one raindrop at a time.

Answer: solve water issues in Rajasthan

Answer: more than 10-thousand

Answer: is a resource we cannot afford to waste, instead we should capture and utilize it.

Answer: is trying to solve water issues in Rajasthan

Answer: Rajasthan,

Answer: more than 10-thousand

Answer: Rajasthan,

Answer: rainwater

Answer: solve water issues in Rajasthan

Answer: more than 10-thousand

Answer: Rajasthan,

Answer: Rajendra Singh

Summary:
Rajendra Singh has devoted his life to solving Rajasthan's water problems .
Rajasthan is India's largest state and also one of the driest .
Singh says rainwater is a resource we cannot afford to waste .
Ten thousand water harvesting structures have been made in the last 25 years .


RALEIGH, North Carolina (CNN)  -- Federal authorities are searching for an eighth alleged member of a North Carolina group that authorities say plotted "violent jihad" overseas, prosecutors said Tuesday. Daniel Patrick Boyd, left, and Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan are two of the seven men charged. Robin Zier of the U.S. attorney's office in Raleigh told CNN that the eighth person, whose name has been redacted from court documents, is a U.S. citizen. She added that U.S. Attorney George Holding had said federal authorities hoped to have the person apprehended soon, and the public should not be worried. The U.S. attorney's office would not release further details. According to an indictment released Monday, the eighth suspect, described as a North Carolina resident, traveled to Pakistan in October 2008 to "engage in violent jihad." It offered no other information. Seven other men have been arrested on charges of supporting terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder abroad. Officials identified three of the men as U.S. native Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, and Boyd's sons, Dylan Boyd, 22, also known as "Mohammed," and Zakariya Boyd, 20. Daniel Boyd had fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan. The four others are: Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, also a U.S.-born citizen; Hysen Sherifi, identified as a native of Kosovo who is a legal permanent resident of the United States; and Hiyad Yaghi and Anes Subasic, both naturalized U.S. citizens.  Watch why wife says they were in Mideast » Officials did not immediately identify the native countries of Yaghi and Subasic. All seven are accused of engaging in weapons training and military tactics in North Carolina, the Justice Department said. Sabrina Boyd, the wife of Daniel Patrick Boyd and the mother of the two younger Boyds, said the charges had not been substantiated. "We are decent people who care about other human beings," Sabrina Boyd said in a statement read on her behalf by Khalilah Sabra. "I have raised my sons to be good people and we are a good family," she said, according to Sabra, the North Carolina director of the Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation, a civic and human rights group. Sabrina Boyd said in the statement that her husband had fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan with the "full backing" of the U.S. government. Boyd went on to say in an interview with CNN that her family had traveled to the Middle East for peaceful reasons, including praying for a son who had died in a car crash. "We all had agreed to go the Holy Land and pray for our son," Boyd said. "It would be a positive action and it would help console us and it would be in a place where we felt, Islamically, we could do the most good for our departed beloved." According to the indictment, Daniel Boyd and his sons left the United States for Israel in June 2007 to "engage in violent jihad, but ultimately returned to the United States after failing in their efforts." It said Yaghi and Hassan had also traveled to Israel in June 2007, and that Daniel Boyd had lied to Customs and Border Protection agents at the Atlanta, Georgia, and Raleigh airports about intending to meet the two men in the Jewish state. The indictment also said Daniel Boyd had traveled to Gaza in March 2006 "to introduce his son to individuals who also believed that violent jihad was a personal obligation on the part of every good Muslim." The indictment mentions mentions other trips -- by Yaghi to Jordan in October 2006; by Sherifi to Kosovo in July 2008; and by the unidentified defendant to Pakistan in October 2008. All the trips were taken to "engage in violent jihad," the indictment alleges, without providing details. The documents make no reference to a direct threat to individuals or property in the United States, but said the men had practiced military tactics in a North Carolina county that borders Virginia. The defendants, with a substantial cache of weapons, had "practiced military tactics and use of weapons on private property

how many men have been arrested on charges of supporting terrorism?

How many other men were arrested for supporting terrorism?

Answer: eighth

Answer: seven

Answer: 20.

Answer: a North Carolina resident,

Answer: Seven

Answer: U.S.

Summary:
Seven other men have been arrested on charges of supporting terrorism .
8th person being sought is U.S. citizen; public told not to be worried .
Wife of suspect Daniel Patrick Boyd said charges had not been substantiated .
Daniel Boyd, a U.S. citizen, and his two sons are among the seven men arrested .


RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination was her own fault, the country's president, Pervez Musharraf, said in an interview on U.S. television. Bhutto sits on stage at a campaign rally minutes before her assassination. "For standing up outside the car, I think it was she to blame alone -- nobody else. Responsibility is hers," the former general told CBS' "60 Minutes" on Sunday. Bhutto was killed December 27 in Rawalpindi, south of the Pakistani capital Islamabad, while she was standing in an armored moving car after rallying supporters for now-postponed parliamentary elections. Her head was above the roof and unprotected at the time of the attack. The cause of her death is not clear: a bomber blew himself up near Bhutto's limousine and videotape showed a gunman present, though no autopsy has been carried out. Asked if Bhutto could have been shot, Musharraf said, "Yes, absolutely, yes. Possibility." He has said he welcomes an international investigation. Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, rejected criticism that his government did not do enough to provide security to Bhutto, who was seeking to regain the post of prime minister. He noted that she had already survived one assassination attempt and "was given more security than any other person." Asked about the hunt for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, widely rumored to be in the remote border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Musharraf said, "There is no proof whatsoever that he's here. We are not particularly looking for him, but we are operating against this -- and al Qaeda and militant Taliban. And in the process, obviously, it is combined. Maybe we are looking for him also." And Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Mahmud Ali Durrani, told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that, "If we knew where he was, we would have taken him out." Durrani added that Musharraf's comment about "not specifically looking for Osama" means that the Pakistani military is "totally focused on destroying al Qaeda and the Taliban network and not just one person." About Bhutto's death, he noted only that the investigation is not completed "and we should not jump to conclusions." Still, he added, "if she had not come out of the vehicle, the protected and armored vehicle, maybe we would have seen her smiling face again today." Though Musharraf's popularity at home has plummeted, he retains support from GOP presidential contender Sen. John McCain. "I think he's a good man," the Arizonan told NBC's "Meet the Press." "But I think he's made mistakes, don't get me wrong. And we've got to move forward with these elections and have them free and fair. "But I can work with him. He understands the threat to his country that the Taliban and al Qaeda present. And radical Islamic extremists. He's a very smart man. He'd be one of the first to go. They've tried to kill him nine times, OK? Nine times they've tried to kill Musharraf. He's not their favorite guy." The New York Times reported Sunday that the Bush administration is considering expanding covert operations in the western part of Pakistan to shore up support for Musharraf's government and to find bin Laden and his second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson of New Mexico told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that, though he had not heard details of the plan, "it sounds like a strategy that makes sense." He added, "We have got to take whatever action is needed." Richardson has called for Musharraf to step down and has called for free and fair elections. "What we need to do is ask Musharraf, push him, push him to step aside for the good of the country, because he is widely unpopular," he told CNN. Sen. Hillary Clinton

Who spoke in the interview?
what did he blame her for
What did Musharraf say?

Answer: Pervez Musharraf,

Answer: standing up outside the car,

Answer: own fault,

Summary:
NEW: British counter-terrorism experts re-inspect Bhutto's vehicle .
NEW: Bhutto's assassination was her own fault, says Musharraf in interview .
NEW: He blamed her for standing up outside the safety of an armored car .
Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, wants a U.N. inquiry into his late wife's death .


RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- The office of Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas has a bank of six flat-screen televisions covering most of one wall, showing all the main international English-language news channels, and several local ones besides. Major General Athar Abbas addresses a news conference in Rawalpindi on April 28, 2009. This is one of the rooms where Pakistan's media war is being fought, and Abbas, the Pakistan army's main spokesman, is a key part of the battle. I kid with him that CNN isn't among the channels on his screens, and he seems slightly hurt, insisting it is. He's right and I'm wrong -- CNN was on a commercial break. In fact, I rather get the impression Abbas, who has become the face of the army's operation against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley, watches our coverage closely. One of his subordinates complains about one of our reports -- not the accuracy, but something in the general tone. Perhaps CNN has been just a little too questioning of the army's daily press releases, which claim hundreds of enemy fighters killed, and tightly controlled media trips. Whatever Abbas thinks of CNN, he is more than willing to explain how the Pakistan army sees the broad picture as it fights in the Swat Valley. The current conflict there is intricately linked to the situation in Afghanistan, in his view. He sees Swat as a political problem, which can only be partially solved by military intervention. He claims many of the Taliban's arms are coming across the border from Afghanistan. I ask if that includes NATO weapons, as suggested in recent reports, and he agrees. He says Washington is too focused on the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. The United States should "stop worrying about the nukes and start worrying about the weapons lost in Afghanistan," he says. A U.S. government report last month warned that the Pentagon did not have "complete records" for about one-third of the 242,000 weapons the United States had provided to the Afghan army, or for a further 135,000 weapons other countries sent. The Afghan army "cannot fully safeguard and account for weapons," the Government Accountability Office found. I ask how well armed the Taliban are, and he says they are "very well equipped from the border area." He also conspiratorially suggests they also are getting weapons and support from "foreign intelligence agencies." When I ask what that means, he smiles and says he can't elaborate -- declining to repeat the speculation in the press here that India, Pakistan's traditional rival, may be somehow involved in stirring up trouble on Pakistan's northwestern border. India denies that. But the very suggestion plays to a military strategist's nightmare scenario -- the Pakistan army bogged down in the northwest, unable to focus on the disputed province of Kashmir, a key element of its conflict with India. The military wants to get done in Swat as soon as possible, but the general acknowledges its troops will be there for some time. He estimates that 10 to 15 percent of the Taliban there are foreign fighters: "Well-trained Arabs, Afghans, with a sprinkling of central Asians and North Africans." He also says there are Yemenis, Saudis and Uzbeks fighting, as Pakistan has become the destination du jour of the international jihadist, with Arabs in commanding positions and the other foreign fighters bringing in expertise. He thinks that perhaps Mingora, the main town at the gateway to the Swat Valley, may be secured in 48 hours, but it may be much, much longer before the area is totally pacified. "First you have to disarm the Taliban and then re-establish the writ of government," he says. He admits that Swat and neighboring Bajur Districts "were lost to the state" and that now "we are paying in blood for areas we had already occupied." Now, he says, the army is set for a long fight. "We are prepared for that -- we are mentally prepared

Who said Taliban is coming across border?

From where Taliban`s weapons coming from, comparing to Maj.Gen. Athar Abbas?

Answer: Athar Abbas

Answer: Afghanistan.

Answer: Afghanistan.

Answer: the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

Summary:
Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas says Taliban's arms coming across border from Afghanistan .
He says Washington is too focused on the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal .
He considers conflict in Swat a fight for the existence of Pakistan in its current form .
He seems acutely aware that the portrayal of that conflict to the West will be critical .


RECIFE, Brazil (CNN)  -- Eight more bodies have been recovered from last week's crash of an Air France jetliner in the Atlantic Ocean, bringing the total to 24, Brazil's military announced Monday. Recovery efforts have found several items confirmed to have come from Air France Flight 447. The bodies were found floating about 440 kilometers (273 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago northeast of the Brazilian coast on Monday, military officials said Monday evening. Air France 447 disappeared over the Atlantic early June 1. The jet was en route to Paris, France, from the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro with 228 passengers and crew aboard. The military said earlier Monday that 16 bodies had been recovered. Items found in the same area Saturday were confirmed to have come from the jet, including pieces of the aircraft's wing section, luggage and a leather briefcase containing an airplane ticket with a reservation code for the doomed flight, Brazilian air force spokesman Jorge Amaral said. The exact location of the crash has not been determined, because ocean currents probably caused the bodies and debris to drift in the days since the crash. Two key pieces of evidence -- the flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- remain missing and could lie on the ocean floor.  Map of Flight 447's flight path » The part of the ocean where the debris and bodies have been found ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 meters (about 19,700 to 26,250 feet) deep. The search area covers 200,000 square kilometers (77,220 square miles), an area nearly as big as the country of Romania.  Watch CNN's Karl Penhaul report on more bodies found » Brazilian officials emphasized Monday that finding bodies was their priority. The French are in charge of finding the black boxes, and a submarine was en route as part of that mission. Fourteen aircraft -- 12 Brazilian and two French -- were participating, along with five Brazilian ships and one French frigate. In Washington, a U.S. defense official said the U.S. Navy will contribute two high-tech acoustic devices to listen for emergency beacons still operating in deep water. The "towed pinger locators," which help search for emergency beacons on downed aircraft to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet, will be placed aboard two French tugs that are part of the search efforts, the official said. Recovery of bodies and debris is significant not only for families but also for crash investigators, said Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. "Even if they don't find anything else, they can get some very important clues from the pieces that they do find and from the human remains," she said Saturday.  Watch an explanation of what could have caused the crash » She said investigators would be able to tell whether there was an explosion from possible residue on the bodies or other items. Or, if water is found in the lungs of victims, investigators would know that the plane went down intact, she said. Investigators in Paris said Saturday that the Air France flight sent 24 automated error messages about four minutes before it crashed. The messages suggest the plane may have been flying too fast or too slow through severe thunderstorms it encountered before the crash, officials said. Schiavo said four minutes "was a very long time" for automated signals to be sent from the plane. Investigators also reported that the airline had failed to replace a part as recommended by the manufacturer, Airbus. Airbus had advised airlines to update part of the equipment that monitors speed, known as pitot tubes. The recommendation was a result of technological developments and improvements, an Airbus spokesman said. The change was not mandatory, and the spokesman would not comment on Air France's failure to follow the advice. CNN's Karl Penhaul, Richard Quest, Helena DeMoura and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

When did plane disappear?
How many bodies found?
How many bodies have been found so far?
where did the bodies come from
Who will contribute high-tech devices?
What is US to contribute?
Where did plane disappear over?
how many missing

Answer: June 1.

Answer: 24,

Answer: 24,

Answer: last week's crash of an Air France

Answer: U.S. Navy

Answer: two high-tech acoustic devices

Answer: the Atlantic

Answer: 228

Summary:
NEW: Brazilian officials emphasize that finding bodies is their priority .
Military says total number of bodies found stands at 24 .
Plane disappeared over Atlantic Ocean last week .
U.S. to contribute high-tech devices to look for plane's emergency beacons .


REDMOND, Washington (CNN) -- Should a bridge that would connect two campuses at Microsoft's headquarters be funded with $11 million from the federal stimulus package? An artist's rendering shows how the proposed bridge would be constructed over a busy highway. Critics of using stimulus money for the bridge say it would give the software giant a break on a pet project. They also say it serves as a warning sign of how some stimulus money is not being used to finance new projects but is being diverted to public works already under way. Supporters argue the bridge is an ideal public-private partnership that will benefit an entire community while fulfilling the stimulus package's goal of getting people back to work. "It's going create just under 400 jobs for 18 months constructing the bridge," says Redmond Mayor John Marchione. "It's also connecting our technical sector with our retail and commercial sectors so people can cross the freeway to shop and help traffic flow."  See a larger image of the proposed bridge » Marchione applied for federal stimulus money after costs jumped on the project from $25 million to $36 million. Marchione says the increase in costs were due to a rise in construction prices and because the bridge will be built on a diagonal in order to connect Microsoft's original East campus with a newer West campus that are split by a public highway. Microsoft is hardly getting the bridge for free. The company is contributing $17.5 million or a little less than half the tab of the $36 million bridge, which would be open for public use. And even though the bridge goes from a parking lot behind Microsoft's West campus across a highway to an entrance of Microsoft's East campus, Marchione says, people other than Microsoft employees would use the overpass. "We're not a one-company town," Marchione says. "Our traffic studies show that Microsoft traffic would be about 42 percent of the bridge, yet Microsoft is paying for about 50 percent of the bridge, so we think we are getting fair value. "The United States taxpayer is leveraging their dollars, and I think everyone is getting a fair deal." But a watchdog group monitoring how stimulus money is being spent says the taxpayer in this case is getting ripped off. "This is $11 million where we are substituting public money for private money, and that means there's some other project that would have a greater benefit than a bridge to Microsoft that's not being built," says Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. But without the stimulus money, Marchione counters, the bridge may not have been built. Microsoft had "capped out" its contribution to the project, he explains. And the economic tough times have affected even the biggest companies. "Microsoft laid off 5,000 people in January," Marchione points out. Ellis doesn't buy it. "Let's face it. Microsoft is one of the most lucrative companies in the country," Ellis says. "They could have easily funded this out of pocket change. This is really about getting while the getting is good. Uncle Sam has a big wallet that's there for the taking, and Redmond wanted to take it -- and Microsoft was happy to let them pick up that part of the tab." Microsoft did not respond to CNN requests for an interview on the bridge project. But in a posting online, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith wrote: "As the largest employer in Redmond, Microsoft takes its responsibility to the surrounding community seriously. We have spent over $50 million to assist the City of Redmond and other local governments with street construction, transit facilities, water and sewer facilities and fire equipment." Last week, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire certified 138 projects, including the bridge, to receive stimulus funding. Construction is expected to begin in June. Michael Ennis of the Washington Policy Center, a Seattle-based not-for-profit group that advises policy makers, said there are many reasons the bridge project is a good one. "Any time you

how much will the project cost?
How much money will the project cost?
who backs the plan?
what is the time length of this project

Answer: $36 million.

Answer: $36 million.

Answer: Redmond Mayor John Marchione.

Answer: 18 months

Summary:
Project would build bridge between Microsoft's two campuses .
Microsoft paying for about half of the $36 million project .
Mayor backs plan, says bridge will benefit entire community .
Taxpayer watchdog group says project a good example of waste .


RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Lawyers for convicted September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui urged an appeals court panel Monday to throw out his guilty plea and grant their client a new trial. They argued Moussaoui did not have an adequate defense and lacked key information to defend himself.

Zacarias Moussaoui is serving a life sentence at the federal prison in Colorado known as Supermax.

Legal analysts believe the appeal has only a slim chance of success.

In arguments before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for Moussaoui said he was confused about the charges he was pleading guilty to, and he did not have access to information that would have shown he was not supposed to be part of the 9/11 plot.

One defense lawyer characterized Moussaoui as "unknowing." Defense lawyers point to statements, later made public, from the man who plotted the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who said Moussaoui was not intended to be a participant. Moussaoui did not know what Mohammed had said because it had been classified.

"A guilty plea that is invalid is invalid," defense attorney Justin Antonipillai told the three-judge panel.

A Justice Department lawyer strongly countered, telling the court Moussaoui's plea was voluntary and unconditional. Referring to a letter Moussaoui sent the district court at the time of the plea, Justice Department attorney Kevin Gingras said, "He understands what he is pleading guilty to."

Gingras told the court Moussaoui knew in general that there was information that could help his defense but chose to plead guilty anyway, thereby waiving any right to now challenge that decision.

"He understood there was stuff out there," Gingras said. "He knew the gist," referring to redacted copies of appeal court rulings about what detainees might testify to and the 9/11 commission report.

In April of 2005, Moussaoui pleaded guilty to terrorism conspiracy charges, and in May of 2006 he was sentenced to life in prison after a jury decided not to impose a death sentence.

Moussaoui, who is being held at the maximum security federal prison in Colorado known as Supermax, was not in the courtroom for the hearing. It's expected to be several months before a ruling is issued.

His attorney was met with mostly skeptical questioning by the judges.

"He insisted on pleading guilty and was allowed to do so only after extensive efforts to assure that it was knowing and voluntary," said former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey, adding the district judge presiding over the case tried to make sure Moussaoui's rights were protected.

Moussaoui's attorneys argued his original defense team, which vehemently tried to dissuade him from pleading guilty, should have been able in an unclassified way to brief their client on the contents of the classified information so he knew the full scope of the evidence.

They had "one hand tied behind their backs," Antonipillai said.

The judges hearing the case and the Justice Department attorney pointed out he probably would have received some of that material if he had gone to trial instead of pleading guilty.

"It is his choice to pull the plug" on the process and plead guilty, Gingras said.

Another argument made by Moussaoui's team was that he was denied the right of counsel because he could not hire a lawyer he wanted. After telling the court he did not want the court-appointed attorneys to represent him, Moussaoui tried to be his own attorney. But after constant outbursts the judge ended that effort.

The court-appointed lawyers then took over the defense, but Moussaoui never had a good relationship with them. He wanted a Muslim lawyer from Texas, Charles Freeman, to be his attorney, but Freeman did not have security clearance.

Moussaoui was arrested in August of 2001 in Minnesota after instructors at the flight school he was attending reported he was acting suspiciously and did not have much flying experience. Throughout his legal proceedings he changed his story -- at first claiming he was not supposed to be part of the September 11 attacks and then saying he was scheduled to fly a fifth plane that day and then reversing himself back to his original claim of non-involvement.

His

Do legal analysts think the appeal stands any chance of success?

Who was sentenced to life in connection with the September 11 attacks?

what did defence lawyers say conspirator lack

What did defense lawyers say of the 9/11 conspirator?

Answer: appeal has only a slim chance of success.

Answer: believe the

Answer: Zacarias Moussaoui

Answer: key information to defend himself.

Answer: terrorism conspiracy charges,

Answer: life in prison

Answer: and lacked key information to defend himself.

Answer: Zacarias Moussaoui

Summary:
Defense lawyers say 9/11 conspirator lacked key info to defend himself .
Zacarias Moussaoui sentenced to life in connection with September 11 attacks .
Prosecutors say Moussaoui's guilty plea came voluntarily .
Legal analysts believe appeal stands little chance of success .


RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Maria Stephens barely flinches when her three rambunctious young sons strike up a baseball game in her living room. "I thought you boys were going to play in the front yard," she laughs while Christian, 2, swings a black plastic bat near the kitchen table.

Maria Stephens went from making $80,000 a year to being homeless with three boys to care for.

It's hard to imagine all that energy cooped up in the small room where Stephens and her children spent seven months last year -- in a homeless shelter.

Stephens, a mortgage underwriter who made $80,000 a year, faced a reversal of fortune so swift and devastating she still can't quite fathom it. The single mom went from paying $1,900 a month in rent to bunking at the shelter, an unexpected victim in the foreclosure crisis.

And she is not alone. While the foreclosure rate across the country has grown dramatically in recent months, often lost in the statistics are numbers of Americans made homeless through no fault of theirs -- renters.

About 40 percent of people facing eviction from foreclosure in the United States are renters, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition [NLIHC]. Yet regulations on the rental industry vary by state, and often there are no protections for those living in rental properties.

For Stephens, the ordeal started with bad news from her landlord.

"My landlord came and told me that his property was being foreclosed on," Stephens said. She moved her children, one then a newborn and the other two under 7, to a cheaper rental but had to leave there, too, when she lost her job and then her new landlord decided to sell the property.  Watch more about the ordeals of some renters »

"I had to hold back my tears because I'm like, oh my goodness. I'm from a middle-class family. ... I've had the best of everything," said Stephens. "I've never been in a situation where I didn't have a place to live. I made the money."

While Stephens' situation was worsened by the loss of her income, advocates with organizations such as NLIHC say many times evictions hit renters who are working and financially up-to-date.

"People who had been paying their rent on time, had been keeping up with their lease requirements, all of a sudden are served with foreclosure notices," said NLIHC Deputy Director Linda Couch. "And in every state but New Jersey and the District of Columbia, renters are not allowed to stay through their lease term and are given no special protections."

The problem is exacerbated for low-income renters, who may struggle to find affordable housing on short notice. The director of SERVE, a homeless advocacy group in Manassas, Virginia, has seen an explosion of renters in need of shelter over the past seven months. Officials at another Virginia shelter have braced for an influx of families they believe will start seeking services soon.

Some offer emergency shelter for families who might get only a few days' notice before being forced to move out. Last year, an Illinois sheriff temporarily refused to evict renters, some of whom learned about the foreclosure when sheriff's deputies showed up at their door.

Bill Apgar, senior adviser for mortgage finance at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said the Obama administration is working to solve the problem. The president's 2010 budget proposal includes $1 billion for a National Housing Trust Fund, which would go towards building and preserving low-income housing. There is also a boost in funding to a voucher program that keeps families in their homes.

NLIHC's Couch applauded these efforts but urged the federal government to go further. She wants to compel banks and owners who take over foreclosed property to allow renters to stay through their lease. Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already give renters that protection.

"We do think that solutions as simple as those requirements could have an immediate and dramatic impact on potentially millions of peoples' lives," Couch said.

Who was forced to go to a shelter with her boys?

What percentage of people facing eviction from foreclosure?

Where did Maria Stephens and her boys go

About 40% of people facing eviction are what?

What percentage of people evicted are renting?

Answer: District of Columbia,

Answer: Maria Stephens

Answer: Maria Stephens

Answer: 40 percent

Answer: homeless shelter.

Answer: renters,

Answer: 40 percent

Summary:
About 40% of people facing eviction from foreclosure are renters, coalition finds .
Many times, evictions hit renters who are working and financially up-to-date .
Only New Jersey and D.C. offer renters any protections during a foreclosure .
Former mortgage underwriter Maria Stephens was forced to go shelter with her boys .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN)  -- An American man fighting for custody of his 9-year-old son has been invited to spend Christmas with the boy's Brazilian family, the family's attorney said Friday. David Goldman has been locked in a legal battle over custody of his son, Sean Goldman, with the family of the boy's deceased mother. The family's attorney, Sergio Tostes, said Friday that the legal battle had gone too far. "It is about time that Sean's family, and I mean all Sean's family, get together. I am authorized by Mrs. Silvana Bianchi to invite you, Mr. Goldman, to spend Christmas night at her house," Tostes said, referring to Sean's maternal grandmother. "This will be a long awaited family reunion" "I hope you can accept and we can talk logistics," he said, with the boy's grandmother standing next to him. Tostes also said that the family would consider allowing the boy to go to the United States, perhaps for the holidays, if Sean wants to go. However, "Sean must be heard in court," he said. There was no immediate response from Goldman. Earlier Friday, Goldman slammed a decision by a Brazilian Supreme Court justice Thursday that prevented the boy's return to the United States. That decision had "nothing to do with the merits" of the case, he said. On Wednesday, a lower court unanimously upheld a decision ordering that Sean be returned to his father in New Jersey. That decision was made in accordance with the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abductions. "Every day that my son is under that roof, he is being severely psychologically damaged," Goldman said. He insisted that there is the "utmost urgency" for Sean to be reunited with him. "My son is suffering, and he's losing the innocence of ... a child," Goldman said. The family argues that it would traumatize Sean to remove him from what has been his home since 2004, when his mother took him to Brazil on what she said would be a vacation. The family said Sean screamed with joy when he found out Thursday that he would not have to leave with his dad. The custody battle began in 2004, when Goldman's wife, Bruna Bianchi, took their then-4-year-old son from their home in New Jersey to Rio de Janeiro for what was to have been a two-week vacation. She never returned, instead remarrying there and retaining custody of Sean. She died last year in childbirth. Goldman has argued that as the sole surviving parent, he should at last be granted custody. Instead of traveling to Brasilia, where the high court is, Goldman planned to stay in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, where he is just miles from Sean. He hasn't seen his son since February. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, who is traveling with Goldman, said three court-appointed psychologists tasked with determining the boy's emotional and psychological well-being had unanimously concluded that he is being hurt emotionally "by the continuance of this abduction." Smith said Sean was previously put in front of a video camera as adults asked questions. The boy made remarks in that video that members of his mother's family suggest indicate he should stay in Brazil. If the court allows a child's drawings or such a videotape to be used as evidence in a courtroom, Smith said, "every kidnapper everywhere in the world -- every child abductor in the world" would have the children make such things. Goldman also addressed the videotape: "What is he going to say? 'No, I hate it here,' knowing he'll go back up under their roof? What do you expect? He is an innocent, helpless, vulnerable, defenseless child that needs to be freed from this circumstance." Smith called on Brazil's full Supreme Court to "vacate this illogical and unjust stay on the rightful return of Sean Goldman to his only dad.

who took son to Brazil in 2004?
who died in childbirth?
What happened with Ex-wife of Brazil?
What happened to the boy's mother?
When was the boy taken to Brazil?
Where was the boy originally from?

Answer: David Goldman

Answer: Bruna Bianchi,

Answer: She never returned, instead remarrying there

Answer: She died last year in childbirth.

Answer: 2004,

Answer: Brazilian

Summary:
NEW: Boy at center of custody dispute may be allowed to go to U.S., family says .
U.S. lawmaker says man plans to appeal ruling to Brazil's Supreme Court .
Ex-wife took son to Brazil in 2004, never returned him to New Jersey .
She died in childbirth; boy's stepfather says he should stay in Brazil .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN)  -- The death toll from flooding in southern Brazil continued to climb Wednesday, with officials reporting at least 86 dead, the state news agency said. About 30 people are missing, the official news agency Agencia Brasil said, citing civil defense officials. Earlier reports had indicated as many as 100 people were dead. In addition, more than 54,000 residents have been left homeless, and another 1.5 million have been affected by the heavy rains, the state news agency reported. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced he will release nearly 700 million reais ($350 million) on Wednesday, Agencia Brasil said. About 50 federal police are being dispatched to Santa Catarina state, where most of the deaths and damage have occurred, Agencia Brasil said. The authorities will help look for victims and provide security for local businesses. Military police reported that four grocery stores were looted this week in the Santa Catarina city of Itajai, the news agency said. The rain-fueled flooding resulted in a declaration of public calamity in six municipalities -- Gaspar, Rio dos Cedros, Nova Trento, Camboriu, Benedito Novo and Pomerode, Agencia Brasil reported. Another seven municipalities have declared states of emergency -- Balneário de Piçarras, Canelinha, Indaial, Penha, Paulo Lopes, Presidente Getúlio and Rancho Queimado, the news agency reported. Eight communities are cut off from the rest of the nation and have no water and electricity, Civil Defense officials said. The flooding has blocked more than 20 roads, and emergency supplies of food, water and coats are being brought in by helicopter. Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao was scheduled to tour the affected areas Wednesday to meet with Santa Catarina Gov. Luiz Henrique da Silveira and announce emergency measures. The governor has called the situation the worst catastrophe in the state's history. Complicating matters, the flooding also ruptured a pipeline carrying gas between Brazil and Bolivia on Sunday night, interrupting the flow of gas in part of the country's southern region, Agencia Brasil said. Heavy rains have brought flooding to many parts of Central and South America. In Colombia, at least 34 people have died, and another eight are missing, officials said. About 50,000 people suffered damage to their property in northwestern Colombia after the Cauca River overflowed following heavy rains. The Cauca -- a tributary of the Magdalena River, the largest in Colombia -- broke through its levees Tuesday and flooded the town of Nechi, in the province of Antioquia, about 248 miles (400 kilometers) north of Bogota. In Panama, rains have caused damage in the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui and Colon. The Panamanian Red Cross said in a release Tuesday it is offering aid to about 5,000 people. Journalist Fabiana Frayssinet in Brazil and Fernando Ramos in Colombia contributed to this report.

Where have most of the death and damage been from?

What has also caused damage in Colombia?

What caused deaths and damage in Santa Catarina?

Answer: 86

Answer: 54,000

Answer: Santa Catarina state,

Answer: flooding

Answer: flooding

Answer: 54,000 residents

Answer: 86 dead,

Answer: Santa Catarina state,

Answer: flooding

Answer: southern Brazil

Answer: have been left homeless,

Answer: southern Brazil

Summary:
More than 54,000 have been left homeless, state news agency says .
At least 86 dead, 30 missing in southern Brazil, reports say .
Most of deaths and damage have been in Santa Catarina state .
Flooding also has caused damage in Colombia, Panama .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- A 12-mile oil slick near where an Air France jet crashed Monday into the Atlantic Ocean indicates the plane likely didn't break up until it hit the water, Brazil's defense minister said Wednesday. Image released by the Brazilian Air Force shows oil slicks in the water near a debris site. If true, that would argue against an in-flight explosion as the cause of the crash of Air France Flight 447, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim told reporters. But Robert Francis, former vice chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, said the question of determining where a plane broke up "is a very difficult one to deal with." He told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" that "there are lots of things that cause a plane to go out of control." He added that extremely strong winds are not unusual near Brazil. Pilots who fly over that part of the world keep track of radar and "are very, very wary about the weather as they go back and forth down in that area." Jobim said currents had strewn the debris widely and that the search area had been expanded to 300 square miles. The Airbus A330, carrying 228 people, went down about three hours after beginning what was to have been an 11-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, France. No survivors have been found.  Map of Flight AF 447's flight path » Investigators have not determined what caused the plane to crash. The flight data recorders have not been recovered, and the plane's crew did not send any messages indicating problems before the plane disappeared.  Watch as high seas hamper recovery » The Brazilian Air Force said it found the oil slick and four debris fields Wednesday, but rain and rough seas kept searchers from plucking any of the debris from the water. Among Wednesday's finds were objects in a circular 5-kilometer (3-mile) area, including one object with a diameter of 7 meters (23 feet) and 10 other objects, some of which were metallic, Brazilian Air Force spokesman Jorge Amaral said. Searchers had found two debris fields Tuesday and identified the wreckage as coming from Flight 447. The debris was found about 650 kilometers (400 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil. It included an airplane seat and an orange float. Wednesday's debris find was about 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Tuesday's discoveries, Amaral said. Eleven aircraft and five ships are engaged in the search, including airplanes from France and the United States.  Watch as experts question whether recovery is possible » The NTSB said Wednesday it has accepted an invitation from the French aviation accident investigation authority, the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses, to aid in the investigation. NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has designated senior air safety investigator Bill English as the U.S. accredited representative. The U.S. team will include technical advisers from the Federal Aviation Administration; General Electric, which made the plane's engines; and Honeywell, which made the plane's data recorders. The aircraft's computer system did send about four minutes of automated messages indicating a loss of cabin pressure and an electrical failure, officials have said. Some investigators have noted that the plane flew through a severe lightning storm. Foul play has not been ruled out. Air France had received a bomb threat May 27 for a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Paris, sources in the Argentine military and police told CNN on Wednesday. According to the officials, who had been briefed on the incident and declined to be identified because of the ongoing investigation, the Air France office in Buenos Aires received the threat from a man speaking Spanish. Authorities checked the Boeing 777 and did not find anything. Security was tightened during check-in for Flight 415, which left on time and without incident, the officials said. Although officials have said the likelihood of finding survivors of Flight 447's crash is small, authorities have not closed the door on the possibility. "Until

Where did the Air France flight disappear?

Answer: where a plane broke up

Answer: the Atlantic Ocean

Answer: plane

Summary:
NEW: Oil slick may argue against an in-flight explosion, Brazilian official says .
NEW: Determining where plane broke up will be difficult, U.S. aviation expert says .
Air France flight disappeared over Atlantic Ocean after taking off from Brazil .
Memorial for the victims of Flight AF 447 takes place in Paris at Notre Dame .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- A Brazilian supreme court judge on Tuesday suspended a lower court's order that would have given custody of a 9-year-old boy to the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, where he was to be reunited with his American father. David Goldman has been fighting for custody of his son, Sean, since the boy's mother took him to Brazil in 2004. Judge Marco Aurelio argued against taking Sean Richard Goldman from what has been his home for almost five years to the United States "in an abrupt manner." Doing so, he wrote in his order published on the court's Web site, could subject the boy to psychological harm. The decision, which means the entire Brazilian supreme court will take up the case, comes a day after a superior court justice ordered Sean taken Wednesday to the U.S. Consulate in Rio and handed over to his father, David Goldman, who arrived Tuesday from New Jersey to pick up his son. The two were separated in June 2004 when the boy's Brazilian mother, Bruna Bianchi Carneiro Ribeiro, told Goldman -- to whom she was then married -- that she was taking the boy on a two-week vacation to Brazil.  Watch Goldman describe his fight to get his son back » Mother and son never returned. Instead, Bianchi stayed in Brazil, where she divorced Goldman and married a Brazilian lawyer. But in September, Bianchi's death during childbirth led Goldman to renew his efforts to regain custody of their son. Sean, who has been living with his half-sister and his stepfather, was to have spent a 30-day adaptation period in the United States before his father gained full custody. That prospect sparked outrage from an attorney representing the boy's Brazilian relatives. "The child wasn't heard," lawyer Sergio Tostes said. "The child said many times that he wanted to stay in Brazil. This is not human, and it is a cruelty." The case has attracted high-level attention. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referred to the case Monday, telling reporters, "I also wanted just to take this opportunity to recognize the decision by the Brazilian federal court today ordering a young American boy, Sean Goldman, to be reunited with his father, David. It's taken a long time for this day to come, but we will work with the Goldman family and the Brazilian government, with the goal of ensuring this young boy's return." David Goldman's attorney, Patricia Apy, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. CNN's Rob Frehse and Alessandra Castelli contributed to this report.

What happened after mom moved with son to Brazil in 2004?

What did the Brazilian supreme court judge suspend?

Where did the lower court order the son to be taken?

Answer: judge

Answer: divorced Goldman and married a Brazilian lawyer.

Answer: Brazil

Answer: would have given custody of a 9-year-old boy to the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, where he was to be reunited with his American father.

Answer: U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro,

Answer: September,

Answer: September,

Summary:
Brazilian supreme court judge suspends lower court's order .
Lower court had ordered son taken to dad at U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro .
Boy's parents divorced after mom moved with son to Brazil in 2004 .
Mom died in childbirth in 2008, leaving boy with stepfather .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Antiviolence protesters stretched out 16,000 coconuts on Brazil's world-famous Copacabana beach Saturday, each one representing a victim of urban violence.

Protesters used dummies to represent victims of violence on Brazil's Copacabana beach this week.

Activists from ONG Rio de Paz led a protest march Saturday morning that included residents and tourists who usually can be found on the beach on weekends.

The protesters strung up a sign on the sand that said "Shame" in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French.

They finished with a minute of silence for the victims of violence.

Rio de Paz said the coconuts represent victims of violence, homicides, dead police officers and those who have been shot in gunfights between authorities and gangs of narcotics traffickers.

The figure itself was obtained from official information from the Rio de Janeiro governmental Institute of Public Security.

It was the second protest staged this week on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach by the group Rio de Paz.

On Tuesday, the group created a mock cemetery in the sand with mannequins representing 9,000 people who Rio de Paz says have been slain and secretly buried since January 2007.

Rio de Paz President Antonio Carlos Costa said he believes that about 6,000 of the missing people were killed, many by drug traffickers fighting for territory in Rio's slums and poor neighborhoods. Others, he said, were killed by hit squads and police acting on their own.

"In general, they are assassinated by police -- police acting outside of their regular work hours," Costa said Tuesday.

"They are also assassinated by narcotraffickers. The bodies are disposed of in secret cemeteries in the metropolitan Rio de Janeiro area or incinerated alive by narcotraffickers in what they call 'microwaves.' "

To illustrate the point, demonstrators also constructed facsimiles of the "microwaves" that narcotics traffickers and death squads reportedly use to cremate remains of those they have abducted.

CNN's Fabiana Frayssinet contributed to this report.

What was lined up along Brazil's Copacabana beach?

What does protesters say in four languages?

On which beach were the coconuts lined up

What did the signs that were put up read?

Answer: a victim of urban violence.

Answer: Antiviolence protesters

Answer: "Shame"

Answer: victims of violence,

Answer: Copacabana

Answer: "Shame" in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French.

Answer: "Shame"

Summary:
Protesters line up coconuts on Brazil's Copacabana beach .
Rio de Paz says coconuts represent victims of urban violence, drug wars .
Protesters string up sign in sand that says "Shame" in four languages .
Earlier, group staged mock cemetery in beach sand representing missing people .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Antiviolence protesters stretched out 16,000 coconuts on Brazil's world-famous Copacabana beach Saturday, each one representing a victim of urban violence. Protesters used dummies to represent victims of violence on Brazil's Copacabana beach this week. Activists from ONG Rio de Paz led a protest march Saturday morning that included residents and tourists who usually can be found on the beach on weekends. The protesters strung up a sign on the sand that said "Shame" in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French. They finished with a minute of silence for the victims of violence. Rio de Paz said the coconuts represent victims of violence, homicides, dead police officers and those who have been shot in gunfights between authorities and gangs of narcotics traffickers. The figure itself was obtained from official information from the Rio de Janeiro governmental Institute of Public Security. It was the second protest staged this week on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach by the group Rio de Paz. On Tuesday, the group created a mock cemetery in the sand with mannequins representing 9,000 people who Rio de Paz says have been slain and secretly buried since January 2007. Rio de Paz President Antonio Carlos Costa said he believes that about 6,000 of the missing people were killed, many by drug traffickers fighting for territory in Rio's slums and poor neighborhoods. Others, he said, were killed by hit squads and police acting on their own. "In general, they are assassinated by police -- police acting outside of their regular work hours," Costa said Tuesday. "They are also assassinated by narcotraffickers. The bodies are disposed of in secret cemeteries in the metropolitan Rio de Janeiro area or incinerated alive by narcotraffickers in what they call 'microwaves.' " To illustrate the point, demonstrators also constructed facsimiles of the "microwaves" that narcotics traffickers and death squads reportedly use to cremate remains of those they have abducted. CNN's Fabiana Frayssinet contributed to this report.

What was staged on the beach to represent missing people?

The group staged what in the beach sands?

What did protesters line up on the beach?

Answer: Protesters used dummies to represent victims of violence on Brazil's Copacabana beach this week.

Answer: 16,000 coconuts

Answer: 16,000 coconuts on Brazil's world-famous

Answer: 16,000 coconuts

Answer: "Shame" in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French.

Summary:
Protesters line up coconuts on Brazil's Copacabana beach .
Rio de Paz says coconuts represent victims of urban violence, drug wars .
Protesters string up sign in sand that says "Shame" in four languages .
Earlier, group staged mock cemetery in beach sand representing missing people .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Automated messages sent from Air France Flight 447 just before it crashed Monday indicate the plane's systems were providing contradictory information about its airspeed, the jet's manufacturer said on Friday. Friends and relatives of the 228 people aboard Air France Flight 447 attend a memorial service Thursday in Brazil. That suggests the pilots may have been flying too fast or too slow through the violent weather they encountered before the crash, officials said. In addition, investigators have said the plane's autopilot disengaged, cabin pressure was lost and there was an electrical failure before the disaster. Airbus confirmed on Friday that in the wake of the crash it sent a Telex to operators of all Airbus models reminding them what to do when speed indicators give conflicting readings. The spokesman said the notice does not mean there is any major flaw in the aircraft, but is simply a reminder to pilots about what to do in the cockpit if they get conflicting information about air speed. Message transmissions from the aircraft in the final moments before it crashed Monday into the Atlantic Ocean show there was an "indicated inconsistency in measured air speeds," Airbus said. The company did not elaborate. Experts said that could mean the pilot's and co-pilots' sensors were showing different speeds. "If they're malfunctioning, it can give a false read that can be misinterpreted in the cockpit, and a disaster can follow," said Peter Goeltz, the former managing director of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. While the pilots themselves sent no distress calls, the aircraft's computer system relayed about four minutes of automated messages indicating a loss of cabin pressure and an electrical failure, according to investigators. Airbus said it sent the Telex Thursday night after the action was recommended by the French investigating agency, which plans to hold a news conference Saturday morning in Paris, France.  Watch as experts question whether recovery is possible » Meanwhile, the hunt for debris continued Friday, a day after a Brazilian air force official said debris plucked from the ocean was not from the Air France jet. A U.S Navy P-3 temporarily based in Brazil has flown three missions -- on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday -- in assisting the Brazilian government search for debris, but found nothing connected to the disaster, U.S. Southern Command spokesman Maj. Darryl Wright said. Earlier Friday, Goeltz said the search for Flight 447's voice and data recorders is becoming more difficult as ocean currents disperse debris from the crash site. "The clock's ticking" in the search for the plane's recorders, he said. "The batteries on these locator devices attached to the black boxes have a limited life span -- just 30 days," he said. "The longer time goes on, the further away from the actual crash site the debris floats." All 228 passengers and crew aboard the Airbus 330 are presumed to have died when the plane disappeared northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil. The flight originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was en route to Paris.  Map of Flight 447's flight path » While the ocean depth in the area where the plane is thought to have crashed presents a challenge, the challenge may not be insurmountable, Goeltz said. "We've recovered boxes as deep as 6- or 7,000 feet," he said. "We've recovered debris from as much as 10,000 feet." Authorities have said the depth of the water in the area ranges from 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) to 7,500 meters (24,600 feet). Cmdr. Christophe Prazuck of the French Ministry of Defense said Friday that a French research vessel was expected to arrive this weekend in the search area carrying a deep-diving submersible. The submersible would try to pinpoint the recorders, but must rely on another vessel to retrieve them, he said. The submarine helped recover artifacts from the Titanic disaster. Meanwhile, France's transportation minister warned that "extreme prudence" should be used in releasing information about why the plane

What makes finding recorders more difficult?

What did the automated messages indicate?

What does the ex-U.S. aviation safety official say?

Answer: ocean currents disperse debris

Answer: the plane's systems were providing contradictory information about its airspeed,

Answer: the plane's systems were providing contradictory information about its airspeed,

Answer: "If they're malfunctioning, it can give a false read that can be misinterpreted in the cockpit, and a disaster can follow,"

Summary:
French officials: Sub could find recorders; other vessel needed for their retrieval .
Airbus: Automated messages indicate contradictory info provided on airspeeds .
Such a problem "could really be disastrous," ex-U.S. aviation safety official says .
Expert: Finding where recorders lie on seabed harder as debris scattered .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Debris located early Tuesday in the Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of Brazil is wreckage from the Air France jet that disappeared Monday, Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said. A French search and rescue crew scans the Atlantic for wreckage Tuesday. No survivors have been found, he said. Jobim made the announcement after meeting with relatives and friends of Brazilians who were among the 228 people aboard Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, France. Two debris fields were found about 650 km (400 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil -- or at latitude 2 north, longitude 30 west, the Ministry of Defense said on its Web site. One of the fields was 5 km (3 miles) long and that both lie near the flight path between Rio de Janeiro and Paris. Among the wreckage was an airplane seat, metal debris, an orange float, a drum and an oil spill, the posting said.  See map of suspected crash zone » Brazilian air force planes spotted the debris field Tuesday morning, but it was not until a French commercial vessel arrived on the scene that the debris' origin was confirmed. The planes searched 10,000 square kilometers (3,861 square miles) of ocean throughout the day and will continue to search for more debris overnight, the Brazilian Air Force Said. Two Netherlands-flagged vessels were expected to arrive in the area later in the day; a Brazilian navy ship was expected to arrive Wednesday, officials said. Brazilian air force jets were continuing to comb the area for other debris, and a U.S. P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft was assisting as well.  Watch how wreckage has been spotted in Atlantic » The searchers also want to find the cockpit voice and data recorders, which might shed light on what caused the jet to disappear before any of the three pilots was able to issue a mayday. "That really is an ominous sign," said former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Managing Director Peter Goelz. "It means, whatever happened, it happened so quickly that the pilots were not able to radio out. It probably indicates a catastrophic failure at altitude." He said that meteorologists have been checking weather data over the area "to see if there was some phenomenon that was taking place -- so far, we haven't seen it." The Airbus A330 encountered heavy turbulence early Monday, about three hours into what was supposed to be an 11-hour flight, according to the airline. The plane carried 216 passengers -- 126 men, 82 women, seven children and a baby -- and 12 crew members, Air France said. The majority of the people on the flight came from Brazil, France and Germany. Other victims were from 29 other countries, including three from the United States. Of the crew, 11 were French, and one was Brazilian. A team of approximately 20 Air France staff members, including two doctors and a nurse, arrived Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro to assist families of the victims, the airline said. An inter-religious ceremony is to be held Wednesday afternoon inside Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral for family and friends of the victims. Though it will be closed to news media, a sound recording of the ceremony will be broadcast into the square outside. An official list of victims by name was not available Tuesday afternoon, but two Americans on board -- Michael Harris, 60, and his wife, Anne, 54 -- were identified by the couple's family and his employer. Prince Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, a member of Brazil's non-reigning royal family, was also on the flight, his family said Monday. Pedro Luis was 26. Also on the flight were two executives of the French tire company Michelin: Michelin Latin America President Luiz Roberto Anastacio and Antonio Gueiro, director of informatics. Read more about victims on Air France Flight 447 The jet was 4 years old and had last undergone routine maintenance April 16. The Air France

What is to be held Wednesday at Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral?

How many people was Flight 447 carrying?

Answer: about 650 km (400 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil -- or at latitude 2 north, longitude 30 west, the Ministry of Defense said on its Web site.

Answer: issue a mayday.

Answer: Wednesday afternoon

Answer: inter-religious ceremony

Answer: Wednesday afternoon

Answer: 228

Answer: about 650 km (400 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil -- or at latitude 2 north, longitude 30 west,

Summary:
NEW: Pilots' failure to issue mayday "ominous sign," former NTSB spokesman says .
NEW: Memorial service to be held Wednesday at Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral .
2 debris fields found about 400 miles northeast of Fernando de Noronha Islands .
Flight 447, traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, was carrying 228 people .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Former presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil called Wednesday for the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use and a change in tactics on the war on drugs, a Spanish news agency said.

People march in support of legalized marijuana in late January in Belem, northern Brazil.

Ex-presidents Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Cesar Gaviria of Colombia and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil made their announcement at a meeting in Brazil of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, the EFE news agency said.

"The problem is that current policies are based on prejudices and fears and not on results," Gaviria said at a news conference in which the commission's recommendations were presented.

The 17-member panel worked on the report for a year and will forward it to all Latin American governments as well as the United States and the European Union, EFE said. Gaviria said the time is right to start a debate on the subject, particularly with the pragmatic openings provided by the election of President Barack Obama in the United States.

"In many states in the United States, as is the case in California, they have begun to change federal policies with regard to tolerating marijuana for therapeutic purposes. And in Washington there's some consensus that the current policy is failing," EFE quotes Gaviria as saying.

Decriminalization should be accompanied by treatment for addicts and public service campaigns on abuse prevention, the commission said.

"If you don't help those who are dependent, you are half way there because they are going to commit crime to get money and pay for the drug," Gaviria said.

Cardoso said the group called for only the decriminalization of marijuana and not other illicit drugs because "you have to start somewhere" and it would have been unrealistic to ask the same for all drugs, EFE said.

Marijuana was chosen because it is grown in all countries in the region and because it is "less harmful."

The decades-old criminalization of personal consumption has failed to stop the plant's cultivation and distribution, the group said.

The commission urged that all current criminal prosecution be aimed at drug cartels and organized crime and not marijuana smokers, EFE said.

Zedillo did not attend the news conference but worked on the report, Cardoso said.

Wednesday's recommendation was the second time in less than a week that a Latin American government official called for decriminalization.

A mayor in Peru suggested Friday that the federal government legalize illicit drugs and administer them through the national health ministry.

Gusto Sierra, the mayor of the Surquillo district in Lima, said a federal drug law is hypocritical because it allows maximum legally allowed quantities for some drugs and plants but doesn't say where to acquire them, the Peru 21 newspaper reported in a front-page story headlined "Say yes to drugs?"

Sierra said he will take the matter up with the nation's executive branch.

Zedillo served as president of Mexico from 1994-2000. Gaviria was president of Colombia from 1990-94. And Cardoso led Brazil from 1995-2002.

Who is urging for decriminalization of marijuana?

What did former leaders say criminal prosecutors should target?

What are the ex presidents of some countries urging?

What is the public service campaign about?

Ex-presidents urge decriminalization of what?

Answer: Ex-presidents Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Cesar Gaviria of Colombia and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil

Answer: addicts

Answer: drug cartels and organized crime

Answer: decriminalization of marijuana for personal use and a change in tactics on the war on drugs,

Answer: Ex-presidents Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Cesar Gaviria of Colombia and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil

Answer: drug cartels and organized crime

Answer: addicts

Answer: abuse prevention,

Answer: current criminal prosecution be aimed at drug cartels

Answer: drug cartels and organized crime

Answer: marijuana for personal use

Summary:
Ex-presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia urge decriminalization of marijuana .
Leaders urge treatment for addicts, public service campaigns on abuse prevention .
Criminal prosecution should target drug cartels, not users, former leaders say .