Pascagoula, Mississippi (CNN) -- A lack of screening of oil spill cleanup workers meant a sex offender got a job, and left him free to rape a colleague according to a Mississippi county sheriff.

A CNN investigation into the incident reveals that basic background checks were not done on those hired to remove oil from the beaches in and around Pascagoula.

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd told CNN he was shocked when he met with the head of BP security for the area several weeks before the alleged rape took place. He said the BP representative told him that only drug screenings, not background checks, were being conducted on the cleanup workers.

"I said, 'You're kidding me.' He said, 'No.' He said, 'There's so many of them, we were told to do drug screens and that was it.' And I said, 'Well, that's not good at all.' "

Byrd said he told the BP official that "you're going to have every type of person coming in here looking for a job, and you're going to have the criminal element in here, and we're not going to know who we're dealing with if we don't do background checks on these people."

"It's sad because you got a victim now by a sex offender, and he's in our jail. Had we have known this, he would have been arrested before the crime could have been committed," said Byrd, who also said that if asked, his department would have done the background checks for free.

Rundy Charles Robertson, 41, who faces charges of sexual battery and failure to register as a sex offender, is in the Jackson County, Mississippi, jail with bail set at $505,000. He told police that he had consensual sex with the woman. He has not yet entered a plea.

Robertson has a criminal history dating back to 1991, according to police records. He was put on the national sex offender registry for a 1996 conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor in Louisiana. He is also on probation after being convicted in 2003 in Georgia for cruelty to children.  Read Boudreau's blog post on background checks for spill workers

Robertson had been supervising a crew of cleanup workers, including the alleged victim. She told CNN he offered to take her home one day in June because she was not feeling well.

However, she said, when he dropped her off, he asked to use the bathroom in her motel room. When he came out, she said, he raped her.

The woman told CNN she is scared and angry that this happened.

"If they would have ran the background checks, they wouldn't have a man like that working," she said.

"Emotionally, it's really, really messed me up. I get real upset at times, I go through anxiety. I feel angry, I feel dirty. I don't understand what gave him the right to take something -- or felt he could do what he wanted. ... I'm scared. I'm real scared."

She said she was laid off and is now unemployed.

"I find it unbelievable because BP and their subcontractors had relationships with all local law enforcement," said Adam Miller, the woman's attorney. "They had the opportunity and the ability to clearly check all of these people that they were hiring and bringing in to ensure the safety of the public."

He said since the incident happened in June, it's been "a living hell for her."

"She gave up her housing where she was living to come here," Miller said. "Now she's been raped, she doesn't have a job, and everybody walked away."

BP hired a company called Miller Environmental Group for the beach cleanup project. Miller hired Aerotek to find workers.

In a statement to CNN, BP spokesman Robert Wine said, "BP does conduct full checks on its employees, and under normal business conditions can make it a part

what is the worker charged with
What was the oil worker charged with?
Who is charged with raping co-worker?
Where was the suspect jailed?

Answer: charges of sexual battery and failure to register as a sex offender,

Answer: rape

Answer: Rundy Charles Robertson,

Answer: Jackson County, Mississippi, jail

Summary:
Oil spill worker charged with raping a co-worker never had a criminal background check .
BP says responsibility for the background checks is with contractor it hired .
Suspect is jailed in Mississippi, charged with sexual battery, not registering as sex offender .


Peekskill, New York (CNN) -- Police in Peekskill are investigating whether four men accused of brutally beating an Ecuadorian man can be charged with a hate crime, officials said.

Julio Serrano, 39, remains in critical condition after he was attacked Saturday, police said.

Detective Sgt. Raymond Henderlong said police are still gathering information on whether hate was a motive in the attack in the small Hudson River town.

"We are going to exhaust every avenue to see if this was racially motivated," Henderlong said. "We are looking into whether they were targeting him because of his background."

Police said Serrano was walking near his home early Saturday when he was attacked.

Surveillance video shows him staggering up a flight of stairs after fleeing his attackers, who follow and eventually ambush him as he seeks refuge in a building.

Serrano suffered severe head injuries.

Ronnie Juett, 23; Jarron Sligh, 23; and Keith Walker, 18, have been charged with gang assault, police said. Jamar Walker, 19, is awaiting arraignment in Peekskill County Court.

According to the 2000 census, Peekskill has a population of about 22,000. Nearly 22 percent is of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Peekskill Police Chief Eugene Tumolo said it is possible that Serrano was beaten "because of the fact he is a Latino male, and a lot of these people are immigrants."

"Even animals shouldn't be beaten like this. Nothing human, nothing alive should be beaten the way this poor man was. It was an incredibly cowardly and vicious attack," he said.

In April, jurors convicted a Long Island man of manslaughter as a hate crime in the death of an immigrant from Ecuador.

Jeffrey Conroy was tried in the death of Marcelo Lucero, 37, who was fatally stabbed in the chest on November 8, 2008, in Patchogue.

Conroy was also found guilty of gang assault and conspiracy as well as of assaulting three other Latino men on Long Island.

Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center said that increasingly virulent hate speech emerging from anti-immigrant groups has a role in recent attacks on immigrants.

"This is yet another example of America's anti-immigrant propaganda to demonize immigrants," Potok said.

"We've seen these cases popping up around the nation because of this type of hate speech. Words have consequences," he said.

Where was an Ecuadorian man beaten on Saturday?

Answer: Saturday,

Answer: he was attacked

Answer: Julio Serrano,

Answer: it is possible that Serrano was beaten "because of the fact he is a Latino male, and a lot of these people are immigrants."

Answer: Peekskill

Answer: it is possible that Serrano was beaten "because of the fact he is a Latino male, and a lot of these people are immigrants."

Answer: four

Summary:
Ecuadorian man beaten Saturday in Peekskill, New York .
Four men are accused in the attack .
"Nothing alive should be beaten the way this poor man was," police chief says .


Penuelas, Puerto Rico (CNN) -- Jorelys Rivera, the 7-year-old girl who was abducted and killed early this month near her north Georgia home, was buried Tuesday in a service in this town on the southern coast of Puerto Rico.

Hundreds of mourners filled the funeral home and spilled out the doors for the service.

Afterward, the carriage holding holding her body was pulled by horses -- her favorite animal -- to the cemetery.

The 1- to 2-kilometer (1-mile) route to the cemetery was lined with people, many of whom said they had not known the girl or her family, but were there simply because they had been moved by her story.

Mayor Walter Torres paid the cost of the service.

As a four-person group played traditional Puerto Rican and Christmas music, Jorelys' mother Joseline appeared calm and solemn.The girl's father, Ricardo Galarza, appeared disturbed and upset.

He told CNN last week that he last saw his daughter two years ago when she visited for the summer. She was supposed to have returned for Christmas.

The girl's maternal grandmother was barely able to speak and remain upright.

Jorelys disappeared December 2 near a playground at a Canton, Georgia, apartment complex. Searchers found her body in a compactor-type trash bin there three days later.

Authorities have accused 20-year-old Ryan Brunn -- a maintenance worker at the complex -- of killing her.

Jorelys died of blunt force trauma to the head and was stabbed and sexually assaulted, according to authorities.

A date for Brunn's arraignment has not been set. David Cannon Sr., one of Brunn's court-appointed attorneys, has said that his client will plead not guilty.

On Sunday, Rivera told WAPA that if authorities have evidence showing Brunn killed her daughter, he should face the death penalty.

"The truth is I can't tell you if it was him or if it wasn't him, because I had never seen him before," she said.

By what was the carriage holding her body pulled with?

Answer: the funeral home

Answer: route to the cemetery

Answer: The 1- to 2-kilometer (1-mile) route to the cemetery

Answer: the carriage

Answer: horses

Summary:
Hundreds of mourners filled the funeral home in Puerto Rico .
The route to the cemetery was lined with hundreds of people .
The carriage holding her body was pulled by horses .


People with a gene variant that sharply increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease in old age may show memory impairment earlier than thought -- sometimes well before their 60th birthday, according to new study in the New England Journal of Medicine. A variant of the APOE gene indicates whether a person has a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Between 20 and 35 percent of Americans have one or two copies of this gene variant, inherited from one or both parents. People with one copy of the variant, called apolipoprotein E-e4 (APOE e4), have a 29 percent lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, while people who don't have it have a 9 percent risk. People with two copies of APOE e4 have an even higher Alzheimer's risk, but it's hard to define the exact percentage as only 2 percent of the population falls into this category. Despite the gene-related health problems, another study in the same issue of the journal suggests that people who learn they do have APOE e4 seem to handle the information pretty well. But the researchers excluded people with anxiety or depression, and they followed people for just a year. Therefore, the results don't tell the whole story about what it would be like for most people to find out whether they carried the APOE e4 gene. Nevertheless, the findings are an important first step, said Dr. Kenneth Kosik, a professor of neuroscience at the University of California Santa Barbara and the codirector of UCSB's Neuroscience Research Institute. "I think it opens the door to ask the deeper questions," said Kosik, referring to the possible consequences for individuals and society if widespread APOE testing were introduced. (Kosik was not involved with either study.) If people do find out they have the APOE e4 gene, Kosik added, the new memory study could make the news harder to bear. Dr. Richard J. Caselli, of the Mayo Clinic Arizona, in Scottsdale, and his colleagues followed 815 people ages 21 to 97 with normal mental function, including 317 who had at least one copy of the APOE e4 gene. On one test of a person's ability to learn and remember (the Auditory-Verbal Learning Test) gene carriers showed declines in their scores beginning in their 50s. For people without the APOE e4 gene, this decline started in their 70s. "We're not talking anymore about a retired population; we're talking about people who will be in the midst of their career," Caselli said. He added that many would be in positions of responsibility in which they need to have all their wits about them -- and they may not. Health.com: Eat smarter in your 30s, 40s, and 50s "[The study] forces us to really think about the brave new world of genetics," and how this information might be used, Kosik said. Although there had been a "clear line" between having the APOE e4 gene but being dementia-free and having Alzheimer's disease, that distinction isn't as clear anymore, he explained. For someone who discovers he or she has the APOE e4 gene, Caselli said, "The only advice I have is, 'Don't panic.'" Right now, APOE gene testing is only recommended for people with mild problems with mental function or dementia; for people with no symptoms, it should only be done in a research setting, experts said. Nevertheless, labs have sprung up that will offer the "worried well" an APOE gene test for a fee. Having APOE testing without adequate medical, psychological, or genetic counseling is "inappropriate," said Dr. Hyman Schipper, a professor of neurology and medicine at McGill University, and the director of the Centre for Neurotranslational Research at SMBD--Jewish General Hospital, both in Montreal. In these situations, Schipper explained people may not interpret the results correctly, and could run the risk of psychological harm. For example, people who find out they carry the gene for Huntington's disease -- which means they have a 100 percent chance of developing a devastating neurodegenerative condition if they live long enough --

What test is recommended for mild mental function?

Which group showed declines in their 50's?

Answer: people with mild problems with mental function or dementia;

Answer: APOE gene testing

Answer: Between 20 and 35 percent of Americans

Answer: People with one copy of the variant, called apolipoprotein E-e4 (APOE e4),

Answer: increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease

Answer: gene carriers

Answer: 29 percent lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer's disease,

Summary:
Having one copy of gene variant, APOE e4, means 29 percent risk of Alzheimer's .
People with APOE e4 gene variant showed declines beginning in their 50s .
APOE gene testing is only recommended for people with mild mental functions .


Peppermint oil, soluble fiber, and antispasmodic drugs can indeed help people with irritable bowel syndrome, according to an analysis of 25 years of research on the condition, which is characterized by bouts of diarrhea and constipation. "It wasn't appreciated how much of an impact [IBS] can have on a patient's quality of life," says one researcher. About 10 to 15 percent of people in North America have IBS, and it's twice as common in women. However, only about one-third of people with the intestinal disorder seek treatment. The exact cause of IBS remains unknown, and that lack of knowledge has led to the use of a variety of treatments, including fiber supplements, probiotics, antidepressants, behavioral-based therapies, psychotherapy, food modification, acupuncture, and laxatives. However, many treatments are controversial because study results have been mixed. Newer and more expensive medications have been introduced to the public, but some were ineffective or withdrawn from the market due to side effects. The recent study sheds light on the cheap and readily available treatments that can help patients, says study coauthor Eamonn M. Quigley, M.D., a professor of medicine and physiology at University College Cork in Ireland. "Medical science has tended to ignore IBS; it wasn't appreciated how much of an impact it can have on a patient's quality of life," he says. Health.com: Is that belly ache in your head? In the new analysis, researchers systematically reviewed 38 studies from the last 25 years; more than 2,500 volunteers were involved. That research compared therapies -- all relatively cheap, safe, and readily available -- with a placebo or with no treatment at all. The team looked at three treatments -- soluble fiber, peppermint oil, and antispasmodics, which are drugs that relax the smooth muscle in the gut and relieve cramping -- and found that they were all more effective than a placebo, according to the report in the British Medical Journal. But not all fiber is the same. The soluble fiber ispaghula husk, which is also known as psyllium and found in some bulk laxatives, significantly reduced symptoms of  IBS, particularly constipation; insoluble fiber, such as bran, did not relieve symptoms. Several antispasmodic drugs helped prevent IBS symptoms, particularly diarrhea. The most effective one was hyoscine, which is sold without a prescription in the United States. Although peppermint oil was found to be the most effective of the three therapies, more data are needed, cautions Quigley. The peppermint-oil therapy was analyzed in only four trials involving 392 patients. Because past research has been mixed, doctors' treatment guidelines mention the remedies, but don't necessarily give them a ringing endorsement, says author Alex Ford, M.D., a registrar of gastroenterology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. "I suspect that filters down to the practitioners who don't believe they work, so they try something that's newer or a bit sexier," Dr. Ford says. "The problem with IBS is that it's a chronic medical condition and no drug has been shown to alter its natural history." Health.com: Should I be tested for IBS? The study results are not surprising, says Joanne A.P. Wilson, M.D., a professor of medicine in the gastroenterology department at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Wilson adds that such treatments are best for patients with mild or moderate IBS. However, in her practice, she's found that prescription medications need to be used for severe cases that don't respond to these treatments. Health.com: Belly flab doubles mortality risk Prescription drugs that have been used to treat IBS include Amitiza, a drug for chronic constipation; Zelnorm, which was pulled from the market in 2007; and Lotronex, which was removed from the market because of potentially life-threatening side effects (although exceptions are now made for women with severe, diarrhea-prominent IBS who don't respond to other treatments). Enter to win a monthly Room Makeover Giveaway from MyHomeIdeas.com

What percent of North Americans have ibs?

Approximately how many people in North America have IBS?

Answer: remains unknown,

Answer: 10 to 15

Answer: Peppermint oil, soluble fiber, and antispasmodic drugs can indeed help people with irritable bowel syndrome,

Answer: 10 to 15 percent

Answer: including fiber supplements, probiotics, antidepressants, behavioral-based therapies, psychotherapy, food modification, acupuncture, and laxatives.

Summary:
An estimated 10 to 15 percent of people in North America have IBS .
The exact cause of IBS remains unknown, which has hampered treatment .
Study analysis: Peppermint oil, soluble fiber, and antispasmodic drugs all work .


Perugia, Italy (CNN) -- A defense lawyer for Amanda Knox -- accused in Italy of killing her roommate -- on Tuesday said the prosecution's theory doesn't fit the facts of the case and there is not sufficient evidence to find her guilty. Calling Knox a victim herself, Carlo della Vedova portrayed the Seattle, Washington, native as someone who fell victim to a rush to judgment by police following the murder, and who had to fend off a myriad of false media reports regarding the crime. Police declared "case closed" after an investigator saw Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito sharing a "flirtatious gesture" at the crime scene. And in the months following the murder, della Vedova argued a slew of leaks to the media made things even worse. The lawyer showed photos of the crime scene that were published in the media that weren't authentic -- including a photo of the bathroom -- and said false allegations and rumors about Knox's character created a bias from the get-go. Della Vedova also questioned the change in what prosecutor Giuliano Mignini's said was the motive for the murder. In preliminary hearings he argued Knox, Sollecito and Rudy Guede slashed Kercher's throat during a sexual misadventure as the two men vied for Knox's attention. In recent days, della Vedova said Mignini focused more on what he says was a hatred between the two roommates. Defense lawyers have staunchly disagreed, claiming the two girls were friends. They argued that Guede, who was convicted in a separate fast-track trial and is currently appealing his conviction, was the sole killer and argued there is no evidence that ties the three people together or shows proof they planned her murder. Della Vedova also fixated during closings on the lack of evidence tying Knox to the crime scene. As defense lawyers have throughout the entire trial, he cast doubt on DNA evidence prosecutors claim shows Knox's DNA on the handle of the alleged murder weapon. The defense has claimed the knife doesn't match Kercher's wounds or an imprint of the knife left on a bed sheet. They also claimed the DNA sample is too small to attribute. Besides the knife, della Vedova claimed if there really was a struggle or argument in Kercher's room, then Knox's DNA would be all over the room. Citing forensic testimony from the trial, he argued that while traces of DNA from  other people were found in the room, not a single sample that can be traced back to Knox was found. He stressed too, that Sollecito and Knox are not the kind of people they have been portrayed as, noting that the couple met at a classical music concert and aren't the typical "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" couple they have been labeled. During the first day of closings for Knox's lawyers, della Vedova stressed to the eight-member jury that they should also keep church law in mind as they decide whether to find Knox and Sollecito guilty or not guilty. He told the jury they needed to be "morally certain of their decision." "If you have the minimum of doubts, you must absolve this young girl," he said. "A girl that is merely 22 years old." Knox and Sollecito, who both deny any role in the murder, have been jailed for more than two years since they were arrested on charges of murder and sexual violence. Prosecutors have asked they be sentenced to life in prison if they are found guilty. Knox's other lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, will continue closings on Wednesday and the jury is expected to begin deliberations on Friday. CNN's Mallory Simon contributed to this report.

Answer: Sollecito and Rudy Guede

Summary:
Carlo della Vedova questions evidence in case, says Amanda Knox should be found not guilty .
Prosecutors maintain Knox, Raffaele Sollecito and Rudy Guede killed Meredith Kercher .
Lawyer: "If you have the minimum of doubts, you must absolve this young girl"


Perugia, Italy (CNN) -- A defense lawyer for Amanda Knox made an impassioned plea to the jury Wednesday as the high-profile case neared its conclusion. Knox is the American student accused of killing her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, at the villa they shared in Italy. "We suffer at the memory of Meredith. But we look at the future of Amanda," Luciano Ghirga said in his defense summation. "Meredith was my friend," he quoted Knox as saying, rejecting the notion that she hated her roommate, who was fatally stabbed in November 2007. Prosecutors say Kercher died during a twisted sex game in which Knox taunted Kercher, and two men -- Knox's then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 26, and acquaintance Rudy Guede -- sexually assaulted her. The prosecution says a knife found in Sollecito's house had Knox's DNA on the handle and Kercher's on the blade, among other pieces of evidence. But Ghirga rejected the accusations against Knox on Wednesday. He attacked the way police and prosecutors had treated the defendant, giving them a symbolic "red card" -- a referee's sign in soccer that a player is being expelled from the game for breaking the rules. Ghirga concluded an emotional oration -- sobbing as he came to the end -- by asking the judge and jury to acquit Knox, because her mother asked him to request it, because her family asked it. Knox's father, Curt, said Wednesday she had been a victim of "character assassination," and expressed hope she would be found not guilty. Members of Kercher's family have declined repeated CNN requests for comment on the case. But prosecutor Giuliano Mignini accused the defense of "lynching" the Italian police who worked on the case. He defended the work of the police and the credibility of the prosecution witnesses as he responded to Ghirga's arguments Wednesday. And he called again for life sentences for Knox and Sollecito if they are found guilty. Italy does not have the death penalty. The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Friday, after the prosecution completes its summary. Another Knox attorney on Tuesday said the prosecution's theory doesn't fit the facts of the case and there is not sufficient evidence to find her guilty. Calling Knox a victim herself, Carlo della Vedova said the police had rushed to judgment following the murder, leaving Knox to fend off a myriad of false media reports regarding the crime. The lawyer showed photos published in the media, purportedly showing the crime scene, that weren't authentic -- including a photo of the bathroom -- and said false allegations and rumors about Knox's character created a bias from the start. Della Vedova also questioned the change in what prosecutor Mignini said was the motive for the murder. In preliminary hearings, Mignini argued Knox, Sollecito and Guede slashed Kercher's throat during a sexual misadventure as the two men vied for Knox's attention. In recent days, Mignini has focused more on what he says was a hatred between the two roommates. Defense lawyers have staunchly disagreed, claiming the two women were friends. Ghirga on Wednesday said the two had gone to a chocolate festival together days before Kercher was killed. The defense has argued that Guede, who was convicted in a separate fast-track trial and is currently appealing his conviction, was the sole killer.  The defense has said there is no evidence tying the three suspects together or proving they planned Kercher's murder. Della Vedova also focused during closing arguments on the lack of evidence tying Knox to the crime scene. As defense lawyers have throughout the entire trial, he cast doubt on DNA evidence that prosecutors claim shows Knox's DNA on the handle of the alleged murder weapon. The defense has said the knife doesn't match Kercher's wounds or an imprint of the knife left on a bedsheet, and the DNA sample is too small to be conclusive. During the first day of closing arguments for Knox's lawyers, della Vedova stressed to the eight-member jury that they should also keep church law in mind as they decide whether to

what Defense lawyer for Amanda Knox becomes emotional during?

what Prosecutor accuses defense of "lynching" police?

what American student, is accused of murdering her?

What did the defense lawer become emotional during?

What does the prosecutor assuse the defense of?

What did the defense lawyer do during his final argument?

What happened to the defense attorney Amanda?

Answer: killing her British roommate,

Answer: Ghirga

Answer: American

Answer: the defense of "lynching" the Italian police who worked on the case.

Answer: Ghirga

Answer: Giuliano Mignini

Answer: Amanda Knox

Answer: defended the work of the

Answer: oration

Answer: "We suffer at the memory of Meredith. But we look at the future of Amanda,"

Answer: "lynching" the Italian police who worked on the case.

Answer: Luciano Ghirga

Answer: made an impassioned plea to the jury

Answer: killing her British roommate, Meredith Kercher,

Answer: made an impassioned plea

Summary:
NEW: Prosecutor accuses defense of "lynching" police who worked on case .
Defense lawyer for Amanda Knox becomes emotional during Wednesday's closing argument .
Luciano Ghirga sobs as he tells the jury Knox is innocent and has been mistreated .
Knox, an American student, is accused of murdering her British roommate in Italy .


Perugia, Italy (CNN) -- A lawyer for Amanda Knox said Thursday the only option for the jury considering her murder appeal in Italy is to clear her of guilt.

Knox's lawyers gave their final arguments in Perugia Thursday in an effort to counter prosecutors' portrayal of her as a cunning "femme fatale."

Lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova told the jury 'that the only possible decision to take is that of absolving Amanda Knox," as he wrapped up his closing argument.

He said the court had already seen "there is not trace of Amanda Knox in the room where murder took place."

Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are fighting to overturn their 2009 convictions for the murder of Meredith Kercher, Knox's British housemate who was found with her throat slashed two years earlier.

The judge said there will be no ruling in the case until after defendant statements on Monday.

The second of Knox's lawyers to speak, Luciano Ghirga, said Knox was "very afraid but her heart is full of hope and she hopes to return to freedom."

Her "image was massacred" by the media and the attacks on her character started before the trial, he said, adding that he considered her as a daughter.

Concluding an emotional appearance, he appealed to the jury to put themselves in the shoes of Knox's family -- a counterpoise to the words of appeals court prosecutor Giancarlo Costagliola, who asked the jury to put themselves in the shoes of Kercher's family at the start of the closing arguments a week ago.

The "clan Knox" -- as Knox's family have been referred to -- are not part of some rumored U.S. conspiracy to put pressure on the Italian courts to release her, Ghirga said. Rather, "they are parents and they deserve respect."

The lawyer also praised the court's work, saying he felt Knox's rights had finally been respected.

Urging the jury not to let innocent people stay in jail, Vedova earlier detailed what he called many "mistakes" made in the investigation into Kercher's death.

When Knox was arrested and interrogated, she was not allowed a translator and was discouraged from getting a lawyer, Vedova said.

"'That night Amanda Knox's right to defend herself was denied," he said. "She was just a young girl, first time out of the country. She didn't speak Italian."

Vedova argued that some of the DNA evidence presented by the prosecution should be thrown out.

He said some material was contaminated as a result of poor practice by police, including supposed traces of mixed blood in the bathroom sink shared by the two girls. The prosecution's use of alleged bloody footprints in their case was also wrong, he said.

As for the knife used to kill Kercher, a key piece of evidence, Vedova told the court there was a "concentration of nothingness, a fantasy" in the prosecution's arguments.

He ridiculed a theory that Sollecito had not disposed of the knife because he was concerned his landlady would notice it was missing, asking: "What kind of a killer would think about this after committing a murder?"

Vedova claimed forensics experts who examined computers belonging to Knox and Sollecito had destroyed the machines and with them evidence that was certain to be favorable to the defendants.

This included photographs of Knox and Kercher together that demonstrated they were friends, he said.

Showing the court panoramic pictures of the villa Knox shared with Kercher, Vedova rejected the prosecution claim that a fake robbery had been staged by someone inside the house to try to cover up what had happened.

He also suggested the original court had taken sides over some of the evidence, choosing to accept as credible some witnesses whose testimony went against Knox and rejecting others who were in her favor.

Knox's attorneys' statements follow arguments presented this week by the lawyer of her co-defendant.

Lawyer Giulia Bongiorno said Tuesday that Knox is not the character the media has painted her to be, and urged a jury to acquit Knox and Sollecito of murdering Kercher.

Bongiorno

When were they convicted?
What did the lawyer said?
What did the judge said?
What does the lawyer say?

Answer: 2009

Answer: 'that the only possible decision to take is that of absolving Amanda Knox,"

Answer: there will be no ruling in the case until after defendant statements on Monday.

Answer: 'that the only possible decision to take is that of absolving Amanda Knox,"

Summary:
NEW: A lawyer for Knox says she "is very afraid but her heart is full of hope"
Another lawyer urges the jury to absolve Knox as he wraps up his closing argument .
A verdict in the appeal will not come before Monday, the judge says .
Knox and Sollecito were convicted in 2009 of killing Briton Meredith Kercher .


Perugia, Italy (CNN) -- Family members of Meredith Kercher said Saturday they were satisfied with the verdict that found American Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, guilty of the fatal knifing of the British student. "Ultimately we are pleased with the decision," said Lyle Kercher, Meredith Kercher's brother. "But it was not a moment of celebration. We are here because our sister was brutally murdered." The victim's sister, Stephanie Kercher, talked Friday about her family's grief. "Our lives have been on hold, really. You can't really carry on as normal," she said. "You have to take each day as it comes. It's not ever going to be the same without [Meredith]." Knox and Sollecito were found guilty of murder Friday after a lengthy, sensational trial. Knox was given a 26-year sentence; Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years. Both will appeal, attorneys said. Knox and Sollecito were convicted on all charges except theft. The pair was accused of staging a theft to cover up the killing. Authorities said 300 euros (about $444) was discovered missing from Kercher's purse. The pair must pay 5 million euros ($7.4 million) to Kercher's family. In addition, Knox must pay 40,000 euros (nearly $60,000) to a man whom she falsely accused of the killing. One of Knox's sisters said Saturday that Amanda "had a rough night." Her mother, Edda Mellas, said, "She had a lot of support. The inmates and the guards were all taking great care of her. They care a lot. "Amanda, like the rest of us, is extremely disappointed -- upset about the decision," Mellas said. "We're all in shock; we're all heartened by the support" that she said residents of Perugia and other Italians had shown. "People from all over the world have been sending us messages of support all through the night," Mellas said. "We told her she's going to get out of there. It's [just] going to take a little longer." Sollecito's lawyer, Luca Maori, criticized his client's punishment -- less than the life sentence the prosecution requested but far short of exonerating Sollecito -- as making no sense. "For the grave crimes they claimed, you either sentence them to life. ... or you acquit. There is no middle way," Maori said. Public prosecutor Giuliano Mignini told CNN he feels he presented a strong case. He said about 20 magistrates worked alongside police during the investigation. However, he said that in the face of the planned appeals, clearly the conviction is not final. Learn how the murder case played out People who disagree with the verdict should at least respect it, because so many professionals were involved in the investigation, Mignini said. "I believe, evidently, that they think there was violence. They are the deputies who establish the foundation" of charges, he said. "And they did this." The victim's mother said she believed the defendants were guilty of the slaying. "You have to go with the evidence," Arline Kercher said. Take a look at the evidence against Knox Knox's lead defense attorney, Luciano Ghirga, said that when he met with his client Saturday morning, she was angry and continued to proclaim her innocence. He told CNN the situation has been a trying experience, and Knox hardly slept Friday night after the verdict. She was consoled by the other prisoners, who managed get her a cup of warm milk, Ghirga said. The jury reached its verdict after deliberating nearly 11 hours on the 11 counts. Jurors must submit an explanation of how they reached their decision to the judge within 90 days, and this "jury motivation" will be made public. Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of life in prison. Italy does not have the death penalty. CNN's Richard Greene and Hada Messia contributed to this report.

Who is sentenced for Merideth Kercher's murder?

who were sentenced for Meredith Kercher's murder?

Did the Italian prosecutor say the convictions were final?

What was the name of Knox's former boyfriend?

Answer: Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito,

Answer: Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito,

Answer: less than the life sentence the prosecution requested but far short of exonerating Sollecito

Answer: Meredith Kercher

Answer: the conviction is not final.

Answer: However, he said that in the face of the planned appeals, clearly the conviction is not final.

Answer: Raffaele Sollecito,

Answer: he feels he presented a strong case. He said about 20 magistrates worked alongside police during the investigation. However, he said that in the face of the planned appeals, clearly the conviction is not final.

Summary:
NEW: Sentence makes no sense, co-defendant's lawyer says .
Knox, her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito sentenced for Meredith Kercher's murder .
Appeals mean convictions not final, Italian prosecutor says .
Meredith Kercher's sister: "It's not ever going to be the same"


Perugia, Italy (CNN) -- The lawyer for Meredith Kercher's family showed photos of the British murder victim's bloodied body Monday, pointing out multiple stab wounds, as he urged an Italian jury not to overturn the murder convictions of Amanda Knox and Rafaelle Sollecito.

"I show you these pictures to show you the pain of Meredith," Francesco Maresca said.

"She didn't have defensive wounds. It means that she was tied up, that she had more than one aggressor," the lawyer said.

"Given the type, number and locations of the wounds, there had to be multiple attackers," he insisted.

He attacked as "useless" a review of DNA evidence that may cast doubt on the original convictions.

American student Knox and her former boyfriend Sollecito were convicted of the killing in 2009 and are now fighting to have the verdicts overturned. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison, while Sollecito got 25.

A third man, Rudy Guede, was convicted separately and is serving 16 years. Knox and Sollecito's defense teams have suggested he could have been the sole killer.

Lawyers for the civil suits related to the case presented their closing arguments Monday. Knox avoided looking at the photographs of Kercher's body as they were shown.

Another lawyer called Knox two-faced and "diabolical."

"Within her lives a double soul: one which is angelic, good, compassionate ... tender and ingenuous," Carlo Pacelli said.

But she had another side, he said: "And a Lucifer-like, demonic, satanic, diabolical one which sometimes leads her to borderline and dissolute behavior," saying that was the Knox who had killed her roommate.

Pacelli sought to portray Knox as sexually promiscuous and a difficult roommate as he fights for damages for Patrick Lumumba. His closing arguments were based on earlier testimony by friends of Kercher's.

Curt Knox, Amanda Knox's father, said the language used by the lawyer "was extraordinarily hard to listen to."

"What I find very hard to believe is how this person can start calling her that when he's never even talked to her, never met her," Curt Knox told CNN's Brooke Baldwin on Monday night.

Knox accused Lumumba of the murder in 2007. He was arrested but released after his alibi checked out. He later sued Knox for libel, winning 40,000 euros ($54,000) in damages.

Knox's accusation of Lumumba shows that she committed the crime, Pacelli argued.

"Knox told lies," he said, adding that she was guilty and her conviction should stand.

He urged the court not to "fall under the spell of the defendant" but to "stick to the proof."

Knox testified in the initial trial that comments she made to police the night of the killing were the result of stress, mistreatment by police and inadequate translation help.

Lawyers are making closing arguments this week, and a verdict could come as soon as October 3.

Curt Knox said the defense will begin presenting its final arguments Tuesday, "and I think we're going to see a very different picture of what this case is all about, and so will the world."

"What we saw and what we heard in the first three hearings is really all circumstantial evidence," Curt Knox said. "When it really comes down to the nuts and bolts of this case, you're going to hear in the next couple of days there really is no forensic case."

Knox was in court Monday, wearing an off-white top and black hooded sweater as the months-long process nears its conclusion.

Curt Knox said his daughter has had trouble sleeping and has lost weight in recent weeks.

"These two judges and six jurors really have her life in their hands, and these last three hearings have been extraordinarily hard," he said.

Sollecito was also present at Monday's hearing, with his hair cut short. He wore a long-sleeved shirt with a geometric pattern.

The defense has sought

When are the lawyers due to make the final arguments on the Knox case?

Besides Amanda Knox, who else is fighting a murder conviction?

Answer: Tuesday,

Answer: Amanda Knox and Rafaelle Sollecito.

Answer: two-faced and "diabolical."

Answer: Monday.

Answer: Rafaelle Sollecito.

Answer: Meredith Kercher's

Answer: Francesco Maresca

Summary:
A lawyer calls Amanda Knox two-faced, with a "diabolical" side .
Another lawyer shows the court photos of the victim's bloodied body .
Knox and Raffaele Sollecito are fighting their murder convictions .
Their lawyers are due to make final arguments this week .


Philadelphia (CNN) -- Boxing great Joe Frazier, who went toe to toe three times with Muhammad Ali, including the famous "Thrilla in Manila" fight, is seriously ill with liver cancer and is in a hospice, his personal and business manager said Saturday.

Frazier, 67, is in a Philadelphia facility, manager Leslie Wolff said. The former heavyweight champion was diagnosed just four or five weeks ago.

"He's a true gentleman," Wolff said. "Along with Muhammad Ali, (he is) one of the two most recognizable athletes in the world."

Frazier, nicknamed "Smokin' Joe," used his devastating left hook with impunity during his professional career, retiring with a 32-4-1 record.

Frazier, the son of a South Carolina sharecropper, boxed during the glory days of the heavyweight division, going up against greats George Foreman, Oscar Bonavena, Joe Bugner and Jimmy Ellis.

But it was his three much-hyped fights against Ali that helped seal his legend.

Frazier bested Ali at 1971's "Fight of the Century" at Madison Square Garden. In the 15th round, Frazier landed perhaps the most famous left hook in history, catching Ali on the jaw and dropping the former champ for a four-count, according to Frazier's bio at the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Frazier left the ring still the champ after handing Ali his first professional defeat.

SI: Top 10 greatest fights of all time

Ali won a 12-round decision in a January 1974 rematch, setting the stage for the classic "Thrilla in Manila" just outside the Philippine capital in 1975.

Ali took the early rounds, but Frazier rebounded before losing the last five rounds. By the end of the 14th, Frazier's eyes were nearly swollen shut, and his corner stopped the bout, according to the biography.

Later, Ali said, "It was the closest I've come to death."

Fans and well-wishers were encouraged to post their thoughts and prayers at joefrazierscorner.com.

CNN's Chuck Johnston contributed to this report.

Where is he now?
Where is the cancer?
Who was recently diagnosed?
How many times did they fight?
What was he diagnosed with?
When did Frazier fight Muhammad Ali?

Answer: in a Philadelphia facility,

Answer: liver

Answer: Joe Frazier,

Answer: three

Answer: liver cancer

Answer: 1971's

Summary:
Former heavyweight champion has liver cancer .
He was recently diagnosed and is in a Philadelphia hospice .
Frazier fought Muhammad Ali three times in the 1970s .


Philadelphia (CNN) -- Longtime Philadelphia Daily News sports columnist Bill Conlin will not face prosecution over child sex abuse allegations -- even if there were grounds for charges -- because the statute of limitations concerning the alleged crimes has expired, according to prosecutors.

The claims were published in an article by The Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday after an investigation was initiated by authorities, according to a statement from Bernard Weisenfeld, a spokesman for the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey.

The article says three women and a man allege they were molested by Conlin in the 1970s when they were between the ages of 7 and 12. One of the alleged victims is Conlin's niece, said Slade McLaughlin, an attorney who represents three of the accusers.

A spokesman for the Daily News said the newspaper had no knowledge of the allegations prior to The Inquirer's story.

Conlin has denied the claims, speaking through his attorney. He retired from the Daily News on Tuesday, the newspaper said.

"Mr. Conlin is obviously floored by these allegations, which supposedly happened 40 years ago. He's engaged me to do everything possible to bring the facts forward to vindicate his name," said attorney George Bochetto.

Prosecutors say an exhaustive investigation had been launched into the allegations. But, Weisenfeld said, it was later determined that even if there were legal grounds to pursue a criminal prosecution, prosecutors are barred from doing so because the alleged crimes occurred too long ago.

A 1996 law actually eliminates statutes of limitations on sexual assault cases in New Jersey, but the law is not considered retroactive for claims that date back as far as the 1970s.

Still, McLaughlin said, his clients want to speak out.

"They made the decision that they were going to tell their story," the attorney told CNN. "This isn't a he-said, she-said story. It's a he-said, they-said. Their only motives are getting closure and public service."

McLaughlin also noted, after speaking with his clients, that the accusations made in The Inquirer's story were accurate.

Conlin, 77, who gained national recognition from appearances on ESPN, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The veteran sportswriter worked for the Daily News for nearly half a century. The newspaper published an editorial Wednesday written by its managing editor in an effort to address the scandal.

"I have been a journalist for more than a quarter century, and I have never had a professional experience that was sadder â€” or more shocking â€” than reading the allegations leveled against Bill Conlin yesterday," wrote Larry Platt.

"We've taken the unusual step of also running (the Inquirer's story), in its entirety, on the following page, because I felt you deserved to see the allegations in full context," he added.

Still, Platt reminded readers that Conlin has not been charged with a crime.

The Inquirer and the Daily News are owned by a parent company, Philadelphia Media Network.

This week's allegations come in the wake of a series of recent child sex abuse scandals, including the case against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who faces more than 50 counts of child sex abuse spread over several years.

Conlin, who covered sports throughout Pennsylvania for the newspaper, weighed in on the Penn State scandal last month in a column published by the Daily News titled "Tough Guys Are Talking About Sandusky."

Conlin expressed doubt about those who said they would have intervened on behalf of a child, had they witnessed the boy's alleged molestation at the hands of Sandusky in a university locker room shower.

"Everybody says he will do the right thing, get involved, put his own ass on the line before or after the fact," Conlin wrote in a column published on November 11. "But the moment itself has a cruel way of suspending our fearless intentions."

What did Conlin weigh in on in a Daily News column?

Answer: Bill Conlin

Answer: 77,

Answer: Bill Conlin

Answer: Bill Conlin

Answer: the Penn State scandal

Summary:
Longtime Philadelphia sports columnist Bill Conlin has been accused of sexual abuse .
Conlin will not face prosecution because the statute of limitations has already expired .
Conlin, 77, could not be immediately reached for comment .
Last month, Colin weighed in on the Sandusky scandal in a Daily News column .


Philadelphia (CNN) -- The pilot of a tugboat towing a barge that crashed into a sightseeing "duck boat" -- killing two tourists -- intends to plead guilty to a charge stemming from the July 2010 accident, federal prosecutors said Thursday

Matthew R. Devlin, 35, of Catskill, New York, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of misconduct of a ship operator causing death, according to a statement from the office of the U.S. attorney for eastern Pennsylvania. He also will surrender his ship¹s mate license, the statement said.

Devlin could be sentenced to up to 46 months in prison, the statement said. No sentencing date was given. The plea agreement closes the case, the statement said.

Two tourists from Hungary -- one 16 years old, the other 20 -- died when a 250-foot sludge barge towed by the tugboat overran a disabled 33-foot "Ride the Ducks" tour boat on the Delaware River, plunging the amphibious vessel and its 35 passengers and two crew members underwater.

According to National Transportation Safety Board findings, tugboat pilot Devlin made and received 21 cell phone calls in addition to surfing the web using a company laptop during his more than two hours at the wheel.

The NTSB released its final report on June 21.

The incident was "another tragic example of the deadliness of distraction," Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the NTSB, said after the final report showed several people involved were on the cell phones or computers.

After the accident, Devlin initially told his superiors and the Coast Guard that he was dealing with a serious family medical emergency involving his 6-year-old son.

The sightseeing duck boat was anchored in the shipping channel after being shut down because the boat's operator saw smoke and feared an on-board fire.

Lawyers who represented the families of the two victims released a statement Thursday saying the families "are gratified that Federal prosecutors have acted to hold one of the responsible parties accountable in this tragedy that should have been avoided."

The statement from attorneys Robert J. Mongeluzzi, Andrew Duffy, Peter Ronai and Holly Ostrov Ronai added that the families "expect the corporations who were involved to acknowledge their roles and act accordingly." The statement did not elaborate.

who has agreed  to plead guilty to a charge

Answer: two tourists

Answer: to plead guilty to one count of misconduct of a ship operator causing death,

Answer: two tourists

Answer: sightseeing "duck boat"

Answer: Matthew R. Devlin,

Answer: sightseeing "duck boat"

Answer: July 2010

Summary:
Two tourists from Hungary died in the July 2010 accident .
The pilot of a tugboat involved has agreed to plead guilty to a charge, prosecutors say .
A barge being towed by the tugboat hit a sightseeing "duck boat"
The NTSB cited the pilot's use of his cell phone and computer as "the deadliness of distraction"


Philadelphia (CNN) -- The suspects charged with imprisoning four mentally disabled people in a Philadelphia boiler room may have been holding seven other people, including the accused ringleader's 19-year-old niece and six children, police said Wednesday.

The niece, Beatrice Weston, had been kept in a closet in an upstairs apartment in the same building where the first four were found Saturday afternoon, police said. She was being treated for "horrific" injuries after being found beaten, malnourished and covered with scars Tuesday afternoon, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told reporters.

"I've been a police officer for more than 40 years, and I've never seen injuries like this," Ramsey said.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter added, "I'm not sure horrific covers it. This is sheer madness."

The owner of the northeast Philadelphia apartment building found the original four victims locked in a dank sub-basement chamber that reeked of urine and excrement. Authorities are investigating whether Beatrice Weston's aunt, 51-year-old Linda Weston, and three others now charged in the case had been stealing the victims' Social Security checks.

The 19-year-old was being held in the apartment rented by Linda Weston's daughter, Jean McIntosh, who became the fourth person charged in the case Wednesday afternoon, Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. Ray Evers told CNN.

"Jean was a cooperating witness. We didn't know she was a defendant," Evers said. "But after talking with the captives and others, we discovered Jean was lying."

When police returned to the building Tuesday with a warrant to search McIntosh's apartment, Beatrice Weston had been moved. But they found evidence she had been there, and convinced McIntosh to produce her, Evers said. Beatrice Weston had burn marks on her body and marks on her ankles as though she'd been struck by pellets, Ramsey said -- injuries that clearly had been inflicted over some length of time.

"This girl was beaten and tortured. It makes you want to cry when you see her," Ramsey said.

Beatrice Weston, who had been reported missing in 2009, and the six children were taken into protective custody at various locations around Philadelphia as the investigation spread, Evers said. In addition, McIntosh's 8- and 10-year-old children were also placed in protective custody, he said.

McIntosh, 32, was charged with kidnapping, conspiracy, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, simple assault, burglary and trespass, the Philadelphia district attorney's office said in a statement. A judge set her bail at $1 million Wednesday, office spokeswoman Tasha Jameson said. Bail has been set at $2.5 million apiece for Weston and the two men charged in the case, 47-year-old Gregory Thomas and 49-year-old Eddie Wright.

"I'm feeling sick to my stomach," Danyell Tisdale, a neighborhood block captain who alerted landlord Turgut Gozleveli to suspicious activity, told CNN on Wednesday. "I was speaking so highly for her. She was a nice neighbor and didn't bother anybody. It's shocking to me that she had anything to do with it. My sister's children played with her two children."

Police believe two of the six children placed in protective custody Wednesday -- ages 2 and 5 -- are the children of Tamara Breeden, one of the four people found in the boiler room. Authorities did not divulge how Breeden became pregnant.

Investigators took DNA samples from Breeden and the three men held with her to determine whether any of them are fathers of the children, Evers said.

Breeden, Edwin Sanabria and Herbert Knowles were found locked in the pitch-black, 15-by-6-foot room with no food and only a bucket for a toilet. A fourth man, identified as Derwin McLemire, had been chained to the boiler, police said.

McLemire, Breeden and a Knowles, told CNN affiliate KYW that their Social Security information was taken from them, that they had been beaten and that they lived in fear of their alleged captors.

"That was real dirty of you. That was wrong," a tearful McLemire

Where did police take the woman and 6 children

What was the Philadelphia's mayor's reaction to the case?

Who was hidden in an upstairs apartment?

Answer: protective custody

Answer: sheer madness."

Answer: "I'm not sure horrific covers it. This is sheer madness."

Answer: dank sub-basement chamber

Answer: Beatrice Weston,

Answer: boiler room

Summary:
Young woman had been hidden in an upstairs apartment, police say .
Police took the woman and 6 children into protective custody .
Four others were found locked in a filthy basement on Saturday .
Philadelphia's mayor calls the case "sheer madness"


Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (CNN)  -- I wore a path between Washington and Philly for interviews and shoots for our recent "Cheating Death" special with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

In the field: Jeremy Harlan

My job as a photojournalist is to shoot and edit stories for CNN and make sure my news team eats well on the road.

On assignment: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Now, I love cheese steaks as much as the next guy. But my arteries can only take so much steak, cheese and peppers. So here are a few places that are great alternatives in the City of Brotherly Love.

Reading Terminal Market

Hours: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

Cuisine: You name it, the market has it

How do I describe the Reading Terminal Market? It's like the Las Vegas of food. Everywhere you turn, there's something interesting to see, smell and taste. It is food sensory overload.

The hardest part of going to the market is not eating the very first thing you see. Give yourself 15 minutes to walk through the market before deciding where to spend your hard-earned lunch dollar.

I saw apple dumplings, muffalettas, spanakopita, pulled pork, snapper soup, strombolis, all the fresh veggies, meat and cheese you could throw in your fridge and of course cheese steaks.

I finally decided to stop at Dinic's Pork and Beef for the famous roast pork sandwich. The service was fast and friendly. The sandwich was fantastic, and if you sit at the counter long enough, you might hear one of Philly's finest talk about the crazy arrest of the day.

And make sure you save room for a smooth and creamy cupcake (or two) from the Flying Monkey.

Magic Carpet

Hours: 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

Cuisine: Mediterranean/vegetarian

The first thing I ask our local contact on a story is where I'm eating lunch. If you ask Holly Auer, University of Pennsylvania Hospital's senior medical communications officer, she'll immediately say, "Magic Carpet."

This vegetarian culinary delight is actually a small vendor trailer just across from Penn Hospital. If you haven't been to Philly, you need to know this city takes its street vendor food pretty seriously.

I still scratch my head at how these folks make so much delicious food in such cramped quarters. My personal favorite at Magic Carpet is a pita sandwich stuffed with grape leaves. It's so good, I usually eat two.

Maybe the best part: The sandwiches are around five bucks. Definitely the worst part: the long line of neurosurgeons, med students, nurses and cardiologists waiting for their delicious ride on the Carpet, too.

The Franklin Fountain

Hours: noon-midnight

Cuisine: Ice cream

The Franklin Fountain is a cool escape back to the early 20th-century ice cream fountain shop. Although it opened in the summer of 2004, you would think it was 1944 when you walk in the door. The owners left no detail ignored in building this dairy delight.

The fountain offers sundaes, splits, ice cream waffle sandwiches, fresh pies, house-made cakes, phosphates and America's oldest soft drink, just to name a few.

Coffee lovers will enjoy the Lightning Rod sundae. Everyone will enjoy his or her trip back in time.

Franklin Fountain is a cool escape back to to what?

Reading Terminal Market is the what "of food"?

Answer: shop.

Answer: ice cream

Answer: Las Vegas

Answer: edit stories for CNN and make sure my news team eats well on the road.

Answer: food.

Answer: Reading Terminal Market?

Summary:
CNN's Jeremy Harlan talks about his favorite places to eat in Philadelphia .
Reading Terminal Market is the "Las Vegas of food," Harlan says .
Franklin Fountain is a cool escape back to early 20th-century soda fountain .


Phoenix, Arizona (CNN) -- At a vigil protesting the passage of Arizona's tough new illegal immigration law, a young man in Army fatigues and a beret lit a candle at a makeshift shrine.

Pfc. Jose Medina, an Army medic, came to the Arizona capitol while on leave, to express his sadness over the law, signed by Arizona's governor on Friday.

"I'm here because this is something that's close to my heart," said Medina. "I went off to protect this country, to protect my family. That's what hurts."

The new law requires immigrants to carry their registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there is reason to suspect that they're in the country illegally. Critics fear the law will result in racial profiling.

The bill "strengthens the laws of our state. It protects all of us, every Arizona citizen, and everyone here in our state lawfully. And it does so while ensuring that the constitutional rights of all in Arizona remain solid, stable and steadfast," Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said.

Medina, 20, is from El Mirage, a working class Latino community northwest of Phoenix.

"When I first joined the military, they would ask us where you from, and I would say 'I'm from the great state of Arizona,' " Medina reflected. "I was raised here, I grew up here. Now I don't know if I can say that so proudly. I don't know if I want to live here anymore."

Medina says he came to the United States from Mexico illegally when he was 2 years old.

When he was 11 years old he became a legal resident of the United States and now has a green card.

"I felt I had a huge debt to this country that's given me so much," Medina said. "When I heard the law that passed, I couldn't believe it. Because the America I know, freedom, liberties we enjoy, are for everyone and then this law passes and I'm like 'wow.' It's a shame; it's a state that doesn't even want you here? If I take this uniform off I'm just another person who came here illegally."

Just six hours before shipping off, Medina's family and friends gathered for a farewell feast. The Mexican barbecue could be smelled a block away.

Impassioned conversation about the controversial law could be heard over the scratching of forks and knives on plates of tangy barbecue.

"You may go to Afghanistan, you may go to Iraq," said Medina's close family friend Victor, who did not want his full name used. "After this night man, we may not see you again. You can give your life for this country. But your mom may be stopped by Joe Arpaio (the Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff known for aggressive policing.)

"That's true," Medina answered. "But it's my duty to go."

"You're Mexican," Victor said.

"I am of Mexican descent," said Medina. "But I have grown to be an American."

Ricky, 22, a friend who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is white and stops eating.

"We are all brothers over there," said Ricky, who did not want his full name used.

Before the sun rose over Arizona on Sunday morning, Medina left El Mirage for deployment to Germany.

Jose Medina wondered if some of his family members or friends, some of whom are undocumented, would still be in El Mirage when he returned.

"I worry will my family live in peace," he said. "What good is keeping us safe here ... if we lose a part of what makes America so great? If we drive fear into our own peoples' hearts?"

What did Medina's friends and family talk about?

Who expressed their concern over Arizona's new immigration law?

Answer: Pfc. Jose Medina,

Answer: would still be in El Mirage when he returned.

Answer: if some of his family members or friends, some of whom are undocumented, would still be in El Mirage when he returned.

Answer: controversial law

Answer: Pfc. Jose Medina,

Answer: Pfc. Jose Medina,

Answer: would still be in El Mirage when he returned.

Summary:
Pfc. Jose Medina expressed his concern over Arizona's new immigration law .
Medina's friends and family talked about new law during his farewell feast .
Medina wondered if some of his undocumented friends, family would leave the area .


Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- More than 50 Haitian children -- rescued from an orphanage damaged by last week's earthquake --arrived Tuesday in Pennsylvania, most of them headed eventually to adoptive homes.

Gov. Edward Rendell, who traveled to Haiti to accompany the orphans back to his state, said the 53 children from the Bresma Orphanage in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince were flown to Florida on an Air Force C-17 transport plane. The group was then transferred to another plane to fly to Pittsburgh International Airport, he said at a news conference at the airport.

Another child is to arrive in Pittsburgh late Tuesday or Wednesday, Rendell said. Ali McMutrie, a Pittsburgh-area woman who ran the orphanage with her sister, Jamie, said her sister will accompany the 54th orphan.

"The children are incredible. They're doing so great. I was more upset at the airplane ride than any of them," said McMutrie, who also was at the briefing.

Most of the children's adoption cases were at the end of the bureaucratic process before the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck.

Search for loved ones, see who's found

According to Rendell, adoption cases are under way for 47 of the children. Of these, 40 will be U.S. adoptions, four children will go to Spain and three to Canada. Adoptive parents will be sought for the remaining seven children.

The orphans almost stayed in Haiti.

Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pennsylvania, who was traveling with the group, said it had been understood that all the children were cleared to leave. However, 14 of them had no papers because they were destroyed in the quake, and the U.S. Embassy said they couldn't leave the country, Altmire said.

"We were frantically calling the State Department, the White House and everyone else" to get the clearance, he said.

In addition, the McMutrie sisters, who live in Altmire's congressional district, refused to allow just a portion of the children to leave, Altmire said.

"So now, everything is up in the air. You're just arguing about paperwork," the congressman said.

Finally, with intervention from several agencies and the White House, the embassy approved humanitarian waivers, or paroles, for the 14 children.

"All of a sudden, after four or five hours of struggle, we got the go that all 54 orphans could come to the U.S.," Rendell said.

By then, the plane that was to take everyone to the United States had left. The military and embassy arranged for them to fly in a military cargo plane.

Altmire said that despite their trauma, the children adjusted well to the flight.

"They were polite and either slept or were quiet or just played among themselves," he said.

"We are all grateful the kids are here and safe, but this was a very unusual situation," an Obama administration official, who did not want to be identified, told CNN.

"We will continue to grant, in special cases, humanitarian parole for orphans and medical evacuees, but our position is clear that people from Haiti attempting to enter the country illegally will be repatriated."

The children were taken by bus to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Allegheny County spokesman Kevin Evanto told CNN that the children will be placed in foster homes until details of their adoptions are finalized.

On Monday, the U.S. government said it had eased the requirements for orphaned children from Haiti to enter the United States on a temporary basis.

In a separate statement, the State Department said Monday it is working with the Department of Homeland Security and the Haitian government to process nearly 300 cases of Americans who are waiting to adopt Haitian children. Of those, 200 cases are being accelerated.

At least 24 of those children have left Haiti and have joined their adoptive families since the embassy expedited processing for immigrant visas, said Michele Bond, deputy assistant secretary for American citizen services.

Janet Napolitano, secretary of homeland security, can allow otherwise inadmissible people into the country for urgent humanitarian reasons or

What countries make the adoption process?

How many children came to the orphanage?

Answer: U.S.

Answer: Haiti

Answer: Gov. Edward Rendell,

Answer: 300

Answer: 53

Answer: 53

Summary:
53 children from Haiti orphanage flown to Pittsburgh; another child will arrive later .
Most of the adoption cases were at end of bureaucratic process before quake .
Adoption cases are under way for 47: 40 for U.S. adoptions, 4 for Spain, 3 for Canada .
Children were bused to hospital; they'll be in foster homes until adoption details finalized .


Plano, Texas (CNN) -- Texas police are hunting for a man they believe broke into the homes of four former members of the same sorority, then sexually assaulted them.

The alleged attacks took place over a span of months, and occurred in the Texas cities of Plano, Coppell and Corinth, according to police. No one has been named yet as a suspect, though Plano police last week released a video -- dated in April -- showing a man they believe is responsible for all four assaults.

The alleged victims -- all black females in their mid-50s to mid-60s -- offered similar descriptions of their assailant as a stout, black male in his late 30s to mid-40s. And all were alumnae of the same sorority: Delta Sigma Theta.

"He made it obvious to our victims that he knew information ... about them personally," said Plano police spokesman Andre Smith, adding that none of the women believe they knew their attacker in advance.

While ceding the sorority membership is a "common denominator" of all four cases, Smith cautioned against assuming that the accused attacker had only targeted this sorority's alumnae.

"We don't want to give a false sense of security to any other group that's out there," he said.

According to Corinth Police Capt. Greg Wilkerson, all the assaults occurred in "residential settings" between 9:15 p.m. and 4 a.m. when the victims were alone. The alleged attack in his city, 35 miles northwest of Dallas, took place on October 14.

The late-night setting, the fact the victims were often asleep and the alleged assailant's "attempts to conceal his identity" make it challenging to definitively identify the attacker, said Wilkerson. He noted that the Corinth police department is currently processing DNA evidence, as are other police departments.

Still, Wilkerson said that the suspect's physical traits -- weighing from 275 to 300 pounds and between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-9 tall, in his department's estimation, and balding or with a close-shaven head -- were common, as were other characteristics like what he called the man's distinctive "swagger" as shown in the video.

Police described the video as coming from a surveillance camera, but they did not describe the specific source or location.

"There are some things ... that stick out -- his size, the glasses, the mannerism with which he walks," added Smith. "We know somebody knows (him) ... We just hope that they give us a call, so we can put a stop to this."

Wilkerson said that the nature of the assaults suggests the assailant was "possibly suspecting surveillance, spending some time around the areas ... prior to the attacks." The police captain added authorities do not know how the suspect learned details of the victims, speculating it may have been over the internet, by accessing an old directory or noticing would-be victims with Delta Sigma Theta jewelry, placards or other paraphernalia out in public.

"We want them to understand that their group is being targeted," Wilkerson said of the sorority's alumnae, urging them "not to advertise" their affiliation with Delta Sigma Theta and advising those who live alone to stay with a relative or friend until the case is resolved. "(But) we don't want to create any pandemonium."

The sorority's Washington-based headquarters, in a statement Monday, urged all its members in the Dallas area to take precautions.

"To think that our members are being targeted is disturbing and extremely disheartening," said Cynthia M.A. Butler-McIntyre, Delta Sigma Theta's president. "Until the individual responsible for these crimes is brought to justice, we will continue to remain in close communication with one another and law enforcement officials."

who were allegedly attacked while at home alone?

who released a video of a possible suspect?

Answer: four former

Answer: Plano police

Answer: four

Answer: Delta Sigma Theta.

Answer: black

Summary:
4 black women in their 50s and 60s were allegedly attacked while at home alone, police say .
They were all alumnae of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority .
The alleged attacker -- black and in his 30s or 40s -- knew personal info about his victims .
Authorities have not named anyone, though they've released a video of a possible suspect .


Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN)  -- A sweet sadness blankets Hector Mendez's face, appropriate, perhaps, for a middle-age man who has seen suffering and miracles at once.

Many other rescuers have left the Haitian capital, no hope left in their hearts 15 long days after the massive earthquake that ravaged this country and entombed so many in the rubble.

But not Mendez.

Every day for more than a week, he has stepped down into the dark crevices of a destroyed building to look for two people: Daniel Varese and his 4-year-old son Mateo.

Mateo's mother, Marylinda Gonzalez Davi, a United Nations employee from Guatemala who has been living in Haiti for four years, was at work when the earth shook violently on January 12. Rescuers pulled her 1-year-old daughter Fabiana alive from the rubble, but there was no sign of her husband and son. She refused to believe they were dead.

Word of her plight reached Mendez, who had arrived in Port-au-Prince with a team of 25 Mexican rescue workers.

"We told her we won't leave. We will stay by her side," Mendez said. He has a grandchild the same age as Mateo.

His orange jumpsuit dulled by dust, Mendez  and his crew made camp adjacent to the rubble of the landmark Hotel Montana. They slept out in the open, with Gonzalez and her friend. They took short naps to re-energize. Then they went back in to search.

Each day, they pulled things from the place that Gonzalez called home: a stuffed animal, her husband's computer, a piece of carpet. It helped Mendez to know what room of the apartment they had entered.

He kept moving, deeper and deeper. In search of smell. In search of the slightest sound. Of an infant's whimper, a man's weak cry for help.

Mendez became convinced father and son might be alive. He knows well the science of rescue after doing it for a quarter century.

"There is no smell," he said. And that could mean they were alive.

Even two weeks after the earth shook, people were being rescued. Each gave Gonzalez hope. And that propelled Mendez.

He believes in the power of love. The strong bonds between a man and his child, trapped together. That link, he thought, could be enough to sustain them.

A veteran of many disasters

After a killer earthquake struck his hometown of Mexico City in 1985, Mendez, 46, felt a need to give back the humanitarian gestures extended to his own people. He joined a team called the Topos, or moles, named so because the rescuers wriggled through the deepest darkest corners in search of life.

He volunteered to rush to disasters: to Indonesian quakes, five times; to Latin American countries; to Iran, Turkey, India and Egypt; to New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina and to New York after the 2001 terror attacks.

Haiti, he said, is one of the worst situations he has seen. "People are very, very poor here." Much of the infrastructure and construction was so shoddy. This was the first time government officials paid for his flight. Usually, he finds his own way.

And that has left him penniless and jobless.

"Who will hire this old man now?" he asked. "People tell me I am mad."

He does the work because he loves to help people. "It's worth it to find one person alive."

Behind him, the incessant sound of a jackhammer deafened the ear. Above him, the roar of jets taking off from the airport. But it was below where Mendez belonged.

Time was ticking.

Sometimes, in the darkness, when he was crawling like a mole, the earth trembled. "Replica! Replica!" some of his men shouted. There was always the fear that whatever was left standing would tumble in the many aftershocks this city has felt.

who searched every day for a woman's husband?

Answer: two

Answer: 4-year-old

Answer: two people: Daniel Varese and his 4-year-old son Mateo.

Answer: in the power of love.

Answer: Hector Mendez's

Summary:
Rescuer searched every day for a woman's husband and 4-year-old son in Haiti .
He believed father and son could be alive, that their bond could sustain them .
The response to a quake in his own country inspired him to assist in disasters .
His efforts ended not as he had hoped, but with the sight of more suffering .


Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN)  -- Five people were rescued Sunday from the rubble of a grocery store, officials told CNN, 24 hours after the effort to reach them began.

Three of the people trapped in the ruins of the Caribbean Supermarket -- a man, a 13-year-old girl and a 50-year-old American woman -- were rescued earlier in the day by a joint New York fire and police department search and rescue team.

A Creole-speaking man and woman were rescued late Sunday night by a team from Miami, Florida, and a Turkish team. The man came out first, picking his head up off the stretcher carried by his rescuers and giving the thumbs-up sign. He said he had been eating peanut butter and jelly from the store to survive.

The effort was dealt a temporary setback Sunday afternoon when the floor over rescuers' heads -- described as a concrete slab -- buckled as they were working in a 3-foot-high area, said Lt. Charles McDermott, spokesman for Florida Task Force 2. Debris rained down on the rescue workers as they ran outside of the building. They stood outside and embraced each other as they called roll to make sure everyone had escaped.

Work was temporarily suspended as rescuers evaluated whether they should reinforce the floor or work in a different area, McDermott said.

Rescue personnel worked throughout Saturday night and Sunday to free the people, Capt. Joe Zahralban of the Florida search team said, at times crawling through spaces that were so tight they could only take half a breath.

Zahralban had the opportunity to tell the rescued American woman's sister that she is alive.

"She dropped to her knees and thanked us," he said.

The Florida rescuers also called the woman's son, who lives in Pembroke Pines, Florida. "After we told him, he went silent for a moment," Zahralban said.

Get the latest developments on Haiti

The man and teenage girl found alive earlier in the day were taken to a U.N. hospital at Port-au-Prince's airport, where the girl, about 13, was treated for leg injuries and the man treated for undetermined injuries. They are believed to be Haitian nationals, officials said.

As of Sunday, more than 60 people had been rescued alive by rescue teams from the United States and other nations, Tim Callaghan of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) told reporters. Americans have rescued about 30 of those, he said.

A U.N. search and rescue team freed one of its own, Jens Christensen of Denmark, from the rubble of the collapsed mission headquarters Sunday where at least 37 people have been confirmed dead. He told his rescuers that others were still alive, saying he had heard tapping nearby, but not since Friday.

Those trapped in the supermarket had been living off the store's inventory of food and water, authorities said.

"If I was going to be trapped for five days in the dark," Zahralban said, "one of the best places to be is in a supermarket surrounded by food."

Separately, other members of the New York team rescued a 55-year-old man trapped in the rubble of a four-story building in Port-au-Prince. They used a rescue camera to locate the man, and then a paramedic climbed into a narrow space with him and started an intravenous fluid line to combat the man's dehydration as rescuers used jackhammers and cutting tools to free him.

Full coverage of the earthquake in Haiti

The man had been trapped since Tuesday, the NYPD said in a statement. He was suffering from dehydration but otherwise not seriously injured.

Other rescues took place as well. An Israel Defense Forces medical and rescue team said Sunday it had rescued a Haitian government worker Saturday after he was trapped for 125 hours in the rubble of a customs office. After the rescue, which lasted eight hours, he was taken in "moderate condition" to an IDF hospital. It was the first live rescue by IDF, according to a statement.

Also Saturday, a

How many people were trapped in the ruins?

When were a creole-speaking man and woman rescued?

How many people were trapped in the ruins of the Caribbean Supermarket?

Answer: Five

Answer: late Sunday night

Answer: buckled

Answer: Five

Answer: Five

Answer: Five

Summary:
Three people trapped in the ruins of the Caribbean Supermarket rescued earlier .
Rescue of Creole-speaking man and woman late Sunday brings total to five .
Unstable concrete slab had been standing between rescuers, those who were trapped .
Other rescue efforts across the capital have been made .


Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN)  -- Haiti's capital seemed to spring back to life Wednesday, more than a week after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake flattened many parts of the city and killed tens of thousands.

Electrical power was still out most places, but traffic lights were functioning and chaotic traffic clogged many streets. Aid trucks, some guarded by blue-helmeted United Nations peacekeepers, were seen leaving the airport. Water trucks also were spotted in parts of Port-au-Prince.

"There's energy in the air," said Haitian-born J.B. Diederich, who lives in Miami but returned to Haiti for a few days after the earthquake.

More U.N. convoys were seen moving through the city than in previous days, and so could vehicles for large nongovernmental organizations.

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Haitian police seemed to take a more active role, directing traffic and getting out of their vehicles to deal with some problem or other. For several days after the earthquake, heavily armed police officers were often seen speeding by in their trucks but did not seem to stop or do much.

There also seemed to be more street vendors Wednesday.

Some banks and wire-transfer companies plan to open Thursday, as do some stores, Diederich said.

To be certain, Port-au-Prince still has a ways to go. But on Wednesday, the city seemed ready to leave the tragedy behind.

A way out for U.S. citizens

Any U.S. citizen who wants to leave Haiti on a U.S. military transport aircraft can do so simply by going to the airport and applying for voluntary departure at a State Department office placed on the tarmac.

About 5,000 people have left in the past week, an official said.

iReport: Search list for missing and found

The service is available to U.S. citizens or anyone escorting a U.S. citizen who is a minor. Although the flights are initially free, the U.S. will try to recoup costs from individual passengers.

The cargo planes would return to the United States empty if they weren't transporting citizens.

Cubans wait with no way out

A handful of Cuban citizens stood in a line next to the U.S. State Department tent at the airport while about 100 U.S. citizens were processed for a flight Wednesday afternoon.

The Cubans wanted out, too, but there were no waiting planes. There weren't even any indications that a Cuban plane would arrive at all.

Impact Your World

"Here everyone resolves their problems, and we don't even have a way to get home," said a woman who did not want to give her name.

None of the three people interviewed by a CNN reporter would give their names. They laughed nervously when first asked and then said it would be too dangerous for them to comment openly.

what are americans leaving by
where did this hapen
what are the cubans waiting for
what country is this happening in
what did the man say
who says There's energy in the air,"?

Answer: the airport.

Answer: Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Answer: planes.

Answer: Haiti

Answer: "There's energy in the air,"

Answer: J.B. Diederich,

Summary:
"There's energy in the air," Haitian-born man says .
Convoys, more police, aid, military presence on streets of Port-au-Prince .
More street vendors open; some banks scheduled to open Thursday .
Americans leaving by U.S. military transport aircraft, Cubans still waiting .


Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN)  -- Her braids, dusty from the rubble around her, poked out from the small opening where she lay crying in pain, her right leg pinned under a heavy piece of metal.

A group of men worked throughout the day to free this 11-year-old girl -- one of scores trapped beneath buildings that collapsed in Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude quake. Lacking proper supplies to cut through the metal crushing the child's leg, the men briefly considered amputating it.

Finally, just after sunset Thursday, a miracle of sorts: an electric saw and a small generator. Within a couple of hours, the girl was freed and rushed to a first aid station. Her leg was so badly wounded, her family was taking her to a more sophisticated hospital some three hours outside of Port-au-Prince.

Many rescuers have clawed their way to survivors pinned beneath buildings two days after the devastating earthquake. In the absence of heavy machinery to clear the debris, residents used their hands and brawn to lift large slabs of concrete. Some trapped victims punched out bricks themselves and tried to squeeze through cracks in the fallen structures.

Atop the mound of debris that once was a five-story building of great prominence, U.S. rescue workers Thursday pulled out a man in a deep green uniform.

Tarmo Joveer, an Estonian security officer for the United Nations, free from the enclosure, stood up and raised his fist. He had been trapped beneath the rubble of his workplace for two days following the quake that shook the city and toppled the U.N. headquarters around him. He said he had never lost hope.

He was one of scores of U.N. workers feared trapped inside the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping and civilian assistance mission, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said Thursday. As many as 150 staff members were still missing after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti Tuesday afternoon, devastating it's capital.

The "small miracle," as Ban described it, is one of many throughout the disaster area as rescuers and residents scramble to free entrapped survivors.

The Fairfax County, Virginia, Urban Search and Rescue Team saved Joveer, who was fed water through a rubber pipe when they discovered he was trapped beneath four meters of rubble, according to Ban. After Joveer emerged, he walked away, brushing the dust out of his hair with his hand and hugging those around him.

"It was not good," is all he could say to describe his experience under the rubble.

He also said he did not think there was anyone else alive.

Joveer was later taken to an Argentinean hospital, Ban said. Joveer said during the earthquake he lost his footing, fell and suffered some pain. He did not talk further about any injuries he may have sustained.

It took about five hours to rescue Joveer, Fairfax rescue member Sam Gray said, adding that the disaster was the worst he'd seen.

"Obviously, it was pretty nice to find somebody that we were able to help," Gray said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't get to everybody but we're going to keep trying and keep working while we're here. This is the first of many people that we're going to help over the next couple of weeks."

Earlier Thursday, residents conducted their own mission and spent three hours digging out Philip Jean Renol from his home. He suffered a broken leg and two broken arms.

At a school house, a group of men had been working since Wednesday to dig out a man from beneath what was left of the five-story building. They worked in assembly-line fashion with some tapping away with chisels and one operating a blow torch to melt away parts of the concrete debris crushing the victim. With his right shoulder pinned and his hand trapped, his screams could be heard as the men desperately labored to free him.

Finally, he emerged from beneath the destroyed school alive when two men lifted his concrete-dusted body Thursday.

From inside the school other voices were heard. Children and teachers are believed to be trapped inside

What did Haitians use to lift the concrete slab?

What did the Haitians use to lift concrete?

What measures were taken by trapped victims ?

Answer: 7.0-magnitude quake.

Answer: their hands and brawn

Answer: 11-year-old

Answer: hands and brawn

Answer: punched out bricks themselves and tried to squeeze through cracks in the fallen structures.

Answer: 11-year-old girl

Answer: Tuesday's

Summary:
NEW: 11-year-old girl's leg spared from amputation .
15 rescuers worked five hours to free trapped security worker .
Haitians use hands, brawn to lift large slabs of concrete .
Trapped victims punch out bricks, try to squeeze through cracks in fallen buildings .


Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN)  -- High in the hills above the Haitian capital, artist Levoy Exil paints at his terrace studio. The man who began a career using beets, carrots, tomatoes and black beans for paint creates vibrant abstractions of life and nature. A year ago, he infused a celestial oil painting with hues of purplish red -- symbolizing blood -- after he gazed outward and for a moment the verdant landscape turned to black. He knew then that something bad was coming. He saw the blood he had imagined on the streets of Port-au-Prince on January 12 when the earth heaved and 150,000 people perished. It's now apparent that among the earthquake's widespread destruction were museums, galleries and other places that contained Haiti's artistic treasures, including Exil's work. They were a troubled nation's legacy, a key source of economic trade with the rest of the world -- and undeniable symbols of hope. Lost, perhaps, forever. The earthquake's blow to Haitian art is staggering: The Centre d'Art, which launched the Haitian arts movement in the 1940s, is severely damaged. The Musee d'Art Nader, which housed more than 12,000 pieces from the largest private collection in Haiti, collapsed. Murals in the Trinity Cathedral, assembled by some of Haiti's best-known artists, came crashing down. "There is no art museum run by the government of Haiti," said Georges Nader Jr., who runs a gallery near the Nader museum opened by his father. "This is for me like patrimony for Haiti. We were holding this collection for future generations. What will happen now? I don't know." The significance of art in Haiti may be hard for outsiders to understand. But with few functioning institutions, few outlets of expression, Haiti's brightly colored depictions -- some laced with spiritual traditions of voodoo culture -- of sun and sea, people and animals serve as memory for a country that has suffered under dictatorships and failed governments and is today the poorest in the Americas. With unemployment as high as 85 percent and a majority of Haitians reeling in abject poverty, art has also emerged as an economic lifeline. "They're painting their lives. They're recording their history," said Camille Scully, executive director of Iowa's Waterloo Center for the Arts and co-president of the Haitian Art Society. "And they're very accessible because of the colors and style. Everyone who sees Haitian art tends to buy it because they respond to it." Scully said efforts are under way to enlist conservationists to help Haiti, and a flurry of e-mails shared by collectors, curators, gallery owners and other interested parties show the urgency people are feeling to support the arts community. One key figure who's been weighing in on the need to save what can be saved is Gerald Alexis, a leading Haitian art historian, critic and curator. Haiti has a long enough history of not conserving its art, Alexis said from his Quebec City, Quebec, home. An earthquake in colonial times, fires and hurricanes, as wells as riots, revolutions and government-mandated raids of voodoo temples, destroyed much of the creativity that pre-dated the 1940s artistic boom. For this reason, salvaging art, including the oldest piece in Haiti -- an 1822 painting buried in the national palace -- matters. Haiti's art "will tell future generations who they are and where they come from," Alexis said. "It's our heritage. And although people think that in poor countries such concepts are unnecessary, they are indeed the only thing we have. Our cultural heritage is our pride." In Port-au-Prince, Nader has been frantically trying to rescue the thousands of pieces his father lovingly collected over four decades. Among the masters: Hector Hyppolite. Philome Obin. Prefete Duffaut. Wilson Bigaud. Nader pulled out an oil-on-cardboard floral still-life painted by Hyppolite in 1945 that now looks more like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing. Some of the artworks housed

What was amongst earthquake destruction?

What was among the earthquakes destruction?

Answer: museums, galleries and other places that contained Haiti's artistic treasures,

Answer: museums, galleries and other places that contained Haiti's artistic treasures,

Summary:
Among earthquake's destruction were museums, galleries with artistic treasures .
"They're painting their lives. They're recording their history," expert says of Haiti artists .
Artist sifts through rubble to save artwork in order to preserve history .


Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN)  -- In the central plaza, there was once an orgy of music, street dancing and revelry unmatched by any other nation in the Americas, Haitians say.

But where there was joy now sits a vast settlement of people left without loved ones, without homes, without life's belongings.

Haitians have celebrated Carnival through dictatorships, military coups and bloodshed. Popular belief was that if a government failed to deliver on Carnival, Haiti's equivalent of Mardi Gras, it was sure to fall, said Marie Laurence Lassegue, Haiti's minister of culture and information.

But this year, the three-day festival has been canceled, another indication of the enormity of the earthquake's devastation.

Musicians fell silent, seamstresses stopped sewing costumes and ghostly skeletons of unfinished floats lay scattered on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. A month after the devastating January 12 earthquake, the Champs de Mars plaza is home to the capital's displaced, where thousands of people have eked out a tiny space in which to survive.

Full coverage of the earthquake's aftermath

"This is the first time Carnival is not happening," said Roberto Martino, lead singer of popular Kompa band T-Vice. "I don't even think about music anymore."

Less than a week ahead of Carnival's start on Sunday, revelry is replaced with mourning. The nation's foremost concert producer, Charles Jubert, died. So did members of four bands who were practicing inside a studio that collapsed. Other musicians lost legs, arms and hands. They will not be able to play again.

"I don't think we have time to think of Carnival," Lassegue said. "Maybe when we are finished crying."

Carnival's three days of deliverance and celebration has tremendous importance in the lives of Haitians, Lassegue said. "But this year? I don't even remember when it is."

Instead, the displaced are planning days of prayer.

"We're living in a city that's like a cemetery," said Ronide Baduel, a nurse who lost her home and all her belongings in the quake. Her brother died and suddenly, she found herself far from her middle-class existence, relegated to a makeshift tent and burlap bags she uses for pillows at night.

"I had four good walls around me. Now I have four sheets," she said. She goes to work with a big, black faux-leather purse containing toothpaste, soap and a change of underwear. There, she can bathe properly.

"We don't know how many days, how many months, how long we will be this way," she said. "I am always stressed. It's like living in a jungle. How can I dance at Carnival?"

Baduel and her tent community neighbors said the money that would have been spent on Carnival ought to be used to build housing.

Nearby, the 44 members of Relax Band, who normally would be revving up their street performances in the days before Carnival, worried about their next meal.

They played the Sunday before the earthquake, marching through the streets, getting ready for the big performance. Now, everything was gone, including all their instruments that were crushed when band coordinator Ernst Beauvais' house collapsed.

A small stage emblazoned with the red and white logo of Relax Band now harbors a massive water bladder tank dropped off by an aid group and a few mattresses for slumber under the stars.

"It is one of the greatest tragedies to befall our country," Beauvais said, pointing to the rubble of his house. He said it was the street band's 30th anniversary; the musicians were looking forward to showcasing their new song. Almost every band in Haiti debuts new pieces at Carnival.

On the outskirts of town, the skeletons of three floats sit like ghosts, reminders of what might have come next week.

One of the floats belongs to T-Vice.

Bandmates Roberto Martino and Eddy Viau would have been practicing with the rest of

Who have celebrated Carnival through dictatorships, military coups and bloodshed?

Less than a week ahead of Haiti's Carnival celebration, what was replaced with mourning?

How many days is the upcoming festivals?

Answer: Charles Jubert,

Answer: Haitians

Answer: revelry

Answer: three-day

Summary:
Less than week ahead of Haiti's Carnival celebration, revelry replaced with mourning .
Haitians have celebrated Carnival through dictatorships, military coups and bloodshed .
"I don't even remember when it is," Haiti official says about upcoming three-day festival .