Rome (CNN) -- Seven people have died and seven others are missing after rains triggered severe flooding in northern Italy, civil protection officials said Friday.

Especially hard hit was the tourist-popular Cinque Terre region on Italy's northwest coast.

The Italian Council of Ministers declared a state of emergency in the flood region, which means 65 million euros ($91 million) will be put aside to deal with the disaster, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.

A special cabinet meeting was called Friday to discuss the situation, the Italian government said.

Heavy rains continued to fall Thursday night in Milan and other spots across the southern European nation, according to the Servizio Meteorologico, Italy's official weather agency. The agency gave an alert about intense, widespread rainfall -- potentially with strong wind gusts and hail -- in the regions of Calabria and Basilicata in southern Italy, as well as the eastern part of Sicily.

Meanwhile, Monterosso al Mare -- between Genoa and Pisa in the Cinque Terre region of Liguria -- has been "isolated, accessible only by sea" because of earlier rains and floods, Mayor Angelo Betta told the news agency ANSA.

So, too, is the nearby town of Vernazza, with even bulldozers and cranes still not able to reach it.

That said, Betta reported some progress Thursday thanks to round-the-clock efforts by emergency workers and volunteers to clean up the town. One volunteer in that community died in the flood Wednesday.

"The situation is much better compared to yesterday," Betta said.

Italy's Defense Ministry noted Thursday on its website that 348 military personnel have deployed to the provinces of Massa Carrara and La Spezia to assist in the wake of flooding here.

Three people were killed after a house collapsed in La Spezia, an ANSA report said.

ANSA also reported that prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation related to the deaths of two people from flood-related injuries in Aulla. Authorities are assessing whether their deaths had anything to do with faulty work that may have caused the Magra River to overflow.

The weather has also caused major travel headaches throughout the region. A mudslide that trapped a truck driver, who was eventually freed, has caused the A12 highway in Liguria to be blocked since Tuesday. Train services in Liguria have been halted, too, due to mud and debris on the tracks.

CNN's Hada Messia and Marilia Brochetto contributed to this report.

How many military personnel are dispatched?

How many military personnel were dispatched?

What have the storms cause across Liguria?

What town is "isolated, accessible only by sea"?

Answer: Seven

Answer: 348

Answer: 348

Answer: state of emergency

Answer: severe flooding

Answer: Seven

Answer: "The situation is much better compared to yesterday,"

Answer: al Mare

Summary:
NEW: The death toll rises to seven and a state of emergency is declared .
348 Italian military personnel are dispatched to help in flood-ravaged areas .
Cinque Terre town is "isolated, accessible only by sea," its mayor says .
The storms have caused transportation problems across Liguria .


Rome, Italy (CNN)  -- "The devil tempts everyone -- people in politics, in economics, in sport. And naturally, he tempts, above all, the religious leaders, so you shouldn't be surprised if the devil tempts those in the Vatican. That's his job."

Father Gabriele Amorth isn't speaking metaphorically when he says that. The 85-year-old priest means people can be tempted and literally possessed by Satan.

"It's not my opinion: I'm saying that if you believe in the Gospels, you believe in the existence of the devil, in the devil's power to possess people," he said in an interview with CNN.

The faithful believe "that there are people possessed by the devil, and ... in the power of exorcism to liberate from the devil," he said.

And as the chief exorcist of the Roman Catholic Church, it's his job to expel the devil when someone is possessed. Amorth, the founder of the International Association of Exorcists, has performed more than 70,000 exorcisms in his career, he estimates.

But there is a difference between possession -- where the devil takes hold of someone's body and actions -- and temptation, where Satan lures a person into doing evil, he said.

As a child abuse scandal sweeps across Europe, with accusations being made against priests in Ireland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, Amorth said the pedophiles are tempted, not possessed.

He has never done an exorcism on a child molester, he said.

"I have carried out exorcisms on some priests who had been molested by the devil," he said, without going into details.

"But cases of pedophilia exorcised, no. ... Pedophiles are not possessed by the devil, they are tempted by the devil," he said.

"They don't need exorcism, they need to be converted, to be converted to God, that's what they need. They need to confess, they need true penitence, true repentance, that's what they need. They're not possessed."

But no one is too strong a believer to be possessed, said Amorth, who is employed by the Roman diocese.

"Nothing occurs without the permission of God, and he allows even holy people, even saints, to be possessed by the devil," he said.

But, he added, he sees no evil in the Vatican today: "I just see good people in the Vatican. People of prayer, holy people, I don't see any evil."

Who is the chief exorcist at the Vatican?

Answer: chief exorcist

Answer: chief exorcist of the Roman Catholic Church,

Answer: are not possessed by the devil, they are tempted by the devil,"

Answer: liberate from the devil,"

Answer: Father Gabriele Amorth

Answer: his job."

Answer: 70,000

Summary:
Father Gabriele Amorth is chief exorcist at Vatican; he claims over 70,000 exorcisms .
He says the faithful believe "in the power of exorcism to liberate from the devil"
Amorth: "Pedophiles are not possessed by the devil, they are tempted by the devil"
Priests from Ireland to Austria have been accused in growing child abuse scandal .


Rome, Italy (CNN)  -- The Italian government plans to participate in the international troop buildup in Afghanistan by sending 1,000 more troops there next year. The Italian Defense Ministry confirmed the troops would be deployed in the second half of 2010, a complement to the nearly 2,800 Italians already in the western part of the country. Italy is one of 43 countries serving under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Based in Herat, the Italian military is the lead nation in ISAF's Regional Command West. 22 Italian service members have been killed in the Afghan conflict. The Italian escalation would be part of the troop buildup of 5,000 extra non-U.S. service members ISAF intends to commit to the country. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said that new troop pledges could be announced at a conference of NATO foreign ministers Thursday and Friday in Brussels, Belgium, where the alliance is based. There are currently 42,000 non-U.S. NATO troops in Afghanistan at present. 28 NATO allies and 15 non-NATO members are contributing to the U.S.-led coalition. The added NATO troop deployment would complement the nearly 100,000 Americans expected to be in the fight once the 30,000 troops U.S. President Barack Obama announced Tuesday night are in place.

How many Italian service members have been killed in the Afghan conflict?

Where are there currently 42,000 non-U.S. NATO troops?

How many non-U.S. NATO troops are in Afghanistan at present?

How many service members have been killed in the Afghan conflict?

How many countries are serving under the NATO-led ISAF contingent?

Answer: NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

Answer: 22

Answer: 22

Answer: Afghanistan

Answer: 42,000

Answer: 42,000

Answer: 22

Answer: 43

Summary:
Italy is one of 43 countries serving under the NATO-led ISAF contingent .
22 Italian service members have been killed in the Afghan conflict .
There are currently 42,000 non-U.S. NATO troops in Afghanistan at present .


Rome, Italy (CNN)  -- The Vatican did not know about an American priest believed to have molested up to 200 boys until 20 years after civil authorities investigated and then dropped the case, its top spokesman said Thursday.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi issued the statement in response to a New York Times story alleging that top Vatican officials, including the future Pope Benedict XVI, failed to discipline or defrock the now-deceased Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy of Wisconsin, despite warnings from several American bishops.

But Jeff Anderson, a lawyer who obtained the internal church paperwork the newspaper based its story on, said it "shows a direct line from the victims through the bishops and directly to the man who is now pope."

Lombardi rejected the accusation.

"During the mid-1970s, some of Father Murphy's victims reported his abuse to civil authorities, who investigated him at that time," Lombardi said. "However, according to news reports, that investigation was dropped."

The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become pope, "was not informed of the matter until some 20 years later," Lombardi said. The office is in charge of deciding whether accused priests should be given canonical trials and defrocked.

"The case of Lawrence Murphy has been well-documented since the mid-1970s, when allegations were first reported to civil authorities, although criminal charges were not filed," the Archdiocese of Milwaukee said in a statement Thursday.

"Murphy's actions were criminal, and we sincerely apologize to those who have been harmed. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee continues to reach out to victims-survivors who were harmed by Lawrence Murphy and encourages them to report any abuse they suffered."

Anderson, a lawyer representing five men who are suing the archdiocese, obtained correspondence from Milwaukee to Ratzinger as part of the lawsuit, along with other internal church documents related to the case.

The documents, dating to 1974, include letters between bishops and the Vatican, victims' affidavits, the handwritten notes of an expert on sexual disorders who interviewed Murphy and minutes of a final Vatican meeting on the case.

Murphy began as a teacher for St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin, in 1950, and was promoted to run the school in 1963 in spite of the fact that students had warned church officials of molestation, according to the documents, which CNN has seen. Many of Murphy's victims were hearing-impaired.

Ratzinger failed to respond to two letters about the case in 1996 from Milwaukee's then-archbishop, Rembert G. Weakland. After eight months, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who at the time was second in command of the doctrinal office and now is the Vatican's secretary of state, told Wisconsin bishops to begin a secret canonical trial, the documents show.

Lombardi said that church rules did not mean a priest would automatically be punished but that punishment, if warranted, could include being defrocked.

"In such cases, the Code of Canon Law does not envision automatic penalties but recommends that a judgment be made not excluding even the greatest ecclesiastical penalty of dismissal from the clerical state," he said.

"In light of the facts that Father Murphy was elderly and in very poor health, and that he was living in seclusion and no allegations of abuse had been reported in over 20 years, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith suggested that the Archbishop of Milwaukee give consideration to addressing the situation by, for example, restricting Father Murphy's public ministry and requiring that Father Murphy accept full responsibility for the gravity of his acts," the statement said, noting that Murphy died four months later.

Three successive archbishops in Wisconsin were told of the abuse, but none reported it to criminal or civil authorities, according to Anderson, the lawyer. Lombardi, however, said that neither canon law nor Vatican norms prohibit the reporting of such cases to law enforcement. But "he did not address why that had never happened in this case," the Times said.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee said abuse

Who believed to have molested up to 200 boys?

Answer: Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy

Answer: civil authorities

Answer: to 200 boys

Answer: Vatican officials,

Answer: to 200 boys

Summary:
American priest believed to have molested up to 200 boys .
Authorities investigated Wisconsin priest and then dropped case .
Newspaper says officials, including future Pope Benedict XVI, failed to discipline priest .


Rome, Italy (CNN) -- Prosecutors in Italy allege that a businessman supplied Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with about 30 women, or escorts, in order to win favor with him.

It's the latest development in a long-running sex scandal. Transcripts of some of 100,000 wiretap recordings made between September 2008 and 2009 were filed with a court in the southern city of Bari Friday, as prosecutors wrapped up a three-year prostitution investigation.

The transcripts reveal that Berlusconi and businessman Gianpaolo Tarantini repeatedly discussed bringing women to parties.

Tarantini selected women to be of "young age and slender" and instructed them in what to wear and how to behave at Berlusconi's parties, the prosecutors say.

Among them was Patrizia D'Addario, prosecutors say, who in 2009 alleged she and other women were paid to attend parties at Berlusconi's residence. He denied her claim.

In another conversation, they discuss what women they should each bring to a party that night. Berlusconi says that the male guests are powerful men "so the girls have the idea of being in front of men that can decide their destiny."

He says he has "two young girls whom I've not seen for a long time" -- one of them a journalist and the other a 21-year-old Brazilian "who cried over the phone telling me that I'd forgotten her."

Discussing a party the night before in a wiretap from October 10, Berlusconi tells Tarantini there were perhaps too many women. "At the most to have two each, but now I want you also to have yours, otherwise I feel in debt. Why don't you bring yours for you and I bring mine. ... "

Tarantini agrees, and Berlusconi continues: "Then we can exchange them ... "

In a conversation between Tarantini and one of the women he recruited, she said Berlusconi told her he would help her.

Berlusconi is not accused in this case filed in Bari but faces a separate trial in Milan for allegedly paying for sex with a then-17-year-old Moroccan belly dancer named Karima el Mahroug, nicknamed "Ruby the Heart-stealer."

El Mahroug has denied having sex with the premier. Both admit that he gave her money, although they say it was an act of kindness to help her. Berlusconi has always denied wrongdoing and also denies ever having paid for sex.

The latest revelations in the Bari case have reignited calls among his critics for Berlusconi to resign.

In a letter published Saturday to the Foglio newspaper, run by his former spokesman Giuliano Ferrara, Berlusconi wrote that he had no intention of quitting.

He said his behavior was nothing like what had been described in the media, and that he had done nothing to be ashamed of.

In a separate but linked investigation by prosecutors in Naples, Tarantini is accused of having blackmailed Berlusconi over the scandal.

According to the Naples prosecutors, Berlusconi was a victim of "veiled and implied threats" and paid 800,000 euros to Tarantini.

The prime minister denies having been blackmailed and says he gave the money to Tarantini as an act of charity.

CNN's Livia Borghese contributed to this report.

What did the newly filed court documents reveal?

Answer: that Berlusconi and businessman Gianpaolo Tarantini repeatedly discussed bringing women to parties.

Answer: bringing women to parties.

Answer: businessman Gianpaolo Tarantini repeatedly discussed bringing women to parties.

Answer: Berlusconi and businessman Gianpaolo Tarantini repeatedly discussed bringing women to parties.

Answer: Berlusconi and businessman Gianpaolo Tarantini repeatedly discussed bringing women to parties.

Answer: separate trial in Milan for allegedly paying for sex with a then-17-year-old Moroccan belly dancer

Summary:
Newly filed court documents reveal details of inquiry into associates of Berlusconi .
Transcripts show Berlusconi and businessman Tarantini often discussed girls .
Berlusconi is not charged in the case and has always denied wrongdoing .
He faces other trials, one over allegedly paying an underage girl for sex .


Rome, Italy (CNN) -- Seeking to identify the man who shot dead another man outside a store in Naples, Italy, in the spring, an anti-mafia prosecutor distributed on Thursday a video showing the execution. The surveillance-camera video, shot May 11, shows a man wearing a baseball cap, dark jersey, blue jeans and running shoes entering a store, walking to the back and looking around, then walking out. As he exits, he pulls a pistol from his right front pants pocket and shoots a man standing outside the store. As the victim buckles to his knees and then sprawls headlong on the pavement, the killer approaches him from behind and squeezes off a second round into the back of his head, turns and strides unhurriedly out of camera view. Passers-by appear unfazed. One woman tries to lift the victim's head in an apparent attempt to see whether she knows him; a man steps over the body. "Indeed, it is ugly to see people behaving as if that was not a dead body and going on their daily routine," a police spokesman said. "Unfortunately, this is not an anomaly in Naples and in that neighborhood." He said fear led people to behave that way. The spokesman, who asked not to be identified, said anti-mafia prosecutor Sergio Amato released the video to the media in hopes that someone would recognize the killer and his apparent accomplice: a man who had been standing next to the victim and walked off just before the shooting. Police said no motive has been determined for the killing, which took place in the poor neighborhood of Rione Sanita, where Camorra -- the name for organized crime in Naples -- is strong. The victim was a bank robber, the spokesman said. Italian Minister for Equal Opportunities Maria Rosaria Carfagna called the video "tragic." "It shows us, finally, without any censorship, a disgusting side of the Camorra, which along with all the rest of its disgusting faces, has forced a city, a region, a territory, to be ashamed of itself and to hide its real face. "A street homicide, in broad daylight, in the center of a great European city cannot be considered normal and even less be accepted by the conscience of all Italians as if it were a TV show," she said. "The police forces are waging a battle against organized crime, as the number of arrests shows us. The state is there and in strong force. But, and I speak here as someone from the Campania region, Naples and all of Campania need not only a strong political force but the courage of all its citizens." Roberto Saviano, author of the book "Gomorrah," which details the Camorra, called the video "shocking." "What is shocking about this video is the absolute serenity of the people around the victim," he told the daily newspaper La Repubblica. Saviano, who has lived under police protection since shortly after his book was published in 2006, added, "Unfortunately, though, when a city is at war, its citizens undergo and live almost with normal indifference." Italy's Green Party is offering 2,000 euros ($2,963) to whoever helps investigators identify the suspects. "The Camorra pays them to keep quiet; we pay them to speak," said Francesco Emilio Borelli, head of the Green Party in the Campania region. The police spokesman said Camorra has been blamed for about 60 killings this year in Naples and its surrounding county.

Who appeared unfazed by the neighborhood shooting?

What is the amount of the reward being offered by Italy's Green Party for informaation about the whereabouts of the shooter and accomplice?

Answer: May 11,

Answer: Camorra has been blamed for about 60 killings this year in Naples and its surrounding county.

Answer: Passers-by

Answer: the execution.

Answer: 2,000 euros ($2,963)

Summary:
Video shows man shoot another man twice outside Naples store during day .
Passers-by appear unfazed by shooting in neighborhood where organized crime is strong .
"Unfortunately, this is not an anomaly in Naples," police spokesman says .
Italy's Green Party offers reward for information on shooter and accomplice .


Rome, Italy (CNN) -- The Vatican said a lawsuit accusing it and Pope Benedict XVI of covering up sexual abuse by a priest at a Catholic school in the United States has no merit.

"While legitimate lawsuits have been filed by abuse victims, this is not one of them," Vatican lawyer Jeffrey Lena said Friday. "Instead, the lawsuit represents an attempt to use tragic events as a platform for a broader attack."

The lawsuit by an unnamed Illinois man demands the Vatican release the names of thousands of Catholic priests that the suit says have "credible allegations of sexual misconduct" against them.

The alleged victim, who is now an adult, says he was molested by the Rev. Lawrence Murphy while a student at St. John's School for the Deaf, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"The defendant, [the] Holy See, has known about the widespread problem of childhood sexual abuse committed by its clergy for centuries, but has covered up that abuse and thereby perpetuated the abuse," the suit says.

"The case against the Holy See and its officials is completely without merit," Lena said. "Most of the complaint rehashes old theories already rejected by U.S. courts."

Lena added, "With regard to Murphy himself, the Holy See and its officials knew nothing of his crimes until decades after the abuse occurred, and had no role whatsoever in causing plaintiff's injuries."

Benedict was named as a defendant because he has the ultimate authority to remove priests and because of his involvement in reviewing sex abuse cases when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the suit says.

Peter Isely, Midwest director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, estimated the Vatican is investigating 4,000 cases of sex abuse by church employees.

The lawsuit aims to change church policies and practices that conceal sex offenders, Isely said.

"It's going to protect children, we hope, around the world," he said, "This is a historic day and hopefully this is going to result in historic changes."

Arthur Budzinski, a deaf man who said he was sexually assaulted and raped by Murphy, stood with Isely at a news conference Thursday.

He said the priest "may have stolen our bodies," but higher clerics such as cardinals, archbishops and the pope "stole our voices."

Budzinski, who is not a party to the lawsuit, made his comments in sign language and his daughter, Gigi, interpreted his words.

Murphy, who died in 1998, is believed to have molested up to 200 boys, Isely said.

The lawsuit said the church "knew that there was a high probability that these clerics would sexually molest more children, but sought to protect itself from scandal, sought to keep its income stream going, at the peril of children."

Murphy, it says, was a "top fundraiser and recruiter" for the church and the "Holy See wanted to retain Murphy's services."

The same Minnesota law firm representing the Illinois plaintiff also filed suit Wednesday on behalf of a Mexican resident who says he was sexually abused by a priest.

The suit alleges Catholic officials in Los Angeles, California, aided and abetted the abuse by moving the priest to different dioceses as allegations piled up against him.

CNN's Alan Duke and Hada Messia contributed to this report.

What does man accuse Pope of?
who is responsible for the suits
what are the cause of the suits
who is covering up

Answer: covering up sexual

Answer: unnamed Illinois man

Answer: sexual

Answer: The Vatican

Summary:
Some lawsuits legitimate, but not this one, Vatican lawyer says .
Illinois man accuses Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI of covering up abuse .
Plaintiff says he was molested by priest at Wisconsin school for the deaf .


Rome, Italy (CNN) -- The founder of a Mexican Catholic order sexually abused minor-age seminarians and fathered three children with two women, the religious sect has revealed.

The Legion of Christ order and its lay Regnum Christi Movement asked for forgiveness Thursday for "the reprehensible actions of our founder," the Rev. Marcial Maciel.

"We express our sorrow and grief to each and every person damaged by our founder's actions," said a communique signed by the Rev. Alvaro Corcuera and 15 other Legion of Christ leaders.

The abuse allegations surfaced in 1997. The Vatican started an investigation into Maciel's actions in 2004 and concluded in May 2006 that he was guilty of sexual abuse, the group said.

"We had thought and hoped that the accusations brought against our founder were false and unfounded, since they conflicted with our experience of him personally and his work," the order's statement said.

As a result of the Vatican investigation, however, officials at the Legion of Christ "reached sufficient moral certainty to impose serious canonical sanctions related to the accusations made against Maciel, which included the sexual abuse of minor seminarians. Therefore, though it causes us consternation, we have to say that these acts did take place," the group said Thursday.

Law enforcement officials apparently were not informed.

The Vatican, "mindful of Father Maciel's advanced age and his delicate health, decided to forgo a canonical hearing and ask him to retire to a private life of penance and prayer, giving up any form of public ministry," the communique says.

Pope Benedict XVI approved the decision.

Although leaders at the Legion of Christ knew of the abuse since May 2006, they kept it quiet until this week. As of Friday, Maciel's biography on the order's Web page merely said, "In May 2006, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith invited Father Maciel to 'a reserved life of prayer and penance, renouncing all public ministry.' "

Maciel died January 30, 2008.

Javier Bravo, spokesman for the sect in Mexico and Central America, said Legion leaders did not reveal the accusations sooner because "it has been a very difficult process. We weren't ready to assimilate it before."

Now, he told CNN en Español, "we have to recognize the facts as they are."

Legion leaders acknowledged the delay, saying in Thursday's communique, "It's taken us some time to assimilate these events of his life. For many -- above all the victims -- this time has been too long and painful."

In addition to sexually assaulting young seminarians, Maciel fathered at least three children, Thursday's statement said.

The priest had a daughter from a stable relationship with a woman, and two men said they are his children from a relationship with another woman.

Maciel, born in March 1920, founded the Legion of Christ in January 1941.

According to the order, the Legion of Christ has a presence in 24 countries.

The first Legionaries arrived in Spain in 1946, and the order established a center in Rome in 1950. In the 1960s, the Legion established itself in Ireland and the United States. In the 1980s, the order expanded into more countries in South America and Central Europe. The Legion says it recently began pastoral projects in Eastern Europe and Philippines.

The announcement about Maciel comes against a deepening crisis in the Catholic church, which is investigating complaints of abuse in Ireland, Germany, Britain and several other countries.

Who concluded that Rev. Maricial Maciel was guilty of sexual abuse?

Who asked for forgiveness for "reprehensible actions of our founder"?

Answer: he was guilty of sexual abuse,

Answer: January 30, 2008.

Answer: The Vatican

Answer: for forgiveness

Answer: The Legion of Christ order and its lay Regnum Christi Movement

Answer: "it has been a very difficult process. We weren't ready to assimilate it before."

Summary:
NEW: "We have to recognize the facts as they are," spokesman says .
Legionnaires of Christ ask forgiveness for "reprehensible actions of our founder"
Vatican concluded in 2006 that Rev. Marcial Maciel was guilty of sexual abuse .
Priest allowed to retire; he died in 2008 .


Rome, Italy (CNN) -- Two Pakistani men accused of providing logistical support for last year's deadly terror attacks in Mumbai, India,  were arrested Saturday in Italy, police said. They were arrested in the northern Italian city of Brescia, said Stefano Fonzi, head of Italy's Division of General Investigations and Special Operations. The attacks on India's largest city lasted four days. The attackers targeted several sites in Mumbai, taking over several hotels and a Jewish center. The attacks left 160 people dead. On November 25, 2008, the day before the attacks in Mumbai, the two men arrested allegedly transferred $229 that was used to activate Internet phone lines used by the suspects. Two others connected with the longstanding money transfer agency in Brescia also were arrested for other illegal activity, Fonzi told CNN. Police are looking for a fifth man. Italian police started their investigation the following month after being alerted by Indian authorities and the FBI that funds had been transferred from Italy, Fonzi said. Authorities suspected the agency after money was transferred under the Muslim name of a man who had never entered Italy, a police statement said. Indian police have said 10 Pakistanis were involved in the deadly assault, nine of whom were killed in the carnage. The lone surviving suspect has linked the coordinated shooting and bombing incidents to the leader of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a militant group that is banned in India. CNN's Hada Messia in Rome contributed to this report.

What were the men arrested in connection with?

What were two men arrested in Italy connected with?

What is the number of people who died in attacks?

Answer: 160

Answer: providing logistical support for last year's deadly

Answer: terror attacks in Mumbai, India,

Answer: 160

Answer: 10 Pakistanis were

Summary:
Two men arrested in Italy in connection with November 2008 Mumbai, India, terror attacks .
Police say men transferred money to activate Internet phone lines for terrorists .
Siege at hotels and attacks on other targets left 160 people dead .


Romulus, Michigan (CNN) -- A Nigerian man is "talking a lot" to the FBI, said a senior U.S. official, after what the United States believes was an attempted terrorist attack on an inbound international flight. The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, said the senior official who is familiar with the investigation. The suspect, identified by a U.S. government official as 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, ignited a small explosive device Friday, shortly before a Northwest flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, made its landing in Detroit, Michigan. With the aid of the cabin crew, another passenger quickly helped subdue and isolate Abdulmutallab, passenger Syed Jafry told CNN. Abdulmutallab, was placed in custody and is being treated for second- and third-degree burns on his thighs, according to federal law enforcement and airline security sources. The sources told CNN that the suspect flew into Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on a KLM flight from Lagos, Nigeria, and is not believed to be on any "no fly" list, although his name does appear in a U.S. database of people with suspect connections. He did not undergo secondary security screening in Amsterdam, an administration official said. The administration official said there was no evidence that Abdulmutallab was a hard-core, trained member of al Qaeda. Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian national, claimed to have extremist ties and said the explosive device "was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used," a federal security bulletin obtained by CNN said. The remains of the device used are being sent to an FBI explosives lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis, security sources said. U.S. President Barack Obama, who is spending the holidays in his home state of Hawaii, was briefed on the incident during a secure phone call with aides, and instructed in a subsequent discussion with security advisers "that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel," White House spokesman Bill Burton told CNN. The president made no changes to his schedule, Burton said. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Friday saying that air passengers "may notice additional screening measures put into place to ensure the safety of the traveling public on domestic and international flights." Passengers described the brief moments of panic on board, as screams erupted and flight attendants ran for fire extinguishers. Jafry, who was sitting in seat 16G, said the plane was just beginning to descend when passengers heard a pop. "Everybody got a little bit startled," he said. "After a few seconds or so ... there was ... kind of a flamish light and there was fire" and people around the immediate area began to panic. One woman told CNN affiliate WDIV that a man threw a blanket over Abdulmutallab's legs to help put out the small fire. "It was terrifying," Richelle Keepman said. "I think we all thought we weren't going to land, we weren't going to make it." Passenger Elias Fawaz told WDIV that the explosion sounded "like a balloon being popped" and said he could smell smoke. Jafry said the incident was under control within minutes, crediting the crew and nearby passengers for the rapid response. One person was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. "All passengers have deplaned and out of an abundance of caution, the plane was moved to a remote area," where the plane and baggage were rescreened, the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement. Passengers were interviewed by law enforcement authorities before being allowed to leave the airport. No other suspicious materials were found on the plane or in luggage, the law enforcement and airline security sources said. The suspect had only carry-on luggage. Another passenger on the Northwest flight transferred from the same KLM flight in Amsterdam but officials found no connection between the two, the sources said. The plane, an Airbus 330, landed shortly before noon ET. It was carrying 278

Who is talking a lot?
Where did the flight end?
Where did the flight originate?
who is investigating?
Where was the flight from?

Answer: A Nigerian man

Answer: Detroit, Michigan.

Answer: Amsterdam, Netherlands,

Answer: FBI

Answer: Amsterdam,

Summary:
NEW: Nigerian in custody, "talking a lot," U.S. official says, after incident .
White House is considering the incident an attempted terrorist attack .
Passenger is immediately subdued; FBI investigating .
Flight originated in Amsterdam, Netherlands, ended in Detroit, Michigan .


SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- Debbie Brown used to process medical and dental forms for a living before a debilitating illness forced her into early disability retirement and left her in a simple, no-frills wheelchair -- a rented wheelchair that has cost taxpayers about $1,200. CNN found a wheelchair similar to Debbie Brown's taxpayer-funded Medicare wheelchair for a fourth of the price. Brown says the public should be outraged about her wheelchair. Why? She says she could buy a comparable wheelchair on the Internet for $440 if she had the money. It sounded hard to believe that her rented, $1,200 taxpayer-funded wheelchair could be bought for $440, so CNN decided to check -- and instead found an even better deal. CNN went to the same company that charges Medicare for Brown's chair, Apria Healthcare, and bought it for $349 -- about a fourth of what taxpayers' have paid for Brown's rented wheelchair. That's why this slightly built woman, who lives modestly with her husband in Sacramento, California, believes her story and her wheelchair underscore the bigger problem of reforming health care in America. "Now you multiply that by how many people have a manual wheelchair, especially the baby boomers, it multiplies and multiplies and that money could be spent, even a hundred dollars out of that ... could give someone else the options that they need," Brown said. Reforming health care is at the top of the agenda in Washington. Everyone seems to agree this nation's health care costs and care availability are out of whack. Fixing it is another problem altogether. The Clintons failed. President Bush tried and got push-back as well. Now President Obama says he will do it because America can't put it off any longer. But he, too, is finding the way forward is not an easy path. Terms like "affordability," "single payer," "universal coverage," and an entire lexicon have become part of the health care buzz lingo. It is a complex issue with so many facets, so many lobbyists and so many special interests that one proposal seems to result in a competing proposal or proposals, or competing parties with concerns of their own. To illustrate how difficult it will be to overhaul America's health care, CNN decided to focus on one item in the nation's health care bill: a basic wheelchair. The wheelchair, in its own small way, CNN discovered, gives a glimpse of the contentious and complex debate swirling around health care reform. CNN interviewed Brown and her husband, Dennis Brown, at a community center in Sacramento. It is a place the couple visits frequently; it is free, offers programs, books, entertainment and features a park to stroll in. Debbie Brown sent an e-mail to CNN months ago, outraged over the continuing Medicare payments for a wheelchair that after four years of use is not in the best shape. It squeaks and is hard to navigate. Her ride in it is made more difficult because her husband, retired from the armed services, is also on disability and has trouble getting the wheelchair in and out of the car. On days he is not well, he sometimes has trouble pushing her. She showed CNN her bills and documented the fact that Medicare is still paying for the wheelchair after all these years. Medicare, with Brown's permission, confirmed the payments. Brown referred us to the Internet sites where comparable chairs -- and better ones than hers -- are listed for a fraction of the cost Medicare pays over time. The Browns have a limited income and say they cannot afford to buy one. That's when CNN decided to check Brown's story by buying one directly from Apria, based in Lake Forest, California. CNN paid cash for the chair after calling one of Apria's offices in an Atlanta, Georgia, suburb. Apria representatives told the CNN buyer that the chair Brown had is no longer made but offered the model that is being rented and sold as the replacement model for the one Brown still uses. When CNN

Who found a chair that could be bought for a fourth of the price?

Answer: says the public should be outraged about her wheelchair.

Answer: Debbie Brown

Answer: health care reform.

Answer: $349

Answer: CNN

Answer: CNN

Answer: a comparable wheelchair on the Internet

Summary:
Woman: Rented, $1,200 taxpayer-funded wheelchair can be bought for $440 .
CNN found chair that could be bought for a fourth of the price .
Debbie Brown believes her story, wheelchair underscore problem health care reform .
Legislators, companies debate competitive bidding to fix problem .


SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- For more than two years, undercover cops on the Sacramento Police Department's vice squad have been working one of the most draining beats: trying to crack down on online child prostitution.

Sacramento police have nabbed nearly 70 underage girls for child prostitution since 2005.

Police have nabbed nearly 70 girls under the age of 18 since 2005. Most of the girls were released to foster or group homes. Those are just the official figures; investigators think there are many more child prostitutes out there.

It is no easy task.

"We're asking these girls to do a big thing ... which is to stop what they're doing," said Sgt. Pam Seyffert of the Sacramento Police Department. "Stop what's working for them. Surviving is basically what they're doing."

Sacramento police are working with the FBI as part of a nationwide campaign to combat underage prostitution called Innocence Lost. The goal of the program, which is now in almost 30 U.S. cities, is to decriminalize the girls and concentrate on catching the pimps who control them.

"It really makes me angry," Seyffert said. "I think everybody on the team has different reactions to it, but I just flat out get really angry that some guy thinks he can take this girl and basically deprive her of her freedom."

It is not uncommon for the officers on the unit to put in 30-hour shifts. Oftentimes, their work is heart-wrenching.  Watch how investigators work to catch pimps »

Child prostitution is even tougher on the parents of these girls. Roslyn and Sergio's daughter had been missing for more than two weeks. They waited for hours at police headquarters in hopes that their daughter would be found.

Vice squad officers found her in a downtown apartment with Bruce William Carter, a 21-year-old man who police said had posed on the Internet holding fistfuls of cash. He pleaded not guilty to charges of statutory rape and was held in lieu of $35,000 bail.

The couple's daughter, who had just turned 17, was detained but not arrested.

"It hurt," said Roslyn, who appeared weary and a bit shell-shocked. "Because you don't want to see your children involved in things like this. You don't realize how dangerous the Internet is. Now, we got to keep her away from the Internet."

Police say most of the ads appear on Craigslist, the popular and free Internet classifieds site, under a category named "Erotic Services." Even though Craigslist has posted a bold disclaimer warning against human trafficking and the exploitation of children, law enforcement officials said it doesn't seem to deter girls from posting the ads or men who are searching for sex.

But why would a girl sell her body online?

To help answer that question, Sacramento police made arrangements for CNN to interview a 14-year-old girl who said she'd started selling herself as a prostitute at the age of 11.

"I wanted to feel loved. ... I wanted to feel important," said the teen, who did not want to be identified.

She said she used Craigslist because it was free and she could post dozens of ads a day. Even though she understood the seriousness of what she was doing, she said she didn't care.

"You could put stuff in your ad like 'wet and wild,' 'fun and sassy,' things like that to catch their attention, to make them want you," she said.

Craigslist executives said they abhor the fact that their site is being used for child prostitution but believe that the problem could be harder to track if they removed the category.

"It would be a bigger problem if we removed that category and had those ads spread throughout the site," said Jim Buckmaster, chief executive officer of Craigslist.

Both legal experts and police say Craigslist bears no legal responsibility. Undercover officers said the fact that the listings can be traced helps them pinpoint the girls and sometimes leads them to pimps.

For her part, Roslyn

Who posted disclaimer warning against child porn and human trafficking?

Answer: Craigslist

Summary:
Underage girls are selling sex in free Internet classifieds, police say .
Sacramento police have nabbed nearly 70 underage girls since 2005 .
"I wanted to feel loved ... important," says girl who began posting ads at age 11 .
Craigslist posts disclaimers warning against child exploitation, human trafficking .


SAMSON, Alabama (CNN)  -- As the crime scene tape starts to come down in this small Southern town, the residents are leaning on one another for comfort and the strength to move on. The shooter, Michael McLedon, killed his mother before killing others. First Baptist Church, a few feet from the neighborhood where Michael McLendon, 28, opened fire Tuesday, welcomed members of this close community Wednesday night for a prayer service. "It's what community is about, isn't it? Crying together. Holding each other," a pastor said. It's hard for many to believe the shooting rampage could happen in this town of about 2,100 people. Authorities said McLendon went to three towns, slaying 10 people. He started in his hometown of Kinston, killing his mother, before moving on to open fire in Samson and finally Geneva. McLendon was once a police officer in Samson, the small town hit hardest by the deadliest crime in Alabama history, authorities said. His nearly hourlong assault ended at the Reliable Metal Products plant in the last town, 24 miles from where it began and where police said McLendon engaged in a shootout before killing himself inside the building. In the aftermath of the rampage, among those seeking comfort at First Baptist Church was Josh Mathews. He was driving down the street around the time of the shootings. "Could've been anyone -- just missed the gunfire, could've been any of us," Mathews said.  Watch report from CNN's Brooke Baldwin » After the shootings, he found out one of the victims was a friend. It will be hard to move on, he said. But "you have to. He was like the happiest dude in the world. He would've wanted us to move on and remember him for who he was." High school baseball coach Chris Reid said he knew almost all the victims. "Everybody knows everybody. Everybody's always been willing to go out of their way to help people in need around here, no matter what the case may be. It's just a small town where you consider your friends as family." Reid was walking out of the Big-Little convenience store when he stopped to talk to CNN. A little more than 24 hours ago, the gas station was the site of one of killings.  Watch deputy talk about his loss » Reid was at baseball practice when he heard the shots. "They were one block from us, " Reid said, adding that while driving, he saw a man killed in the street. iReport.com: On the scene as officials investigate "It really hasn't set in yet," he said. "It is still kind of a dream where you wait for it to not be real, to be over. But it's a fact, something we have to go through." Inside the church service, Steve Sellers, a visiting pastor, spoke to several hundred in attendance, praying for God to give the community strength. Some sat in the pews and sobbed. "I want to thank you, Lord, that in the coming days that this community walks through that process of healing, that there is a God who carries them through that valley," he said. Sellers also thanked town leaders, medical personnel and local law enforcement while asking the question that's been on so many minds: "I don't know what set a young man off like that, but I, too, want to pray for his family. We also come, knowing Lord, you taught us to forgive those who trespass against us."  Watch how state copes with "shock and disbelief" » While members of this tight-knit town may never fully understand how McLendon could've committed this crime, many find comfort in faith and friends. As one pastor put it, "Thank God for this town."

Amount of people in Samson, Alabama that is coping with the aftermath?

What is the number of people living in Samson?

Answer: 2,100 people.

Answer: First Baptist

Answer: Chris Reid

Answer: 2,100

Answer: Wednesday

Answer: Chris Reid

Answer: First Baptist Church,

Answer: 2,100

Summary:
The 2,100 people of Samson, Alabama, cope with aftermath of deadly rampage .
First Baptist Church welcomes community for Wednesday night prayer service .
High school baseball coach Chris Reid: "It really hasn't set in yet"
Community members say their tight bonds will pull them through difficult days ahead .


SAMSON, Alabama (CNN) -- The man who killed 10 people, then himself, in a shooting rampage in southern Alabama had failed in his dreams both to become a U.S. Marine and a police officer, and was depressed and unhappy with his life, investigators said Thursday. The shooter, Michael McLendon, killed his mother before killing others. Michael McLendon, 28, fatally shot his mother in his hometown of Kinston on Tuesday before driving to nearby Samson and Geneva, killing nine more, then fatally shooting himself after a shootout with police. Authorities are calling it the deadliest single assault in recorded Alabama history. "He was going to go until he was stopped, by himself or someone else," said Col. Chris Murphy of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. "He had obviously planned to go out in grand style." McLendon left behind a letter, apparently after killing his mother, that described how he did so and saying that he planned to kill himself, according to Murphy. The letter "describes how McLendon harbored ill feelings toward family members due to a family dispute." McLendon -- a self-proclaimed survivalist who was known to train with the rifles he used in the shooting spree -- enlisted in the Marines in 1999, but was kicked out one month later for "fraudulent enlistment," Murphy said. He was hired as a police officer in 2003, but let go a month later for what Murphy called physical issues. The nearly hourlong assault ended 24 miles from where it began at Reliable Metal Products plant in Geneva, where McLendon had worked in 2003. "McLendon made statements of being depressed and was dissatisfied with his present position in life," Murphy said. "His dream was to become a Marine, and later a police officer. Both those dreams were unfulfilled." McLendon was armed with two assault rifles -- an SKS and a Bushmaster -- and two pistols, and a shotgun was found in his car. "At this time, we believe that he fired in excess of 200 rounds during the assaults," the Department of Public Safety said in a news release. McLendon had no known criminal record before carrying out the rampage, officials said. Coffee County district attorney Gary McAliley said neighbors and co-workers described McLendon as quiet and shy. Some neighbors complained that he was always shooting firearms behind his home, he said -- but feared only that McLendon would accidentally kill one of their cows.  Watch how the shaken towns are trying to cope » Co-workers at Kelley Foods, where he unexpectedly resigned last week, said they had a nickname for him -- Doughboy -- that he didn't like. "I don't think anybody could have anticipated this by looking at him and interacting with him," McAliley said. "But, certainly he had a volcano inside of him." McLendon called the Samson City Hall about 1 p.m. Tuesday and asked whether the city council would be meeting in the evening, Michelle Flanery, magistrate and billing clerk, told CNN Radio. Flanery said she replied that there was no meeting scheduled that day and that McLendon thanked her before hanging up. Authorities said McLendon also had a list of current and former co-workers, some whose names were accompanied by notes on ways he felt they'd wronged him. But the note was not a "hit list," as had been reported, and none of the people whose names were listed were attacked, they said.   View images from the rampage » Among the dead were the wife and toddler of Geneva County Sheriff's Deputy Josh Myers, who was involved in the standoff with McLendon before he realized his own loss. His 3-month-old daughter, Ella, was also wounded. She was rescued by a neighbor and released from a hospital in Pensacola, Florida, Thursday evening. The shootings rattled Samson and Geneva, neither of which has a population beyond 4,500 people, and sent shock waves outside the small towns affected. "This event formed the single deadliest crime recorded in Alabama," said Murphy of the

What was the death toll in the shootings?

Answer: "His dream was to become a Marine, and later a police officer. Both those dreams were unfulfilled."

Answer: Michael McLendon,

Answer: 10

Answer: Alabama

Answer: a letter,

Answer: Michael

Answer: 10

Summary:
NEW: Michael McLendon left behind note describing ill will he harbored toward family .
NEW: Shooter was going to continue "until he was stopped," investigator says .
McLendon killed 10 people in two towns before killing himself .
McLendon unhappy with failed efforts to become Marine, police officer, police say .


SAN ANTONIO, Texas (CNN)  -- The three Americans rescued after more than five years in captivity in Colombia say they are doing well but are "overwhelmed with emotion," according to a statement released on their behalf. "Words alone can never possibly express the thrill and excitement we feel to be back home in the United States of America with our families at our side," the Friday statement from Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell said. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had held the three U.S. government contractors since February 2003, after their plane crashed in a remote region of the South American country. They were among 15 hostages rescued Wednesday in a Colombian military operation.  Watch Colombians celebrate success » Also among the rescued hostages was French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who returned to France on Friday. She is undergoing medical tests at a Paris military hospital, The Associated Press reported.  Watch Betancourt's joyous return to France » Shortly after the plane crashed, FARC members killed contractor Tom Janis, according to employer Northrop Grumman, and Colombian army Sgt. Luis Cruz, according to the U.S. State Department. The three freed Americans are being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.  Learn about the former hostages » "For five-and-a-half long years, we all hoped and prayed this day would come," their statement said. "Now that it has, we're just overwhelmed with emotion. The love and the joy we're all experiencing is beyond description. "We want to offer our heartfelt thanks to the government and the armed forces of Colombia. The operation they conducted to rescue us was one for the history books -- something we will never forget for the rest of our lives." Colombian authorities unveiled details and a videotape Friday describing the mission, which involved tricking the leftist rebels into giving up their hostages.  Watch video of the rescue » Government agents had infiltrated the FARC leadership over several months. This week they talked the rebels into moving the hostages, saying a humanitarian group wanted to check on them. A helicopter carrying fake rebels picked up the hostages at a rendezvous point, ostensibly to take them to another rebel camp. It actually was a government helicopter, and the hostages were whisked to freedom without a shot being fired.  Learn about FARC » On Thursday, doctors at the Brooke Army Medical Center said the three Americans appeared to be in good health. Initial tests had for now ruled out the suspicion of infectious diseases, and although other medical tests are pending, "everything really looks well," said Col. Jackie Hayes, a psychiatrist and the lead physician on the men's medical team. Hayes said patient confidentiality rules prevented him from commenting on reports that Gonsalves was suffering from hepatitis. Maj. Gen. Keith Huber, commander of U.S. Army South, said the contractors were in the second phase of a three-phase process designed to ease their transition back to normal life. "They greeted me with a strong handshake and clear eyes and an incredible smile," he said.

Who is undergoing medical tests in Paris?

Who express gratitude to Colombian military?

Answer: Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell

Answer: Wednesday

Answer: French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt,

Answer: Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell

Answer: Brooke Army Medical Center

Answer: The three Americans

Answer: Colombian military

Summary:
Three men, safe in Texas, express gratitude to Colombian military .
Ex-hostages said to be doing well, in reintegration process .
French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt undergoing medical tests in Paris .
15 hostages freed Wednesday when Colombian agents tricked rebels .


SAN ANTONIO, Texas (CNN) -- The three Americans rescued Wednesday after more than five years in captivity in the jungles of Colombia appear to be in good health, doctors said Thursday. Keith Stansell, left, Marc Gonsalves, center, and Thomas Howes sit in an aircraft after being rescued Wednesday. "They're very resilient, they're very stress-hardy and they're doing very well, and so I think that certainly is a good-news story," said Col. Carl Dickens, a psychologist at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell arrived there late Wednesday on an Air Force C-17 to undergo a battery of medical tests and debriefings. All three are U.S. government contractors who were captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in February 2003 when their plane crashed in a remote region of the country. They will begin reuniting with their families Thursday. "They are very grateful, very excited to be home," said Air Force staff Sgt. Daryl Bradley, who accompanied the three men on the flight Wednesday from Colombia to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.  Watch CNN's Brian Todd report on the hostages' return » "They can't wait to see their families, can't wait to see the differences in the United States, and they're just absolutely pleased to be home."  Learn about the freed hostages » A plane the men were on crashed in February 2003 in a remote region of Colombia. They were among 15 hostages, including ex-Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, rescued Wednesday in a Colombian military operation. Read how the military faked out the rebels The FARC still holds more than 700 hostages in camps scattered throughout the jungle. Bradley, who is a paramedic, earlier said all three Americans appeared to be in good medical condition. Marc Gonsalves' father said he would see his son Thursday. "We have a lot to talk about," George Gonsalves told CNN's "American Morning." "There's been a lot of things that have happened, and I'm sure there's a lot of things that have happened with him that we'd certainly like to exchange a little conversation for about two or three hours anyway." Keith Stansell said he was on the beach when his stepfather called with the news of his father's release. "I didn't even know what to do," he said. "I just started freaking out -- screaming, yelling. I ran as fast as I could off the beach."  Watch the Stansell family eagerly await the former captive's return » His sister, Lauren, said she was at home when the phone rang with the news. "I knew when I heard the other voice that she had good news. I knew it was good news about Dad," she said. Amanda Howes said she learned about her uncle Thomas Howes' release from a bulletin on her computer at a TV station, where she works in Boston, Massachusetts. "A news alert crossed on the bottom of the screen, I click on it and it's this wonderful news," she said. "I literally screamed with enjoyment. I started shaking. Of course, everyone was like ... 'What's the hot news tip?' " Adm. James Stavridis, head of the U.S. military's Southern Command, has kept a picture of the hostages on his desk since taking his post in 2006 and said their release has been one of his top priorities. "You could hear the cheers throughout the building when we announced the success of the rescue," he said.  Watch the hostages land on U.S. soil » The U.S. government considers the FARC a terrorist group and has refused to negotiate with it while publicly urging the rebels to release the Americans. The FARC, which has fought a long-standing and complicated conflict with Colombia's government and right-wing paramilitary groups, defends the taking of captives as a legitimate act of war.  Background

What was the reason for capturing the three men?

What company does Thomas Howes  work for?

Answer: their plane crashed in a remote region of the country.

Answer: five years in captivity

Answer: U.S. government contractors

Answer: U.S. government

Summary:
NEW: Three Americans had medical tests; doctors say they are healthy .
Ex-hostages and relatives express joy at rescue operation .
Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell U.S. government contractors .
Colombian rebels captured three men in 2003 when their plane crashed .


SAN ANTONIO, Texas (CNN) -- Three Americans rescued last week from captivity in the Colombian jungle will return to their homes Saturday, the U.S. Army South said. Left to right, Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes talk about spending more than 5 years as hostages. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell have been undergoing a reintegration process at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, since their return 10 days ago to the United States. The men were among 15 hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who were rescued July 2 in a Colombian military operation. The men carried with them a metal lock, a bullet and a chess board made of cardboard -- small items that are reminders of the years they spent away from their families, cut off from the world outside the jungle, seeing only fellow hostages and their captors, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The group had held the three U.S. government contractors hostage since February 2003, after their plane crashed in a remote region of the South American country. "They don't recognize humanity, they don't recognize human rights. They're animals. They're terrorists," Stansell said of the FARC. "We don't want to exaggerate what happened. We just want to tell the truth." The men painted a gruesome picture of their captivity, describing months in which they were ordered not to speak to each other and an initial campsite where they lived with a rat's nest above them. They slept on the floors of drug labs and were forced to march for hours while chained. Chains were very much a part of their captivity. "That was put around my neck every night," Stansell told Headline News' Robin Meade on Thursday, holding a heavy industrial lock. "This lock, with 5 meters of chain -- thick, 1-inch links -- went to his neck," Stansell said, pointing at Gonsalves. "We slept like that," he said.  Watch how the rescue surprised the hostages » Gonsalves also held small wooden chess pawns he had carved using a broken piece of a machete. It took three months to make them, he said.  Watch Gonsalves talk about how chess made him feel free » "We're in chains, sitting Indian-style on a piece of plastic, just playing chess," Stansell said. "And when you're doing that, you're free." Howes, the most reticent of the three, carried with him a bullet from a commander who had once threatened to kill him. But despite the chains, the intolerable living conditions and the isolation, being away from their families was possibly the most difficult hardship to endure, the men said. "I remember my darkest day was in the first month of our captivity," Gonsalves said. "We were, at that point, locked in boxes at night. ... That night, I dreamt about my daughter, who was my little girl and still is. And I had this dream about her that was so real; she was sitting on my lap, and ... she had little braids in her hair," he said.  Watch Gonsalves talk about his darkest hour » "It was a wonderful dream, with all of my family. But the problem was, I woke up." Colombian government agents infiltrated the FARC leadership over several months, eventually tricking the rebels into moving the hostages by saying a humanitarian group wanted to check on them. A helicopter carrying fake rebels picked up the hostages at a rendezvous point on July 2, ostensibly to take them to another rebel camp. But it was actually a Colombian military helicopter and the hostages were flown away, free, without a shot being fired. Read about the daring rescue mission The FARC, which has been fighting with the Colombian government and other paramilitary groups for decades, defends the taking of captives as a legitimate act of war. The group is thought to be holding about 750 prisoners in the nation's remote jungles. Along with the former

When were the contractors taken hostage?

Who  talks to CNN a week after they were freed?

What was placed around the captives neck at night?

What does the captives keep to remind them of the hostage?

When was the U.S. government contractors captured?

Answer: 2003,

Answer: February 2003,

Answer: Thomas Howes

Answer: Chains

Answer: neck

Answer: a metal lock, a bullet and a chess board made of cardboard

Answer: February 2003,

Summary:
Former FARC captives talk to CNN a week after they were freed .
One keeps a lock that held the chain that was placed around his neck at night .
Another has a cardboard chess set that he carved as a hostage .
FARC captured the U.S. government contractors hostage in February 2003 .


SAN BERNARDINO, California (CNN) -- Three-year-old Briant Rodriguez remained in a hospital bed fatigued and malnourished Monday, 15 days after being kidnapped at gunpoint and then dumped on the streets of Mexico. Liberato Vega, 30, left, and Israel Moreno, 28, are suspects in the kidnapping of 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez. Police don't know much about what happened to the boy, who was taken after gunmen tied his family and ransacked his California home on May 3. They don't know why the gunmen broke into the home, why they kidnapped the bubbly 3-year-old or how he ended up wandering the streets of Mexicali with a shaved head, rather than the long hair he had sported before the kidnapping. But police believe they do know who is responsible. In a news conference on Monday, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department and FBI identified the two suspect gunmen as Liberato Vega, 30, and Israel Moreno, 28. The two men, who authorities said were illegal immigrants with criminal records, are believed to have burst into the San Bernardino home, ransacked the house, tied up 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez's family and snatched the child two weeks ago. The boy was returned to his family Saturday in the border town of Calexico. "It was a very emotional and unforgettable experience," said San Bernardino County Sheriff's Sgt. Doug Hubbard, who was with the boy's mother when he was returned. "Enough said there -- before I get emotional." Officials said the boy was still in the hospital Monday and was being treated for malnourishment and fatigue. "We're very happy that he's alive," San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops said this weekend. "A 3-year-old goes missing in this country for two weeks -- sometimes it has an unhappy ending. "This one did not." Now, police are trying to piece together exactly what may have happened during the 13 days the boy was missing. Detectives from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department and Federal Bureau of Investigations agents were able to identify the alleged kidnappers based on unspecified physical evidence at the San Bernardino home and interviews with the boy's family and neighbors. Hubbard said the family has adamantly denied knowing who may be responsible for the kidnapping or having any association with those responsible. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Don Roberts said it was, however, "likely that this family was the target" of the kidnappers. "But why, we don't know," Roberts said, adding that the kidnappers had clearly planned the crime. Officials said they believe Vega and Moreno are the two men they captured on video at a home-improvement store near the Rodriguez home before the crime buying tape like the kind that was used to bind the family. Hubbard said there are no-bail warrants issued for both men for home invasion robbery and kidnapping and  Roberts said the FBI also obtained federal warrants for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution for both men. "We will leave no stone unturned until these two are returned to San Bernardino to face justice," Roberts said. "We will not take a break until that day happens." Authorities are hunting for both men, who have criminal records, in Mexico where they were both born. Roberts said both men have previously been deported from the United States, where they were living illegally. Their previous residences are empty, police said. Vega, who police said they considered to be the primary suspect, has had seven encounters with authorities in San Bernardino, according to court records, including four convictions in 2005 for a variety of charges, including driving under the influence. He also has a dismissed burglary case and two open cases against him for driving under the influence,  providing false information to police and driving without a license. Police described Vega as a Hispanic male, 5 feet 9 inches weighing 130 pounds. Moreno was convicted in 2008 for driving under the influence and has another similar case open against him. Police described Moreno as a Hispanic male, 5 feet 6

What are the names of the subjects in the kidnapping case?

Where are the kidnappers believed to be from

Answer: Liberato Vega,

Answer: Briant Rodriguez

Answer: Mexico

Answer: 15 days

Answer: Three-year-old Briant Rodriguez

Summary:
NEW: Liberato Vega, 30, and Israel Moreno, 28, suspects in kidnapping .
NEW: Officials believe both men, illegal immigrants, have fled to Mexico .
Briant Rodriguez found wandering streets in Mexicali, police say .
Boy had been missing since May 3, when armed men burst into his family's home .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN)  -- What if we offered illegal immigrants a path to citizenship that included a stint in the U.S. military? Ruben Navarrette: Be wary of offering military service as a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. The idea has been trumpeted by thoughtful people such as Max Boot, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, who thinks this is the time for a "freedom legion." He's talking about a unit of the military made up entirely of the foreign-born -- including illegal immigrants -- where the compensation would include U.S. citizenship. About 70,000 foreign-born men and women serve in the U.S. armed forces, or about 5 percent of the total active-duty force, according to the Pentagon. Of those, nearly 30,000 -- or about 43 percent -- are not U.S. citizens. Roping illegal immigrants into military service could accomplish two goals at once: helping alleviate the military's recruitment worries while giving the undocumented a chance to prove that their commitment to this country extends beyond a paycheck. We're already talking about requiring illegal immigrants to learn English, pay fines, and return to their home countries to earn legal status. Why not, some say, raise the stakes and require men and women between 18 and 42 to serve a couple of years in the military to earn something even more precious: U.S. citizenship for themselves and their children? The idea appealed to a reader in upstate New York who called me to gauge my reaction. I told him that I hadn't made up my mind, but that the concept did fit with my view that any conferring of legal status be laden with onerous conditions so that it really is earned. To earn it, illegal immigrants should have to do everything but walk across broken glass. Still, I told him, I'm not sure how those who oppose comprehensive reform but support turning illegal immigrants into cannon fodder go about squaring that circle. Restrictionists and racists have argued that illegal immigrants are invading this country, and that they're a dangerous menace to society that is prone to all sorts of violent and criminal behavior. Of course, many native-born U.S. citizens are just as menacing. But for those who believe that illegal immigrants are inherently violent, do they really want to give these folks military training and a M-16, to help them graduate from menacing to lethal? After all, assuming they survive their stint in the military, they eventually have to return stateside. Then they're our problem. Consider the ghastly events in Newark, New Jersey, where three African-American students were killed execution-style and a fourth was shot in the head but survived. The accused ringleader is Jose Carranza, an illegal immigrant from Peru, who was previously charged with raping a 5-year-old girl and threatening her parents. Twice indicted by grand juries, Carranza slipped through the cracks and was released on bail. Authorities say that the 28-year-old construction worker led at least four other individuals in attacking the youths with a gun and a machete. If convicted, Carranza could get the death penalty. Glad to hear it. If half the things they say about this creep are true, Carranza belongs on death row. But guess what? He sure doesn't belong on an Army recruitment poster, or handling heavy artillery. Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of The San Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.  E-mail to a friend

What kind of troops would comprise a military freedom legion?

What could be a way to citizenship for illegal immigrants?

Answer: a unit of the military made up entirely of the foreign-born -- including illegal immigrants

Answer: foreign-born

Answer: military service

Answer: Jose Carranza,

Answer: raping a 5-year-old girl and threatening her parents.

Answer: illegal immigrants

Summary:
Is it time for a military "freedom legion," made up of all foreign-born troops?
Is military service as a way to citizenship for illegal immigrants a good idea?
Jose Carranza, accused in the Newark killings, makes the proposal problematic .
Illegal immigrants are considered dangerous menaces by some .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Conditions that created what California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dubbed "the perfect storm for fire" eased Wednesday, helping firefighters gain ground against devastating Southern California wildfires.

A plane drops fire retardant on the fourth day of a wildfire pushed by winds through Pauma Valley, California.

Winds that gusted as much as 101 mph on Sunday dropped to about 30 mph Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, the dry Santa Ana winds that have fanned the flames, changed direction and began blowing inland from the Pacific Ocean, increasing the humidity and easing the burden on almost 8,900 firefighters in the area.

But the destruction was taking its toll on the men and women on the front lines of the fires.

"It hurts us to have those homes lost. It hurts us to have those injuries. And it is frustrating for us to watch our community be devastated by this," said firefighter Andy Menshek.

As conditions improved, officials allowed people to return to communities that had been off-limits because of intense flames and dense smoke.

"It was home," said Mark Davis, whose two-story Rancho Bernardo house burned to the ground.

"It was us. We had been there 28 years, and it had a lot of our flavor."

The change in the weather also meant that firefighting aircraft -- grounded for most of the week by the winds -- could finally fly.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Scott McLean called the droning sound of aircraft the "sound of joy."

"Their drops are hitting their mark because the wind is not there," he said.

The rate of burning had slowed significantly by Wednesday.

Still, the fire damage increased to 434,543 acres, said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Watch Schwarzenegger give a progress report »

That amounted to 679 square miles, or about 10 times the size of Washington, D.C.

By Wednesday evening, the largest fire -- the Witch in northern San Diego County -- was 10 percent contained.

It burned about 196,000 acres before combining with the smaller Poomacha blaze.

Seven fires among the 22 counted Wednesday were contained.  See where the fires are burning »

Others, such as the Buckweed Fire in Los Angeles County, were as much as 94 percent contained.

One large fire was a suspected arson.

The FBI and the Orange County Fire Authority are investigating the Santiago fire that has burned more than 19,000 acres.

All three of its points of origin have been declared crime scenes, said Jim Amornino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

A $70,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible for setting the fire.

The blaze was about 50 percent contained after destroying 17 structures.  Watch the raging flames of the Santiago fire »

The smaller Rosa fire in Riverside County, 70 percent contained at just over 400 acres, was also a probably arson, state officials said.

As the fire danger eased, residents were allowed to return to several neighborhoods surrounding San Diego: Del Mar Highlands, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Carmel Valley, Chula Vista and Otay Mesa.

Helicopters were back in the air over the Lake Arrowhead, California, area after all air activity had been suspended because of extremely smoky skies.

In nearby Running Springs, CNN's Ted Rowlands stood in the midst of charred, smoldering rubble strewn with potentially deadly power lines.

"It will be a while before these people will come back. When they do come back, unfortunately they'll have this pretty much to look at," he said Wednesday.  Watch Rowlands describe a major battle with the flames »

About 500 homes were lost in the mountainous region in San Bernardino County east of Los Angeles.  See photos of the fires »

"Yesterday we couldn't be here, because just this little flame and smoldering pieces of wood would be thrown by the intense winds. ... Now you can see the flames just basically burning themselves out," said Rowlands.

The fires have already destroyed 1,664 structures --

What happened after Santa ana winds changed direction

Answer: $70,000

Answer: Winds that gusted as much as 101 mph on Sunday dropped to about 30 mph Wednesday evening.

Answer: $70,000

Answer: $70,000

Answer: increasing the humidity and easing the burden on almost 8,900 firefighters in the area.

Answer: Santiago

Answer: Southern California

Answer: fanned the flames, changed direction and began blowing inland from the Pacific Ocean, increasing the humidity and easing the burden on almost 8,900 firefighters in the area.

Answer: suspected arson.

Answer: Santa Ana

Answer: $70,000

Answer: $70,000

Summary:
Local and federal officials probe suspected arson, offer $70,000 reward .
Wind speeds drop, humidity increases after Santa Ana winds change direction .
President Bush signs major disaster declaration for Southern California .
Home losses will likely top $1 billion in San Diego County, official says .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Dust off every disaster plan from Washington to San Diego, scrutinize them to your heart's content, and it's still unlikely you'll find mention of the emergency services provided by Shary Shores. Eric Campbell of Palomar Mountain became a reluctant tailgater at Qualcomm Stadium with his two cockatiels. Shores, a volunteer registrar at San Diego's evacuee shelter, has appointed herself the shelter's "hugger." Every person she signs in gets a warm, heartfelt hug. Having lost her own home to foreclosure in March, Shores says she has empathy for the suddenly homeless. Her embraces may not be government-sanctioned, but they are appreciated. "I can't tell you how many people say 'Thank you. ... I needed that,'" Shores said. Welcome to Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers and, for the time being, thousands of people who have fled the California wildfires that destroyed nearly 1,600 homes and burned some 679 square miles. Some 76,000 people stayed in 42 San Diego County shelters Wednesday night, county emergency spokeswoman Lynda Pfieffer said. Those numbers were dropping as residents were allowed to return home. Qualcomm Stadium housed 11,000 evacuees at the peak of the disaster, but that number dropped to 5,000 Wednesday morning. Those staying in shelters represented only a small fraction of the nearly 1 million evacuees. "We believe many people are staying with family and friends or going to hotels," said Red Cross spokeswoman Jeanne Ellinport in Washington. Conceived on paper as a safe -- if uncomfortable -- refuge for thousands of people, Qualcomm Stadium has become in practice a wonderland of surprises. Were it not for the absence of a Ferris wheel, the tent city just inside the stadium's gates could be mistaken for a county fair.  Watch volunteers make life easier at Qualcomm » Stiltwalkers stroll around the grounds waving at gawking children. Food and drink are abundant. Signs hawk free massages, acupuncture treatments and spiritual aide. Math tutors -- admittedly not a staple of county fairs -- are available free of cost. "This is amazing, what's going on here," said Robert Norman, who sought shelter at Qualcomm with his wife and 1-year-old son. "They've made it very comfortable." The real purpose of this midway, however, becomes apparent only at second glance. At a booth where one might expect to buy cotton candy, a volunteer pharmacist dispenses aspirin and antacid. Other tents are labeled "Safeco Insurance" and "All State." Catholic Charities has erected a tent, as has a local politician. And, in a cold slap of reality, there is a drab tent where evacuees can privately read the list of homes that have been destroyed. The cost of homes destroyed by the wildfires is likely to top $1 billion in San Diego County alone, an emergency official said.  Watch how valiant efforts sometimes fall short » The outpouring of help has been so massive that some volunteers are being turned away, and donated food and water is being stored in tents in the far reaches of the stadium's parking lot. "If you need kosher food, we've got it!," exclaims Phillip Dewitt, a defense department contractor who is volunteering at the site. On Tuesday, volunteer teachers outnumbered kids three to one, said Edwin Lohr, another volunteer. Anitra Means showed up to volunteer on Tuesday and found herself managing one of several food banks that seemed to spontaneously appear on the midway's fringes. She doesn't know who organized the food bank, whether it be a city, state, federal government or a private enterprise, nor does she seem to care. Her one concern is that pallets of donated soup and pudding are appearing quicker then they are disappearing, she said, leaving her to wonder if food will be left over. Meanwhile, nearly 400 Red Cross volunteers from across the country were to arrive in the San Diego area Wednesday, said Red Cross worker John Degnan, who came in from Massachusetts. Also, 75 emergency

Which stadium has become a wonderland of surprises?

Volunteer registrar Shary Shores has appointed herself as what?

Who has appointed herself the shelter's "hugger"?

Answer: Qualcomm

Answer: the shelter's "hugger."

Answer: of homes that have been destroyed.

Answer: Qualcomm Stadium

Answer: a wonderland of surprises.

Answer: privately read the list of homes that have been destroyed.

Answer: "hugger."

Answer: Shores, a volunteer registrar at San Diego's evacuee

Summary:
Volunteer registrar Shary Shores has appointed herself the shelter's "hugger"
Qualcomm Stadium has become a wonderland of surprises .
Tent allows evacuees to privately read list of homes that have been destroyed .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Favorable weather and firefighter reinforcements helped ease the fire danger in parts of Southern California Thursday, but the human toll from the disaster was still coming to light.

A firefighter watches the Harris Fire. Four bodies were found in a canyon in the path of the blaze Thursday.

The number of deaths attributed directly to the fires grew to seven Thursday, after the charred bodies of four people believed to be illegal immigrants were found in a canyon east of San Diego.

Seven other deaths are labeled as fire-related: Three elderly people died during evacuations, and four others died after being evacuated.

Improving conditions allowed more people to come home Thursday, but new evacuations were ordered in areas where the unrelenting flames marched on.

Where residents could return, they often found ash and rubble in place of their homes.

"We see pictures from online and on TV, but it's just, it's much different when you see it up front," said Louela Binlac in front of what remained of her Rancho Bernardo home.

"The most important thing is that our family is still together, everybody is safe, and eventually we will rebuild again," she said. "Those things you can replace. We are just all grateful that everybody is safe."

Rancho Bernardo resident Marilyn Wood said it was "really scary" to come back to the pile of ashes she once called home. Her voice breaking, Wood vowed to rebuild and recounted how she and her husband, Gordon, fled early Monday with only minutes to spare.  See photos of the fires »

"(Our house) was burning as we were leaving," she said.

President Bush got a firsthand look at the aftermath of the devastating fires Thursday -- 10 still burning across seven counties.

He promised federal help for those affected by the fires.  Watch Bush tour the damage »

"We're not going to forget you in Washington, D.C.," the president said after touring the area by air and visiting Rancho Bernardo with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Watch a report on Bush as 'comforter-in-chief' »

Bush signed a federal disaster declaration Wednesday, freeing money to help residents rent temporary homes and repair damaged homes and businesses and to help local and state agencies pay for the emergency response.

The cost of homes destroyed by the wildfires is likely to top $1 billion in San Diego County alone, an emergency official said.

People left homeless by the fires can apply online for federal help at FEMA.gov, said Federal Emergency Management Agency Director David Paulison.  Watch a tour of FEMA's command center »

Almost 9,000 firefighters battled the blazes, augmented by reinforcements from dozens of states across the country.

Twenty-three fires have scorched 472,478 acres (738 square miles), an area roughly three-quarters of the size of Rhode Island.  See where the fires are still burning »

Along with homes and businesses, the flames have destroyed roughly one-third of San Diego County's lucrative avocado crop, along with other croplands, greenhouses and nurseries.

A change in the winds -- from a ferocious 100 mph on Sunday to an almost manageable 10 mph on Thursday -- brought welcome relief and allowed a full-bore aerial assault on the fires.

Reinforcements from across the country arrived to aid the exhausted firefighters, officials said.

While the fires still threatened some 25,000 homes, the burn rate in the region -- a measure made up of factors like wind speed, humidity and available fuel -- was significantly lower Thursday, a spokeswoman at the California Department of Forestry and Protection said.

Residents of several communities, including the city of San Diego, were allowed to return home Wednesday and Thursday, but more evacuations were ordered -- the latest covering the communities of Lake Henshaw and Mesa Grande and the La Jolla Indian Reservation in San Diego County.

With the shifting fires, some shelters closed as others opened closer to danger.

In San Diego, Mayor Jerry Sanders announced that Qualcomm Stadium -- the home of NFL's Chargers that

Who told fire victims they won't be forgotten in Washington?

What stadium is closing at noon on Friday?

Answer: the president

Answer: the fires

Answer: President Bush

Answer: San Diego,

Answer: Four bodies

Answer: in a canyon in the path of the blaze Thursday.

Answer: Four bodies were

Answer: Qualcomm

Answer: "We're not going

Summary:
NEW: Qualcomm Stadium to close as an emergency shelter at noon Friday .
Charred bodies of three men and a woman found near San Diego .
More than half of Southern California fires are fully contained .
Bush to fire victims: We're not going to forget you in Washington .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Firefighters in Southern California are facing wind-whipped walls of flame from 15 wildfires that have scorched more than 400,000 acres and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Firefighters battle the Witch fire Tuesday in the Del Dios area of Escondido, California.

The blazes have killed one person and injured at least 70 more.

Firefighters were aided by resources from Mexico, the state and federal governments and even inmates from California's prisons.

San Diego Fire Department Battalion Chief Bruce Cartelli described scenes of "utter devastation" with hundreds of homes lost and "many hundreds" of others damaged.

"It's probably the worst significant event in my career of 36 years," he said.

"It will not end ... until it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around," Cartelli said.

Meteorologists suggested that Santa Ana winds, which have fueled the wildfires with some gusts approaching 100 mph, could die down Wednesday afternoon.

"We are still facing some very serious fires," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said after an aerial tour of the affected area. "The weather has made it very difficult for the air assets to get up and fight the fires. ... If the weather cooperates, maybe we can turn the tide tomorrow."

Officials have evacuated nearly 350,000 homes in San Diego County alone, where the worst of the fires are blazing. Using U.S. Census Bureau numbers from the 2000 census, that could mean as many as 950,000 were affected by the fires.  Watch evacuees shaken, firefighters battling »

In San Diego County, at least half a million residents had been ordered to find refuge in shelters, schools and stadiums as fires pushed into new areas.

Among the evacuees as more than 4,000 military personnel from several bases in the area.

With the winds pushing them across the area, the fires spread quickly, forcing some residents to flee in the middle of the night.

"My wife woke me up like 12 o'clock, screaming and yelling that the flames were coming down," said Johnny Villanueva of Spring Valley, who fled with his wife and daughter to San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, which is serving as a shelter to more than 12,000 evacuees.

"We just loaded up the car really quick and came down here ... slept in our vehicles."

His wife, Elizabeth, added, "I saw on the mountain on fire, and said, 'Oh my God, my family. ... Let's go."

With Qualcomm Stadium being used by the evacuees, the San Diego Chargers planned to practice at the Arizona Cardinals' stadium in Glendale for next weekend's game.

Lake Arrowhead resident Michelle Dresser, who owns a business and was chased from her home by a wildfire last year, said she was waiting until the last minute to leave. She spent the night in her store, partly to help customers and neighbors.

"It is crazy. We are surrounded by fire on both sides," she said.

Asked by CNN where she would go, she replied, "I have to find someplace to accept two dogs, two cats and a turtle."  Watch people staying with pets at refuge »

Animals are allowed in Qualcomm Stadium, a nearby field and Del Mar Fairgrounds and Racetrack.

President Bush is scheduled to visit the area on Thursday, the White House said. Chertoff arrived in San Diego Tuesday afternoon for a "first-hand look" at the devastation.

"I wanted to see for myself, first of all, how the shelter situation is in San Diego, what the fires look like up close," Chertoff told CNN.

The secretary said that the federal response to the wildfires is "phenomenally better" than the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, "because we have been preparing and planning and training together for the last 2 ½ years."

"Unlike in Katrina ... we have now built the process ... and we've rehearsed it, so when we take the field, the team already knows what we need to do,

what county was 350,000 homes evacuated in

What number of people have been injured?

Who said no end until  it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around,

Were many homes in San Diego County evacuated?

Answer: San Diego

Answer: injured at least 70

Answer: killed one person and injured at least 70 more.

Answer: Cartelli

Answer: 350,000

Answer: 15 wildfires

Answer: "It will not end ... until it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around," Cartelli said.

Answer: Firefighters in Southern California are facing wind-whipped walls of

Answer: 400,000

Answer: San Diego

Summary:
No end "until it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around," official says .
Nearly 350,000 homes in San Diego County evacuated; 70 people injured .
Flames have charred 700,000 acres, more than 1,000 homes .
Not "enough fire engines in the state of California," Ventura County official says .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- In a recent commentary, I wrote that, as a Mexican-American, the ugliness of the immigration debate offends me -- not as a Mexican, but as an American. Ruben Navarrette Jr. lists 10 things U.S.-born Hispanics find distasteful about the immigration debate. A woman wrote in and asked me to be more specific: Just what was it about the immigration debate that was so ugly? She came to the right place. After nearly 20 years of writing opinions and insisting that I don't speak for all Hispanics, in recent months, I've heard from hundreds of Hispanics who -- appreciative of my middle-ground approach to the immigration issue -- insist that I can speak for them anytime. So, with the authority vested in me, I'll now share some of what other Hispanics are saying. It's not far off from what Janet Murguia had to say. As president of the National Council of La Raza, the largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States, Murguia recently delivered an important speech to the National Press Club. The topic: the immigration debate and what she called a wave of hate sweeping the land -- one that isn't limited to illegal immigrants, but which is now affecting all Hispanics regardless of where they were born, what language they speak or what flag they salute. The way Murguia sees it, immigration is "on the verge of becoming one of the largest civil rights issues of our generation." And, Hispanics are playing the piñata. Murguia was right on the button. To borrow a phrase, it's getting ugly out there. And U.S.-born Hispanics see it as plain as day. Here are 10 things they find distasteful about this debate: • The hypocrisy. We have two signs on the U.S.-Mexican border: "Keep Out" and "Help Wanted." • The racism. With lightning speed, the debate went from anti-illegal immigrant to anti-immigrant to anti-Mexican. • The opportunism. Too many politicians are trying too hard to portray themselves as tough on illegal immigration. • The simple solutions. "Build A Wall." "Deport All Illegals." A quick rule of thumb: If it fits on a bumper sticker, it's not a workable policy. • The naiveté. People ask why Mexico won't help stop illegal immigration. Hint: Last year, Mexicans in the United States sent home $25 billion. • The profiling. Dark skin and Spanish surnames shouldn't be proxies for undocumented status. Been to Arizona lately? • The meanness. Nazi-produced Internet video games let players shoot illegal immigrants crossing the border. Fun stuff. • The amnesia. Americans think grandpa was welcomed with open arms and that he plunged into the melting pot. Whatever. • The buck-passing. Americans love to blame Mexico for their choices, yelling across the border: "Stop us before we hire again." • The double standard. The same folks who have zero tolerance for illegal immigrants easily tolerate those who hire them. Some of this is painfully familiar, recalling earlier versions of this debate as it played out a hundred or two hundred years ago. Hispanics are the new Germans, the new Irish, the new Italians. But it's also ugly. It was then. It is now. Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist. Read his column here. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer. E-mail to a friend

Who shared what Hispanic readers are saying?

Who shares what Hispanic readers are saying to him?

Answer: immigration debate.

Answer: Ruben Navarrette Jr.

Answer: 10 things U.S.-born Hispanics find distasteful about the immigration debate.

Answer: Ruben Navarrette Jr.

Answer: 10 things U.S.-born Hispanics find distasteful about the immigration debate.

Summary:
Ruben Navarrette shares what Hispanic readers are saying to him .
He lists 10 things he says they find ugly about the immigration debate .
Hypocrisy, racism are two items they find distasteful, columnist says .