In this task, you are given news articles and you need to generate a highlight, i.e., a short summary, with a maximum length of 10 lines.

[Q]: (CNN) -- Travel warnings from the U.S. Department of State didn't stop Faith Hentschel, 65, from venturing to Iran this May to visit the rustic sites in ancient Persepolis and the colorful bazaars in Tehran. A photo of Khaju Bridge in Isfahan, Iran, taken by an American traveler. "I had no idea what to expect," said Hentschel, who spent two weeks in Iran after booking the trip through a private tour operator and applying for a visa. "I was stunned with the friendliness of all the Iranian people. That alone makes me want to go back." Iran is still a relatively rare destination for Americans, creating a niche market for only a handful of tour operators across the nation that organize group trips for travelers once or twice a year. And with news of the arrest of three American backpackers, along with the June election riots and government crackdown, Iran may be an even harder sell, some travel companies said. "It really depends on the political climate and the perception of Iran," said Mike McDonnell, who operates the site BestIranTravel.com in San Francisco, California. The site books trips for non-Iranian travelers interested in visiting. His site saw a decline in booking travel to Iran this summer. "It's already really hard to get to Iran in the first place." Officials at the U.S. Department of State say travel warnings have been implemented on Iran since the hostage crisis in 1979, when militants captured 52 American diplomats and staff. The Americans were held for 444 days. Since then, the two countries have had no diplomatic relations. U.S. passports are valid for travel to Iran and visas are required to enter the country, according to the State Department Web site. Going with an organized tour group is the easiest way to attain a visa. Travelers who do visit Iran run the risk of being denied entry, U.S. officials say. In some cases, Iranian officials have prevented American citizens, academics, scientists and journalists from leaving the country, and even detained, interrogated and imprisoned some on unknown or various charges, the Web site said. "It's made well-known that the destination [Iran] could be perilous for American citizens," said Darby Holladay, spokesman at the State Department. Last week, three Americans were detained after crossing into northern Iran during a hiking trip. The two men and one woman, said to be seasoned travelers, began their trip in Turkey and went into Iraq before crossing the unmarked border into Iran. The U.S. State Department and the Australian and British government warn against traveling into the border zones. "Obviously, we are concerned," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday to reporters. "We want this matter brought to a resolution as soon as possible." Mudhafer Mohammed, owner of the Miwan Hotel, told CNN that the hikers said they had come to the area because they heard it was safe. Mohammed said he tried to discourage them from going to Ahmed Awa, a popular tourist destination in the northern Kurdish region of Iraq. "I told them, 'Don't go there because it is unsafe for you because you're American and Ahmed Awa is very close to the Iranian border,' " Mohammed told CNN. It is unclear whether the three wandered into Iran accidentally or intentionally entered the country. Pauline Frommer, creator of the Pauline Frommer's Travel Guides, said it's  safer when visiting countries in conflict to use travel companies and tour operators that rely on local accommodations and guides. She warned against staying in big hotel chains, which have been targets in recent terrorist attacks in Indonesia and India. "When it's an iffy destination, it's always a good idea to try and travel under the radar," she said. "You don't want to be a target." Despite worries about safety, demand for visiting Iran has grown in recent years. Last May, travel writer Rick Steves shot a 10-day video of his visit to Iran in a one-hour special that launched on PBS. The project cleared up misconceptions about Iran and sparked Americans' interest in traveling there, travel experts said. At Geographic Expeditions, a luxury travel company that organizes trips to Iran, the number of participants doubled from 25 in 2007 to 50 in 2008. Spiekermann Travel Service, Inc., one of the oldest travel agencies that specializes in Iranian travel, has booked more than 350 tours to the country since it began operating there in 1995. "My path is known," said Ihab Zaki, owner of Spiekermann, which is based in Michigan. He said he began offering tours after he visited the country himself and was awed by its history and art. "We send all our paperwork to local governments and they know we are coming. I don't let my people roam around in the middle of nowhere. It's very safe." But the recent uncertainty in Iran has caused interest to wane. Spiekermann's bi-annual trips to Iran, limited to 14 travelers, usually sell out. But only four have signed up for the fall trip. Far Horizons Archaeological & Cultural Trips, Inc. in San Anselmo, California planned a second trip to Iran for October after their first trip in May sold out. But owner Mary Dell Lucas said the trip maybe be canceled because travelers are withdrawing. "What's happening most recently is scaring people," she said. "Those three Americans made a mistake, but with us, it's very different. We are taking a group, and we are invited." Lucas' firm and other tour companies say they take precautions.  Participants are required to abide by Iranian law, which means women must dress conservatively and cover their heads with scarves. A professor and a local guide, who are familiar with the country, accompany the American travelers. Barbara Bailey, a 73-year-old from rural Ohio, went on a two-week vacation to Iran last April with a tour group. Her favorite part of the trip was talking to the Iranian women at the local restaurants. "I went because nobody has really been before, and I know they have a wonderful history," Bailey said. "If you can get past the government, the people there are great." If travelers can't afford to spend between $6,000 and $10,000 on organized excursions of  two or three weeks and decide to backpack, they still need to follow the rules, said Jon Dorn, editor in chief of Backpackers Magazine. "If you're going to a place that's not like America, then do your homework on what's appropriate," said Dorn. Backpackers Magazine, an online and print publication specializing in backpacking, hiking and travel, reaches 2.5 million readers in the U.S. Dave Stevenson, who oversees the Web site www.travel-security-and-safety.com, said hikers should be equipped with GPS systems, satellite or cell phones and maps when traveling in border areas, especially in conflict zones. They should also notify relatives back home where they are hiking abroad. "The world is a big place," Stevenson said, "And there are always plenty of places to hike that aren't dangerous or war zones." CNN's Arwa Damon contributed to this report.
[A]: Three American hikers were detained last week by Iranian officials .
A handful of tour operators provide tours for Americans to visit Iran .
A U.S. passport is valid in Iran; visitors need a visa .
Travel warnings for Iran have been in place since the 1979 hostage crisis .


[Q]: (CNN) -- Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards was released from federal prison Thursday after serving about 10 years, the federal Bureau of Prisons said. Edwards was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy and extortion after prosecutors said he asked for payoffs from people who applied for riverboat casino licenses in New Orleans in the 1990s. Edwards, 83, had pursued a pardon from President George W. Bush, but never got one. He began serving his sentence in February 2001. He was released from prison to a halfway house, said Edmond Ross, spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons. At Edwards' trial in 2000, star witness Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, got a reduced sentence in exchange for testifying about his own $400,000 bribe to Edwards. He said he had felt compelled to make the payment. DeBartolo ended up not going through with the project after the scandal broke. Allegations of corruption dogged Edwards throughout much of his political career, but he always maintained that he'd never lose an election, and famously joked that he'd keep his office unless he was caught "in bed with a dead girl or a live boy." Frequently during his trial -- for allegedly extorting almost $3 million from casino applicants -- he held his own court on the courthouse steps. "Today, I took care of some housekeeping and had my car fixed and went and cashed a check before they freeze my accounts," he told reporters at one point. Edwards served several terms in office -- from 1972 to 1980, 1984 to 1988 and 1992 to 1996. The Democrat, U.S. Navy aviation cadet and lawyer began his career as a city councilman and state representative before being elected to Congress, and then governor. He won his first gubernatorial term "by an unprecedented combination of 'Cajun' and black votes," according to his biography on the Louisiana Secretary of State's website. "Edwards named blacks to key state positions and his support of black politicians resulted in a mutually beneficial relationship," the biography says. His third term "was marked by federal indictments, but not convictions, for mail fraud, obstruction of justice and public bribery," the biography adds. The bio does not refer to Edwards' conviction later on. The U.S. District Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, on its website, describes Edwards as "leader of the corrupt enterprise whose objectives included the illegal and corrupt manipulation of the riverboat gaming licensing process during and after his four terms as governor." "Also convicted were Edwin's son, Stephen Edwards and his close associates Andrew Martin, Cecil Brown, and Bobby Johnson," the office says. CNN's Dave Alsup contributed to this report.
[A]: The former governor was convicted of extortion in casino industry .
Edwards had pursued a pardon from President Bush .
A former NFL team owner testified about a bribe during Edwards' trial .
Edwards said he'd keep his office unless he was caught with a "dead girl or a live boy"


[Q]: (CNN) -- The historic measure to regulate and tax marijuana in Washington State deserves to be looked at closely as a model of how legalization ought to be designed and implemented elsewhere in America. We've turned a significant corner with the approval of Initiative 502, which purposefully offers a true public health alternative to the criminal prohibition of pot. For the first time in a very long time, the well-intended but failed criminal penalties to protect public health and safety will be set aside. Adults who choose to use marijuana and obtain it through legal outlets will no longer be faced with the threat of criminal sanctions. People of color will no longer face the egregious inequities in how marijuana criminal penalties are imposed. Parents, as they help prepare their children for the choices they face concerning marijuana, will no longer be hobbled by misinformation about the drug and the absence of effective supports to encourage abstinence. "The great experiment" of alcohol prohibition became the national law in 1920. Its intentions were good, but it failed in a number of vitally important ways. In 1923, the state of New York repealed its alcohol prohibition law. Ten other states soon followed, and in 1933 national Prohibition ended. I believe Washington state has just played that pivotal role with regard to marijuana. Moreover, by borrowing from public health model principles known to be effective, the state has offered the most compelling replacement to prohibition considered to date. What is a public health model? In brief, it's an approach that acknowledges use of marijuana can present harms to the user and to public safety, and includes provisions to prevent or ameliorate those harms. A public health model includes six key elements. Washington state's new law incorporates each of them. The first is accountable oversight by an agency of government. The Washington state legalization model assigns responsibility to a state agency for writing regulations concerning how the growing, producing and selling of marijuana will occur. Among those regulations are tight limitations on advertising and the prevention of access to marijuana by minors. Then, that agency will have the authority to issue licenses to growers, producers and sellers and to enforce adherence to the rules. The second element is a well-funded multifaceted marijuana education program that is based on science rather than ideology. Far too few Americans are sufficiently informed about marijuana's effects on health and behavior, both the positive and the negative. A key to good decision-making is possessing accurate information. The third element is well-funded prevention programs widely available to all the state's geographical and demographic communities. We've learned a great deal about what knowledge, skills and community supports actually work in helping young people navigate a world in which drugs such as marijuana are readily available. Sadly, far too little funding has been devoted to putting such programs to work in our communities. A fourth element is making treatment of marijuana dependence readily available. The new law dedicates funding to establish a statewide Marijuana Help Line. It also earmarks funding to state, county and local governments for the provision of services for those in need of help. Evaluation of the new law's impact is the fifth element. An independent state agency will receive funding to conduct periodic assessments of how the new system affects behaviors, attitudes and knowledge. Using the findings of these evaluative studies, the state agency overseeing the pricing and taxing of marijuana can adjust those costs to maximize undercutting of the black market and deterrence of youth access to marijuana. The sixth element is research. The new law earmarks funding to the state's two major research universities for the purpose of conducting marijuana-focused studies. As we gradually learn how to live more healthfully and safely with marijuana, the knowledge derived from those studies will inform education, prevention, treatment and refinements in the law. In more than 40 years of research -- primarily marijuana dependence counseling interventions for adults and adolescents -- it has seemed to me that prohibition has hindered more than it has helped good decision-making. Far too many teens think smoking pot is "no big deal," greatly underestimating the risk of being derailed from social, psychological and educational attainment. Far too many adults don't take seriously enough the risk of marijuana dependence that accompanies very frequent use. We can do better. By regulating and taxing marijuana based on a set of strong public health principles, I believe our cultural norms concerning marijuana will shift and the harms we've witnessed will greatly reduce. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Roger A. Roffman.
[A]:
On Tuesday, voters in Washington state and Colorado legalized recreational marijuana .
Roger Roffman: Washington state's historical measure deserve close attention .
He says the state has offered the most compelling replacement to prohibition to date .
Roffman: Prohibition has hindered more than it has helped good decision-making .