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.

[EX Q]: Washington (CNN) -- In what one member of Congress called "a charade," a couple that showed up at President Obama's first state dinner -- uninvited, the White House claims -- declined to answer questions surrounding the event before a House committee Wednesday. Under questioning from House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, and others, Tareq Salahi repeated over and over again, "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your question." The Salahis' attorney notified the committee in December that because of a pending investigation by federal prosecutors, they would not answer questions about how they gained entry to the White House on November 24, despite not being on the guest list to attend that night's state dinner for the prime minister of India. In a brief statement that opened the often-contentious hearing, Salahi chastised the committee for requiring the couple to appear despite having been told the two would invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if subpoenaed. That, he alleged, is against the ethical rules of the Washington bar. He incensed some committee members by reiterating the couple's respect for U.S. troops, the Secret Service and the president. "You have shown effrontery here," said Daniel Lungren, R-California. He called it "an abomination" that the Salahis would invoke the name of those in uniform "and suggest that somehow what you do provides support to them." "The Constitution protects fools," Lungren said. "The Constitution protects stupidity. The Constitution protects errant thought. Thank God it does." "This was not a hearing looking for information," the couple's attorney, Stephen Best, told reporters after the hearing. "This was an opportunity for a public flogging." "I think today's procedure is a charade," Rep. Mark Souder, R-Indiana, said in the hearing, referring to the Salahis' refusal to answer questions. Other committee members also lambasted the couple, alleging they put their own desire for celebrity before the security of the president and are wasting the committee's time and taxpayers' money. "I don't respect your right to take the Fifth Amendment. Not at all," Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, told the couple. "Were you there?" he asked Salahi, referring to the dinner. When Salahi began, "On the advice ..." Pascrell interrupted him, asking, "Are you here right now? You gonna get an answer from your attorney on that?" Pascrell noted the committee had offered to allow the couple to speak behind closed doors. After conferring with his attorney, Salahi said, "Yes, but you didn't offer us any legal protection." Salahi's wife, Michaele, also invoked her Fifth Amendment right under questioning by committee members, but replied, "yes," when asked if she would return to testify after the investigation has concluded. Asked by Thompson whether the state dinner appearance was part of a "reality TV stunt," Tareq Salahi said the couple was under a non-disclosure agreement and "should not discuss matters related to the television matter." The Salahis contend they were told they could attend the program to honor India's prime minister, but the White House says they were not invited and were not on the guest list for the exclusive affair. Best said after the hearing the couple received "representations that they relied upon" that they were invited guests. Two Secret Service investigators were privy to this information from a person who knows the Salahis, he said. "This was not a stunt, and they committed no criminal act." There was no connection to any reality TV show, he said, and the Salahis were not seeking publicity. The couple has turned down multiple offers from the media to be "rewarded handsomely," he added. "Whatever the real story is, it's on the other side of the gates of the White House, not with the Salahis," Best said. "They thought they were invited. ... If it was a misunderstanding, it was a misunderstanding caused by representatives of the government." Tareq Salahi also noted in his opening statement that the couple's attorneys have offered to provide information to the committee, but that offer was declined by Thompson's staff. "Those offers are not satisfactory," Thompson said. "These lawyers were not at the state dinner and have no firsthand knowledge of the facts." Tareq Salahi also said the couple has provided phone records, e-mails and other documentary evidence to the committee. There also was criticism of the White House in Wednesday's hearing. Rep. Peter King, R-New York, said the White House "continues to stonewall" and will not allow social secretary Desiree Rogers to testify on the security breach. Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs has said that allowing a White House staff member to testify before a congressional committee would violate the Constitution's separation of powers. "I don't know what the White House is trying to hide," King said. "Obviously, something went wrong, and it originated with the White House, not the Secret Service." Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, in previous testimony before the committee, took responsibility for the security breach, acknowledging that "appropriate procedures were not followed." Rep. Charles Dent, R-Pennsylvania, said Wednesday he thought it was "unfortunate" that Sullivan "had to take all that grief from us." "I hold you responsible for it," he told the Salahis. "Your actions ... made a mockery of this country, a mockery of our security," Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, told the couple. "I'm saddened, and I'm disappointed, and I'm outraged." Best reiterated afterward the Salahis do not want the events surrounding the dinner to detract from the "extraordinary institution" of the Secret Service. "They are Americans," he said. "They are proud Americans."
[EX A]: Tareq and Michaele Salahi decline to answer questions at congressional hearing .
House panel looking into how the couple attended state dinner in November .
White House says they weren't invited; Secret Service says procedures not followed .
Salahis' attorney says they can't answer questions because of pending investigation .

[EX Q]: (CNN)On what would have been the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 86th birthday, the Academy Awards decided to snub a beautiful film made about a seminal moment in his life. "Selma" did pick up two nominations, including one for best picture. But when the Hollywood gods consider a film to be truly great, its actors and/or actresses, screenplay and particularly its director are also recognized. "Selma" is a good film that told a great story, at least according to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters. Those voters are 93% white, 76% male and the average age is 63, according to a 2012 analysis by the Los Angeles Times. But did those demographics play a role in how "Selma" was received? True, the historical drama has been besieged by criticism over accuracy, particularly its portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson. In the film, King and Johnson are depicted as a lot more adversarial than the actual tapes of their conversation suggests. But it's hard to see that being the reason for its snub: "Gravity" was nominated for 10 Oscars, won seven, and yet you won't find an astronaut who would describe the film as accurate. And "Dallas Buyer's Club" was also a 2014 Oscar darling that sprinkled creative liberties all over a true story. Race could be invoked as a factor when you remember the email exchange between two top-level Sony executives that became public courtesy of  "The Interview" hack. In it they joked about the kind of movie President Obama prefers and then began listing only those starring black people. But the two were also unkind to Jeffrey Katzenberg in that same exchange. There were backstabbing remarks revealed in emails about Angelina Jolie and Adam Sandler as well. My point is -- and I'm sure I'm at risk of losing my black card for writing this -- when those same old, white men made "12 Years A Slave" a favorite of the Oscars just a year ago, it is hard to say the snubbing of "Selma" is all about the demographics of the voters. Some, sure. But all? Remember, these people live in a land of make believe, where it's normal for the inhabitants to be injected with silicone. Oscar snubbings could come from a thousand superficial reasons, like someone sleeping with or not sleeping with the right person at the right time. In a town full of gay men, the heart wrenching "Brokeback Mountain" somehow lost out to the woefully mediocre "Crash." Leonardo DiCaprio's trophy case continues to sit empty. And I will never understand how "Shakespeare in Love" beat "Saving Private Ryan" for best picture. Truth be told. my favorite film of 2014 was "The Drop" and I don't think that was nominated for anything by anyone. It would have been wonderful to see "Selma" director Ava DuVernay become the first black female director nominated for an Oscar. She is incredibly talented and it is always nice to be recognized by peers. But I do not need her to win an Oscar to tell me how I should feel about "Selma." I do not need the Academy to tell me how I should spend my money at the movies. I do not need old, white men to validate a story so deeply personal and relevant to me today. That's not to suggest Hollywood's racism should not be called out. Only that the true story of Selma is much more than calling out racism. To paraphrase the acceptance speech Common gave at the Golden Globes on Sunday, "Selma" the movie and Selma the historic marches are about the awakening of our humanity. The old guard at the Oscars has the power to snub "Selma" for whatever reason it sees fit. But as a summer full of marches for the fight for equality reminded us, Hollywood has neither the power to snub nor the authority to validate Selma.
[EX A]: LZ: "Selma's" 2 Oscar nominations seen as a snub by some; Academy voters mostly white .
He says calling out Hollywood racism fine, but it may not be the reasons for only 2 nods .
LZ: I don't need Academy to tell me how I feel about Selma, which is about awakening humanity .

[EX Q]: BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN)  -- The operator of a trolley that rear-ended another trolley should have been able to see the other vehicle was stopped 480 feet ahead, a federal investigator said Monday. Passengers walk past firefighters at a Green Line station in Boston after the trolley collision Friday evening. The trolley driver has told investigators he was text messaging during Friday night's collision, which injured 20 people. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which previously had banned operators from using cell phones and other portable devices, now has told employees to leave the devices at home while on duty, National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman said Monday. Hersman also noted investigators have determined that the operator may have missed some crucial indications of a stopped trolley ahead on the tracks.  Watch new transit rule on cell phones » . "There were several signals -- two green signals, a yellow signal and a red signal -- coming out of the station, and the point of collision occurred 80 feet past that red signal," Hersman said. "We did a site-distance test, and we know that the operator had the ability to see the trolley stopped in front of him 480 feet in advance of the collision." Boston officials said over the weekend that the trolley operator was using his cell phone. Numerous media outlets, including CNN's Boston affiliates, have identified the driver as 24-year-old Aiden Quinn. "The operator of the striking train was interviewed at the hospital by two detectives," said MBTA general manager Daniel Grabauskas. "He admitted that he was texting at the time of the accident." The operator told detectives that, when he looked up, "it was too late as he applied the brake and the train struck the other trolley," Grabauskas said. He described himself as "outraged." "We have reinforced for a number of years that the use of cell phones or any other kinds of electronic devices while operating a train or a bus is absolutely prohibited," Grabauskas said. Though the investigation is ongoing, he said, the two-year employee will be fired if his version of events is confirmed. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening, the MBTA said. The collision happened at 7:18 p.m. ET Friday as the Green Line trains were traveling between the Park Street and Government Center stations in downtown Boston. Both trains were traveling westbound when one train rear-ended the second, an MBTA official said. A train operator also was text messaging last year in a California train crash that killed 25 people. CNN's Rob Frehse and Gary Bender contributed to this report.
[EX A]:
Federal investigator says Boston trolley crashed 80 feet past a red light .
Trolley driver told investigators he was texting during wreck that injured 20 people .
Drivers already banned from using phones; authority now says keep them at home .