user: Input: NEW: Senate approves bill expanding hate crimes law. Measure would make it a crime to assault person because of sexual orientation. Religious groups fear law could criminalize conservative speech. Attorney general says it will be used only to prosecute violence.
Output: WASHINGTON (CNN)  -- The Senate passed groundbreaking legislation Thursday that would make it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. President Obama has said the country must make significant changes to ensure equal rights. The expanded federal hate crimes law now goes to President Obama's desk. Obama has pledged to sign the measure, which was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill. President George W. Bush had threatened to veto a similar measure. The bill is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped and severely beaten in October 1998, and James Byrd Jr., an African-American man dragged to death in Texas the same year. "Knowing that the president will sign it, unlike his predecessor, has made all the hard work this year to pass it worthwhile," said Judy Shepard, board president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation named for her son. "Hate crimes continue to affect far too many Americans who are simply trying to live their lives honestly, and they need to know that their government will protect them from violence, and provide appropriate justice for victims and their families." Several religious groups have expressed concern that a hate-crimes law could be used to criminalize conservative speech relating to subjects such as abortion or homosexuality. Attorney General Eric Holder has asserted that any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, as opposed to the prosecution of speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs. Holder called Thursday's 68-29 Senate vote to approve the defense spending bill that included the hate crimes measure "a milestone in helping protect Americans from the most heinous bias-motivated violence." Watch survivor of attack discuss legislation ». "The passage of this legislation will give the Justice Department and our state and local law enforcement partners the tools we need to deter and prosecute these acts of violence," he said in a statement. Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called the measure "our nation's first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people." "Too many in our community have been devastated by hate violence," Solmonese said in a statement. "We now can begin the important steps to erasing hate in our country." This month, Obama told the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest gay rights group, that the nation still needs to make significant changes to ensure equal rights for gays and lesbians. "Despite the progress we've made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open," he said during his address at the dinner for the Human Rights Campaign. "This fight continues now, and I'm here with the simple message: I'm here with you in that fight." Among other things, Obama has called for the repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military, the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He also has urged Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and pass the Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act. The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage, for federal purposes, as a legal union between a man and a woman. It allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. The Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act would extend family benefits now available to heterosexual federal employees to gay and lesbian federal workers. More than 77,000 hate-crime incidents were reported by the FBI between 1998 and 2007, or "nearly one hate crime for every hour of every day over the span of a decade," Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee in June. The FBI, Holder added, reported 7,624 hate-crime incidents in 2007, the most current year with complete data.

Input: Carlos Ortiz is indicted, accused of accessory to murder after the fact. Prosecutors spoke at a bail hearing for a co-defendant. Prosecutors disclosed that Hernandez allegedly called the co-defendant several times. Hernandez is charged in the death of Odin Lloyd, who was shot in June.
Output: A Massachusetts grand jury has indicted an associate of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in a shooting death, Bristol County, Massachusetts, District Attorney Sam Sutter said Friday. Carlos Ortiz, 27, of Bristol, Connecticut, was indicted on a single count of accessory to murder after the fact in connection with the June 17 killing of Odin Lloyd. Hernandez pleaded not guilty this month to first-degree murder in Lloyd's death. The indictment comes after a bail reduction hearing Thursday for another co-defendant, Ernest Wallace, in Fall River, Massachusetts, revealed new details in the murder case against Hernandez. Bristol County prosecutors, according to spokesman Gregg Miliote, told a judge that Hernandez was the only one who got out of a car with Lloyd in a deserted industrial park on June 17, before Lloyd was allegedly shot multiple times, execution-style, by Hernandez. That's different from an earlier scenario laid out by investigators. At first, Ortiz allegedly told investigators that Wallace and Hernandez got out of the car with Lloyd before shots were fired. Since then, prosecutors say, Ortiz changed his story. "Initially Mr. Ortiz's statement was Mr. Wallace got out of the car and now his statement is that Mr. Wallace stayed in the car," Sutter said outside of court Thursday. When asked by a reporter if he was concerned about the fact that Ortiz had changed his story, he replied: "Not at all." Ortiz's lawyer, John Connors, said it is not uncommon for a witness's story to change. "Almost every case I've ever been involved in, the story changes during interrogation," Connors said. "When a professional interrogation takes place, at the end of it sometimes you have trouble remembering your own name." Connors stopped short of using the word credible to describe his client. "He's a young guy who got caught up in a situation, and when all this came about, he was frightened and confused, as you can imagine anyone would be," Connors said. "I believe he's an honest guy." Ortiz will enter a plea of not guilty to the new charge, his attorney said. Wallace also has pleaded not guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder. Man suing Hernandez says there's no reason to delay the suit. At the Thursday hearing, a judge refused to reduce Wallace's $500,000 bail, despite attorney David Meier's insistence that his client has "every intention" and "every incentive to appear at every court hearing." In court, the district attorney's office also disclosed that Hernandez allegedly made several phone calls to Wallace after Lloyd's body was discovered. "Mr. Hernandez ... immediately makes cell phone telephone calls to Mr. Wallace upon police arriving at his house," Assistant District Attorney Patrick Bomberg told the judge. Hernandez was not arrested until 10 days after the slaying. Wallace turned himself in to police in Miramar, Florida, at his family's home more than a week later after taking a bus to Florida from Georgia. During Thursday's bail hearing, prosecutors told a judge that Hernandez's cousin, Tanya Singleton, drove Wallace to Georgia, and when her car broke down, bought him a bus ticket to the go the rest of the way. Singleton remains jailed after being indicted for contempt of court. She's been charged with refusing to testify before a grand jury. Aaron Hernandez pal pleads not guilty to accessory charge in Odin Lloyd killing.

Input: Wayne Rooney played an hour in front of Man Utd's defence vs Burnley. Rooney was filling in for the injured Daley Blind on Wednesday night. Louis van Gaal has been playing Rooney in midfield for most of the season. He is just 26 goals away from becoming United's all-time top scorer. 29-year-old scored overhead kick winner against Manchester City in 2011. Van Gaal: Rooney can solve Man United's midfield problem. Rooney in midfield? Sportsmail's experts pick their United XIs. CLICK HERE for all the latest Manchester United news.
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assistant: Four years ago, Wayne Rooney scored one of the best goals of his career, an overhead kick against Manchester City. For some time afterwards, City captain Vincent Kompany admitted the image of Rooney mid-air was burned on to his retina. United won the Barclays Premier League that season. Rooney’s return of 16 club goals was modest for him but many of them were important. He scored against Liverpool, Chelsea (twice), Arsenal and in a Champions League semi-final and final against Schalke and Barcelona respectively. Now, Rooney – the captain of his club and his country – is having to adjust to drastically changed circumstances at Old Trafford and one wonders just how long England’s most celebrated modern centre forward will allow it to last. Wayne Rooney scores the memorable overhead kick against Manchester City on February 12, 2011. The Manchester United captain stands in celebration of his wonder strike at Old Trafford. Rooney scored 16 goals during the 2010-11 season to help United win the Premier League title. 13 - The 29-year-old has just 13 shots on target in 21 league appearances this season. Last season he registered 43 shots on target in 29 appearances. 84.38 - His pass accuracy has increased this season playing in a deeper role. 4 - But only four of his 1,210 passes have set up team-mates for league goals. He has created 30 chances in 21 games, compared to 56 in 29 last season. The statistics of Rooney’s season are remarkable. He is in the middle of his worst scoring run since 2006 – having scored in just one of his last 11 United games – and has not managed to have a single shot on goal since the turn of the calendar year. That last statistic is so startling, Rooney himself was stunned to learn of it. But when he looks back at his latest 90 minutes, against Burnley on Wednesday, he will certainly begin to understand it. Rooney has not always played as a traditional number nine at United. Far from it. He has played left and right and he has played in the fashionable ten position. He has always been a selfless and versatile footballer. In Louis van Gaal’s team, however, Rooney has been asked to perform a conventional midfield role. On Wednesday – after an injury to Daley Blind – he spent an hour playing in front of his own back four. After an injury to Daley Blind, the United skipper was deployed in front of the back four against Burnley. Rooney's heat map against Burnley shows that he spent the majority of the game behind the halfway line. The 29-year-old joins Chris Smalling in celebration of the defender's second goal of the night. It was a staggering and unedifying sight as United’s most potent forward player scuffled about in the cheap seats simply because Van Gaal – by his own subsequent admission – had no one else in his squad he could trust to do it. In the second half he was booked. Those of us who have watched Rooney over the years recognised the pattern. As his frustration built, he began to niggle at opponents, snipe at the officials. He was eventually cautioned for persistent offending. Classic Rooney. As always, he did his utmost to drag his team through the game. Up ahead of him, though, the glamour pairing of Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao lumbered through the night like a couple on a rather uncomfortable first date. They were wooden and inhibited and Van Gaal eventually called time early by hauling Falcao from the field. Louis van Gaal has been asking Rooney to play in a conventional midfield role. United loanee Radamel Falcao (right) has struggled to make an impact when playing up front. The former Everton youngster gets stuck into a challenge during United's 2-0 victory in January. Publicly, Rooney has said nothing about his current role. He admires Van Gaal, is impressed by his CV and his thoroughness and clarity. Be under no illusion, though, this will be irritating the hell out him. Eventually we can expect the dam to burst and if that happens Van Gaal will have a problem to deal with. Still only 29, Rooney remains ambitious and, more importantly, he still sees himself as a centre forward. He is by all accounts proving to be a much better captain than some at Old Trafford expected, especially away from the field. Publicly, Rooney has said nothing about his current role and admires United boss Van Gaal. Rooney is in the middle of his worst scoring run since 2006 – having scored in just one of his last 11 games. Nevertheless, Rooney still has a desperate hunger for goals and glory, both collective and individual. The longer he remains stuck 25 goals behind Sir Bobby Charlton’s club record of 249 and the longer United remain muddled and detached from genuine league title contention, the greater the risk of disenfranchising the player Van Gaal’s team really should be built around. The days of English clubs playing two centre forwards – the Toshack/Keegan days - are all but gone. In some ways, coaches have become too sophisticated for their own good. Rooney understands this but is also self-aware enough to always have one eye on his own future. After all, when he signed his big new contract in February 2014, he did not do so thinking that only a year later he would be spending his time doing a less than convincing impression of Michael Carrick. United have had to do without defensive midfielder Michael Carrick (right) for large parts of the season. Rooney remains stuck 25 goals behind Sir Bobby Charlton’s club record of 249 for United.