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(CNN) -- Scoobers, hammers and laying out - it's the "ultimate" flying saucer attack. And if Mark Poole is right, his sport could soon be coming to an Olympics near you. Poole is one of an estimated five million people who are taking to green spaces across the United States to play a game that is particularly booming at college level. But forget outdated notions of dogs scurrying after flying discs in the park, ultimate is a frenetic pursuit that blends aspects of football and rugby into a dynamic "frisbee" package. And Poole firmly believes a movement that began with the idle toss of a cake pan lid on a Santa Monica beach some 76 years ago is destined for a slot at the greatest sporting show on earth. "I think that ultimate will become an Olympic sport," Poole, who plays for Atlanta-based team Chain Lightning, told CNN's Human to Hero series. "The sport has got better on the whole. There are more players that are picking it up in high school and in middle school, and the level of talent is continuing to get younger. "So we have young kids who are coming out and being stars at the highest level because they're starting so early. "There's a bunch of amateurs already doing it, and I think it's an international sport, so we can easily play against other teams and we're already doing it -- it's just being part of the Olympics." According to the USA Ultimate website, membership of college clubs has doubled in the past 10 years, while participation internationally is also growing. More than 42 countries play the game, with teams from Japan, Sweden, Great Britain and Australia also thriving. But how do you play it? Ultimate is contested between two teams, each consisting of seven players. The aim is to pass your way into the opposition's end zone, just like in American Football, but once in possession players aren't allowed to run with the disc. The concept was born in California back in the late 1930s when a teenage Fred Morrison and his girlfriend started throwing a popcorn lid back and forth on the beach. Through various incarnations this led to Morrison manufacturing his own plastic discs, which were then bought in the 1950s and patented as "Frisbees" by the Wham-O company. Millions were sold worldwide and by the 1970s the origins of Ultimate had been born. Poole and his Chain Lightning gang are chief exponents of the sport, winning the USA national championships in 2009. The 29-year-old was also selected in the U.S. ultimate beach team back in 2011, his proudest achievement in the game to date. Players are constantly harrying round the field of play creating space, executing a variety of throws -- including the "hammer" and the "scoober" -- and flinging themselves around attempting to catch the disc. Poole says any budding players must be equipped with the three pillars of ultimate: to run hard, jump high and throw far. But while the game moves at a fast pace, respect is a key component, because ultimate is ultimately self-policed. "Competition is great, but you want to have good spirit," Poole explained. "I am a proponent of it. I think it's great. "We don't have any referees in the game, and so people have to make calls against each other and they have to be respectful. We do have observers, though, and they've been very helpful I think. "They help speed up the game, they keep the clock between points, they keep discussions between two players to a minimum. They let you discuss what you saw, what the other player saw, but then they'll try to come to an agreement or a decision quicker than if they weren't there. "I think there are still bad calls made -- sometimes observers miss calls just like referees, and they're human. I mean, we're all human, we're going to make the wrong call sometimes, but I think on the whole they have a very positive effect on the game." If the sport can be classified as quirky, so can some of the names of the teams who compete in the Triple Crown tour alongside Poole's Lightning. Furious George, Neon Yellow Panda Dragons (NYPD), Seattle Sockeye and Revolver are just some of the clubs involved. Poole has friends from various teams and says that even though they are spread far and wide, the overriding theme of the league is community. "I love ultimate because of the players, the people that are involved with it -- they're just very inviting, very welcoming," he said. "I think that's the best part of ultimate. "It's a situation where you can play competitively and then go out for a drink, go out for food afterwards, even though you're playing against those players you can still be friends off the field." It might only be a small disc weighing just 175 grams but there are many ways to manipulate it around the playing field. As Poole explains, the two most common throws are backhand and forehand, just like in tennis, and the best players complete pinpoint passes with a simple flick of the wrist. The more complicated maneuvers include the hammer, an overhead throw that travels far faster than either the forehand or backhand, used to quickly switch play from one side of the field to the other. Then there's the scoober, a short flick used to loop the disc over a defender, typically no more than 15 or 20 yards. But despite the variations of throw, Poole's favorite aspect of the game is attempting to catch. "My favorite thing to do is lay out," he said. "I dive for the disc, leave my feet and catch the disc as it's going to the ground. "It means that I can't run it out, I need to extend as far as possible to catch the disc. The disc is the most important thing in ultimate. "You have to maintain possession, so laying out if you have to do it, you've got to do it." Ultimate now has two pro leagues in the United States and interest is growing, but for now the Chain and their players are doing it purely for the love of the game. As Poole says with a smile: "I make zero dollars playing ultimate, but I spend way more than that."

'Ultimate' is a largely recreational sport that is growing in popularity . Mark Poole is one of the leading proponents of the amateur side of the game . American believes that ultimate should become an Olympic sport in future . It involves two teams trying to pass a flying disc towards an end zone .

(CNN) -- Jesse Altman makes himself at home when he travels for work. Travel experts say you should negotiate a cheap room rate long before you get to your hotel. As he goes around the country selling his small company's coffee-energy drink hybrid, Whynatte Latte, he has found that staying in friends' homes saves him a substantial amount of money he might otherwise spend on lodging. "For three nights, that's almost a thousand bucks right there," the Atlanta, Georgia, businessman said. "A bottle of wine on the kitchen counter when you leave goes a long way -- or making sure the fridge is stocked. If we go out to dinner, we definitely cover the tab." Many businesses are cutting back on travel budgets, and many small companies have to be inventive to trim costs. Staying with friends is an extreme exercise in frugality, but when it comes to lodging, several experts and frequent travelers stress the importance of considering every way to save money during these difficult financial times. "The first thing that someone looking to save money should do, they need to think about what they actually want from a hotel," said business travel expert Joe Brancatelli. "If you just need a bed and a shower, you don't need to stay at the Westin, go to Four Points." Brancatelli, editor of joesentme.com, a Web site for business travelers, also suggested visiting a hotel's main company Web site to find the cheapest rates for price comparisons. You could also use a blind bidding site, such as Priceline, but it's a gamble because you don't know which hotel you'll get. For Brancatelli, it's worth it to choose a hotel and pay a bit extra. Other frequent travelers told CNN the ways they're thinking outside the box to stay within their tight travel budgets. Sharing a room or home . Shel Horowitz, owner of FrugalMarketing.com, says home stays offer big savings and a better way to enjoy the city. Home stays are rooms in residences that cost little, if anything at all. "They are amazing -- not only do they save you money, but they give you a much more interesting trip," he said, pointing out that the owner of the home can steer you toward local attractions and eateries. Horowitz not only uses home stays when he is on the road, he also offers a room at his home for people visiting New York. He uses Servas, a nonprofit organization that promotes cross-cultural understanding by connecting travelers with hosts. Servas interviews and approves travelers and charges an annual fee for travelers. Other Web sites allow people to rent out their entire homes or rooms within their homes. Altman said he likes AirBed & Breakfast, on which people post pictures of the rooms for let and prices. Horowitz also said that conference attendees can often split a room with someone from another company. The meeting planner of a conference he recently attended set up a Facebook page for participants seeking roommates. In most cases, if you check with the conference planner, he or she can try to help you find a room to share. Call the hotel . If you decide it would be easiest to stay at a hotel, you need to pick up the phone, some of the frequent travelers said. Horowitz and Richard Laermer, CEO of RLM PR, urge business travelers to call their destination hotel and book through its reservation staff. Make sure you ask for the best rate and negotiate. Then go one step further and pit a few hotels against each other, Laermer said. You can get rooms for half price that way, he said. "I think the phone is the killer app that everyone keeps forgetting about," he said. "Pick up the phone, call the hotel and tell them you can get a better deal and ask them what they can do for you." If you don't get the deal you want, consider another hotel that is substantially cheaper and close by. But don't go for the lowest price. "I have found there isn't a whole lot of difference between the $60-a-night and the $200-a-night hotel," Horowitz said. "But there is quite a bit of difference from the $29-a-night hotel and the $60-a-night hotel." Brancatelli said to consider your time as a valuable commodity, so weigh the cost of negotiating against the time it would take to get a much lower rate. Rack up the points . Altman doesn't always stay with friends, so he tries to stay at a hotel chain where he can get points toward future stays or airline tickets. All major chains offer programs with free enrollment. Eileen Hanson, a vice president with Hilton Hotels, said members of a loyalty program also get extra perks, such as larger rooms or free Wi-Fi. But the best advantage is earning points, something even a person who only travels occasionally can do, she said. "You can easily rack up enough points in just a few stays to earn enough points for a free night," she said. About 90 percent of reward redemptions at Hilton are for hotel stays. With the summer traveling season ahead, many chains are starting promotional periods this month to increase the number of loyalty points you can earn for each night's stay or items you can win. Crowne Plaza is offering loyalty club members the chance to earn a free set of high-end golf clubs, for instance. Hilton is adding bonus points. Points also can be earned across the brand. So if you choose an extended-stay hotel, you get rewards for giveaways, too. And increasingly, extended-stay hotels are becoming more attractive for business travelers, who can save money by using them as an apartment away from home. A growing number of travelers are buying groceries and cooking in their rooms, experts said. Still, the most important factor in hotel choice is the price of the room, said Gina LaBarre of Crowne Plaza, and hotels are taking a serious look at how much they charge so they can stay competitive. All the experts said planning ahead is the key to saving money. Figure out your lodging well in advance. Research and weigh your options. Save money where you can, but remember that comfort and convenience also have a value, especially when an important business meeting is involved. But watch the little costs, Brancatelli cautioned. For one, don't get room service; take a trip to a local restaurant instead. "There's no need to buy a $30 club sandwich," he said.

Atlanta man stays with friends while on business, leaves presents as thanks . Home stay organizations connect travelers, people willing to share spare room . Experts recommend calling specific hotel you want to stay at and negotiating rate . Take advantage of points programs to earn free nights or merchandise .

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Serial killing suspect Elias Abuelazam agreed in an Atlanta courtroom Friday to be sent back to Michigan to face charges. Abuelazam did not appear in court for a second hearing, which had been scheduled because his lawyer had not arrived in time to attend the first. His attorney, Edwar Zeineh, agreed to allow his client to return to Michigan, where the lawyer is based. "We look forward at this point for the criminal justice process to commence ... and in the end provide a result," Zeineh told reporters outside the courthouse. Abuelazam is suspected of slashing 18 victims in three states, killing five. He is charged in Michigan with one count of assault with intent to commit murder, Zeineh said. Abuelazam agreed in Friday's first hearing to waive an extradition hearing, a court proceeding in which Michigan would have made its case on why he should be returned and Abuelazam could have argued why he should not. The towering suspect, dressed in a black jail jumpsuit, seemed confused in the morning session as to what the hearing was about and what his options were. At one point he asked Fulton County Superior Court Magistrate Judge Richard Hicks what extradition means. Michigan authorities will have 15 working days to pick him up and deliver him to the state. Tracy Flanagan, an official with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, said the extradition paperwork on Abuelazam is complete. "The suspect is ready for pickup by Michigan authorities and they have been notified. No word on when they're coming. This all depends on how quickly they can coordinate transport," Flanagan said. Abuelazam, an Israeli citizen living legally in the United States, was arrested Wednesday night at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. He was trying to board a flight to Israel when he was taken into custody, police said. Police had Abuelazam in custody twice in the past month, both within hours of when stabbings were reported, but he was released. Police say he hadn't been linked to the bloody attacks at the time. He was arrested on August 5 after a traffic stop and on July 29 for giving alcohol to a minor, according to authorities and court documents. During the traffic stop in Arlington, Virginia, police arrested him after learning that he had an outstanding warrant for assault. They found a knife and hammer in his car -- both weapons authorities now think were used during a string of stabbings in Michigan, Virginia and Ohio. One of those attacks happened in Virginia just hours after Abuelazam was released. Police say he had not been linked at that time to the stabbings, which began in May and continued until last weekend. Family members of the victims told CNN they do not blame officials for not holding Abuelazam initially. Stephanie Ward, a sister of one of the victims in Flint, said she couldn't understand why someone would kill her brother, Arnold Minor. "Why? That's what we all want to know. How could you do that?" she asked. Most of the stabbing victims were black. Although federal officials said late on Thursday it was too soon to give a motive, Leesburg, Virginia, Police Chief Joseph Price said he believed the attacker was targeting African-Americans. "For our community ... when you look at our demographics and you look at the victims here, my belief is he selected the victims in Leesburg based on the color of their skin," Price said. Abuelazam also was cited by police in Michigan. He was fined $125 for providing alcohol to a minor on July 29, the same day an early morning stabbing was reported in the area. A tip eventually led Michigan police this week to a market where the suspect worked, said prosecutor David S. Leyton of Genesee County, Michigan. After talking with employees, police watched surveillance video to determine whether he matched the physical description of the attacker. In Louisville, Kentucky, authorities learned Abuelazam had bought a $3,000 ticket from Atlanta to Tel Aviv, Israel, paid for by his uncle. The man was traveling on an expired Israeli passport but was in the United States legally, said a federal law enforcement official involved in the investigation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said they arrested Abuelazam at 10 p.m. as he attempted to board the Delta flight bound for Tel Aviv. A homeland security official told CNN the National Targeting Center had found his name on the passenger list. Authorities have said the same person is responsible for three recent attacks in Leesburg, the stabbing deaths of five people and woundings of nine others in the Flint, Michigan, area, and a stabbing on Saturday that wounded a man in Toledo, Ohio. Most of the 14 victims in Michigan were African-American, police said. Flint is a majority African-American community. In majority-white Leesburg, two victims were black and one was Latino. Several of the victims were also developmentally disabled, police said. Abuelazam once worked at North Spring Behavioral Healthcare in Leesburg, the center said Friday. "His employment at North Spring ended in 2008," Scott Zeiter, the center's chief executive, said in a statement. "We understand that he may be a suspect in certain crimes committed in 2010. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families." The Michigan attacks took place from May 24 through August 2. The three attacks in Virginia occurred Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. The Michigan victims ranged in age from 17 to 60, authorities said. All were men, and in two cases they were people with special needs. The suspect is said to have approached victims who were walking during the early morning hours, asking for directions or other assistance to lure them close to his car, police said. Sgt. Bill Wauford of the Toledo Police Department said the method of attack in the Ohio case matched that described in the Michigan incidents. The five Michigan fatalities have been identified as David Motley, Emmanuel Dent, Darwin Marshall, Frank Kellybrew and Arnold Minor. "We ought to remember the victims in all of this," prosecutor Leyton said. "You have real people who have died and real families who have been torn apart. Our heart goes out to them." Investigators said more charges are expected. CNN's Susan Candiotti and Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report.

Elias Abuelazam declined to change his plea at a second hearing . He is linked to 18 stabbings in Michigan, Virginia and Ohio, police say . Authorities say he was in custody twice before they knew he was a suspect . He was arrested this week at the airport in Atlanta on suspicion of killing five people .

(CNN) -- Denny McLain is a recognizable name to almost any baseball fan, especially in Detroit, where he played most of his MLB career. But even his best friends don't recognize him after a 162-pound weight loss. "I met a friend yesterday. I hadn't seen him in a year. He was sitting two tables across from me," McLain said. "He didn't recognize me. He finally said, 'It's not you, only half of you.' I said, 'The other half is gone." When McLain broke into pro baseball, he weighed around 185 pounds. He was known during his playing days for consuming a case of Pepsi every day. This habit, he said, added 10 pounds a year to his 6-foot-1-inch frame. McLain made a life-changing decision to have bariatric surgery last June. Bariatric surgery can be done a few different ways -- either by reducing the size of the stomach with a gastric band, by removing a portion of the stomach (often called a sleeve gastrectomy) or by resecting and re-routing the small intestines to a small stomach pouch, known as gastric bypass surgery. McLain had a sleeve gastrectomy. McLain said his stomach once weighed about 55 ounces. It now weighs about 4 ounces. Since the surgery, McLain has lost 162 pounds. He won't say exactly what he weighs now, but "it's the closest I have ever been to my playing days weight." "He's doing remarkable," said McLain's physician, Dr. Carl Pesta. "He's followed the plan. He's stayed on the plan." While concern for his health played a role, McLain said it was his wife's condition, not his, that prompted him to make this major life change. Sharon McLain was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease a year ago. "The quickness of the disease has been quite shocking," McLain said. "My doctors both took me aside and said, 'Sharon is sick. Two things can happen. One is good. One is bad. The good thing: You have heart attack and die. Bad news: If you have a stroke and don't die, who is going to take care of you? How much help can you be?' " McLain said his wife has an athlete's competitive nature in her, thanks in part to her father. Lou Boudreau was an eight-time MLB all-star as a player, and manager and member of Baseball's Hall of Fame. Sharon has lost her sense of balance, McLain said, and has difficulty walking. But she's "a fighter." "It's a battle every day," he said of Parkinson's. "You never have two good days in a row." McLain only eats one meal a day, snacking on nuts and drinking flavored water the rest of the day. upwave: Try it now! Drink more water challenge . "That's not a diet I would recommend for every(one), but it seems to work for him," Pesta said. "He has his energy back; he is moving well." McLain was known as a carefree player on and off the field, though he had his share of ups and downs. In 1968, he became the last pitcher to win 31 games in a season (a record many think never will be broken due to the different handling of pitchers today). He was the Cy Young winner, the Most Valuable Player Award winner and on the cover of Time magazine that season. He was also an excellent organist -- a talent that evolved into a side career, including an endorsement deal for Hammond Organs, playing on "The Ed Sullivan Show," headlining performances in Las Vegas, and cutting a pair of albums. In true McLain style, he bought his own airplane and learned to fly it himself. He was also suspended in 1970 for being linked to a gambling ring. He has served time in prison twice, for cocaine possession in 1985 and for embezzlement and money laundering in 1996. He was in bankruptcy court three times. His wife divorced him during his second prison stint, but the couple remarried after his release. In 1992, his oldest daughter, Kristin McLain-Sutherland, was killed by a drunk driver, only three days after her wedding day. On the day McLain spoke to CNN, it was the anniversary of her death. "We've only had two bumps -- the day I lost my daughter, a monster bump, and the last 13 to14 months, with Sharon's illness," he said. "Life throws bumps at everybody." While his wife cheered for McLain during his playing days, now it's the other way around. "The worst part is the depression, such serious depression," McLain said of her diagnosis. "Nobody likes to live like this. You need cheerleaders around you all the time." It's easier for him to be there for her now with his weight loss. "I was in a wheelchair 75% of the time" before the surgery, he said. "I have a real bad right knee -- when you are carrying around another 162 pounds, it really took its toll. I was embarrassed by that." McLain now mentors others who have gone through the bariatric procedure. "You have to deal with it," he tells them. "Anybody out there who has this problem, we can call it 'being fat' or 'heavyset' or 'big boned' -- whatever you want to call it. I was fat. We're all kind of sheepish about it." McLain now fills his days with public appearances, promoting his two books, "Nobody's Perfect," and "I Told You Nobody's Perfect." He also keeps up with his seven grandchildren, attending many of their sporting events. And he helps raise money for other causes, including the Ted Williams Museum in Florida. Williams was manager of the Washington Senators; he and McLain often battled during McLain's short stint with the team. "It's been 35 years since I have been in this sort of shape," he said. "I can do things now I could never do."

Denny McLain was an MLB pitcher for the Detroit Tigers . McLain had a sleeve gastrectomy after his wife was diagnosed with Parkinson's . McLain has lost 162 pounds since the surgery .

(CNN) -- After President Barack Obama said he didn't yet have a strategy for ISIS in Syria, even a Democrat on Sunday criticized the President's approach to fighting the extremist terror group. There's been the expected GOP criticism: Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, said the President's statement was "unfortunate," a predictable assessment from someone who disagrees with the Obama's handling of foreign policy. But more notable is Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, who split with the leader of her party. "I think I've learned one thing about this President and that is he's very cautious. Maybe in this instance, too cautious," the California Democrat said on NBC's "Meet the Press." Feinstein's description comes as the Obama administration is implementing a split strategy in dealing with the group now calling itself the Islamic State. In Iraq, where America recently concluded a long war there, the United States has continued airstrikes against ISIS, including strikes near Amerli Saturday. In Syria, meanwhile, the President has been reluctant to pursue military action as a complicated web of factions, including ISIS, is fighting to defeat President Bashar al-Assad, also a U.S. opponent. The threat . While members of both parties indicated that Syria is the most dangerous country in the world right now as it is considered ISIS' home base, Republicans differed from Democrats in that they insisted that the threat ISIS poses to the U.S. is immediate. "I believe strongly that ISIS does plan on attacking the United States," Rep. Peter King said on "Fox News Sunday." Obama's no 'strategy yet' comment on ISIS in Syria sparks a political uproar . Sen. John McCain went even further on CBS News' "Face the Nation": "I think it starts with an understanding that this is a direct threat to the United States of America, that it may be one of the biggest we have ever faced." The top Republicans' statements come just days after British Prime Minister David Cameron elevated the terror threat to "severe," the second-highest rating for that country. But the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, played down the immediacy of a direct attack in the United States on CNN's "State of the Union," saying strong intelligence "at this point" of an imminent attack on the U.S. does not exist. Another Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, acknowledged the threat ISIS poses is real, but it's "a bit of an overstatement" to compare the threat of ISIS to al Qaeda. "There is no evidence at this point that they are actually doing the sort of command-and-control plotting, planning specific attacks against Western targets, like al Qaeda was, gosh, for better -- for almost a decade before 9/11," he said on "Face the Nation." 'A cancer' Kinzinger used a cancer analogy describing ISIS, expanding upon an opinion piece written by Secretary of State John Kerry in The New York Times Friday when he said "the cancer of ISIS will not be allowed to spread to other countries." "If you have cancer in your liver, and it's spreading to other parts of your body, you don't just treat the other parts, you treat the liver," the Iraq War veteran said on CNN's "State the Union." "The liver is Syria." While the President has been taking heat for saying he doesn't have a strategy for ISIS, a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee discussed the challenges in formulating a strategy, in part, because obtaining intelligence about ISIS from war-torn Syria has been difficult. "We have got to get the intelligence," Ruppersberger said. Smith echoed his colleague's sentiment. "We can't simply bomb first and ask questions later. We have to have the right targets and the right support in order to be effective in stopping ISIS," he said on CBS News' "Face the Nation." On Friday, Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, and others sent a letter to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon, asking that committee members return to Washington ahead of schedule in order to oversee Obama's response to ISIS and the possible expansion of airstrikes. "We are very concerned that due to the speed with which events are happening, waiting until September 8th for Congress to reconvene effectively sidelines our constitutional role. We respectfully request that the Armed Services Committee reconvene as early as possible to provide the needed oversight over this new development," they wrote. In response, a spokesman for McKeon said the chairman appreciates the sense of urgency and that oversight can take a variety of forms. "Currently the chairman and other members of the committee are traveling in the Middle East, consulting regional leaders on this important issue. A classified briefing for committee members -- covering ISIS as well as the events in the Ukraine -- is scheduled for the Tuesday members return," said Claude Chafin. Military action now -- or soon . Most Republicans, including McCain, are urging immediate airstrikes in Syria, the place where the terrorist group gained traction with its brutal tactics and mostly erasing the border between the Syria and Iraq. The Arizona Republican joined Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who opened the door last week to putting more U.S. troops in Iraq. McCain said that a comprehensive strategy to defeating ISIS "is going to require some more special forces." Ruppersberger was among the Democrats who urged a broad strategic plan that leaves the door open for a variety of actions, which is the message put out by the Obama administration over the past two days, including in Kerry's opinion piece. "If we need to go ... to protect ourselves from ISIS, we will, but it's got to be a coalition," Ruppersberger said on "State of the Union." Democrats insisted that building an international coalition in the region and beyond is the first step. "We have to build that coalition," Smith said. "We need reliable partners to work with in the region." But Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee, said the President should have been building that coalition for the past year. "It's just very, very late in the game and it presents fewer options," Rogers said on "Fox News Sunday." U.N. counts 3 million Syria refugees .

NEW: Rep. Joe Courtney and others call for the Armed Services Committee to reconvene . Sen. Dianne Feinstein says Obama's approach to ISIS might be "too cautious" Republicans insist the threat ISIS poses to the U.S. is immediate . Obtaining intelligence about ISIS from war-torn Syria has been difficult, Democrats say .

(CNN) -- New York Yankees future Hall of Fame third baseman Alex Rodriguez is returning to the lineup he was forced from on July 24 when a bone in his left hand was fractured by a pitch from Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez. Rodriguez, who had to leave the game, was awarded first base after being hit, but there were no other penalties to Hernandez, who, on a night when his control was off, hit two other Yankees (three of the last five batters he faced) before giving way to a relief pitcher in a game that ended with a 4-2 Seattle victory. (Rodriguez is expected to be back in the lineup for the Yankees' Monday night game in Tampa, Florida.) Rodriguez was lucky his injury wasn't more serious. He did not get hit in the head, but under Major League Baseball's current rules, a serious injury to Rodriguez would have been treated the same as a minor injury. There is no meaningful penalty in baseball for a pitcher hitting a batter with the ball. Yet what the helmet-to-helmet hit is to football, the bean ball and its cousin, the brushback pitch, are to baseball -- a tactic that is potentially life-threatening. The National Football League, stung by lawsuits and a series of cases in which autopsies done on players in their 40s and 50s have revealed brain damage, has stiffened penalties for hits to the head and shortened the distance on kickoffs to reduce the violent collisions they produce. By contrast, Major League Baseball appears to have learned nothing from history when it comes to rules for protecting batters. Little has changed from 1920, when Ray Chapman, a shortstop for the Cleveland Indians, was killed by a high fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees. Yet over the years there have been numerous, highly publicized cases of beanings that could easily have been fatal. In 1967 Boston Red Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro, the youngest home run champion in American League history, sustained permanent eye damage and missed the rest of the season when he was hit by a pitch from Jack Hamilton of the California Angels. In 2000, New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza was forced to miss the All-Star game as a result of the concussion and headaches that followed a beaning by the New York Yankees Roger Clemens, a notorious brushback pitcher, whom Piazza had tagged for a grand-slam home run a month earlier. How many serious injuries have resulted over the years from batters being hit by pitches is impossible to say. Major League Baseball has never kept systematic records on this issue and the dark side of the game that it reflects. Pitchers who like to intimidate batters and pitchers who don't have good command of their pitches have been free to go about their business without fear of penalty. Major League Baseball's substitute for rules that penalize a pitcher for hitting batters has been equipment, namely the plastic helmet. The helmet became mandatory in 1971 and with the addition of earflaps, helmets have improved over the years. But mandatory helmets should be a last, not a first, resort when it comes to player safety. Helmets minimize the damage that occurs after a beaning. They fail to give pitchers incentive to avoid throwing brushback pitches in the first place. What is needed to make pitchers avoid brushback pitches along with the beanings that come with them are a series of rules with penalties that send a clear message: Major League Baseball is serious about protecting its players. Rule 1: Distinguish between a pitch that is dangerous and a pitch that is life-threatening. The head and face are the most vulnerable areas for a player, and a pitch that hits a player anywhere above his chest should be treated with special harshness. Instead, of being awarded first base, a batter struck above the chest should be given second base and thus put in a position to score on a single. Rule 2: Treat a pitcher who hits more than one batter differently from a pitcher who hits a single batter. A pitcher who hits a second batter in a game should face automatic ejection and a fine of $10,000, no matter where his pitch lands. The severity of this penalty would mean any pitcher who thrives on intimidation would be put on a short leash, but it would also recognize that a pitcher who has poor control is a menace. Rule 3: Make a team, not just an individual pitcher, accountable for hit batters. Under this rule a team would be able to get away with hitting only one batter per game. Any time a second batter was hit, the pitcher who threw the ball would be treated as if he had already struck a batter. A team could not, as a result, game the penalty system for hitting batters. Rule 4: Increase pitcher liability for a hit batsman. Rodriguez has been lost to the Yankees for a good part of the season, while Hernandez, who now has a 13-6 record, has enjoyed a stellar year. The result is unfair to Rodriguez and the Yankees. The only way to equalize the situation partially is make any pitcher who forces an opponent out of the lineup remain out of his own team's lineup for the same number of games as the injured opponent. Traditionalists will complain about such reforms, but throughout its history Major League Baseball has done much to alter its original product. It has made the ball livelier, allowed individual teams to alter their outfields to give themselves an advantage and even banned the spitball. What is different about these hit-batter rule changes is that their aim is safety rather than entertainment. A few batters might take advantage of them and try to get hit, but given the dangers that come from a pitch traveling upward of 90 mph, most batters are not likely to risk their careers just to get on base. These reforms don't turn baseball into a game for softies or cheats. Instead, they preserve the national pastime we know by making sure those who play it don't risk life and limb any more than they need to. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Nicolaus Mills.

Alex Rodriguez is returning to New York Yankees' lineup six weeks after a pitch hit him . Nicolaus Mills: Baseball doesn't do enough to protect batters from pitchers . He says penalties should be increased against pitchers, teams that hit batters . Mills: Players could suffer permanent or even fatal injuries from pitches .

(CNN) -- When a set of recommendations to reduce gun violence hits President Barack Obama's desk on Tuesday, it will trigger a new stage in a decisive political battle consuming Washington. And it will show just how much America may have changed in the wake of last month's massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. The proposals from a White House task force may include some with broad support on issues involving mental health. But one of the most intense flashpoints is already known: The group, overseen by Vice President Joe Biden, is expected to support reinstating an assault weapons ban. "I would say that the likelihood is they will not be able to get an assault weapons ban through this Congress," National Rifle Association President David Keene said Sunday. But the powerful gun rights lobbying group is gearing up for a fight, which, CNN has learned, will include an ad campaign. "When a president takes all the power of his office and is willing to expend political capital, you don't want to make predictions," Keene said on "State of the Union." Keene said he also does not believe Congress will pass a ban on high-capacity magazines. The NRA argues that such bans won't help stop gun violence and that they infringe on Second Amendment rights. But Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, said the NRA's prediction is wrong. "I think that this issue is going to continue to move," he told "State of the Union," speaking from Newtown. "The NRA does not represent gun owners anymore. This is not your father's NRA. It represents gun manufacturers," Murphy said. While the NRA does receive large sums of money from gun makers, Keene insisted that manufacturers are "not our constituency." "Our constituency is twofold," he said. "It's the American people who want to own guns and use them legally, and it's the Second Amendment itself." Biden told reporters last week, amid meetings with a wide array of groups, that he had never heard so much support for "the need to do something about high-capacity magazines." Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is pushing a ban similar to one that expired in 2004, has said she believes it will make it through Congress. "All of the things that society regulates, but we can't touch guns? That's wrong," Feinstein said in December after 27 people, including 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, were killed in Newtown by a gunman who then shot himself to death. Numerous mass shootings have involved high-capacity weapons. Obama set up the task force and instructed the group to have proposals by the end of January. Biden said last week he will have a set of recommendations ready for the president by Tuesday. While the NRA, with 4.2 million members, holds a great deal of sway, it faces a country deeply concerned about the kinds of weapons that have been used in numerous mass killings. It's also facing a new foe: a political action committee created by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly. Giffords was shot in the head in a mass shooting two years ago that killed six people. "With Americans for Responsible Solutions engaging millions of people about ways to reduce gun violence and funding political activity nationwide, legislators will no longer have reason to fear the gun lobby," the two vowed in a USA Today op-ed last week. Obama made clear Saturday that he's ready for a fight over how to respond to gun violence. In his weekly radio address, he gave a list of challenges ahead, including protecting "our children from the horrors of gun violence." "These, too, will be difficult missions for America. But they must be met," he said. The Obama administration will try to pass an assault weapons ban, an administration official said Friday. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, told CNN he believes that a ban on assault weapons alone, "in the political reality that we have today, will not go anywhere." A strong advocate for Second Amendment rights with an "A" rating from the NRA, he has expressed openness to changing laws but argues that other aspects of society should change as well. "It has to be a comprehensive approach," he argued Sunday on "State of the Union." Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, on Sunday called on the nation's largest gun retailers to "participate in a temporary moratorium on selling assault-style rifles until Congress has considered legislation to reduce gun violence," his office said in a statement. "Since the Sandy Hook massacre, sales of assault-style rifles have skyrocketed and are poised to grow even further during an upcoming 'Gun Appreciation Day' organized by extreme pro-gun activists," the statement said. The group behind the event, scheduled for January 19, uses its website to encourage Americans to "go to your local gun store, gun range or gun show with your Constitution, American flags and your 'Hands off my Guns' sign to send a loud and clear message." Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the largest sporting goods retailers, suspended sales of certain semi-automatic rifles nationwide after the Newtown massacure. Another likely point of contention between gun rights activists and those supporting stricter gun control is a call for universal background checks. Biden has said several groups that his task force met with support such checks for all gun buyers, including those who purchase through private sales. Keene has also told CNN that he does not support instituting background checks for purchases at gun shows. He said Sunday the NRA does support the idea that people who are ruled mentally incompetent should be listed as not allowed to purchase firearms. In the interview Sunday, Keene complained that Biden's panel didn't really listen to what the NRA had to say. Despite promises that the task force had not reached conclusions before hearing from all sides, "the conclusions were reached," he argued. "We suspected all they wanted to be able to do was to say he had talked to us, and now they were going to go forward to do what they wanted to do." Another question facing Biden's panel is how to tackle images of shootings in entertainment. His task force met with leaders of the the film, TV and video game industries. It's unknown what the task force may suggest as a response to what Obama has described as a culture that often "glorifies guns and violence." Meanwhile, across the country, Americans of all stripes are debating the issue in person, in town hall meetings, and in social media.

NEW: "This is not your father's NRA," Sen. Chris Murphy says . NRA president predicts an assault weapons ban won't pass . Schumer calls on retailers to suspend sales of assault-style rifles . A federal task force on gun violence will present proposals by Tuesday .

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Michele Trobaugh regrets the day she heard a radio advertisement for Dr. Jan Adams. Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Jan Adams operated on the mother of rapper Kanye West the day before she died. Eager to fix breasts that weren't the same size and a rash that occurred where her breasts rubbed against her stomach, Trobaugh, then 28, went to see Adams in his office in Huntington Beach, California. She says she trusted him right away. "I fell for his charm. I fell for his confidence," she says. But her surgery turned out to be a "nightmare," she says. Trobaugh says that in March 2006, Adams gave her a breast augmentation, tummy tuck and liposuction -- all at one time. "The next day I woke up fighting for every breath. It was like an elephant was sitting on my chest," she says. "And when I got up to go the restroom I noticed the girdle I was wearing was soaked with fluid and blood. For days I was soaking through blankets and towels." Trobaugh says she had three infections. She had a second surgery a few weeks later to remove fluid from her hips. Questions surrounding the death of another of Adams' patients, Donda West, mother of rapper Kanye West, have reignited Trobaugh's pain, she says. She has not sued Adams but says she may in the future. Asked to respond to Trobaugh's comments, Adams issued a statement through his publicist, Kevin Williams. "I believe very strongly in the fundamental American principle of the right of the individual to defend himself," the statement said. "Recently inaccurate and, frankly, false statements have ciruculated that require clarification. Unfortunately, it has become impossible to separate thsese statements from other professional issues. I will await my turn." Today, Trobaugh has advice on how others can avoid becoming plastic surgery victims, and so do board-certified plastic surgeons. Make sure the surgeon is board-certified . This one, say experts, is a no-brainer. For plastic surgery, you want a doctor who's certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. It's simple: The American Board of Medical Specialties' Web site will tell you if a doctor is board-certified in plastic surgery. Why is it so important to have a board-certified surgeon? Because legally any doctor is permitted to do any procedure -- a psychiatrist could do a breast augmentation. If you use a board-certified plastic surgeon, you know he or she has completed three to five years of training in general surgery and a minimum of two to three years of training in plastic surgery, plus they have to take written and oral tests, according to Dr. Jim Stuzin, chairman-elect of the American Board of Plastic Surgery and assistant clinical professor at the University of Miami. Board-certified plastic surgeons also have to do continuing medical education and take a written test every 10 years. Check the surgeon's record . Trobaugh says she never would have gone to Adams if she'd known he had two malpractice judgments against him. She could have found that out easily by going to the Medical Board of California's Web site. Links to the Web sites of every state's medical board can be found here. Many state licensing boards, like California's, list malpractice judgments, plus any disciplinary actions by the board. (Since Trobaugh's surgery, Adams has had a third malpractice judgment against him, plus an accusation filed with the board). Ask if the surgeon has hospital privileges . Even if you're having a plastic surgery procedure at an outpatient clinic, it's worth asking where the doctor has hospital privileges, because hospitals do background checks, says Dr. Rod Rohrich, past president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. "If they don't have hospital privileges, that's a huge red flag," he says. Come armed with questions for the doctor . One crucial question for your potential surgeon is how often he or she does the procedure you're interested in. "If I'm coming to you for a facelift, you'd better do it almost weekly," says Rohrich, who's also chairman of the department of plastic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The Arizona Medical Board's Web site has a list of questions you can print out and bring with you to the doctor's office. For example, the medical board suggests asking whether the physician will be performing the procedure in its entirety. Be wary of multiple procedures . Trobaugh says when she went to Adams, he suggested three procedures. "When you bundle procedures, the risk goes up," says Stuzin, the plastic surgeon in Miami. The more procedures you have, the more money the doctor makes. Dr. Grant Carlson, a plastic surgeon at Emory University School of Medicine, says an unethical surgeon might suggest a neck lift when someone has come in looking for just for a nose job. "Unfortunately, money is a motivation in some people." Perhaps the most valuable advice, Trobaugh says, is to be swayed only by objective information about the surgeon, and not by how the doctor makes you feel. "[Adams] truly sounded like he was going to help me. He seemed like he would be truly concerned about me," she says. But Trobaugh says that when things didn't go well after her surgery, she was taken aback by Adams' response. "I told him, 'I can't put my right arm down -- there's a huge lump under my arm.' I was crying," she says. She says he told her to take her medicine and rest and give herself time to heal. More than a year and a half after her surgery, Trobaugh says her stomach is "concave," she has shooting pains in her breasts, and her "nipples are uneven and in the wrong place." Trobaugh says she wishes she had taken a friend or relative with her to her pre-surgical appointments with Adams. "An aunt or my mother or some other strong female in my life might have picked up on things I didn't pick up on, or thought of questions I didn't think of," she says. "And there are no stupid questions when you're about to alter yourself in some major way." E-mail to a friend . Elizabeth Cohen is a correspondent with CNN Medical News. CNN's Miriam Falco, Jennifer Pifer and Sabriya Rice contributed to this report.

Choose a doctor who's certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery . Check with your state's medical licensing board for lawsuits, complaints . Be wary of having multiple procedures performed all at once .

(CNN) -- A federal judge on Monday dismissed the latest lawsuit filed by champion cyclist Lance Armstrong aimed at halting the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's case against him. "This Court cannot interfere, contrary to both the will of Congress and Armstrong's agreement to arbitrate, on the basis of a speculative injury," U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks wrote. The USADA -- a quasi-government agency recognized as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic sports in the United States -- has accused Armstrong of using, possessing, trafficking and giving to others performance-enhancing drugs, as well as covering up doping violations. Lance Armstrong refiles suit against anti-doping agency . The seven-time Tour de France winner asked the court for action against the USADA for a host of reasons, having maintained he's never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and accusing the USADA and its CEO, Travis Tygart, of being out to get a "big fish" to justify the agency's existence. Armstrong did not post any reaction to Monday's decision on his Facebook or Twitter pages, which he often updates several times daily, and his representatives did not respond to CNN requests for comment. In his ruling, Judge Sparks ruled that Armstrong's assertions that he unfairly didn't have the right to due process "fail as a matter of law, and must be dismissed." The judge also refused to side with the cyclist on his other claims, including that the USADA should not have jurisdiction in his case. He noted that federal law dictates that eligibility questions for cycling and other such sports should "be decided through arbitration, rather than federal lawsuits." Armstrong, the judge pointed out, "has not exhausted his internal remedies, namely ... procedures in the USADA protocol." "Even if the Court has jurisdiction over Armstrong's remaining claims, the Court finds they are best resolved through the well-established system of international arbitration, by those with expertise in the field, rather than by the unilateral edict of a single nation's courts," stated Sparks, a judge in the U.S. district court based out of Austin, Texas. Armstrong had filed a lawsuit against the USADA in July, only to have it thrown out a day later by Sparks. At that time, the judge wrote that the cyclist's case was was full of legally irrelevant claims "included solely to increase media coverage of this case" and stir up hostility toward the USADA. The suit was refiled the following day, once again urging the court to file an injunction against the USADA but 55 pages shorter than the original. The 40-year-old Armstrong faces a lifetime ban and could be stripped of his Tour de France victories if found guilty by the USADA. Armstrong won the tour each year from 1999 to 2005, most of those for a team sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service. He retired twice from cycling -- first in 2005, for four years, and again in 2011. 3 former Armstrong associates banned for life . In a June letter to Armstrong, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, the USADA said it collected blood samples from Armstrong in 2009 and 2010 that were "fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions." EPO, or erythropoietin, boosts the number of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the muscles. Armstrong isn't the only one challenging the USADA and its case. The International Cycling Union -- whom the Texan has said should be the arbiter in his case -- has opposed the American agency's actions by claiming it has jurisdiction. That position has been recently backed by USA Cycling, the official cycling organization recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Sparks, the U.S. federal judge, acknowledged "the appearance of conflict on the part of both organizations creates doubt the charges against Armstrong would receive fair consideration in either forum." But that doesn't mean U.S. courts should intervene, the judge said, adding "these matters should be resolved internally, by the parties most affected." "If these bodies wish to damage the image of their sport through bitter infighting, they will have to do so without the involvement of the United States courts," Sparks said. Armstrong has been dogged by allegations of drug abuse in recent years, with compatriot Floyd Landis -- who was found guilty of doping in the 2006 Tour de France, resulting in him being stripped of the title -- making a series of claims last year. Armstrong came out fighting in May 2011, in the face of fresh allegations made on CBS News' "60 Minutes" show by another American, Tyler Hamilton. In the CBS interview, Hamilton -- who retired in 2009 after twice testing positive himself and who, earlier this month, was stripped of his 2004 gold medal by the International Olympic Committee due to doping -- said he first saw Armstrong use EPO in 1999. "I saw it in his refrigerator," Hamilton said. "I saw him inject it more than one time like we all did, like I did many, many times." The latest lawsuit filed by Armstrong, and dismissed Monday, claimed that Armstrong hasn't had "a single positive test" in the 500 to 600 drug tests he's taken in his over two decades in cycling. In February, Justice Department prosecutors said they closed a criminal investigation after reviewing allegations against Armstrong. They had called witnesses to a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, but they apparently determined they lacked evidence to bring a charge that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong has won two half-distance Ironman events this year, and he is suspended from World Triathlon Corporation competitions. The world championships will be held in October in Hawaii. He was a U.S. triathlon champion as a teenager. Judge blasts Armstrong, tosses lawsuit against anti-doping agency . Tour de France cyclist Remy Di Gregorio arrested amid doping claims . CNN's David Close contributed to this report.

The judge says agencies' squabbles may hurt cycling, but won't lead courts to act . The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency accuses Armstrong of using performance-enhancing drugs . The 7-time Tour de France winner denies the claims, suing to ask a judge to halt the case . A judge rules against Armstrong, stating "this Court cannot interfere" in the case .

CNN -- One evening in the spring of 2010, Keith McSpurren settled down with his children in his home in Toronto to watch play-off hockey on television, a ritual repeated in millions of households across Canada. But as he watched the presenters running through the news of the day, he suddenly saw something in the background that had probably gone unnoticed to most. "I take an odd pride in this, but I knew I had made it when I watched TV and sure enough behind the guys there's a CoverItLive console," McSpurren said. "I hit pause on the DVR and asked my son, 'See that thing in the middle? That's our software. That's what dad does.'" The console McSpurren had spotted will be familiar to almost anyone who has looked at a news website in the past couple of years. As the thirst for instant news has grown ever more insatiable, the "live blog" a time-stamped, regularly-updated, predominantly text-based report of breaking stories has become a staple of internet news and sport coverage. CoverItLive, which McSpurren developed in 2007, is the most commonly used live-blogging platform, and is regularly embedded on the websites of outlets as disparate as the BBC and Fox News; the Weather Channel and WWE.com -- as well, it seemed, as in the CBC Hockey Night Live studios. More than 600 live-blogging "events" take place on CoverItLive every day, attracting unique readerships that, according to McSpurren, can run as high as 14 million per event -- a record currently shared by coverage of President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech, and a cricket Test match in India. Reports have claimed CoverItLive events attract 82 million visitors per month. The console can be managed by a single journalist and refreshes instantly with new content, which can include pictures, videos or Twitter feeds, as well as the reporter's text commentary. Readers can interact through a comments box, vote in polls or enter trivia quizzes. The combined package of news and interactivity lends itself especially well to sport coverage, where it can mimic the experience of watching a match and discussing it with friends. But in recent years, live-blogging has also become the default approach to covering much harder breaking news stories: the uprisings of the Arab spring, the phone-hacking scandal in the UK and the Norway shootings, for example, were all covered in live blogs on almost all major news platforms. The duration of events can make live-blogs especially "sticky", encouraging readers to stay on a single page for longer than they ordinarily might. If a news story continues to develop throughout an entire day, the live-blog can become the one-stop shop for breaking developments alongside a digest of what has happened so far. It can later become an archive of how events unfolded in real time. "The core figure to us is the number of readers times the duration they spend on the software," McSpurren said, stressing the multiplication. "Something like the Casey Anthony trial in the United States (which was live-blogged in its entirety), was on from nine in the morning to four in the afternoon. It's infinitely better from a business point of view than a really great event that's only on for 35 minutes." An average visitor to a CoverItLive event stays for 12 minutes, according to McSpurren. The live-blogging phenomenon actually pre-dates CoverItLive by several years, and probably has its roots among the team of sports obsessives of CricInfo, who first provided ball-by-ball coverage of cricket matches in the mid-1990s. Both the BBC and the website of the Guardian newspaper in the UK soon picked up the baton, and the Guardian in particular cultivated a unique tone and community among its sportswriters and readers, who pore over every minute of a football match or cricket games in over-by-over mini-reports. What not to blog . But for all the recent proliferation of live blogs, some media analysts say that rolling coverage is not always appropriate, pointing to some notable lapses in editorial judgment. In 2008, for example, the Rocky Mountain News was widely criticized when one of its reporters live blogged, via Twitter, the funeral of a local toddler, who had been killed in an accident. Updates from the stream included "family members shovel earth into grave" and "people are again sobbing". This month the BBC website also attracted criticism for its somewhat oxymoronic coverage of "Amy Winehouse death -- LIVE!" Scott Murray, a former online sport editor at the Guardian, who has contributed live online commentary since 1998, said: "It kind of makes sense to do something like the phone-hacking scandal on a rolling blog, because on the first few days, something was happening every half an hour. But Amy Winehouse, it just doesn't make any sense. That's just a news story: someone has died. And that's it." By definition, live blogs demand frequent updates, and thus reporters are often encouraged to substitute instant snaps for more considered journalistic analysis, or even silence. "It's like 24-hour news on TV," said Murray. "You always have to have something to fill it. That's when you're going to get all this hot air and speculation." McSpurren agrees that the true strength of live blogging relies on the skills of the reporter to offer relevant analysis, publish pictures and launch appropriate poll questions. "Our business isn't magical," he said. "It really is dependent on the person running the event. If all you're doing is regurgitating what they see on the TV screen anyway, there really is no point for them to be there." The continued success of live-blogging seems certain, however. CoverItLive was acquired by Demand Media in February and several alternative, similar platforms have also recently launched. McSpurren said that the business is working with news organizations to improve CoverItLive's compatibility and to offer better tools for journalists. Meanwhile consumers continue to make live-blogs the best read articles on most news sites. "People like immediacy," said Murray. "And I guess it means more people are getting interested in news, politics, sport, whatever, because there are new ways to consume it all."

Live blogging of events, from news to sports, has become widespread . CoverItLive created by Keith McSpurren in 2007 is most popular console to use . Live blogs are attractive as they are seen as 'sticky' to readers . Some question how appropriate blogging can be for some stories, such as Amy Winehouse's death .

(CNN) -- A powerful snowstorm barreled east through the Midwest on Sunday, bringing with it more precipitation and gusty winds and leaving behind a trail of significant damage, large snow drifts and subarctic temperatures, according to the National Weather Service. Winter storm warnings and advisories Sunday extended as far west as Illinois, as far east as Pennsylvania, and as far south as northern Alabama and Georgia. Meanwhile, residents of the upper Midwest who braved at-times blizzard conditions on Saturday faced the prospect Sunday night of wind chills dipping, in spots, as low as 30 degrees below zero. This comes after up to 23 inches of snow fell in parts of Minnesota and as many as 18.5 inches in Wisconsin since Friday. "We could see wind chills (that are) obviously extremely dangerous for people, to have that kind of exposure for any length of time," said Tod Pritchard, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Emergency Management agency. See road conditions in severely affected states: Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota . After prompting the closure of highways in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and elsewhere a day earlier, the storm wreaked havoc with air travel Sunday. About 1,375 flights in and out of Chicago's O'Hare airport had been canceled as of 4:45 p.m. (5:45 p.m. ET), the city's aviation department reported, with delays for travelers heading to and from the Windy City averaging around just over 6 hours. Another 300 flights had been canceled at nearby Midway airport. "The main problem ... right now is the winds," said Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Karen Pride. "The winds are very high and gusting very strongly, and we do have lake-effect snow as well." The headaches, though, went far beyond Chicago. On Sunday evening, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson and Newark, New Jersey's Liberty airports reported delays of roughly two-and-a-half hours, slightly longer than that experienced at Boston's Logan airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Those were just a few of the many airports, and many more flights, affected as high winds, low visibility and heavy snow crippled traffic for a second straight day. Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Leslie Parker said as of 5 p.m., the airline had canceled 748 flights nationwide. American Airlines had called off 272 departures from O'Hare, out of more than 400 nationwide, said spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagas. iReport: Treacherous conditions in Minnesota . United had canceled about 350 departures, mostly from Chicago, an airline spokeswoman said, while partner Continental nixed 125 such flights from Chicago, Cleveland, Ohio, and Newark, New Jersey. JetBlue canceled 128 flights due to the storm, said spokesman Mateo Lleras. The pounding snow caused the roof of the 64,000-seat Metrodome in Minneapolis to "deflate" Sunday morning, Minnesota State Patrol spokesman Lt. Eric Roeske said. Workers wielding shovels could be seen clearing the roof of the heavy white stuff, while photos from inside the darkened stadium showed much of the field covered with snow that fell from a gaping hole in the dome. "Obviously the weight of the snow would affect how much air pressure is necessary to keep that roof up," Roeske said. "Something caused that air pressure not to be strong enough or high enough to keep that roof at its normal position." Roy Terwilliger, chairman of the Minneapolis Metro Sports Commission -- the group that oversees the Metrodome -- said the heavy snow and cold, high winds "was too much pressure on the dome and several panels on the Teflon roof were caused to rip." Sunday's game between the hometown Minneapolis Vikings and New York Giants has been pushed to Monday at 7:20 p.m. ET and moved 540 miles southeast to Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, the NFL said in a statement Sunday. All those with tickets to the originally scheduled game would get preferred seating near the 50-yard line and free tickets would be distributed, the league said. Even with the snow and winds subsiding, road travel remained perilous in much of Minnesota. St. Paul, for one, declared a second snow emergency through early Monday to expedite plowing of city streets. "The big problem is ice under the snow, making it really slick and really hazardous," said St. Clair resident Alan Scott. In Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency for 72 counties to facilitate the movement of emergency resources and personnel who were activated Saturday, he said in a statement. We Energies reported 10,000 power outages across the state Sunday, said Barry McNulty, a spokesman for the company. In Iowa, snow had subsided in some areas but emergency workers were coping with more than 1,000 power outages, a state emergency spokesman said. Greyhound bus service along the Omaha-Des Moines route was expected to resume later Sunday. Some bus travelers at the Des Moines bus station had been stuck there since Saturday night. Greyhound spokeswoman Maureen Richmond said pizza was brought in for those passengers due to the inconvenience. Patti Thompson, a spokeswoman for the emergency services in Illinois, said Sunday that northern counties were getting the worst of the weather Sunday afternoon and that Department of Transportation teams were working to clear roads. No power outages have been reported, she said. While many states saw snow Sunday, the expected accumulation of a few inches in most locales paled compared to what hit Wisconsin and Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to National Weather Service forecasters. The reach of the storm system continues to expand. Hard freeze warnings, for instance, extended as far south as Florida, with the weather service forecasting 13-degree wind chills on Monday night in Tallahassee. Still, not everyone in the United States was shivering. Parts of southern California were experiencing record-warm temperatures with high temperatures Sunday above 80 degrees. CNN's T.J. Holmes, Helena DeMoura and Adam Shivers contributed to this report.

NEW: Airlines cancel hundreds of flights due to high winds, snow and low visibility . The NFL has moved the Giants-Vikings game to Detroit after the Metrodome's collapse . Wind chills in some places on Sunday night could be 30 degrees below zero . Unseasonably cold conditions have prompted warnings as far south as Florida .

(CNN) -- Let me tell you about the amazing kid who lives in our house. She's 6 and she is the most hysterical, sarcastic, intelligent, funny, sweet, naïve, confident, strong, independent, considerate person I have ever met. I have no idea how she got to be this way. You see, my husband is a quadriplegic. I care for him, I work full-time, and there are days when I feel like our daughter gets very little of my attention. Isabel was 6 months old when her dad was injured. During her first six months, he was just OK at changing diapers and he had no fashion sense when it came to dressing her. But he loved feeding her and playing with her and those two spent tons of time together. Then, our lives changed. It was December 21, 2007, three days before Isabel's first Christmas. At our annual Christmas party with our friends, around midnight, my husband decided to jump into the snow to make a snow angel. Why? Because he's Ben. I remember looking at him, smiling and shaking my head. He looked at me, grinned and ran out into the snow -- and never got up. He had broken his neck at the C4/C5 level and was paralyzed completely from the shoulders down. I do not remember my daughter's first Christmas. My parents and sisters spent it with her while I was in the hospital with my husband. I went from hugging and snuggling her before the accident to barely being able to look at her without crying. I couldn't even hold her because the responsibility of being a "single parent" in the physical sense was so overwhelming, I shut down. Every single minute of the day, I begged someone to fix my husband. I remember one night in the ICU, the nurses got a rocker for me from the NICU and made me sit with Isabel in Ben's room. It was like they knew we needed time together, just the two of us. It felt very foreign to me for a very long time. I felt like her babysitter, not her mom. While I rocked her, I stared at her wondering how we were going to manage as a family and how unfair it was to her that we were putting her through so much. My mom became Isabel's surrogate parent for almost eight months because I needed to focus on my husband. She was the one who got up with our daughter when she cried, and brought her to visit in rehab. Looking back, it still hurts to know how much time I missed with my daughter. I missed her first steps. I missed her first words. I missed so much. And it took years until I could let that all go, until I felt like her mom again. I'm finally realizing how hard it must have been on my husband. He was no longer able to hold her. To help her. To play with her. He had to watch from the sidelines while everyone else took care of his child. As new parents, you expect things to be difficult. But when dealing with a spinal cord injury, difficult doesn't begin to describe it. I went from caring for a 6-month-old with my husband to caring for a 6-month-old AND my husband. I liked how things were before the injury. My strong, confident husband took charge and I followed. In a second, it changed. I had to be responsible for our family. I am always the first one up and the last one to bed. I am pushed to the limit physically, emotionally and mentally almost every single day. But it has made us stronger. As we learned how to live our "new" life, things became easier. We developed a routine. We found our sense of humor again. We worried about the relationship between Ben and Isabel. A lot. Every time she said that she didn't like him or want him around, we worried that it was because of his injury. We made a big deal out of it. We stressed about it. We talked to her teachers about it. We talked to a counselor about it. We thought that our daughter wouldn't connect with her dad because of his injury. It turns out we were wrong. Very wrong. Isabel is your typical 6-year-old who just happens to have learned more about life than most ever do, one who will place her hands on my face and solemnly tell me, "Everything will be OK." Our daughter loves her daddy. She knows he's disabled. She knows he broke his neck. She knows there are limitations to what they can do together but trust me, they push the boundaries every single day. More than once, she's come running to tell me that daddy got stuck in the mud or fell forward in his wheelchair or ran out of battery while on a walk. She's come to me crying because she bumped her head or arm falling from her daddy's chair when she was climbing on it, or riding in his lap, or jumping onto the couch from his chair. Too many times I've had to yell at both of them for chasing each other through the house; he in his chair and she on her scooter. Too many times I've had to tell them to STOP IT because they were about to get into trouble together. She's figured out the best way to crawl into his lap to watch a movie. She climbs onto the counter so she can give him a kiss at night. She turns off his chair when he's in her room at night so he has to stay while she falls asleep. She puts clips in his hair and puts makeup on him to play dress up. She rolls her eyes when Ben tells a terrible joke and thinks it's hilarious when she tries to tickle him, even though he cannot feel it. Isabel doesn't see Ben as a quadriplegic. She sees him as her father. She goes to him when she's sad. She celebrates with him when she's happy. His injury does not define their relationship. Their love for each other does. Every day I get to see that love they share grow into something even bigger. She has taught me how to look past her dad's disability to see him for who he really is: my husband. The man I married. The man I love. That little kid has taught me more about love and life in her six years than anyone ever could. She taught us how to laugh again. How to have fun again. How to love each other again. She was the one who taught us that life was worth living. I cannot wait to see else what else she can teach us as she grows.

Erin Hayes' husband broke his neck on December 21, 2007 . Their daughter, Isabel, was six months old . Isabel taught them how to be a family again, Hayes writes . Got a parenting story to share? Send it to CNN iReport .

(CNN Student News) -- The following resource contains answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the Electoral College. Who actually elects the president of the United States? When voters go to the polls on Election Day, they do not vote directly for a presidential candidate. Instead, they cast their votes for a slate of electors who have been given the authority by the United States Constitution to elect the president and vice president. The electors are known collectively as the Electoral College. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, delegates debated the manner in which the president of the United States was to be elected. Some argued that the Congress should select the president, while other proposals recommended election by the people, the governors of the states or state legislatures. A compromise was reached in what became known as the Electoral College. Technically, it is these electors, and not the American voters, who elect the president. Why the Electoral College instead of direct vote by the people? The Constitution's framers established the Electoral College as a way to avoid the direct popular election of the president. Some of the Constitution's authors did not trust the ability of the common voter to make the "right" decision, so they devised the Electoral College as one way of lessening the power of the popular vote. How does the Electoral College work? The Electoral College, as established by the U.S. Constitution, currently includes 538 members: one for each U.S. senator and representative and three for the District of Columbia (under the 23rd Amendment of 1961). Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of its U.S. senators (always 2) plus the number of its members in the U.S. House of Representatives (based on population, this is subject to change with the Census every ten years). So, the breakdown of electors is as follows: . 100 Senate seats + 435 House of Representative seats + 3 Washington, D.C. = 538 total electors . Since the number of electors per state varies by population, California holds the most electors with 55. Several states have only three electors, which is the smallest number a state can have based on the formula described above. For any presidential candidate to win, he or she must gain a majority of the 538 votes, or the magic number of 270. If no one candidate reaches 270 electoral votes, the election is thrown into the House of Representatives to be decided (under the 12th Amendment of 1804). This has happened twice in U.S. history, both in the 19th century, but the scenario could conceivably become reality in modern times with a popular third-party candidate gathering some of the electoral votes and siphoning them away from the other two candidates. How are presidential electors selected? Article II, section 1 of the Constitution provides that, "No Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States shall be appointed an elector." Aside from this disqualification, any person is qualified to be an elector for president and vice president. The Constitution does not specify procedures for nominating candidates for presidential electors. Thirty-six states nominate their elector candidates by state party convention, and ten of the states nominate their electors by state party committee. Generally, elector candidates tend to be prominent state and local officeholders, party activists and other citizens associated with the party for which they are nominated. The Constitution left the method of selecting electors and of awarding electoral votes to the States. In the early years of the Republic, many states provided for selection of electors by the state legislatures. Since 1864, all states have provided for popular election of electors for president and vice president. In 48 states and the District of Columbia, the presidential candidate who gets the most votes wins all the electoral votes in that state. This is known as the "general ticket" or "winner take all" system. Currently, Maine and Nebraska provide the only exception to the "winner take all" method, awarding one electoral vote to the ticket gaining the most votes in each of the states' congressional districts, and awarding the remaining two (representing their senatorial allotment) to the winners of the most votes statewide. This variation, called the "direct system," was more widely used in the 19th century. Can a candidate win the popular vote but lose the election? Under the "winner take all" system, it is possible for a candidate to win several large states and some smaller ones and get the magic number of 270, but have fewer popular votes nationwide than his or her opponent. Popular vote winners have failed to win the presidency on four occasions since the adoption of the 12th Amendment: in 1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000. In 1824, the electoral vote was split among four candidates, necessitating election by the House of Representatives, which chose the popular vote runner-up. In 1876, due to contested returns from four states, Congress set up an electoral commission which awarded the disputed votes to the apparent popular vote runner-up, resulting in a one-vote margin in the Electoral College. In 1888, the apparent popular vote runner-up won a comfortable Electoral College majority. In 2000, the popular vote winner lost in the Electoral College after the outcome of a contested vote in Florida. When does all of this take place? On the Tuesday following the first Monday of November, in years divisible by four. According to the U.S. Constitution, voters in each state cast their ballots for the party slate of electors who represent their choice for president and vice president. Whichever party wins that state's popular vote for president receives the elector votes for that state. On the Monday following the second Wednesday of December, by federal law, each state's electors meet in their respective capitals and cast their votes, one for president and one for vice president. These electoral votes are sealed and transmitted from each state to the president of the Senate, who, on the following January 6, opens and reads them before both houses of Congress. The candidate for president who has attained the majority of electoral votes (270) is then declared the president. The new president and vice president are sworn in at noon on January 20. What are some arguments for and against the Electoral College? For: . Against: . (Sources: The National Archives and the CRS Report for Congress)

Use this information to learn about the Electoral College .

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met over the weekend as part of ongoing negotiations on an agreement to reduce the country's deficit, a Republican official told CNN late Tuesday. Also Obama said Tuesday he invited Democratic and Republican leaders from both chambers of Congress to the White House for a meeting Thursday to discuss deficit reduction and the need to raise the federal debt ceiling. Obama said he wanted the meeting to "build on the work that's already been done and drive toward a final agreement" that would address expanding federal deficits and bring congressional approval for increasing how much money the government can borrow. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who earlier invited Obama to come to Congress to discuss the issue, will attend the White House meeting, his office announced. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also plans to attend. Boehner indicated that he will take part but warned that Congress will not accept tax increases sought by Obama and Democrats. "I'm happy to discuss these issues at the White House, but such discussions will be fruitless until the president recognizes economic and legislative reality," Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement. He added, "I'm pleased the president stated today that we need to address the big, long-term challenges facing our country." According to Obama, who made an unscheduled appearance in the White House briefing room, talks on deficit reduction over the Fourth of July weekend with congressional leaders from both parties made progress, but "we still have to work through some real differences." Both parties need to come out of their "comfort zone," Obama said. But "this should not come down to the last second." White House spokesman Jay Carney later said Obama believes that everyone knows the issues involved in forging a comprehensive agreement to reduce federal deficits by as much as $4 trillion in the coming decade. Now it is time make hard decisions, with both sides compromising in order to reach an agreement that benefits the nation as a whole, Carney said. "The ideal will never become law, whether you're a conservative House Republican or a liberal Democrat or the president of the United States," Carney said. "You're never going to get everything you want, because our system doesn't work like that." The Senate returned to work Tuesday, cutting short the planned weeklong Fourth of July recess, with its leaders resuming their tough talk on negotiations to cut federal deficits amid a looming deadline to raise the government's debt ceiling. The three-day Fourth of July weekend did little to change the rhetoric of recent weeks over deficit reduction talks and the need for Congress to increase the amount of money the government can borrow. In his opening remarks after the Senate reconvened, Reid, D-Nevada, accused Republicans of putting the nation's economic recovery at risk by threatening to oppose an increase in how much money the government can borrow. McConnell, R-Kentucky, followed Reid by accusing Democrats of wanting to increase spending to solve a deficit problem. Before Obama's invitation, McConnell repeated an invitation for Obama to come to Congress and hear from Republicans why they won't support any agreement that includes tax increases. Reid said his side was willing to compromise but would not allow Republicans to put the needs of "a few millionaires and billionaires" ahead of the rest of the country. With House members scheduled to return Wednesday, congressional leaders remain at sharp odds over what sort of conditions should be attached to a hike in the current $14.3 trillion ceiling. Republicans are refusing to go along with any increase unless it includes deep spending cuts and avoids any tax increases. Democrats are trying to minimize the impact of cuts to social services and are calling for the elimination to certain tax breaks and loopholes benefiting wealthier Americans. Treasury Department officials and leading economists have warned of potentially catastrophic consequences if the ceiling is not raised by August 2, at which point the country could default on its debt obligations. Among other things, the country could face skyrocketing interest rates and a plummeting dollar. Increasing the debt ceiling will allow the government to borrow more money in order to pay for spending already accrued. Given the short time frame, Congress and the White House may be forced to agree to a relatively small increase in the debt ceiling covering only a few months. Such a compromise -- including cuts already agreed to on both sides of the aisle -- would give leaders more time to negotiate serious budget reforms, including possible changes to popular entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. However, Obama said he's opposed to a short-term increase in the debt ceiling. "I don't think the American people sent us here to avoid tough problems," Obama said. The debt ceiling dispute is a "'unique opportunity to do something big" and put the "economy on a stronger footing for the future." Over the weekend, top Democrats and Republicans gave no public indication that a potential compromise is in the offing. Talks led by Vice President Joe Biden recently collapsed over the tax dispute. "The principle of not raising taxes is something that we campaigned on last November, and the results of the election was the American people don't want their taxes raised and they wanted us to cut spending," Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "They don't want compromise." Various frameworks for a possible deal have been floated. Conservatives demand deep spending cuts, caps on future spending and a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution in return for their support to raise the debt ceiling. Both the House and Senate are planning votes on a balanced budget amendment in coming weeks. However, with such an amendment requiring approval from a two-thirds majority in both chambers and then ratification by at least 38 states, eventual approval is unclear in a process that can take years. For his part, Obama has chided congressional Republicans for refusing to make "tough decisions" at odds with their conservative base. He calls for what he characterizes as a balanced approach to deficit reduction that includes more revenue for education, infrastructure and clean energy, areas he considers critical to long-term economic growth. The Democratic position includes spending cuts elsewhere, including the military, as well as reforms to popular entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, the government-run health care programs for senior citizens, the disabled and the indigent. Republicans seek more sweeping entitlement reforms that Democrats contend would eliminate the safety net the programs were intended to provide. CNN's Tom Cohen, Alan Silverleib, Brianna Keilar, Kate Bolduan and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

White House spokesman says neither side will get everything they want . Senate leaders renew tough talk as the chamber reconvenes . Officials warn debt ceiling must be increased by August 2 to avoid risk of default .

Washington DC (CNN) -- Last month, an independent film titled "I Want to Be an Astronaut" about a driven high school robotics student and his dream to become an astronaut premiered aboard the International Space Station 286 miles above the Earth. The film's concept was originally hatched in 2011 when its creator, David Ruck, caught astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on "Real Time with Bill Maher" late one night. Maher's panel was comparing cuts in NASA's budget to the $700 billion used to bail out Wall Street in 2008. Determined to shine a light on the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs, Ruck set out to make a film for his master's thesis about high school robotics programs. Ruck's film examines the state of America's space program and captures the passion for human space travel as well as the somber tone that followed the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. According to various sources, NASA issued layoff notices to about 3,200 contractors after the shuttle Atlantis and its crew of four astronauts landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011, the final mission after a 30-year career. But the film really took shape when Ruck met Blair Mason, then a 17-year-old high school senior keenly interested in space travel. Mason, who is now 19, had wanted to be an astronaut since he was 3 years old. The film follows him as he leads his FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics team in a competition and looks to the U.S. Naval Academy for college. The NASA Robotics Alliance Project (RAP) has been supporting participation in FIRST Robotics Competitions by providing grants to high school teams as well as sponsoring FIRST regional competitions. Blair set his sights on the Naval Academy because it has graduated more astronauts than any other U.S. institution. Now a midshipmen earning academic honors, Blair is majoring in aerospace engineering and computer science with the hope of attending flight school. Blair, who is not permitted by the Naval Academy to speak to the media, acknowledges in the movie that becoming an astronaut is, "a long and complicated process, and I don't know what I'm going to encounter along the way, but I don't think I'll ever lose that dream." John Grunsfeld, astronaut and chief of NASA's Science Directorate, who is shown in the film as a mentor to Mason's FIRST Robotics team, said these programs are similar in many ways to how NASA designed, built and tested the NASA Mars Curiosity rover, which is currently exploring the Red Planet. "NASA always looks forward to seeing how students' innovative solutions are developed and seeing how their creativity might help inspire development of future spacecraft systems," Grunsfeld said. Michael Mason, Blair's brother who is now a junior in high school, also caught the robotics bug. "I joined FIRST Robotics for (several) reasons: I have always loved to build things and see them work, and I saw how happy it made my brother and how much it challenged him," he said. "The robotics team gave me a great idea of what engineering is and has made me want to pursue it as a career." While the shuttle program has been retired, the United States is still involved in space exploration with various robotic missions, private enterprise and international efforts. According to NASA.gov, "NASA is committed to human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit and the continued development of its next generation spacecraft -- Orion. The Orion spacecraft will take astronauts beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) to deep space. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe reentry from deep space. The spacecraft will launch on Exploration Flight Test-1, an uncrewed mission planned for 2014." So what does this mean for kids who dream of traveling in space? Dan Hendrickson, director of Space Systems at Aerospace Industries Association (an association that represents aerospace and defense manufacturers) said there are plenty of opportunities. "I'm excited for NASA's future and I'm looking forward to the agency's completion of numerous programs that will be brought online in just a few short years," he said. "Between the Commercial Crew program, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, and the Space Launch System, more vehicles are being built for human spaceflight right now (2014) than at any other point in our history, if (the nation) maintains steady support for these programs." Ruck and his team passionately hope the film will "draw attention to the importance of the STEM education as it relates to our nation's ability to remain on the cutting edge of science and technology to create jobs of the future." Ruck personally believes, "We need a vibrant space program to provide the context needed for young people to pursue these challenging and exciting career fields." According to NASA.gov and Whitehouse.gov, the 2014 NASA budget is $17.7 billion dollars, the same as 2013 and a .3% decrease from 2012. That translates to a $50 million cut from 2012 funding. Ruck's film is slated to be screened in May at the International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles that will host speakers Buzz Aldrin -- the Apollo astronaut who was the second man on the moon, Elon Musk, CEO of Space X, and Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO of Space X. The film will also be presented at the American Astronautical Society's 60th Anniversary celebration on July 16 at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington. Most recently, Ruck and his film were invited to the Humans to Mars Summit 2014 at George Washington University. The film is scheduled to open discussions on how humanity can land on Mars by the 2030s. As Ruck said in a recent interview, "Our goal with this film is to remind everyone what NASA means to the world, reignite those dreams again, and explore space together."

Space film follows young man's astronaut dream . "I Want to be an Astronaut" premiered aboard the space station in March . FIRST Robotics featured in film about space travel dream . NASA's future includes several new vehicles for human space flight .

(CNN) -- The pilots hardly had time to react. Two streaks of light shot past their plane as it climbed into the skies above Mombasa in Kenya. Fortunately for the hundreds of tourists on board, the two SA-7 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) fired by terrorists from a hillside close to the airport missed their target. Minutes later and thousands of feet below, more than a dozen people were killed in a bomb attack on an Israeli-owned hotel, the second part of a coordinated attack carried out by al Qaeda in November 2002. It remains the only record of al Qaeda firing SAMs on a passenger jet. But if the president of Chad is right, the terrorist group may just have acquired another batch. President Idriss Deby has told the magazine Jeune Afrique (Young Africa) that al Qaeda's North African affiliate -- Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) -- has taken advantage of unrest in Libya to seize SAMs from military stockpiles in rebel-held areas. He claimed that the missiles had already been "exfiltrated" by the AQIM from Libya and taken to the group's sanctuaries in the Ténéré region of north and northwestern Niger. "It's a very serious situation," he added. "AQIM is on the way to becoming a veritable army, the best equipped in the region." Deby said he was "100% sure" of the information, but U.S. military officials have not publicly weighed in on the claim. When asked about the reports during testimony before Congress Tuesday, Adm. James Stavridis, the NATO supreme allied commander in Europe, said he would respond in closed session. There are certainly plenty of SAMs in Libya. Video and photographs have shown rebel fighters posing with shoulder-fired surface to air missiles including SA-7s, the same type fired in Kenya. The SA-7 is a 1960s-era Soviet-made missile, later distributed to insurgents fighting Soviet troops in Afghanistan by the CIA in order to disguise their true origin. But analysts doubt that AQIM has obtained such missiles. Deby offered no concrete evidence -- in public at least -- to back up his claims. He may also have an interest in playing up the al Qaeda threat in his own backyard. Counterterrorism analysts say that Deby did not add to his credibility when he said there was some truth to Moammar Gadhafi's assertion that al Qaeda was orchestrating the Libyan rebellion, a claim for which no evidence has surfaced. Stavridis said in his testimony that only "flickers" of al Qaeda activity had been detected in eastern Libya. Given relatively high rates of Islamist radicalization in eastern Libya in recent years, it is possible that al Qaeda sympathizers in rebel ranks could have transferred weapons to AQIM. But it seems unlikely because the rebels' overwhelming motivation is to topple the Gadhafi regime. A more plausible scenario sees AQIM buying missiles on the very substantial black market in weapons in Africa. According to Andrew Lebovich, a researcher at the New America Foundation who closely tracks AQIM, the organization's significant revenues from kidnapping, drug smuggling and human trafficking mean that it has the money to buy SAMs. "If, and it's a big if, AQIM really did get hold of surface to air missiles and transport them all the way down to Niger, their main rationale would likely be to use them to defend against helicopter raids on their camps by French and other special forces teams in the area." he said. AQIM appears to have already acquired some anti-aircraft weapons. Geoff Porter, an expert on AQIM, wrote in the February edition of CTC Sentinel, published by West Point's Combating Terrorism Center, that AQIM has used its rising revenues to purchase DSHK (Dushka) .50 caliber anti-aircraft machine guns on the black market, possibly from West Africa. AQIM has been traditionally weak in Libya, according to Noman Benotman, a former Libyan jihadist who is now a senior researcher at the Quilliam Foundation, a UK-based counterterrorism think tank. The group's leadership is mainly Algerian, and its foot soldiers are being increasingly drawn from the Sahel region of Mali, Niger and Mauritania. But there are signs that its horizons are broadening. According to a recent briefing paper on Libya co-authored by Benotman, up to 40 Libyans have joined the group in the last two or three years. And in 2009, Saif al Islam Gadhafi, one of the Libyan leader's sons, told CNN's Nic Robertson that several Libyans had joined AQIM's ranks in Algeria and Mali. According to Benotman, AQIM decided to start infiltrating Libya after the fall of the Tunisian regime in January, after years of avoiding the country because of Gadhafi's intimidating security apparatus. He wrote that "in early January 2011, two Libyan AQIM members left their bases in northern Mali and travelled via southern Algeria into Libya. Arriving in Ghat, a remote desert city in Libya's extreme south-west on 15 January, they were involved in a shootout with Libyan security forces, killing one policeman, before being killed themselves. This is AQIM's first known armed operation in Libya." CNN has not been able to independently verify the incident. Last week Sheikh Abu Musab Wadud, the head of AQIM, reacted to Western airstrikes by issuing a video statement denouncing the intervention as a "modern crusade" and promising to work to remove it. The SA-7 may not be state of the art, but it has proven crudely effective over the years. SA-7s were among the weapons deployed by Iraqi insurgents to bring down several U.S. military helicopters in Iraq. While most military aircraft are equipped with counter-measures, civilian planes generally are not. Western counterterrorism officials say they are concerned about the flood of weapons from Libyan garrisons now in circulation and the difficulty of tracking them. Most are not as dangerous as SAMs, but some just may be.

Chad president claims North African affiliate has stolen some SAMs . No concrete evidence yet of this . But al Qaeda known to have enough funds for weapons black market .

(CNN) -- On June 2, 2011, I began my quest for the presidency on the farm of Doug and Stella Scamman in Stratham, New Hampshire. I said then that our country is a land of freedom and opportunity. I spoke of the hard work of the millions of Americans who built our remarkable experiment in self-government. They carved out of the wilderness a land of immense prosperity and unlimited potential. I said then that "I believe in America." For more than a year now, I've carried that message across America. As we draw close to Election Day, it is a good moment to reflect on what it means to believe in America. America is a place where freedom rings. It is a place where we can discuss our differences without fear of any consequence worse than criticism, where we can believe in whatever creed or religion we choose, where we can pursue our dreams no matter how small or grand. It is a place that not only cherishes freedom, but is willing to fight to defend it. These are the qualities that define us. America is a land of opportunity. But lately, for too many Americans, opportunity has not exactly come knocking. We've been mired in an economic slowdown that has left millions of our fellow citizens unemployed. The consequences in dreams shattered, lives disrupted, plans deferred, and hopes dimmed can be found all around us. It hasn't always been this way. It certainly doesn't have to be this way in the future. We're all in this together. And together we can emerge from these troubles. President Obama's op-ed: My vision for America . Together with Paul Ryan, I've put forward an economic recovery plan consisting of five central elements that will in four years create 12 million jobs. · We will produce more of the energy we need to heat our homes, fill our cars, and make our economy grow.  We will stop President Obama's war on coal, his disdain for oil, and his effort to crimp natural gas by federal regulation of the very technology that produces it. We will support nuclear and renewables, but phase out subsidies once an industry is on its feet. We will invest in energy science and research to make discoveries that can actually change our energy world. By 2020, we will achieve North American energy independence. · We will retrain our work force for the jobs of tomorrow and ensure that every child receives a quality education no matter where they live, including especially our inner cities. Parents and students, not administrators and unions, need to have greater choice. Our current worker retraining system is a labyrinth of federal programs that sprawls across 47 programs and nine agencies. We will eliminate this redundancy and empower the 50 states and the private sector to develop effective programs of their own. · We will make trade work for America.  We'll open more markets to American agriculture, products, and services. And we will finally hold accountable any nation that doesn't play by the rules.  I will stand up for the rights and interests of American workers and employers. Your turn: What's your vision for America? · We will restore fiscal sanity to Washington by bringing an end to the federal spending and borrowing binge that in just four years has added more debt held by the public than almost all previous administrations combined. We will put America on track to a balanced budget by eliminating unnecessary programs, by sending programs back to states where they can be managed with less abuse and less cost, and by shrinking the bureaucracy of Washington. · Finally, we will champion small business, the great engine of job creation in our country, by reforming the tax code and updating and reshaping regulations that have suffocated economic growth. Nothing is ever easy in Washington, but these goals are rooted in bipartisan agreement, and I will work with members of both parties to accomplish them.  As governor of a state that was overwhelmingly Democratic, I was always ready to reach across the aisle and I can proudly point to the results. I've learned that when we come together to solve problems in a practical spirit, we can accomplish miracles. In this respect, I am offering a contrast to what we are seeing in Washington today. We've watched as one party has pushed through its agenda without compromising with the other party. We've watched gridlock and petty conflict dominate while the most important issues confronting the nation, like chronic high unemployment, go unaddressed. The bickering has to end. I will end it.  I will reach across the aisle to solve America's problems. Our economic crisis not only threatens the well-being of our citizenry, it has larger consequences in other realms. The economic weakness of the past several years has, alarmingly, fostered weakness in our foreign policy posture. Runaway domestic spending has led the president to propose reducing defense spending by hundreds of billions, cuts that his own secretary of defense has said would "devastate" our national security. The most important task for any president is set out in the preamble to our Constitution—providing for the common defense. As commander-in-chief, I will roll back the president's deep and arbitrary cuts to our military. Our soldiers should never lack the tools they need to complete their mission and come home safely. I have always believed that the first purpose of a strong military is to prevent war. And preventing war is a supreme national interest. I will ensure that our military is strong enough that no adversary dares to challenge us. Let us remember our history. We have accomplished so much, both in the world and at home. We've defeated tyrannies. We've lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty. We've transformed our own society into a more perfect union. We've created a land of freedom and prosperity. The problems we need to overcome now are not bigger than we are. We can defeat them.  I am offering real change and a real choice. Whose vision do you find more compelling? Vote on Facebook . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney: America is a place that cherishes freedom and fights to defend it . Too many Americans have had to defer dreams due to economic slowdown, he says . He says U.S. can overcome troubles, speed economic growth through policy changes . Romney: I am offering "real change and a real choice"

(CNN) -- Could a massive passenger jet slip past radar, cross international borders and land undetected? That's a key question investigators are weighing as they continue the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bound for Beijing. Radar does have some blind spots, and it's possible to avoid being spotted by flying at low altitude, analysts told CNN. But experts are divided over whether that could be what happened to the missing Boeing 777-200ER. Jeffrey Beatty, a security consultant and former FBI special agent, says someone could have planned a route that avoided radar detection. "It certainly is possible to fly through the mountains in that part of the world and not be visible on radar. Also, an experienced pilot, anyone who wanted to go in that direction, could certainly plot out all the known radar locations, and you can easily determine, where are the radar blind spots?" he said. "It's the type of things the Americans did when they went into Pakistan to go after Osama bin Laden." Information about the plane's path came into sharper focus on Tuesday, when the Thai government released data that bolsters the belief among investigators that the missing jet took a sharp westward turn after communication was lost. The Thai military was receiving normal flight path and communication data from the jet on its planned route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing until 1:22 a.m., when it disappeared from its radar. Six minutes later, the Thai military detected an unknown signal, a Royal Thai Air Force spokesman told CNN. This unknown aircraft, possibly Flight 370, was heading in the opposite direction. Malaysia says the evidence suggests the plane was deliberately flown off course, turning westward and traveling back over the Malay Peninsula and out into the Indian Ocean. The Thai data corroborate what the Malaysian military had found earlier -- that the plane did indeed turn around toward the Strait of Malacca. But the Thai contact was short-lived. "The unknown aircraft's signal was sending out intermittently, on and off, and on and off," the spokesman said. The Thai military lost the unknown aircraft's signal because of the limits of its military radar, he said. Satellite signals can confirm plane's identity . On Monday, the Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times reported that the plane may have evaded radar detection by flying at an altitude of 5,000 feet or less and through mountainous terrain. The newspaper cited unidentified sources for its reporting, which CNN could not confirm. A senior Indian military official told CNN on Monday that military radar near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands isn't as closely watched as are other radar systems. That leaves open the possibility that Indian radar systems may not have picked up the airplane at the time of its last known Malaysian radar contact, near the tiny island of Palau Perak in the Strait of Malacca. Malaysian officials said Monday that they were not aware of the Malaysian newspaper's report. "It does not come from us," said Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. U.S. officials have said they think it's unlikely the plane flew northward over land as it veered off course. If it had, they've said, radar somewhere would have detected it. It's also unlikely that the plane was landed at a remote airport, since remote airports aren't typically equipped with the long runways that the Boeing jetliner needs, the officials have said. Analysts interviewed by CNN said that it would be extremely difficult to fly such a large aircraft so close to the ground over a long period of time, and that it's not even clear that doing so would keep the plane off radar scopes. Key moments in tracking missing airliner . "Five thousand (feet) isn't really low enough to evade the radar, and that's kind of where general aviation flies all the time anyway, and we're visible to radar," said Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. "It just seems really highly improbable, unless we've been overestimating a lot of other countries' radar system capabilities," said Daniel Rose, an aviation and maritime attorney. Buck Sexton, a former CIA officer who's now national security editor for TheBlaze.com, said radar would have detected the plane had it flown over land. "This is a bus in the sky. It's a lot harder to get under the radar with this kind of thing than I think most people realize," he said. "So really, while the search I know has extended to this vast area stretching up into (central or south Asia), clearly there really should be much more of a search over open water -- because this is not getting past people's radars." It wouldn't be easy to avoid radar detection, but some experts say it could be done. "Anything like this is possible," radar expert Greg Charvat told CNN's "Piers Morgan Live." "But to do it, you'd have to have very detailed information of the type of radars, their disposition, their heights and their waveforms to pull that off." Different countries would likely be using different radar systems, he said, but it's unclear how advanced the technology is in many countries. "It took a great deal of skill to do this," CNN aviation analyst Jim Tilmon said. "I think somebody was at the controls who understood the value of altitude control to eliminate the possibility of being spotted and tracked on radar." Whoever was in control in the cockpit, he said, "really had the ability to map out a route that was given the very best chance of not being detected." One other possibility, he said: The plane could have shadowed another plane so closely that it slipped by radar detection. Other analysts say that would require so much skill that it would be nearly impossible to pull off without getting caught. There's another possible wrinkle, experts say. Some countries may be hesitant to reveal what they've seen on radar. "They want to protect their own capabilities," Beatty said. "Their intelligence services are not going to want to publicize exactly what their capabilities are." Pilots, passengers under scrutiny . Politician: Pilot supported me, but was no hijacker . CNN's Barbara Starr, Brooke Baldwin, Wolf Blitzer and Elizabeth Joseph contributed to this report.

NEW: Thai data bolster belief that the jet turned sharply westward . Experts disagree over whether plane could have slipped past radar undetected . Analyst: Radar blind spots could be determined "easily" Security consultant: Someone could have planned a route to avoid detection .

(CNN) -- The "Fab Five" got off to a strong start Tuesday, and it led to a golden finish. The U.S. women's gymnastics team won its second gold medal ever, living up to its pre-tournament billing, which included a Sports Illustrated cover for the Olympic darlings. Gabby Douglas led the U.S. to a 183.596 score, while Russia finished second with 178.503. Jordyn Wieber was a key part of the victory also, placing third in the vault and fourth on the floor. "I'm so proud of these girls. We did awesome," said Douglas, who competed on all four apparatus. "A lot of hard work and sacrifice in the gym, and it all pays off." Wieber, who didn't qualify for the individual all-around competition because Olympic rules limit the entrants to two per team, said it was a team win. "This couldn't be possible without everyone stepping up today," she said." Everyone did their job and was completely amazing. I am so excited." The U.S. had the highest score in three of the four events, including the vault, which it did first. McKayla Maroney scored a meet-high 16.233 to lead the Americans. Team USA had a two-point lead going into the final event -- the floor exercise -- over the Russians, but both Anastasia Grishina and Kseniia Afanaseva botched their routines, . Afterward, there were tears for both teams. "Well, I think the first tears were of disappointment, but the second were tears of joy," Afanaseva said. Wieber, the world champion in the individual all around, said: "It was just tears of happiness. I really did just go out there and made the most of my Olympics and I'm happy I ended on this note." Members of the Chinese team were crying, too, after a fourth-place finish. Except one member. When asked why she wasn't weeping, Lu Sui responded, ""Because the rest of the team is crying, and besides, if I cry, I will mess up my make-up." Members of the U.S. team said they were unaware of the purported curse that goes with being on the cover of Sports Illustrated. "I was never aware of it. Kyla was told about it in an interview. I don't believe in that," said Aly Raisman. "We worked really hard to get here." At the pool, Americans were also collecting gold medals, including one that made Olympics history. Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian ever, setting a record with his 19th medal after anchoring the U.S. men's 4x200-meter freestyle team to gold. The crowd at London's Aquatic Centre rose to its feet as Phelps churned home, well ahead of France's Yannick Agnel. "I've been in a huddle with them (his teammates in the relay) because they made it possible," Phelps said. "If I didn't get a big enough lead then who knows what would have happened." With the gold, Phelps broke a brief tie with Larisa Latynina, a Soviet gymnast who won18 total medals from 1956 to 1964. Phelps now has 15 gold, two silver and two bronze medals spanning four Olympics. An hour earlier, Phelps was a dejected silver medalist. SI analysis: Three thoughts from the swimming finals . Phelps led his signature race, the 200-meter butterfly. from the start until the last few meters, appearing to be ready to become the first man to win an individual event in three consecutive Olympics. But just as Phelps glided into the finish, South African Chad le Clos, a 20-year-old whose idol was swimming in the lane right next to him, cranked one last big stroke to edge his hero Phelps at the wall. It reminded swimming commentators of Phelps' 100-meter butterfly win at the Beijing Games when he took a quick final stroke as Serbian Milorad Cavic stretched for the wall. This time it was Phelps who was caught reaching. After the race, the shocked Phelps put his face in his hands. It was only later, on the medal stand when he broke into a big smile. "It was my last one and I would have liked to have won," he said. American Allison Schmitt won the women's 200-meter freestyle in Olympic record time. Michael Phelps: "I consider myself normal" Chinese swimmer Shiwen Ye won her second gold medal, taking the women's 200 individual medley in Olympic record time. The performances of the 16-year-old have resulted in some wondering out loud about possible doping. "I just train well and perform well and keep on going," she said. "I think that was a little bit unfair for me, but it didn't affect me. Other swimmers have won multiple golds, how come they criticize me?" History had already been made once at the Olympics on Tuesday when Queen Elizabeth's equestrian granddaughter Zara Phillips put her name in the record books earlier in the day by becoming the first member of the British royal family to win an Olympic medal. She claimed a silver as part of the British eventing team. Her mother, Princess Anne, a 1976 Olympic equestrian, draped the medal around her neck. Another British Olympian, Tom Daley, was in the news for a less happy reason as police arrested a 17-year-old accused of abusing the teen diver in comments on Twitter. After his day on the tennis court, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France needed some sleep. He beat Milos Raonic in three sets, but the score of the final stanza was 25-23. "For me it's good because this is the only way, you know, to write my name in history for the moment," he said. "With Rafa (Nadal), Roger (Federer) and Novak (Djokovic), even Andy (Roddick), you know, it's tough to go through big tournaments. So ... I'm really happy. I hope I will have some more."

NEW: U.S. gymnast: "We did awesome" NEW: Swimmer Ye brushes off criticism, wins another gold . NEW: Two male tennis players go to 45th game in final set . Michael Phelps wins 19th Olympic medal, best all time .

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A rifle-wielding white supremacist entered Washington's Holocaust museum on Wednesday afternoon, fatally shooting a security guard before being wounded himself by return fire from other guards, authorities said. Stephen Tyrone Johns was shot and killed while working at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday. Stephen Tyrone Johns, a six-year veteran of the museum's security staff, later "died heroically in the line of duty," said Sara Bloomfield, museum director. Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as James W. von Brunn, an 88-year-old white supremacist from Maryland. He is a known Holocaust denier who created an anti-Semitic Web site called "The Holy Western Empire." He has repeatedly claimed "The Diary of Anne Frank," a widely read book about a teenage girl's experiences under Nazi rule, was a hoax. The museum shooting occurred on a day the museum was to stage a play based on Anne Frank and two days before what would have her 80th birthday. Investigators found a notebook in the suspect's car listing other locations in Washington, a federal official told CNN. It was unclear what purpose the list served. Von Brunn allegedly entered the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum at 12:50 p.m. Wednesday and immediately shot Johns with a rifle, said Chief Cathy Lanier of the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department. Two other security guards returned fire, according to Lanier and the museum statement. Both Johns and Von Brunn were taken to George Washington University Hospital, said D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. Johns died at the hospital. Von Brunn was in critical condition, Fenty said. Johns, 40, was a resident of Temple Hills, Maryland, according to a statement issued by Wackenhut Services Inc., which has provided security services at the museum since 2002. "Obviously there are no words to express our grief and shock over the horrific event that took place at this museum today," Bloomfield, the museum director, said. Witnesses: 'Panic' inside museum » . She said the museum was closed for the remainder of the day and would remain closed Thursday in honor of Johns. Brunn served six years in prison for trying in 1981 to kidnap Federal Reserve board members because of high interest rates. He blamed his prison term on a "Negro jury, Jew/Negro attorneys" and "a Jew judge," he said on his Web site, "Holy Western Empire." The Southern Poverty Law Center, which focuses on human rights, said Brunn has "an extremely long history with neo-Nazis and white supremacists." A place that stimulates visitors to confront hatred and promotes peace and human dignity, the Holocaust museum on Wednesday became the scene of everything that was opposite. See more photos from the scene » . Witnesses described blood on the floor and chaos within the museum's halls. Visitor Maria Hernandez told CNN she heard five shots and saw the wounded security guard. Watch Maria describe what she saw » . "It was definitely a security guard; he was down bleeding on the floor," said Hernandez, 19. "He was face down. His back ... blood was coming out." Sirens blared as emergency vehicles converged on the area, which is near the Washington Monument and other popular tourist attractions. The museum was full at the time, with a "couple of thousand" people inside, said William Parsons, chief of staff at the museum. See where the museum is located » . "Never take your guard force and security people for granted," he said. "They did exactly what they were supposed to do to protect people in the museum." Law enforcement analyst talks about how this could have happened » . Dave Pearson, a sixth-grade teacher in the Washington area, said he was on the museum's fourth floor when he heard a loud noise. "At the time, we're visiting and all of a sudden there's like a boom, and all of a sudden they told us to stop where we're at," he told CNN. "Only thing we heard was a boom, and that was it." Watch another museum visitor tell what he saw » . An FBI official said there was no prior warning or threat against the museum. In a later statement, the FBI said members of its National Capital Response Squad and Joint Terrorism Task Force are taking part in the investigation. Lanier said the area around the museum was checked by bomb-sniffing dogs as a matter of routine. The shooting sent shock waves throughout the nation's capital and elsewhere. "I am shocked and saddened by today's shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum," said President Obama, who just days earlier had spoken emotionally about the Holocaust when he visited Buchenwald, a former Nazi concentration camp with Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel. "This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms," Obama said Wednesday. "No American institution is more important to this effort than the Holocaust Museum, and no act of violence will diminish our determination to honor those who were lost by building a more peaceful and tolerant world." Israel issued a statement through its embassy, expressing sadness and condemning the attack. Fenty called the shooting "an extremely isolated incident" in the nation's capital, which is a major tourist destination. "In these days and times, you never know when someone is going to grab a gun and use it in an inappropriate way," he said. The museum canceled a performance scheduled for Wednesday night of a play about racism and anti-Semitism, based on a fictional meeting between Anne Frank and Emmett Till, the teenage victim of a racist killing in the United States. U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder and Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, were among those planning to attend the play, which was written by Janet Langhart Cohen, the wife of former Defense Secretary and U.S. Sen. William Cohen. Langhart Cohen told CNN that Anne Frank's young life was ended by people filled with hate. She said it was hard to see that same hate manifest itself at this place of remembrance. CNN's Lindy Royce contributed to this report .

Stephen Tyrone Johns died "heroically in the line of duty," museum says . Suspect is 88-year-old white supremacist, law enforcement officials say . Man with "long gun" entered museum, fired at guard, police spokesman says . Security guard and shooter were wounded in exchange of gunfire, police say .

Beijing, China (CNN) -- There's no reason China's spat with Internet search giant Google should hurt relations with the United States, China's foreign ministry said Tuesday. A day earlier, Google announced that it had stopped censoring search results in China. "The Google incident is just an individual action taken by one company. I can't see it having any impact on Sino-U.S. relations, unless someone wants to politicize it," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Tuesday. "It is not the image of China that has been undermined, rather it is that of Google." Google's announcement came amid speculation that the search giant would pull out of China entirely. In a post on its official blog, Google said it stopped running the censored Google.cn service on Monday and was routing its Chinese users to an uncensored version of Google based in Hong Kong. The special administrative region offers more freedom than mainland China. "We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement," Senior Vice President David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, said on the blog. Google hopes the move "will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China," Drummond wrote. "We very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision, though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services," he added. Google said it would monitor whether access to the site is blocked in mainland China. Early reports from China suggested that the government was already restricting access to Google's Hong Kong-based site, said Eddan Katz, international affairs director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "We've already heard indications that visitors to Google.hk are getting 'can't find page' errors," said Katz, whose group promotes free speech online. The company on Monday also launched a dashboard page, which it promises to update daily, that will show which Google services are available in China. According to the page, YouTube, Google Sites and Google's Blogger apps were blocked Monday afternoon. Observers said Google's actions amount to a withdrawal from China and highlights expectations that the government will censor search results. Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk Centre, which studies the intersection of digital policy and human rights, said Google's move didn't come as a surprise. "It's become unsustainable for Google to operate in this environment," he said. "They've made a decision that the risks are too great for them, so they're going to pull out." Google launched Google.cn in 2006. That enterprise prompted complaints that the company was sacrificing Web freedoms by complying with Chinese censorship in return for access to a huge market. The company, whose slogan is "Don't be evil," countered that operating in limited form gave Chinese users more information than than they would have had otherwise. Google also hoped its presence would advance online freedom in China. In January, Google announced that the company and at least 20 others were victims of a "highly sophisticated and targeted [hacking] attack" originating in China in mid-December, evidently to gain access to the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. The company said the attacker or attackers gained access to the header -- or subject-line information -- from the e-mails of two human rights activists through the Google network. Google-China move hurts businesses, academics . In a speech on Internet freedom and security in January, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China to investigate such attacks and accusations of government involvement, saying they raised "very serious concerns." China rejected the claims. "Accusation that the Chinese government participated in [any] cyber attack, either in an explicit or inexplicit way, is groundless and aims to denigrate China," the official Xinhua News Agency quoted a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as saying. "We are firmly opposed to that." As a result of the attack, Google said, it was no longer willing to abide by the filters that the Chinese government demanded. Briefly afterward, Google.cn was retrieving results for sensitive topics, including the 1989 crackdown at Tiananmen Square, the Dalai Lama and the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement. But about a day later, search results appeared to return to normal. It's not just China -- Google censors results elsewhere, too . Advocates of Internet freedoms cheered Google's move Monday. "It demonstrates that a company like Google, with the business stakes in a market as large as China, can make the decision that free and open Internet is a better business alternative and a better ethical choice for its users," Katz said. Internet users gravitate toward sites with unrestricted information, he said. "This is an example of how the genie can't be put back in the bottle." Deibert, who co-founded the OpenNet Initiative, said China might go further as a next step: blocking all outside search engines from accessing Web information in the country. "If such a radical measure happens, that would have major implications for cyberspace as a whole," he said. "It would point to a more regionalized Internet" and perhaps embolden countries such as Iran to follow suit, Deibert said. Google.cn is the preferred search tool for about 13 percent of Chinese Web users, according to a state-sponsored survey. Baidu.com, a government-friendly Chinese search engine, dominates mainland China with about 77 percent of users, the survey said. Google's announcement had been widely anticipated. Internet companies operating in China face a March 31 deadline to renew licenses to do business there, according to the Beijing Communications Administration. The blog post by Drummond said Google plans to continue research and development work in China and to maintain a limited sales presence there. In an apparent attempt to protect Google employees in China, the post said the decision was made by Google's top brass in the United States. "Despite all the uncertainty and difficulties they have faced since we made our announcement in January, [Google's China employees] have continued to focus on serving our Chinese users and customers," the blog said. "We are immensely proud of them." CNN's John Vause, Doug Gross and Brandon Griggs contributed to this report.

Dispute over censorship an isolated issue, foreign ministry spokesman says . Google routing Chinese users to site based in less restrictive Hong Kong . Decision fuels speculation that Google will pull out of China altogether . China could block all outside search engines' access to info inside China .

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A rifle-wielding white supremacist entered Washington's Holocaust museum on Wednesday afternoon, fatally shooting a security guard before being wounded himself by return fire from other guards, authorities said. Stephen Tyrone Johns was shot and killed while working at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday. Stephen Tyrone Johns, a six-year veteran of the museum's security staff, later "died heroically in the line of duty," said Sara Bloomfield, museum director. Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as James W. von Brunn, an 88-year-old white supremacist from Maryland. He is a known Holocaust denier who created an anti-Semitic Web site called "The Holy Western Empire." He has repeatedly claimed "The Diary of Anne Frank," a widely read book about a teenage girl's experiences under Nazi rule, was a hoax. The museum shooting occurred on a day the museum was to stage a play based on Anne Frank and two days before what would have her 80th birthday. Investigators found a notebook in the suspect's car listing other locations in Washington, a federal official told CNN. It was unclear what purpose the list served. Von Brunn allegedly entered the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum at 12:50 p.m. Wednesday and immediately shot Johns with a rifle, said Chief Cathy Lanier of the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department. Two other security guards returned fire, according to Lanier and the museum statement. Both Johns and Von Brunn were taken to George Washington University Hospital, said D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. Johns died at the hospital. Von Brunn was in critical condition, Fenty said. Johns, 40, was a resident of Temple Hills, Maryland, according to a statement issued by Wackenhut Services Inc., which has provided security services at the museum since 2002. "Obviously there are no words to express our grief and shock over the horrific event that took place at this museum today," Bloomfield, the museum director, said. Witnesses: 'Panic' inside museum » . She said the museum was closed for the remainder of the day and would remain closed Thursday in honor of Johns. Brunn served six years in prison for trying in 1981 to kidnap Federal Reserve board members because of high interest rates. He blamed his prison term on a "Negro jury, Jew/Negro attorneys" and "a Jew judge," he said on his Web site, "Holy Western Empire." The Southern Poverty Law Center, which focuses on human rights, said Brunn has "an extremely long history with neo-Nazis and white supremacists." A place that stimulates visitors to confront hatred and promotes peace and human dignity, the Holocaust museum on Wednesday became the scene of everything that was opposite. See more photos from the scene » . Witnesses described blood on the floor and chaos within the museum's halls. Visitor Maria Hernandez told CNN she heard five shots and saw the wounded security guard. Watch Maria describe what she saw » . "It was definitely a security guard; he was down bleeding on the floor," said Hernandez, 19. "He was face down. His back ... blood was coming out." Sirens blared as emergency vehicles converged on the area, which is near the Washington Monument and other popular tourist attractions. The museum was full at the time, with a "couple of thousand" people inside, said William Parsons, chief of staff at the museum. See where the museum is located » . "Never take your guard force and security people for granted," he said. "They did exactly what they were supposed to do to protect people in the museum." Law enforcement analyst talks about how this could have happened » . Dave Pearson, a sixth-grade teacher in the Washington area, said he was on the museum's fourth floor when he heard a loud noise. "At the time, we're visiting and all of a sudden there's like a boom, and all of a sudden they told us to stop where we're at," he told CNN. "Only thing we heard was a boom, and that was it." Watch another museum visitor tell what he saw » . An FBI official said there was no prior warning or threat against the museum. In a later statement, the FBI said members of its National Capital Response Squad and Joint Terrorism Task Force are taking part in the investigation. Lanier said the area around the museum was checked by bomb-sniffing dogs as a matter of routine. The shooting sent shock waves throughout the nation's capital and elsewhere. "I am shocked and saddened by today's shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum," said President Obama, who just days earlier had spoken emotionally about the Holocaust when he visited Buchenwald, a former Nazi concentration camp with Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel. "This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms," Obama said Wednesday. "No American institution is more important to this effort than the Holocaust Museum, and no act of violence will diminish our determination to honor those who were lost by building a more peaceful and tolerant world." Israel issued a statement through its embassy, expressing sadness and condemning the attack. Fenty called the shooting "an extremely isolated incident" in the nation's capital, which is a major tourist destination. "In these days and times, you never know when someone is going to grab a gun and use it in an inappropriate way," he said. The museum canceled a performance scheduled for Wednesday night of a play about racism and anti-Semitism, based on a fictional meeting between Anne Frank and Emmett Till, the teenage victim of a racist killing in the United States. U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder and Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, were among those planning to attend the play, which was written by Janet Langhart Cohen, the wife of former Defense Secretary and U.S. Sen. William Cohen. Langhart Cohen told CNN that Anne Frank's young life was ended by people filled with hate. She said it was hard to see that same hate manifest itself at this place of remembrance. CNN's Lindy Royce contributed to this report .

Stephen Tyrone Johns died "heroically in the line of duty," museum says . Suspect is 88-year-old white supremacist, law enforcement officials say . Man with "long gun" entered museum, fired at guard, police spokesman says . Security guard and shooter were wounded in exchange of gunfire, police say .

(CNN) -- As she approaches the fifth anniversary of the accident that paralyzed her, record-breaking Paralympic gold medallist Mallory Weggemann is in defiant mood. The 23-year-old is determined January 21 will not be a day tainted with bitterness; instead she will focus on the string of seismic achievements she has made since her life was irreparably altered. The current holder of 15 swimming world records refuses to accept the normal limits associated with disability, underlined by her latest conquest -- skiing. Growing up in Minnesota, Weggemann says she used to dread the complexities thrown up by heavy snow that sometimes lingers for months, but after taking to the slopes in Stratton, Vermont, she feels she's reclaimed another slice of independence. "It's been fun to be out there on the snow again and not be confined to four wheels," Weggemann told CNN from the slopes in Vermont. "I'm reaching my five year anniversary of my paralysis in January and I haven't been able to enjoy winter yet. I grew up in Minnesota, with snow all around for a good six months of the year. "Five years ago when this happened I didn't obviously think I'd be up skiing on a mountain and I definitely didn't know what my life would look like five years from that point. "I try not to look at the anniversary - January 21st - as a sad or depressing day, or look at it for what I lost. I try to look at everything I've accomplished and gained and all the opportunities I've had. "I still truly believe the life I've lived since becoming paralyzed is far fuller than the life I may have lived if I wasn't paralyzed. "I'd done a little bit of skiing before I was paralyzed and I wanted to be able to find a way to enjoy snow again, to enjoy the winter months. I used to dread them." Weggemann was only 19 when she became paralyzed from the waist down. A routine epidural injection during a bout of shingles went wrong and changed the course of her life forever. Unbowed she has spent the last half decade smashing down the barriers most people assume are erected the instant such a tragedy occurs. Within four months of the accident, the 23-year-old was back in the pool and about to launch a new career that would see her claim 13 gold medals at the 2009 and 2010 World Championships. As well as her world records she also holds 34 U.S. records. Weggemann seems to take disappointment in her stride. Despite having her disability reclassified by the event's governing body on the eve of the Paralympics last year, Weggemann absorbed the blow and took her first gold medal at the Games in the 50m freestyle, also adding a bronze in the 4x100m medley. Her foray into the world of skiing is just the latest challenge she has overcome, as she works her way down a list that might deter even the fittest able-bodied athlete. Armed only with a mono ski, and two hand skis, Weggemann had completed just one day of training with Rob Willis -- an instructor at Stratton Mountain -- before she was let loose on the slope's quickest runs. Willis says the mental fortitude of his apprentice was unlike any he has come across before. "Mallory is by far the best student I've ever had," he said. "She's just a natural athlete. She's amazing and has the right attitude to go far. "We were already on the top of the mountain on her second day of skiing. I think besides being physically in shape, mentality is the most important thing. Mallory's approach to it has helped her get the hang of it really quickly. "She's absolutely amazing; I could only hope to be as dedicated as she is. She's the sort of person that if you put a barrier in front of her she'll go and smash it down. I think if people watch her and see what she does it can be an amazing motivator for them." Weggemann does not just accept her position as a role model, she embraces it. "I had a lot of people tell me about things I would never do again," she explained. "It was one of those moments when I realized the only person who can put restrictions on me is me. "I almost became a bit more hungry for life in general. All of a sudden my ambition changed, my drive, my passion, ever since that day I've had a change in perspective, to live everything to the full and take advantage of all these opportunities. "There are a lot of things out there I want to try that I didn't know that I had the desire to do before I was paralyzed. One of the big things I want to do is to try and raise awareness, to show what individuals with disabilities can do. "It's raising awareness that our life isn't any different and we as individuals are not different. I think our society puts that on disability and focuses on what people can't do, but we can do those things, we might do them differently, but we can do them. "It's my hope in doing things like this, that I can encourage not only our society to feel differently but hopefully raise awareness so other individuals with disabilities can see the opportunities they have as well." So now the skiing box has been ticked, what is next on Weggemann's to-do list? "I'd love to find a way to walk with leg braces and arm crutches," she said. "I don't have any function in my legs but I know there's a way you can do it using your abs, so walking is definitely on my list in this next year. "I'm getting ready to go scuba diving in the spring for the first time since being paralyzed and down the road one of my really big goals is to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. "My dad is an avid mountain climber and he's scaled various different mountains. I'd love to get my dad back on a mountain and do it with him. The list is quite long!"

U.S. Paralympic swimmer Mallory Weggemann conquers the slopes of Vermont . The 23-year-old is determined to enjoy winter despite difficulties of being in a wheelchair . A monoski took Weggemann down the slopes as she nears fifth anniversary of accident . Her next challenge is scuba diving before climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with her father .

(CNN) -- The Olympics may have started out as an idealistic showcase of amateur sporting prowess, but now it's a very big business. In fact, it's one of the biggest brands in the world, claims a new report. The four-yearly sporting spectacular -- rated second in scale behind soccer's World Cup -- is worth just over $47.5 billion according to valuation specialist Brand Finance. That leaves it behind only Apple ($70.6 billion) and above the corporate world's next biggest brand, Google ($47.4 billion). These figures, based on the International Olympic Committee's financial statements, put the legacy of Pierre de Coubertin well above major sponsors such as Samsung ($38.2 billion), General Electric ($33.2 billion) and Coca-Cola ($31.1 billion). The Frenchman -- who believed in the right for everyone to take part -- revived the Ancient Games in the late 1800s. Some 116 years after the first modern Olympics took place in Athens, the event is apparently now worth 134 times the National Bank of Greece ($354 million). iReport: Send us your pictures and videos . While the Hellenic economy is all but crippled in these difficult economic times, the Olympics -- originally dedicated to the gods, but now seemingly devoted to the dollar -- is experiencing significant financial growth. In the four years since the Beijing Games, total revenue has increased 38% to $5.1 billion. Of that amount, broadcast revenue has boomed by 51% to $3.9 billion (compared to just $1.2 million in 1960) with the largest spend by continent in North America ($2.3 billion). These numbers are expected to go up again as the Olympic cycle moves from London to Rio in 2016, with Brand Finance -- which has yet to rate soccer's World Cup or European Championship -- reporting that revenue will pass the $6 billion mark. In fact, another report -- by Sportcal -- states that this four-year cycle will be worth $8 billion overall, covering London 2012 and Vancouver's 2010 Winter Games. As the IOC retains only 10% of its income to cover operating costs, this represents a healthy profit -- much of which is plowed back into developing sport worldwide. "There is no doubt that the Olympics 'Brand' is a formidable revenue generator and has huge value," says Brand Finance chief executive David Haigh. "It has recently been criticized for heavy-handed brand control, but it should not be forgotten that in the current four-year cycle $4.6 billion has been generated for initiatives to develop sport worldwide. It is also expected to produce a net benefit to the UK economy of more than $25 billion." However, British sports business expert Simon Chadwick argues that these figures do not show the whole picture -- and he insists that brand value is more complex than mere numbers can portray. "While it cannot be denied that the IOC contributes to the funding and development of sport across the world, many of the costs associated with running the Olympics are covered by host nations which, in turn, can divert resources away from investment in other sporting projects that might normally be pursued," Chadwick, of England's Coventry University Business School, told CNN. "Moreover, the Games often inflict economic costs upon countries (such as increased congestion, increased crime, resource inflation etc.) that are not accounted for by the financial figures quoted here. "The IOC has created value for the brand on the back of unprecedented protection; there can be few corporations across the world that oblige governments to pass legislation aimed at protecting the Games' interests. As such, the IOC is afforded competitive and commercial benefits that are essentially unique and highly distinctive." Such restrictions mean that the likes of McDonald's (valued at $22.2 billion) have an almost free reign in the supply of food on the Olympic Park site. And sponsorship deals can ensure a hefty return on investment for the corporations who sign Olympic partnership deals, known as the TOP program. "Procter & Gamble expects to generate an extra $500 million in sales from London 2012, having already generated $100 million from Vancouver 2010," states the Brand Finance report. "GE, which reportedly paid $200 million for TOP sponsorship rights covering London and Vancouver, already believes it has earned back its investment. "GE uses its Olympic links to win big contracts in the host nations, particularly in developing nations such as China (after Beijing 2008) and the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi, Russia for 2014." However, Chadwick believes sponsorship is only one factor in measuring brand value. "All the sponsorship figure does is to tell us something about the value of the Games brand to a sponsor, rather than to consumers," he said. "This sense of corporatism is further amplified by the geographic figures, which are heavily skewed towards North America. The implication is that there is little value in the Olympics brand in Africa (which provides just 1% of the broadcast revenue)." As well as raising the issue of who the Olympics actually benefits, Chadwick believes the report gives a limited picture of the Games' brand value. "It highlights the willingness of broadcasters and sponsors to pay for the right to be associated with the Games. The figures are therefore not necessarily an accurate indicator of true global worth in that there is no clear link to the peoples' purchase intentions and behavior in relation to the brand," he said. "What the precise nature of that value might be is open to question. It is also somewhat worrying that a significant part of the brand value attributed by this study emanates from only two sources: broadcasting and sponsorship. "The domination of broadcasting revenues is an especially worrying point as it implies that the majority of brand value is delivered by media spectacle alone. "This casts some doubt on the extent to which consumers and fans value the brand, but also implies that the generation of brand value is delivered by broadcasters and sponsors, and not by the IOC or the inherent or intrinsic qualities of the products it delivers." Chadwick argues that it is wrong to compare the Olympics with corporations such as Apple and Google, who operate on different timeframes and in a different business environment. "The methodology used to value a brand like Apple will be entirely different to that employed to value the Olympics -- it is therefore scientifically unsound to make any such sort of comparison," he said.

Report says the Olympics is the second biggest brand in the world . Games lags well behind leader Apple but is above Google . However, sports business analyst says they cannot be compared . He argues that brand value is more than just a financial concept .

(CNN) -- David Bill isn't annoyed when Twitter gets so bogged down with traffic that he can't post a message. Twitter's "fail whale," which appears when the site is overrun, is so popular it's on T-shirts and even tattoos. That's because in the moment when frustration would hit, he's greeted on the popular Web site by a cartoonish image he loves: a giant whale being lifted out of an ocean by a small flock of tweeting birds. The icon -- which Twitter users call it the "fail whale" because the creature appears only when the site has failed to load -- has gained a cult following as the social media site grows at breakneck pace. The conversational Web site, which lets users post 140-character microblogs, saw a 1,374 percent jump in unique visitors between February 2008 and February this year, up to 7 million from only 475,000, according to Nielsen NetView. By comparison, Facebook grew 228 percent, to 65.7 million users, during the same period. With all of those new Twitterers, fail whale sightings and site crashes seem more frequent. Bill (mr_bill on Twitter) and other fail-whale followers aren't bothered, though. The 36-year-old San Franciscan has organized parties in honor of the whale. The most recent, held in California in February, was attended by more than 300 people, including Yiying Lu, the artist in Australia who created the image. Bill says the whale represents a contrarian philosophy. "It's sort of an adorable whale but also this thing that represents the Herculean tasks that we sometimes go about from day to day," he said. "We're all trying to do a lot of things that seem pretty impossible," Bill said. "It's nice to identify something positive with those failures." Not every Twitterer is sympathetic to the site's troubles, though. Some users say Twitter has outgrown its core audience and is irrelevant to the technophiles who made it popular in the first place. Others are annoyed by the flood of spammers and profiteers who now use the site's popularity to make a buck. Celebrities and members of Congress have been jumping onto the site in recent months, adding to the site's mainstream popularity and, some users say, causing glitches in the system. "I keep getting the fail whale. Twitter got too popular too quickly. I blame Shaq," wrote Jessica Roy, a 21-year-old New York University student who goes by suchamessica on Twitter. Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, or THE_REAL_SHAQ, has more than 470,000 followers on the site. Nova Spivack, a blogger whose article "Can Twitter Survive What is About to Happen to It?" has been passed around the site, said a rift is developing between Twitter's original "in crowd" and its newer, more mainstream users. Early adopters find many of the new users annoying, he said. "A lot of people come in, and they take that 'What are you doing?' question literally, and so they put very inane things on Twitter," he said. iReport.com: How do you feel about tweets and status updates? The site used to feel "insulated" from the mainstream, and now it doesn't, he said. But for all the complaints, there seem to be just as many people who are almost excited about Twitter's growing pains. It is inevitable that a Web site seeing Twitter-style growth would face some glitches and a backlash from early adopters, said Laura Fitton, a consultant and co-author of the book "Twitter for Dummies." "There's going to be all kinds of people using it all kinds of different ways," she said. "The purists can go pound rocks." Major news such as the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the Hudson River plane landing has broken over Twitter, and that's added to the site's popularity, she said. Amy Gahran, who writes on social media at contentious.com, said the backlash against Twitter stems from the fact that people are uncomfortable with change. Early users see new people coming to the site, and that creeps them out, but it shouldn't, she said. "Change is freaking good," she said. "Roll with it." As the site gets filled with fresh users, people are creating pieces of software to help Twitterers sort through the noise, Gahran said. She said Twitter is popular because it mimics real-life conversation and because it's easy to use. She also expects Twitter to expand, especially as people in developing countries use cell-phone text messages to communicate through the site. "People talk. That's what we do," she said. "We're social creatures. We're kind of wired for this." Twitter says it is addressing breakdowns in that wired communication. "We have made amazing progress from a technical perspective as far as accommodating this rapid growth goes and will continue to improve system and subsystem performance moving forward," Twitter co-founder Biz Stone wrote in a statement to CNN. Critter Gewlas of Cary, North Carolina, believes so much in the site's ability to overcome adversity that he recently got a tattoo of the fail whale on his leg. "The site itself has suffered a few scrapes and bumps along the way, but for the most part, I definitely think it's a good thing," said the 36-year-old. The fail whale's account on Twitter has more than 2,265 followers. A Facebook group dedicated to the whale has more than 4,400 members. The whale has spawned art and merchandise, from coffee mugs to baby clothes. A Current.com parody of the whale has spun around the Internet, too. Bill, whose fail whale parties have featured an aquamarine martini in honor of the icon's color, said the whale's popularity comes from the idea that failures are worth celebrating and learning from. Twitter will use that philosophy to continue to grow, he said. "Twitter is a powerful enough thing that it should succeed in a broad way, and I would like it to succeed in a broad way," he said.

Twitter saw growth of more than 1,300 percent in the year up to February . Its swift growth has caused a backlash among some of the site's early users . Other rally around the "fail whale," an icon of the site's shortcomings . Site users host parties in honor of the whale; one even has a tattoo of the image .

(CNN) -- Anne Malver, then 11, thought she was heading to the trophy store with her gymnastics coach. Instead they ended up in his apartment -- and, she said, she ended up naked as he "forced himself inside of me." She screamed out -- in pain, and for him to stop. "He wouldn't," she recalled. "And I'll never forget the words he whispered in my ear at that time: 'This is what you want. This is what all the girls want.'" Malver is not alone, as several of Doug Boger's ex-elite young gymnasts -- speaking to CNN decades later, now as a group of adults -- detailed similar, graphic allegations of sexual and physical abuse. Besides an initial "no comment" in a phone conversation weeks ago, Boger did not return repeated phone calls or e-mails from CNN, nor did he respond to a knock at his door. But in an interview earlier this year with CNN Denver affiliate KCNC, he defiantly insisted that those accusing him are all lying. "I was not abusive to them," said Boger, now in his 60s. "I didn't do anything wrong." He was acquitted by a jury in 1982 on child abuse and battery charges, after two young athletes in his Pasadena, California, gym accused him of wrongdoing. The parents of two of the ex-gymnasts who are now alleging abuse by Boger helped finance his defense during that trial. One was the family of Julie Whitman, a star gymnast who was on USA Gymnastics' Junior National Team in 1983-1984, according to that organization's website. She said that Boger "was somebody that my parents trusted." Another, Charmaine Carnes, recalled how her father referred to Boger as an "adoptive son" in messages sent out to family and friends before Christmas. Her parents did not know, she said, that Boger was physically abusing her -- and how that turned to sexual abuse when she was 8 or 9 years old. "I would ride with him in a car to a meet," Carnes recalled. "He'd be tickling me at a stoplight or something of that nature, and his hands would reach down and go into my privates." Some days at the gym, Whitman said, could be "fantastic, and other days it was kind of a living hell." The intent was to produce world-class athletes -- like Sabrina Mar, who won the 1985 U.S. Nationals and 1987 Pan American Games all-around titles -- by pushing them to their limits, with the ex-gymnasts claiming Boger sometimes used physical force to make a point and exert his authority. Carnes, for instance, pointed to a cigarette burn on her finger that she said came from Boger. And Mar described how "he used to grab you by your neck and he would pin you up against the wall. And basically just choke you." Several remembered Boger standing over them, as they were on all fours -- sometimes kicking them in the stomach, at other times poking them with a toothpick he was known to chew on in his mouth. "Girls would be sobbing, crying," recalled Malver. Boger wasn't Kimberly Evans' coach, though she was a regular at the gym because her sister was one of his students. She remembered being 13 and heading with him to his apartment -- she thought to pick up some equipment, until she felt his hand "around the back of my neck, really hard" and she sensed "something good wasn't going to happen." "And I was right," Evans said. In a different incident, Kathy Riordan, daughter of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, recalled seeing a teammate, naked and running out of Boger's bed during one road trip. She told her father, who called the teammate's parents -- only to be told that they "wanted to keep it quiet." "But I did bring Doug Boger down to my office," Richard Riordan said. "And he denied everything." Most parents had no idea what was happening, partly because they'd signed a waiver that barred them from attending practices. By talking now, these women -- now in their 40s and 50s -- say their main focus is not necessarily to bring more charges against Boger. Rather, they want to make sure that no other girls, from here on out, have similar stories. Whitman began spearheading the effort after, about six years ago, she discovered that Boger was "still coaching." "I just kept seeing his name and seeing his name and I thought to myself, I can't let this man continue coaching," a tearful Whitman recalled. In 2008, she contacted USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny, who encouraged her to speak to her former teammates. Several of them ended up writing letters detailing alleged abuse, spurring an official investigation one year later. "The biggest challenge with this particular case was that it happened 30 years ago and, not only that, he had been acquitted," Penny said. Boger maintains some support -- including from Aubree Balkan, whom he coached at the World Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2009. "I obviously don't want to believe it, but all I can share is the good experience I had," said Balkan, adding that she neither witnessed nor experienced abuse. USA Gymnastics concluded its investigation in 2010 by putting Boger on its permanently ineligible coaches list. That means he cannot coach at a USA Gymnastics member gym, though he still can at a non-affiliated gym. And he did just that, at a facility in Colorado Springs owned by a coach once convicted of a sex offense involving a gymnast. "That really made me angry, made me livid," said Mar. "That someone like that, with such a history of abuse can still be able to coach in this field of gymnastics." Today, Balkan says that Boger is no longer coaching -- adding that, with that, she's not sure what his critics are trying to accomplish. But his accusers say that's not the point. "This is about a group of women who want no more harm coming to any children for the sake of becoming a competitive athlete," Malver said. CNN's Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.

Women claim gymnastics coach Doug Boger physically, sexually abused them . They decided to speak now, decades later, hoping that he won't coach again . He did not respond to CNN, but has claimed that his accusers are lying .

(CNN) -- As she sat in the makeup chair, dressed in a plush terrycloth robe while two women did her nails and another did her makeup, Tziporah Salamon knew the day she had longed for had finally arrived. The 62-year-old New Yorker has a long resume of disparate jobs: schoolteacher, performer, hostess and shop girl, to name a few. But in April, she finally added model for a high-fashion house to the list. "I felt like such a princess, a queen for a day," Salamon said. "I was as high as a kite." For many, the life of a model is the stuff of dreams, an aspiration so far out of reach that we would never dare utter it to friends. But some fashion labels are putting the focus on women (and men) who aren't typical calendar girls. Salamon is one of 11 "real people" selected to appear in French designer Lanvin's winter ad campaign, which is generating buzz for using people of all sizes, colors and ages to create intimate images that resemble portraits. It's about bringing a sense of reality to fashion to show that the lofty world of high style is not as unattainable as it seems, said Alber Elbaz, creative director of Lanvin. "Fashion doesn't look good only on models, it can look good on different people of different ages and different body shapes," he said. "We didn't think there would be such a big talk because we just did it and we thought let's try to work with real people. Let's do street casting, let's work with different men and women of different ages and see what comes out of it." Aging Stylishly, online and in the streets . None of them fit the typical model mold because they aren't professional models. Casting agent Zan Ludlum found Salamon and 82-year-old Jacquie "Tajah" Murdock through the popular street style blog Advanced Style, which documents men and women of a certain age. Others came from street scouting, including one of the older male models, who was spotted walking out of a basement bar in New York's East Village, said Ludlum, whose agency scouted the models. While the Lanvin models are not professionals, they possess a certain mystique. "It's beyond visual. Sure, they might have great eyes or features but it's more about their presence, their ownership of their own individuality," Ludlum said. "You might see someone who has style, but if you strip away everything, are they still powerful? Because we are taking them out of who they are and putting them in new clothes. Are they interesting beyond what they're wearing?" Of course, pounding the pavement in search of raw talent is nothing new. But it's becoming increasingly common as fashion and style slowly embrace different ideals of beauty. Earlier this month, American Apparel revealed that the new face of its ad campaign would be 60-year-old Jacky O'Shaughnessy, who was spotted in a New York restaurant. In swimwear, Spanish designer Dolores Cortés chose an infant with Down syndrome to be the face of the brand's 2013 DC Kids ads. It would have been easy to create a beautiful photo with a beautiful model, said Elbaz, especially working with photographer Steven Meisel and some of the top names in hair and makeup. But, at this level, it's important to think outside the box and move forward with each campaign, he said. "I'm always looking for a story," said Elbaz, whose career includes stints with Geoffrey Beene, Guy Laroche and Yves Saint Laurent. "In high fashion we're always accused of doing things that are not very relevant, not the real world. I know that it's important sometimes to do fantasy but I felt like touching people and going back to different women and men, especially the idea of different ages and body shapes." It's a timely message, he said, in an era of cultural bias toward youth-oriented ideals of beauty. "The phenomenon I see today of women erasing their age -- nobody is allowed to have an age anymore, nobody is allowed to have wrinkles or imperfections," he said. "I thought, let's change that, let's show that fashion can be amazing on 81-year-olds and 17-year-olds, on Tziporah, who is not [European] size 36, and she looks gorgeous." While apparel and lifestyle brands have long been using "real people" to draw new audiences and generate buzz, it's rare for a high-fashion house such as Lanvin to take this approach, said Sarah Collins, associate chair of fashion at the Savannah College of Art and Design. But it's happening more often, in ads and on the covers of fashion magazines, she said, as part of the effort to democratize fashion. Has image overtaken music? "The effect on viewers is that it's easier for them to pictures themselves in the clothes and identify with the clothing line," she said. "Not only is it about democracy of fashion but it creates a buzz. How do you stand out as a fashion ad campaign? By using people off the street it does generate buzz." It also reflects the growing influence of street style blogs in touting alternative beauty ideals, said Ari Cohen, the writer behind the Advanced Style blog, which led the casting agency to Salamon and Murdock. "I think the message is to embrace individuality and personal style, and alternative notions of beauty," Cohen said. "It's hugely important to show more diversity in advertising. By focusing on superyoung models and too much Photoshopping, advertisers set up unreal expectations for consumers." Even if consumers like what they see in the Lanvin campaign, that doesn't mean they'll be able to afford it. For Salamon, the vintage Lanvin jacket that she owned before the shoot will have to suffice, along with memories of being a queen for a day. "What are the odds that my first time out as a model I'm with the top people in the field?" she said. "It totally came to me, I didn't do anything to make this happen except be myself. It was all orchestrated by God, a gift from the universe." How do you feel about fashion and reality colliding? Would you like to see more 'realistic' fashion ads? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

French fashion house Lanvin generates buzz with ad campaign using "real people" Lanvin is latest brand to use men and women to showcase different ideals of beauty . Ads aim to show that "fashion doesn't look good only on models," creative director says .

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- An Iranian airliner that crashed Wednesday, killing all 168 passengers and crew, plunged into the ground and disintegrated on impact, according to a security official. Debris from the plane was littered around the crash site. Images of the crash site show a smoldering crater scattered with charred pieces of the plane and tattered passports. Ten members of the country's youth judo team were aboard the Caspian Airlines plane, said several sources, including Iran's Press TV. The government-backed network said the dead included eight athletes and two coaches. The plane "disintegrated into pieces," said Col. Masood Jafari Nasab, security commander of Qazvin, the city nearest to the crash site in northwestern Iran. "The aircraft all of a sudden fell out of the sky and exploded on impact, where you see the crater," a witness told Press TV from the crash site. Watch images of the crash site » . The plane's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been found, state television reported late Wednesday. The crash was at least the fifth major airline accident in the world this year, following crashes of planes flown by Colgan Air, Turkish Airlines, Air France and Yemenia Airways. A US Airways pilot managed to land his plane safely on the Hudson river in New York City in January, with no major injuries, after the plane lost power. But aviation safety expert John Wiley said there is no reason to fear air travel in general, and no single airline or aircraft is particularly dangerous. The three most recent crashes -- in which a total of 548 people died -- involved different planes, flown by different airlines, in different stages of flight, he said. Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 -- a Russian-made Tupolev Tu-154M plane -- went down near the village of Jannatabad near Qazvin at 11:33 a.m. (2:03 a.m. ET) Wednesday, Press TV reported. Conversations between the pilot and the ground were normal and did not indicate any technical problems, the network's Web site reported, citing the managing director of Iran's airport authority without naming him. Some witnesses say the plane caught fire before crashing, Press TV said. The plane descended very quickly, Wiley told CNN, but it may have been circling, trying to land, rather than plummeting to the ground. Qazvin Police Chief Hossein Behzadpour and Mohammad Reza Montazer Khorasan, the head of the disaster management center in Iran's health ministry, both confirmed that all 168 people on board died, Press TV reported. The U.S. State Department, in a statement, extended its condolences to the victims. Department spokesman Ian Kelly said officials were working to determine whether any Americans were on board. Aviation analyst Kieran Daly told CNN that many aircraft operating in Iran are aging Tupolevs, some dating back to the 1970s. He described Tupolevs as "workhorses of the old Soviet aviation system." But he said the Caspian Airlines fleet is based on a slightly newer design, dating to the late 1980s and early 1990s. Pictures from the scene were "consistent with a high-speed impact," he said. But he added that there could be large debris not seen on television, and that could change his analysis. Watch Daly talk about the crash » . A team of investigators from the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee is flying to the crash scene to join the investigation, the agency said in a posting on its Web site. They will work alongside Iranian aviation authorities, the agency said. An agency official declined to comment further, saying the plane was operated by an Iranian company and nothing is known about it. A Tupolev representative told CNN the manufacturer will not comment until the aviation committee releases its report on the crash. The Tupolev 154 is essentially banned in the West because it does not comply with European noise and pollution regulations, but it has a safer-than-average accident record, Wiley said. Wednesday's crash is the first on record for Caspian Airlines, which was founded in 1993, he added. The Iranian newspaper Hamshahri reported that the plane was flying from Tehran and was headed to Yerevan, Armenia. The semi-official Mehr news agency listed the names of 153 passengers and 15 crew members. At least 42 of the names appeared to be Armenian, but it was not clear if they were from the former Soviet republic or if they were ethnically Armenian citizens of Iran. The plane crashed 16 minutes after takeoff, said the newspaper, quoting a spokesman from Iran's civil aviation organization. See a map of the crash location » . That would have put the flight in one of the safest stages of travel, according to International Air Transport Association data. Only about 5 percent of accidents take place during the phase called en-route climb, 16 to 20 minutes into a flight, when a plane climbs to a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. About half of accidents take place during landing. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed his condolences to the victims' families, as did the European Union. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent his sympathies to the presidents of Iran and Armenia, the Kremlin said. Qazvin is the largest city in the province of Qazvin and is its capital, with an estimated population of 330,000. It is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Tehran, the capital of Iran. The last crash in Iran involving a Tupolev plane occurred in 2006, according to the Web site airdisaster.com. That crash occurred on an Iran Air Tour flight from the port city of Bandar Abbas; it crashed and caught fire during landing, the Web site reported. Twenty-nine of the 147 people on board died in that crash. CNN's Shirzad Bozorgmehr, Maxim Tkachenko in Moscow, Russia, and Ayesha Durgahee in London, England, contributed to this report.

State TV reports plane's flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder found . All 168 aboard believed to be dead in Iranian plane crash . Plane is thought to have crashed near the Iranian city of Qazvin . Qazvin is the largest city in the province of Qazvin .

(CNN) -- Formula One's main protagonists are saving their best until last thanks to a controversial new rule change at Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 2014 drivers' championship will be decided at the desert denouement when Mercedes title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg roll out for a double or nothing gamble. Hamilton leads Rosberg in the standings by a healthy 17-point margin, but a new rule awarding double points at the season finale has raised the stakes. The top-10 finishers at the twilight race will get two points for the price of one with the race winner earning 50 points. The rule change means it is mathematically much easier for Rosberg -- son of 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg -- to snatch the title from championship leader Hamilton. Should Rosberg win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton, who won the world championship with McLaren in 2008, must finish second to stop his German teammate winning his first world title. If the race win was worth 25 points -- as it has been at the preceding 18 races this season -- Hamilton could finish as low as sixth and still claim a second world championship. The double points rule was the brainchild of the F1's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone and was introduced by the sport's governing body the FIA. The new ruling dangled the carrot of keeping the championship alive until the very last race, and so it has proved. But the novelty of double points has had a lukewarm reception, even from the man who has the most to gain from the rule change. "I find it artificial and I don't like it in general," Rosberg told the media after his victory at the last race in Brazil. "Of course, now with the way it is, it's great for me. We'll see how it goes this year. We need to keep on reviewing it." Describing the double points as "artificial" puts Rosberg in tune with the general feeling among F1's inner circle of drivers, teams and the traveling media pack. The concept of a single race being arbitrarily twice as valuable as the other 18 on the calendar has been hard to digest among the sport's diehard racers. But hard-racing Hamilton -- who describes his attacking style behind the wheel as "driving like I stole it" -- is adopting a cool and calm approach to the high stakes race in Abu Dhabi. "It's something you can't be thinking about," said Hamilton, who has won 10 races in 2014 compared to Rosberg's five victories so far. "It's not something I'm willing to accept. I'm just going to keep pushing as hard as I can and to win as many points as I can. "I can't be thinking, 'what happens, if this happens in the future?' If we lived our life like that maybe you won't achieve what you set out to achieve." The Mercedes hybrid turbo car has been the dominant force this season and the team sealed its first-ever team title with three races still to go. An 11th one-two finish in Brazil saw the Silver Arrows also break the previous record for the most one-two finishes in a single season set by fierce McLaren rivals Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988. But the drivers' championship, which has swung between Hamilton and Rosberg throughout the season, is still poised precariously ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale. "Both are worthy champions," Mercedes motorsport director Toto Wolff said of his dueling drivers on the team's official website. "Of course, there will be bitter disappointment for one of them and great joy for the other. It is now down to us to ensure that this fascinating year concludes in the right way by giving Lewis and Nico a platform to settle the title purely on the track. May the best man win!" There are whispers the Mercedes bosses are privately worried a reliability problem could decide which of their men wins the title. Wolff told the BBC if Hamilton broke down during the race it would be "a nightmare." Hamilton retired with an engine problem in Australia, a brake failure in Canada and because of damage to his car after Rosberg collided with his teammate in Belgium. In turn, Rosberg failed to finish the British Grand Prix with a gearbox failure and electronics problems stopped him early in Singapore. A reliability issue for Hamilton could also be a major public relations headache for Mercedes, especially in the competitive arena of F1 where the finger of suspicion is always ready to point. It could also have ramifications on the driver market. Hamilton's Mercedes contract runs out at the end of 2015 and he is due to discuss new terms after the season while Rosberg signed an improved multi-year contract in the summer. Ferrari and McLaren are yet to confirm their 2015 driver lineups while on Wednesday Romain Grosjean became the latest driver to secure his seat for next season with Lotus. For now, the Mercedes duelists go into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend knowing the title is in their hands. Hamilton won the twilight race for McLaren in 2011 and has taken pole at the glittering Yas Marina circuit twice but was beaten in qualifying and the race by his Mercedes teammate Rosberg last season. "I go into this race with no fear and with every belief that this can be my title," said Rosberg. "Win or lose, double points or no double points, I feel proud of what I have achieved this year." On the opposite side of the Mercedes garage, Hamilton is also counting on fortune's favor in Abu Dhabi. "I'm hoping that bad luck won't play a part this time around and I know the team has been working flat out to make sure it doesn't," he said. "I'm feeling relaxed, I'm feeling confident and I'm ready to win." F1's twilight finale in Abu Dhabi is poised to be a sensational showstopper but when the sun goes down on the 2014 season only one man be will riding into the sunset as the new world champion. Read more: Bianchi out of artificial coma . Read more: Is Formula One running out of gas?

The 2014 Formula One world champion will be decided at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sunday . Lewis Hamilton leads his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg by 17 points . Double points are on offer in Abu Dhabi with the race win worth 50 instead of 25 points . The new ruling has proved controversial with Rosberg describing it as "artificial"

(CNN) -- The White House may be the official residence of the U.S. president, but it's only a temporary address. The former homes and libraries of presidents offer an inside look into the lives of the select few who served as the nation's leader. Nearly 80 million visitors have toured Mount Vernon, George Washington's home in Virginia. From simple log cabins to expansive estates, hundreds of presidential homes and historical sites are open to the public. Visitors can read the love letters between Harry Truman and his wife, Bess, examine hand-drawn maps by Herbert Hoover or eye the tintype photograph of young wife Lucy that Rutherford B. Hayes carried with him daily on Civil War battlefields and later in the White House. As we witness a new leader take office and celebrate past commanders-in-chief on President's Day this month, CNN asked William Clotworthy, author of "Homes and Libraries of the Presidents," to recommend five places for travelers to see a very human side of history's presidents. Lincoln's birthplace . There's more than split rails at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky. The site, run by the National Park Service, offers exhibits and walking tours so the visitor can experience a little of the frontier life that shaped the nation's 16th president. The centerpiece is the large marble and granite Lincoln Memorial Building, which houses a small and humble log cabin. The cabin is not actually Lincoln's birth cabin -- that has been lost to history -- but it does try to replicate as closely as possible the tiny and primitive surroundings that sheltered the future commander in chief. "There's something about the Lincoln log cabin," Clotworthy said. "I think it's an inspiration that a man born in a log cabin ... grew up to become president of the United States. I know it's corny, but that's what I find inspiring." iReport.com: See Lincoln's childhood home after an ice storm . This February 12, the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, events are planned around the park and the Hodgenville area, including a ceremony presenting new Lincoln pennies for circulation and the dedication of a second replica log cabin. Reagan library . Ronald Reagan's final resting place can also be an excellent starting point for those curious about his life. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California, not only houses all Reagan's official presidential papers and records, but also includes such personal objects as his college letter sweater, movie memorabilia from his film career and even a glass jelly bean jar. From his presidential life, highlights include a section of the Berlin Wall presented by the people of Germany and a walk inside Air Force One -- one of Clotworthy's favorite experiences. "They have built a glass-enclosed pavilion" for the Boeing 707 used by Reagan, he said "and you stand there and you get the impression you're flying. It's fabulous." Visitors are able to peek inside the president and first lady's cabins, the galleys and cockpit. On the lower level, an entire pub from Ireland that Reagan visited was shipped over in 2004 and is now a snack shop. Mount Vernon . Home to George Washington for most of his adult life, Mount Vernon in Virginia has been open to a curious public since 1860. Nearly 80 million visitors have toured the first president's home since then, making it the most popular historic home in the United States. On Presidents' Day, admission is free. Today, visitors can tour the meticulously restored mansion, tour the four gardens, hike the nature trail or explore personal artifacts such as the first president's shoes or his favorite swivel chair in a vast state-of-the-art museum on the grounds. Also in the museum are new life-size models of Washington, so visitors can get a glimpse of what the future Founding Father was like as a teenager. "There are no real pictures or ideas of what Washington looked like before he was 45 years old, so [anthropologists] made a study of existing pictures, his teeth, his hair and they've now built these incredible figures of Washington as a younger man," Clotworthy said. Jackson's Hermitage . Inspired by the success of the women's organization that opened Mount Vernon to the public, a similar group in Nashville, Tennessee, saved Andrew Jackson's home from ruin in 1889. Today, Hermitage visitors can tour the mansion, stroll the formal gardens, examine slave cabins and see the original log cabin where the Jacksons lived for a time. A robust visitor's center tells the life story of Jackson, or "Old Hickory," from hell-raising youth to feisty frontier battler of the British to powerful president. Besides tours and exhibits, summer visitors can also watch excavations as Hermitage archaeologists uncover some of the estimated 100 buildings on the grounds. A standout of the Hermitage is its many educational programs for the public, including a "hands-on-history" class for kids. FDR's home . When it comes to touring presidential lives, the Franklin D. Roosevelt complex of sites in Hyde Park, New York, offers travelers one-stop shopping -- the lifelong home of a president, a museum and official presidential library all within walking distance of each other. Roosevelt was born and spent most of his life at Springwood Mansion, which offers visitors a look at the personal side of the only four-term president, including wheelchair ramps installed after Roosevelt contracted polio in 1921. On the same grounds is the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, the first presidential library and one Roosevelt designed himself. Among the museum highlights are a 1936 roadster fitted with hand controls so the president could drive himself, his White House desk as he left it (including a pack of Camel cigarettes and Roget's thesaurus) and even objects from his childhood (the future author of the New Deal had quite the snazzy rocking horse). Also part of the complex are a cottage designed by FDR as a retreat in 1939, expansive gardens and grounds by the Hudson River, and a visitor center that plays an orientation film, "A Rendezvous with History" -- which is what travelers can plan on when visiting the nation's presidential sites.

The Lincoln birthplace features a replica of the log cabin where Lincoln was born . At the Reagan library, visitors can peek in the Boeing 707 used by the 40th president . Springwood Mansion shows visitors a personal side of the only four-term president .

(CNN) -- Fourteen months after she was left paralyzed by a pool mishap at her bachelorette party, Rachelle Friedman is having the wedding of her dreams Friday -- and then some. Joining Friedman and fiance Chris Chapman will be between 100 and 120 family members and their closest friends, witnesses to the couple's can-do spirit. "It just feels like a love story to people," said Rachelle's mother, Carol. "They are really great together." Wednesday was a day of continued wedding preparations for Friedman, 25, of Knightdale, North Carolina, just east of Raleigh. The quadriplegic in recent weeks has practiced for the couple's first dance, a special moment even if she will be in her wheelchair. Friedman's father, Larry, will push her down the aisle, so that she can hold a bridal bouquet as she approaches Chapman, 28. "I can't compare our relationship to anyone else," she said. "I am super lucky to find that perfect love I wish everyone had." For Friedman, life is about moving forward and gaining increased independence. When asked how the accident changed her life, the bride-to-be says, "I don't really think about what would have been." Friedman and Chapman, a middle school science teacher, were to wed June 27, 2010. In late May, Friedman, who was a program coordinator for a senior citizens center, traveled to their hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia, for her bachelorette party. Bridesmaids enjoyed a cookout and a limousine ride to the entertainment strip with bridesmaids. "We had a really good time," the East Carolina University graduate said in November. Afterward, the group went to her best friend's home, where they started playing around near the pool. "It was just spontaneous horseplay," said Friedman, a former dance and aerobics dancer. Her best friend "pushed me, and I landed wrong." The young woman's head struck the bottom of the pool, which had a few feet of water in it. Friedman, who suffered a spinal cord injury and paralysis from the chest down, has remained close to the friend through the trauma each suffered. "We're there for each other," Friedman said. "It could easily have been the other way around." Chapman and Friedman put off the wedding during her initial rehabilitation and while they tried to figure out medical coverage. They were concerned that she may not qualify for Medicaid if she married, but they since learned she was ineligible. A $500-a-month COBRA policy and long-term disability have helped. Individuals, businesses and foundations have provided other assistance. After CNN wrote about the couple and HLN's Vinnie's Politan interviewed Friedman, a wedding and honeymoon planning company approached the couple. "It blew me away, how upbeat and positive she is," said Donne Kerestic, CEO of 1-800-Registry, based in Nevada. Working with vendors and two wedding planners, Kerestic's company is paying for Friedman's wedding and the couple's honeymoon in Fiji. 1-800-Registry is incurring between $50,000 and $60,000 in costs, Kerestic said Wednesday. Chapman and Friedman will exchange vows at 11 a.m. Friday at Fearrington Village in Pittsboro, North Carolina. The complex, which features an inn, restaurant and other features, has an upscale rural theme. Friedman, who likes country music, is excited about having a band and deejay at the reception, planned at a large barn. She'll be wearing the same dress she planned to wear last summer. "It's perfect," she said of the nuptial plans. While she still has dreams of being able to walk one day, Friedman focuses now on increasing her strength and possibly regaining feeling in her hands. She's been working on her ability to "transfer" herself into bed or a car. She uses her thumbs to type on a keyboard. The recreation management major plays wheelchair "quad rugby" for the Raleigh Sidewinders and has spoken at several venues, including an adaptive sports and wellness day, where people with disabilities were exposed to sports like kayaking, basketball and rugby. Carol Friedman and Rachelle's 32-year-old brother help her during the week while Chapman is at work. Besides paralysis, Friedman deals with nerve pain and blood pressure problems. The past year has tested the couple's mettle. "We're definitely built to last," Chapman said in November. "She was and is my best friend. I cannot wait to marry her." The accident introduced them to new friends and brought their families closer together. A page on a website called CaringBridge.org features photos of Friedman and has a guestbook full of best-wishes entries. "You have such a wonderful outlook," one person wrote. "I have been through many trials and tribulations in my life and what you said hits the mark. ... You can make you(r) world perfect, different but perfect.'' Excited about being able to lie on the beach in Fiji, Friedman also anticipates three weeks of treatment at Project Walk, a facility in Carlsbad, California, that helps people with spinal cord injuries. The Walking With Anthony Foundation is covering the costs for Rachelle and Carol Friedman, said Gigi Betancourt, client services manager at Project Walk. The nonprofit center's aim is helping patients improve their function below their injury level, build strength and find hope, said Eric Harness, head of research and development. Patients do exercises outside of their wheelchairs. Friedman would eventually like to return to work, perhaps encouraging others as a speaker. "Rachelle is a very motivated person," said Miranda Strider-Allen, program director at Resources for Seniors, where Friedman helped provide services to Wake County senior and disabled adults. "It's amazing -- her frame of mind and positive attitude." "My hope is she finds her new niche in life," Carol Friedman said of her daughter. "It's so awesome that they give to live as husband and wife, like everyone should, with or without a disability," Carol Friedman said. "So many people have it so much worse than we do."

Rachelle Friedman was paralyzed after injury at bachelorette party . Her best friend playfully pushed her into a swimming pool; she sustained a spinal injury . She has maintained a close friendship with her best friend . She and Chris Chapman will marry Friday .

Paris (CNN) -- When you're in love in Paris, you show it with a lock. A combination lock, a bicycle lock or, most commonly, a simple padlock -- hundreds of them -- all inscribed with the names of lovers and clinging to the chain link railing of the Pont des Arts, the Bridge of Arts, the keys romantically tossed into the Seine flowing below. "Without you, my life doesn't make sense," one of the locks reads in French. "Walter and Tammy engaged," another announces to the world in English. You might easily miss the modest pedestrian bridge with the shiny accessories in the tourist rush to find historic Pont Neuf or the ornate Pont Alexandre III, but I am taking it slow on my second visit to Paris. There are no museums on my itinerary and no mad scrambles to fit in all of the city's famous sites. I've already seen the Mona Lisa, been to the top of the Eiffel Tower, gazed down on Napoleon's tomb and admired Notre Dame. This visit is for savoring Paris: walking to wherever fancy strikes, sitting in any park or café that looks inviting and eating as many baguettes, pastries and other delectable things as my budget (and figure) will allow. "Sleepless Night" When I arrive, "Purple Rain" is the talk of the town. It's the first weekend of October, so the streets of Paris are extra crowded for the annual Nuit Blanche -- White Night or Sleepless Night -- when museums stay open until dawn and organizers promise "surprising and unusual" art installations all over the city. One of them invites visitors to pick up a clear plastic umbrella and walk through a courtyard as rain machines and mauve lights make it look like they've stepped into Prince's hit song. I start each of my few days in Paris with champagne. It's right there, chilling in an ice bucket in the corner of my hotel's breakfast buffet every morning, not far from a pitcher of milk. Guests sip from their champagne flutes as casually as from their coffee cups as they fill up on cold cuts, cheeses and buttery croissants spread liberally with Nutella. An unexpected heat wave bathes Paris in summer light, so I take in the stunning views of the city from Sacre Coeur Basilica and go explore hilly, bohemian Montmartre. Who knew grapes grow in Paris? They bask in the sun on a slope on Rue des Saules in Clos Montmartre, the city's only vineyard. Not far away, you can feast on sea bass in butter sauce in Le Moulin de la Galette, a restaurant topped by a little 18th-century windmill -- one of only two that remain in the area. A poster quest . I take alarmingly frequent boulangerie and patisserie breaks. The bakery near my hotel, just off the Champs Elysées, has baskets of warm crunchy-soft baguettes and display cases full of elaborate sweets that you can't ignore. My favorite: a raspberry pistachio gateau, with the tart ruby fruit nestled in sweet clouds of pale green cream in between layers of flaky puff pastry. Heaven. Haunted by a poster of the Le Monde des Chimères restaurant that I've owned for years, I set out for Île Saint-Louis -- one of two islands in the Seine -- where the photo was taken. The restaurant now has a new name, Mon Vieil Ami, but I'm not disappointed. The peaceful little island, with its boutique-lined center street, is a charmer, and food temptations are all around: "lapin à la moutarde" (rabbit with mustard sauce), "chocolat noir" ice cream, "rhubarbe" sorbet. Close calls at Place de l'Étoile . For entertainment, I watch the crazy traffic around the Arc de Triomphe. There are no lanes and no traffic cops. Cars entering the circle have the right of way, and they roar into the giant roundabout as the other cars already in it (and going alarmingly fast) squeal to a stop, sometimes with just inches to spare. There are honks and angry hand gestures as vehicles of every imaginable size -- from tiny Smart cars to giant tour buses -- negotiate the circle with equal zeal. Want to exit the roundabout into one of the 12 avenues fanning out of it? Just cut diagonally in front of all the other traffic. It's both terrifying and fascinating to watch. When I ask the concierge at my hotel whether she drives around the arch, she smiles and shrugs her shoulders, "Sure, you just do it. You just keep going; otherwise the other cars will just" -- here she's at a loss for words and mimes what looks like vehicles swerving wildly around her. Her colleague at the front desk then confesses that when her husband goes around the arch, "I just close my eyes." They tell me that when there is an accident at the Place de l'Étoile, the insurance companies of both drivers always split the bill 50/50. It's just too difficult to ever determine who is at fault. "But there are no accidents," one of the women insists. Cheese heaven . For a traffic-free experience, I head to Rue Cler, a pedestrian market street not far from the Eiffel Tower where Julia Child used to shop. You can sit down for a meal or assemble a moveable feast at the fruit, produce and specialty food shops that dot the area. The fromagerie itself is worthy of the trip: There are hundreds of varieties of cheeses for sale, their collective aroma wafting out into the street. You could make it your mission to try one cheese each day of the year and still not go through them all. For now, my time is running out. I watch one more time as the Eiffel Tower sparkles like a champagne glass at night, with the hourly evening light show eliciting oohs, aahs and applause from the crowd on the Champ de Mars. Then I give in and buy a souvenir: a "J'adore Paris" T-shirt. I will wear it often.

This Paris visit focuses on lots of walking, sitting and eating instead of rushing . Montmartre has secret vineyard; Île Saint-Louis is a charmer . Watching the crazy traffic around the Arc de Triomphe can serve as excellent entertainment . Assemble your own meal at the fruit, produce and specialty food shops on Rue Cler .

AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- At dusk, stand on the Congress Avenue bridge over Town Lake, the span linking hip downtown to funkier South Austin, and you'll see it. Austin offers an array of choices for fitness and nightlife. No, not the 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats that emerge from crevasses below and fwip-fwip-fwip into the night (although they're pretty cool -- see them on the way to doing something else and it will be time well spent). What you'll see is Austin's diversity. And I don't mean yuppies, hippies, hipsters, scenesters, tech geeks, cowboys, students, musicians, politicians or got-more-money-than-sense rich folks, either -- though Austin has 'em all and more. Think Lance Armstrong. Think Willie Nelson. Day people. Night people. Cooling off after a run, perhaps. Or headed downtown. They come together here to witness the bats' spectacle. Live music capital of the world? Well, Austin at least has the clubs, dance halls, bar districts and late-night restaurants to keep a night person hopping. But Austin also caters to the early-to-bed, early-to-rise, run-six-miles-before-breakfast person. And, if you think you can, you can run all day and dance all night. Daylight's burning . A swath of wilderness: With no mountains, you wouldn't think Austin would be a destination for mountain bikers. Well, it's not Moab, Utah, but it's not bad. The highlight: The Barton Creek Greenbelt. This strip of green meanders from Zilker Park in the heart of Austin westward for 7.5 miles (with many side trails), ending at the Hill of Life -- a quarter-mile climb to test your thighs and lungs. The Greenbelt is popular with hikers and wanderers, so it's best not to crank with abandon, but the wooded straightaways and wet (sometimes) creek crossings make for an enjoyable ride. Can't bring your bike? Rent one at Bicycle Sport Shop, 517 S. Lamar Blvd. Ten miles downtown: The Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail runs 10.4 miles, mostly along the shores of the Colorado River on the southern border of downtown. There are walkers and easy-going cyclists, but this is also an excellent trail for running and getting a good look at Austin (as well as at other runners). The western half of the trail is alive with people (and an occasional celebrity), surrounded by trees. The eastern half involves crossing over Interstate 35, navigating some neighborhoods and a small stretch along city streets, but offers more solitude and wide-open trail. The soul of Austin: Barton Springs Pool (2101 Barton Springs Road) is three acres of old-school, spring-fed swimming. Open year-round, it's a jump-in-and-gasp 68 degrees no matter the weather. Nestled in a corner of Zilker Park, surrounded by pecan trees, the pool is often crowded (but seldom overwhelmed) on summer weekends and draws one of the most diverse crowds in Austin. Refueling stations . Enchiladas and margaritas: Matt's El Rancho (2613 S. Lamar Blvd.) is big, busy and well worth the wait. Since 1952 this hot spot has been Austin's self-proclaimed "King of Mexican Food." If they're not right about that, they're at least in the royal family. You can't get away without trying the Bob Armstrong dip -- think "super-queso." Dueling barbecue joints: Whatever you're looking for in Texas barbecue, you only have to choose between Stubb's Bar-B-Q (801 Red River St.) and Sam's Bar-B-Que (2000 E. 12th Street). Stubb's was once owned by the late patron saint of barbecue, C.B. Stubblefield. Sam's was a favorite of the late blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan. Stubb's is a restaurant and live music venue. Sam's is a joint with uneven floors and character. Stubb's anchors its own entertainment mini-district. Sam's is definitely outside the tourist zone. Either way, you get a true barbecue experience. Nighttime is the right time . Bars, bars, bars: A river of alcohol runs along Austin's Sixth Street. The current is strongest in the entertainment district between Interstate 35 and Congress Avenue: A cluster of crowded nightspots ranging from the rarified air of the elite Driskill Hotel bar to the Chuggin' Monkey. Heading west, the river thins out and the scene grows up: There's Mother Egan's Irish Pub (715 W. Sixth), where the Dixie Chicks once ruled the Tuesday night trivia contest. And at the intersection with Lamar Boulevard, there's Whole Foods' flagship store -- where you can drink and shop at the same time. Live Music Capital of the World? You can't go anywhere here without seeing some fellow earnestly strumming a guitar. For the best chance at hearing something good, you want to head to a venue known for live music. The Continental Club (1315 S. Congress Ave.) is not just one of Austin's best, but also in the midst of the South Congress district of fashionable stores, oddball shops and restaurants (try the tacos al pastor at Guero's Taco Bar -- 1412 S. Congress Ave.) Honky-tonk heaven: It's a tech geek world, but the Broken Spoke (3201 S. Lamar Blvd.) is a refuge for those whose appreciation of cowboy boots and heartbroke country songs is irony-free. The Spoke is the real thing -- no urban cowboy stuff here. Populated by singers such as Dale Watson and Alvin Crow, serving up a mean chicken-fried steak and complete with its own museum of photos from better days, the Broken Spoke looks and feels ... just like it should. E-mail to a friend .

Austin, Texas, has clubs and bar districts to keep a night person hopping . It also has outdoor activities to please a run-six-miles-before-breakfast person . Barbecue, enchiladas and margaritas help visitors refuel .

(CNN) -- Presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are detailing their plans for solving the country's energy crisis and criticizing each other's proposals this week as they campaign in battleground states. Here's a look at the candidates' energy proposals: . Overall strategy . McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, has proposed a national energy strategy that would rely on the technological prowess of American industry and science. McCain has said he would work to reduce carbon emissions 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. He has said he would commit $2 billion annually for 15 years to advance clean coal technology. He also has pledged to oppose a windfall profits tax on oil companies that, according to his campaign Web site, "will ultimately result in increasing our dependence on foreign oil and hinder investment in domestic exploration." McCain also believes the U.S. needs to deploy SmartMeter technologies, which collect real-time data on the electricity use of individual homes and businesses. Meanwhile, Obama laid out his comprehensive energy plan Monday in Lansing, Michigan. "If I am president, I will immediately direct the full resources of the federal government and the full energy of the private sector to a single, overarching goal -- in 10 years, we will eliminate the need for oil from the entire Middle East and Venezuela," the presumptive Democratic nominee told a crowd. Obama's plan also would invest $150 billion over the next 10 years and leverage billions more in private capital to build a new energy economy that he said would harness American energy and create 5 million new jobs. He also called on businesses, government and the American people to meet the goal of reducing U.S. demand for electricity by 15 percent by the end of the next decade and said he would modernize the national utility grid. Another prominent feature in the plan: Immediately give every working family in America a $1,000 energy rebate and pay for it from oil company profits. Offshore drilling . McCain: Proposed lifting the ban on offshore drilling as part of his plan to reduce dependence on foreign oil and help combat rising gas prices. Would let individual states decide whether to explore drilling possibilities. Opposes drilling in some wilderness areas -- including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- and said those places must be left undisturbed. Obama: Opposed new offshore drilling, but later shifted to say that he would consider it if it were part of a larger strategy to lower energy costs. Supports bipartisan energy plan from the Senate that combines alternative energy innovation, financial, nuclear energy and drilling proposals. Effort by five Democrats and five Republicans to break Congress' energy impasse would allow expanded offshore oil exploration and embrace ambitious energy efficiency and efforts to develop alternative fuels. Believes oil companies should drill on the 68 million acres they have access to but haven't used and would require oil companies that will not drill to give up their leases. Strategic oil reserves . McCain advocates suspending the purchase of foreign oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve during periods of high prices to reduce demand. Obama called for tapping into strategic oil reserves as part of his plan to provide relief from high gas prices. (He previously said he was opposed to using the strategic reserves, but on Monday he proposed selling 70 million barrels of oil from the reserves to lower gas prices). Cars and driving . McCain: Proposed a $300 million award for "the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars." Called for the suspension of the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gas tax and 24.4-cent-a-gallon diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Says the lost revenue would be paid for by money from the general fund. Obama: Would provide $4 billion in loans and tax credits to American auto plants and manufacturers so that they can retool factories and build fuel-efficient cars; would put 1 million 150-mpg, plug-in hybrids on U.S. roads within six years and would give consumers a $7,000 tax credit to buy fuel-efficient cars. Nuclear energy . McCain: Calls for building new nuclear reactors, saying barriers to nuclear energy are political, not technological. Would put a plan in place to build 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030 -- with the ultimate goal of 100 new plants. Would provide for safe storage of spent nuclear fuel and give host states or localities a proprietary interest so when advanced recycling technologies turn used fuel into a valuable commodity, the public would share in the economic benefits. Obama: Says he'll find safer ways to use nuclear power and store nuclear waste. In Democratic debate earlier this year, he said, "We should explore nuclear power as part of the energy mix." Renewable energy . McCain: Would commit $2 billion annually to advance clean coal technologies. Calls for a permanent tax credit, which he says will "simplify the tax code, reward activity in the U.S., and make us more competitive with other countries," according to his campaign Web site. Encourages development of low-carbon fuels -- wind, hydro and solar power. Obama: Would require 10 percent of U.S. energy come from renewable sources by the end of his first presidential term. The plan would extend the Production Tax Credit for five years to encourage the production of renewable energy. Create five first-of-a-kind, coal-fired demonstration plants that would capture and store carbon dioxide emissions and invest in technology that will allow for more coal use. Climate change . McCain: Proposes a bipartisan plan to address the problem of climate change and stimulate the development and use of advanced technologies. It is a market-based approach that would set caps on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions and provide industries with tradable credits. Obama: Calls for a reduction of carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 by using a market-based cap-and-trade system. Would create what his campaign calls a "Global Energy Forum" and re-engage with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. CNN's Ed Hornick, Kerith McFadden and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.

Sen. Barack Obama lays out comprehensive energy plan this week . Obama vows to eliminate the need for Mideastern, Venezuelan oil in 10 years . Sen. John McCain proposes an energy strategy relying on technology and science . McCain says the federal government should lift restrictions on offshore drilling .

(CNN) -- With its approximately 480 million adherents, Latin America is home to an overwhelming plurality of the world's Catholics. But no one from this region (or hemisphere, for that matter) has been ever been chosen to lead the church as pope. As the church's cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel to select a new pontiff, the idea of a Latin American pope rises again. There was talk of a Latin American pope in 2005 -- the last time there was a papal conclave -- but secrecy surrounding the process made it difficult to discern how seriously those candidacies were taken. Live blog: Picking a new pope . Mike Allison, a political science professor at the University of Scranton who researched this question, said he believes there was really no serious candidate from Latin America at the time. This go-round is a different story, he says. A number of cardinals from the region have been suggested as pope candidates, according to Allison, and they include the Brazilians Odilo Pedro Scherer and Joao Braz de Aviz, Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Leonardo Sandri, and Honduran Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga. A look at papal contenders . Brazil and Mexico have the two largest Catholic populations in the world, with more than 133 million and 96 million believers, respectively. However, those numbers have been on the decline, while Protestantism and evangelicalism are on the rise. "I really think that in choosing someone from the global south, there is important symbolism, but also, their life histories are very different" from previous popes, Allison said. Cardinals from Latin America have seen the tremendous inequalities that exist in their countries firsthand, and many played a role in their nations' transition to democracy, he said. "It would be an enormous gesture to name a Latin American pope," said Virginia Garrard-Burnett, a professor of history and religious studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Precisely because Catholicism is losing ground in the region, a pope from there could be a boost for the faith, she said. Scherer, the archbishop of Sao Paulo, is an especially intriguing possibility, as he is a Vatican insider and of German descent, which ties him to the traditional European papal picks, she said. Even though about 39% of all Catholics live in Latin America, only 17% of the cardinal electors hail from there, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Selecting a pope . Still, the cardinals listed above appear on many of the speculative lists of top contenders for the papacy. "In terms of trying to prognosticate who the next pope will be, that is a hazardous enterprise," said the Rev. John Ford, professor and coordinator of Hispanic/Latino Programs at the Catholic University of America. Still, he says, "the choice of a pope from the Americas or Africa would be quite appropriate." The fact that the last two popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, were not from Italy showed the "internationalization" of the papacy, he said. A pick from the Western hemisphere would extend that reach, he said. As it is, a growing Hispanic population in the United States has led the church to put a greater emphasis on Latino populations, Ford said. "The selection of a Latin American pope would be particularly welcomed by Latin Americans and Hispanics in the United States," he said. Candidates from Latin America, however, are not free from criticism and face challenges. In the region, as elsewhere, sex scandals have rocked the church and raised questions about how the incidents were handled. There is also the lingering criticism that the church was too passive during the repressive dictatorships in the region. A look at some of the names suggested as papal candidates from Latin America: . Odilo Pedro Scherer, Brazil: . At 63, he is one of the youngest candidates. Scherer, the archbishop of Sao Paulo, is known as warm, funny and gregarious. As one of the few cardinals who uses Twitter, he is seen as having a connection to young people, as well. He worked in the all-important Congregation of Bishops from 1994 to 2001. "So he's both an outsider and an insider. That's a pretty good position heading into this conclave," CNN Vatican analyst John Allen said. Joao Braz de Aviz, Brazil: . As a young priest, bullets riddled his chest and face as the young priest was caught in the crossfire of a robbery. He still carried bullet fragments. He entered the seminary at age 11 and rose up the ranks to become the archbishop of Brasilia. "He is sweet and open and gentle," Allen said. "I think the big question mark about him is precisely because he's such a nice guy: Does he really have the steel and the spine to be able to get his hands around the very complex bureaucracy of the Vatican." Leonardo Sandri, Argentina: . A veteran diplomat of the Vatican who has served in high-ranking posts, Sandri is considered serious but friendly. He became known as the "voice of the pope" when he spoke for Pope John Paul II after the pope lost the ability to speak due to his health. Sandri was the one who announced the pope's death to the world. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Argentina: . Until last year, Bergoglio was the archbishop of Buenos Aires before stepping down because of his age. He is 76. Bergoglio is considered a straight-shooter who calls things as he sees them, and a follower of the church's most conservative wing. He has clashed with the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over his opposition to gay marriage and free distribution of contraceptives. Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, Honduras: . The Honduran was elevated to cardinal by Pope John Paul II, and his name had been suggested in 2005 as a possible successor to the papacy. He speaks eight languages, holds degrees in theology, clinical psychology and psychiatry, and is a pilot. He is 71 years old. CNN's Shasta Darlington and Jose Manuel Rodriguez and journalist Elvin Sandoval contributed to this report.

A number of Latin American cardinals have been suggested as pope candidates . Observers say a pope from the Americas makes sense . The largest percentage of Catholics live in Latin America .

(CNN) -- If the 21st century belongs to China, as some have argued, then it is worth asking what the defining Chinese idea will be. It is unsurprising that this very issue has ginned up ferocious debate within China, as the country's might grows but its voice remains meek on the global stage. Economic success alone has yet to evince a self-assured China that it can offer a set of compelling values and ideas to the world. As a country that prides itself on the continuity of its great civilization and cultural force, China seems to grow increasingly dissatisfied with punching below its weight in the world of ideas. Indeed, much of the 20th century was defined by the rise of the United States and the dominance of the American idea: It was essentially an articulation of what modernity means. To be modern meant widespread economic prosperity, a healthy middle class, and technological superiority, combined with values that emphasized individual rights and freedoms to pursue whatever lives, liberties, and happiness that one sought. It was a manifestation of the ideals that were enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, a document that, at the young nation's inception, defined what kind of country the United States ought to strive for. In many ways, the country was born out of a few central ideas because its existence could not be predicated on strong ethnic kinships, bloodlines, or the old monarchical order. It was not the "Old World" but a new nation that was moving toward collective ideals. The belief in the very idea of America was the strongest glue that could bind together a diverse, continental nation. That cohesive idea has anchored the "American Dream" and provided ballast for themes that are readily found in Hollywood and other popular culture products that pervade the global market. Whether by design or accidental, the genius of the American idea is that it is simply an open source template, or a "default setting," that can be easily replicated and customized in different cultural and institutional environments. Its power and universalizing appeal is apparent. Little wonder that the American idea gained immense market share and is still widely equated with the general aspiration of obtaining a high living standard and human dignity. China, in contrast, is both of the old world and a young republic -- or as scholar Lucian Pye once rendered it, "a civilization pretending to be a nation-state." And its transition into a modern state has been anything but smooth. The modern Chinese state was forged from a nasty civil war, and its recent history since 1949 has been plagued by a series of highly disruptive discontinuities. It has had no continuous narrative from which to draw inspiration and to define the soul of a nation. In fact, the People's Republic under Mao Zedong primarily defined itself as what it is not -- that is, it wasn't feudal or traditional. For the next six decades, the country lurched from devastating revolution to hyper materialism, breaking with whatever ideological milieu that had existed at the time. When Deng Xiaoping took power in 1978, the only "ism" that mattered was pragmatism, as the country went to work on nation building and zeroed in on material prosperity. Thirty-five years and several trillions worth of GDP later, an entire generation of Chinese is waking up to the fact that it still has little idea of what kind of nation to strive for. All this relentless work has built a dynamic middle-income economy, yet cumulative wealth is no substitute for the richness of a nation, especially for a China that believes it has much to offer the world. After all, this is a country that once brought the world paper, gunpowder, and the compass. Virtually every Chinese school child knows that. But few Chinese know or agree on what China should stand for in the 21st century. It is clearly a global economic power, but unlike the United States, China seems to have little desire to stake out social and political values that others might adopt. The Chinese government, which tightly controls historical narratives, simply cannot look into its recent past to seek out those values because even communism is derived from a Western political philosophy appropriated for Chinese conditions. And politically, it could be potentially disastrous if the government owned up to all the dark chapters in its recent past. It seems that China has little choice but to look to its distant past in search of a continuous narrative and an indigenous idea that can carry the nation forward in the 21st Century. The new leadership of the Communist Party, particularly President Xi Jinping, has prioritized this effort because it understands that a major source of its political power is derived from ideological legitimacy. To keep a continental nation together, China, too, needs a ruling party to govern around a set of ideas so that its people can imagine what the country can and should become. And so the "great rejuvenation" of the Chinese nation has become the new ideological offering -- an explicit effort to connect today's China to the glories of a former empire that sat at the center of the world. It revives the traditional ideas of wealth and power that have defined the country through much of its history. The Chinese leadership is leaving little doubt that China will once again be a global force that garners respect. Yet it is far from clear what a rejuvenated China means or how that force might be employed. Reestablishing "national greatness" may win over some of the Chinese public, but it hardly serves as an idea or value proposition that can extend beyond Chinese borders. Each nation is entitled to deem itself unique, exceptional, and "great" -- the United States certainly does. But some nations also use their wealth and power to articulate a vision of how to shape the world and aspire to address common challenges. The tagline for a U.S. Navy advertisement, for example, is "a global force for good." China, at least so far, has exhibited little interest in becoming a charge d'affaires with world-shaping responsibilities, even as outside pressures mount for it to assume them. Indeed, it may simply be comfortable with being just China -- an idea that the rest of the world may have to get used to. Read more: Xi Jinping's 2014 challenge: Resolving an identity crisis? China marks muted 120th anniversary of Mao Zedong . Mind the gap: China's great education divide . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Damien Ma.

Damien Ma looks for an indigenous idea to carry China forward in the 21st Century . And its transition into a modern state has been anything but smooth, he writes . He says few Chinese know or agree on what China should stand for in the 21st Century .

(CNN) -- A New Mexico inmate, an ex-convict on probation and his nephew are under investigation for plotting to castrate and murder pop singer Justin Bieber, police said Thursday. Their unsuccessful scheme called for targeting Bieber and his bodyguard while in New York City in mid-November, and their motive grew from the inmate's quest for notoriety and his infatuation with Bieber, said a New Mexico State Police affidavit. The inmate, Dana Martin, who is serving two life sentences for a 2000 rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Vermont, has a tattoo of Bieber on his leg and had attempted to correspond with Bieber, who never responded, the affidavit said. "This perceived slight made Mr. Martin upset and that, coupled with Mr. Martin's perception of being a 'nobody' in prison, led him to begin plotting the kidnap and murder of (Bieber)," the affidavit said, adding that Martin gave statements to investigators. With Martin serving as the mastermind, the plan called for the uncle and nephew to first kill two other people, in Vermont, the affidavit said. But the entire scheme to kill a total of four people, including Bieber, unraveled when the uncle and nephew missed their turn on a Vermont road and ended up heading toward the Canadian border on November 19, authorities said. There, a U.S. Border Patrol agent at the Highgate Springs crossing arrested the uncle, Mark Aaron Staake, 41, because he was found to have an outstanding warrant for a felony parole violation out of New Mexico, authorities said. The nephew, Tanner Ruane, 23, was released with their 1983 BMW, but he then spilled the beans about the murder plots when he called Martin in prison the same day, New Mexico authorities said. Prison guards were recording the phone call, and Ruane was later arrested in New York by state police, authorities said. In the phone call, Ruane and Martin spoke in code and referred to the victims as "dogs," the affidavit said. "Mr. Martin confirmed that the 'dogs' would be castrated too, and Mr. Ruane not only agreed, but stated he himself was the one who was going to do the castrating," the affidavit said. The instrument for castration would be hand-held hedge clippers used for trimming roses, the court document said. The victims were to be strangled with a paisley tie "because that was what he (Mr. Martin) had used previously," the affidavit said, without elaborating. "In response to Mr. Staake's reluctance to follow through with the castrations, Mr. Ruane stated he was going to do it and get 'five large for each one I get.' Mr. Martin confirmed that Mr. Ruane was going to get $2,500.00 per testicle," the affidavit said. The testicles were to be put in bags, to be hidden in a place such as the engine compartment, the document said. When asked by CNN if that grisly plan would be applied to all victims, including Bieber, McDonald stated: "It would be safe to say they were going to do it for every one of them." None of the three men have been charged in the alleged murder plot against Bieber and his bodyguard, but the investigation is continuing, New Mexico State Police Lt. Robert McDonald told CNN. New Mexico authorities are seeking the extradition of Staake from Vermont and Ruane from New York, McDonald said. Both men have Albuquerque addresses, police said. Staake and Ruane are now each facing two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and two counts to commit aggravated battery, and those New Mexico charges relate to their plot to kill two people in Vermont, McDonald said. Authorities weren't elaborating on that scheme and the two intended victims, McDonald said. The attorneys for Staake and Ruane didn't respond to CNN's requests for comment Thursday. Said McDonald: "We got to interview these (two) men and see what they say about this whole thing." The affidavit refers to Bieber as "Victim 3" or "J.B." who was the "ultimate target." McDonald told CNN that J.B. refers to Justin Bieber. A representative for 18-year-old Bieber said, "We take every precaution to protect and ensure the safety of Justin and his fans." Bieber rose to fame in 2009 with his hit single "One Time." He was named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards in both 2010 and 2012. Martin and Staake met while inmates in the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility after Martin was transferred there from a Florida prison in April, the affidavit said. Staake was released and put on probation on October 22. McDonald didn't know why Martin was in a Florida prison, he said. "When asked how he was able to convince Mr. Staake to participate, Mr. Martin stated he (Mr. Martin) was a very good manipulator," the court document said. Martin also promised money and a Vermont farm as a hideout, the affidavit said. Martin remains under investigation and is in fact named in the affidavit as a conspirator in the Vermont plot. The affidavit was filed in Dona Ana County for seeking an arrest warrant against Staake. But Martin hasn't been formally charged in any of the plots, McDonald said. "For us, there's no rush (for charges) as far as Martin is concerned because he's serving life sentences anyway," McDonald said. Media across the world have been calling McDonald. "It's been freaking crazy," he said. "But the good thing is we nipped this thing in the bud and we caught it before anyone was hurt. "We're definitely thankful -- we owe it to the guard at the correctional facility who caught these phone calls and got on it right away. That's how we were able to catch these guys," McDonald said. CNN's Laura Ly and Carolyn Sung contributed to this report.

NEW: "It's been freaking crazy," police spokesman says of global interest in case . NEW: Three men plot to castrate and kill Justin Bieber and three others, police say . NEW: Plot masterminded by an imprisoned child killer with a Bieber tattoo, officials say . NEW: Scheme unravels when two conspirators get lost at Canadian border .

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The co-author of a study on propofol addiction funded by AEG Live and used in their defense in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial lost his medical license for writing illegal drug prescriptions, according to testimony. Dr. Torin Finver was hired to help with the AEG Live study after he lost his job at a pizza parlor and took a job driving a Goodwill truck, said Dr. Paul Earley, who testified Wednesday as an expert witness for the concert promoter. Finver was "destitute, dead broke, and I wanted to help him," Earley, himself a recovering heroin addict, testified. The revelation was a bizarre twist in the trial of the billion-dollar lawsuit filed by Jackson's mother and three children, which is being heard by a Los Angeles jury. The four-month-long trial is nearing a conclusion. AEG Live lawyers will announce if they have any more witnesses to call before playing the video depositions of three more doctors on Friday. Jackson lawyers would then take several days to call rebuttal witnesses before closing arguments are heard, which is likely to happened around September 23. Earley testified that he never disclosed to AEG Live lawyers that his co-author had lost his medical license. Ironically, the company is being accused of the negligent hiring of Dr. Conrad Murray, convicted in Jackson's death because it allegedly failed to check Murray's background before hiring him. Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle also grilled Earley over his nondisclosure that he was working as a paid consultant in AEG Live's defense when he submitted the study for publication in a medical journal. He said the concert promoter did not try to influence his findings, which were published in March in the Journal of Addiction Medicine. Nurse details Michael Jackson's fatal search for sleep . Jackson lawyers are hoping the controversy over Earley's work for AEG Live will distract jurors from his conclusion that Michael Jackson was a drug addict with a "grave prognosis" that would have shortened his life had he not died of an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol on June 25, 2009. Each dose of an anesthetic his doctor gave him to help him sleep was like playing "Russian roulette," Earley said. Murray told investigators he gave Jackson infusions of propofol for 60 nights to treat his insomnia as the entertainer prepared for his comeback concerts. Lawyers for the concert promoter hired Earley in their effort to downplay damages the company might have to pay if found liable in the pop icon's death. How much longer Jackson might have lived -- and earned money touring -- will be important if the jury decides AEG Live is liable for damages in Jackson's death. Jackson lawyers contend he would have earned more than $1.5 billion touring the world over the next several years. Katherine Jackson and her three grandchildren sued Michael Jackson's last concert promoter, contending the company is liable in his death because it hired, retained or supervised the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter. AEG Live lawyers contend it was Jackson, not the promoter, who chose and controlled Murray, and say AEG executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments the doctor was giving Jackson in the privacy of his bedroom. Jackson's mom remembers her 'sweet little boy' Earley: Jackson went 'doctor shopping' Despite writing a blog six weeks after Jackson's death titled "Michael Jackson: Addiction in the Privileged," Earley testified Tuesday that there "was insufficient evidence that he was addicted to propofol." "He was given propofol initially for appropriate medical procedures, but at some point, he began seeking out physicians who would administer propofol to him," Earley testified. The last two instances of "doctor shopping" for propofol were late March and April of 2009, when Jackson asked an anesthesiologist to go on tour with him and then asked a nurse to help him find an anesthesiologist, he said. Earley said there was no evidence Jackson's search for a doctor to give him propofol continued after AEG Live Co-CEO Paul Gongaware sent an e-mail to the singer's assistant on May 6, 2009, telling him Murray had agreed to take the job as his personal physician for the "This Is It" tour. "Done at $150k a month," Gongaware wrote. "Sounds like he got it," Earley testified. The Jackson family's lawyers contend that AEG Live executives ignored warning signs that Jackson's health began deteriorating after Murray began attending to him on a daily basis. Show workers sent e-mails describing a paranoid and frail Jackson who couldn't perform his standard dances or remember words to songs he had sung for decades. A Harvard Medical School sleep expert, testifying in June for the Jacksons, concluded that the 60 nights of propofol infusions apparently robbed Jackson of rapid eye movement sleep, which is vital to keep the brain and body alive. "The symptoms that Mr. Jackson was exhibiting were consistent with what someone might expect to see of someone suffering from total sleep deprivation over a chronic period," Dr. Charles Czeisler testified. AEG expert: Jackson was a drug addict . Expert's conflict? Soon after AEG Live's lawyers hired Earley as a consultant on propofol addiction in 2011, they agreed to fund his scientific research, which resulted in his paper titled "Addiction to Propofol: A Study of 22 Treatment Cases." The American Society of Addiction Medicine published the study in March. Earley insisted in his testimony that AEG Live's funding did not influence the conclusions of his study or his testimony in the trial. But the Jackson lawyer hammered the doctor about the lack of disclosure to the scientific journal and his collaborator that he was being paid to be an expert witness in the trial. He informed them that he was doing research for the company, but the trial aspect was "irrelevant," Earley said. "It's irrelevant to health care professionals," he said. "It wouldn't affect their understanding of the paper."

NEW: Co-author of AEG Live propofol study was hired after losing pizza parlor job . NEW: Study co-author was "destitute, dead broke," AEG Live expert testifies . AEG Live funded the expert's propofol research paper . The wrongful death case is nearing an end after four months .

(CNN) -- We all feel like hibernating this winter. The arctic chill has us huddled together with our dogs, cats and humans on sofas across the land, venturing out only for that required dog walk. Yet the brisk air is invigorating for some living things — maybe even you. So, party with your dog, toast the ugliest fish in the world or walk into the wilderness to spot bald eagles or elk. Here are 10 animal-focused ideas for winter: . A cold water plunge for your pooch . Dogs and humans alike get to dive into the Atlantic Ocean during the Polar Plunge Festival on the Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, boardwalk (January 31-February 2). Don't worry: leashed pooches only go into the water as much as they like. The $25 pooch registration fee includes an official Pooch Plunge dog bandana. This Special Olympics fundraiser also includes a 5K Run to the Plunge and an ice sculpting demonstration. Run those huskies into the woods . For a more active experience with dogs born to run, head to Maine for your introduction to dogsledding. No matter that you've never raced in the Alaskan Iditarod. Even kids can take charge of the dogs during these February half-day adventures into the Maine wilderness, which includes meeting the huskies, a 15- to 25-mile mush and a midday stop to build a fire and feed the dogs. There are also full-day and even two-day programs. Half-day prices start at $400 for a group of up to four people. This dog race really counts . Want to see the real deal? This Valentine's Day weekend, come to Helena, Montana, for the Race to the Sky qualifying race for the Alaskan Iditarod. The 350-mile adult race starts at Camp Rimini, where soldiers and sled dogs trained during World War II and winds through the state's Rocky Mountains. There's also a 100-mile adult race and a 100-mile junior race. One of the nonprofit organizer's missions this year is to assist groups working to bring retired military dogs home. The host town of Helena also turns 150 years old this year, so it's bound to be an even bigger party than usual. The ugliest fish in the world . One of the ugliest bottom-dwelling fish known to humans, the eelpout, gets its own festival in the tiny town of Walker, Minnesota, population 1,500. Even the name of the lake -- Leech -- is ugly. But that doesn't stop more than 10,000 festival participants and visitors from filling the town from February 20-23 for the 2014 International Eelpout Festival. Come for the Eelpout Fishfry and stay for the Eelpout Curling, the EelPout 500 races or the fishing show. A more refined animal spotting . Get up early to see elk in their natural habitat near Buckhorn Lake State Resort Park, Kentucky. The tour leaves the resort for the elk reserve around 5:30 a.m., and guests should bring snacks, cameras and binoculars to capture their elk. The tour returns to the resort by noon. Head to the resort park the night before to stay the night and attend a pre-tour natural history program. The package price of $90 per single or $120 per couple includes one night's room, continental breakfast and transportation to and from the elk preserve the next morning. The tour is available February 1, 2, 22 and 23. The national bird soars across many states . The American bald eagle, the official bird emblem of the United States, loves to spend the winter in some pretty cold states. If you're in the middle of the country, head to Oklahoma's Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge to spot the mighty bird or Beavers Bend State Park to find bald eagles hunting for food, fishing or nesting. (There are sometimes tours.) In Connecticut, join the state Audubon Society for an eagle-spotting cruise. In the upper Midwest, spot bald eagles soaring over several Illinois towns. A banner year for this Arctic Circle resident . We're not promising that you'll spot the Snowy Owl at Norman Bird Sanctuary in Rhode Island. But it's worth a try this February to find the elusive Arctic Circle bird, which has been traveling south in unusually high numbers this winter. Bring your own binoculars to the sanctuary's free guided bird walks on February 2 and February 16. We hear from Rhode Island officials that it could be a banner year for sightings. Alaskan animals come out to play . Moose, wolves and caribou don't sleep through Alaska's long, cold and dark winter, and animal spotters have a special treat this year: The National Park Service will plow the Denali National Park & Preserve road west of park headquarters in mid-February, a month earlier than usual (and the earliest it's ever been opened) so winter sports enthusiasts can play in the snow. Party with the community surrounding the park at Winterfest (February 21-23). Groundhog Day predicts the end of winter . Want to know when winter will finally end? Join the crowds on the walk to Gobbler's Knob to spot the most anticipated winter animal of all, Punxsutawney Phil. He's expected to appear early on February 2, Groundhog Day, to let the world know how much more winter we can expect. The festival marking his appearance includes breakfast with Phil and s'mores with the Inner Circle, the local dignitaries who plan Groundhog Day events and care for Phil. Saddle up for the rodeo . You say you're done with winter and prefer warm-weather activity? It can be a tad warmer in San Antonio where the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo (February 6-23) hosts horse and livestock shows, auctions and sales of horses and other livestock, rodeo performances, exhibits, a carnival and concerts after the show. The heat is on!

Practice the art of dogsledding in the Maine woods . Mushers will compete in Montana to qualify for the Alaska Iditarod . Drink to the ugliest fish in the world in Minnesota . Track the soaring bald eagle in Oklahoma, Connecticut or Illinois .

(CNN) -- For 17 years, Ted Kaczynski meticulously prepared his instruments of death from a cabin on a remote piece of property in western Montana. The former math professor eschewed modern comforts, like electricity or water, in the small wooden building where he made the mail bombs that would make him infamous. He also drew up an angry 35,000-word anti-technology manifesto. The "Unabomber" killed three people and wounded 23 others in a string of attacks from 1978 to 1995. The cabin is long gone, housed in the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Kaczynski, 68, is long gone, too. He is serving a life sentence at a federal supermax prison in Colorado. All that's left in Lincoln, Montana, are the notoriety for about 1,500 townspeople and the 1.4 acres Kaczynski once owned a few miles south of town. Now the property is for sale, recently reduced from $154,500 to $69,500. "It's very secluded. Hardly any one goes up there," says John Pistelak, who runs a realty company in town and is handling the sale. "I've had all kinds of calls." The land is much quieter than it was in the weeks after the arrest as agents scoured it for clues into the Unabomber's diabolic plans and anger. A few bottles and the remains of a root cellar are still evident, according to Pistelak. A real estate brochure reads, "Own a Piece of U.S. History: Home of the Unabomber." It also touts the plot's proximity to wilderness areas and "great fishing and hunting." Read the real estate brochure . Pistelak acknowledges the land normally would go for no more than $50,000. But this wooded patch of land, which is being sold by a friend of his, is different, Pistelak says. "With the history, it's got to be worth something," he said. Wendy Gehring, who knew Kaczynski and was a neighbor, said she doesn't buy the man's reputation as a naturalist. "I have nothing good to say about him," she told CNN Saturday, saying he looked down on her because she is a woman. "The town doesn't really give a rat's ass about Ted Kaczynski." Gehring and her husband, Clifford, operate a lumber business and saw mill. Kaczynski complained about the noise and said it disturbed his peace, Gehring said. For a while, the Unabomber lived a hermit's life, later emerging to ride his bicycle to town. "We thought he was D.B. Cooper," said Gehring, referring to the famous hijacker who disappeared after parachuting from a flight, likely over Washington state, in 1971. Clifford Gehring identified Kaczynski when agents made the April 1996 arrest on the property. It has not been inhabited since the arrest. A prospective buyer could run power on the property from a few lots down, Pistelak told CNN Saturday. Kaczynski quit a tenure-track position at the University of California-Berkeley in 1969 and, soon after, he and a brother built the shack. Federal agents gave the case the code name "Unabom" because universities and airlines were the early targets. Along with the deaths and injuries he inflicted, Kaczynski threatened to blow up airplanes, and placed a bomb on one flight in 1979, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing when a fire broke out in the cargo hold. Agents closed in after his brother noted similarities between his old letters and journals and the bomber's manifesto. Some areas on the property are surrounded by chain-link fences, vestiges of the federal investigation. Interestingly, Pistelak says, there are no gates in the fences. In 1999, Kaczynski told Time magazine he "would rather get the death penalty than spend the rest of my life in prison." In an interview at the federal prison in Florence, Colorado, he also said he is sane. "I don't get delusions and so on and so forth. I mean, I had very serious problems with social adjustment in adolescence, and a lot of people would call this a sickness. But it would have to be distinguished between an organic illness, like schizophrenia or something like that." Kaczynski said he pleaded guilty in 1998 only to stop his lawyers from arguing that he was a paranoid schizophrenic, as court-appointed psychiatrists had diagnosed. Kaczynski wrote a book, "Truth Versus Lies." In it, he said his brother's decision to turn him in was a way of settling a sibling rivalry. His brother was jealous "over the fact that our parents valued me more highly." In the Unabomber Manifesto, Kaczynski claimed a moral high ground for his bombing campaign, justifying the attacks in the name of preserving humanity and nature from the relentless onslaught of technology and exploitation. But in his journals, the government said, Kaczynski scoffed at environmental ideals. The journals, found by FBI investigators in his Montana mountain cabin, revealed a cynical, apparently sexually confused killer who delighted in his deadly explosions and cared little for the outside world. "I believe in nothing," Kaczynski wrote. "I don't even believe in the cult of nature-worshipers or wilderness-worshipers. (I am perfectly ready to litter in parts of the woods that are of no use to me -- I often throw cans in logged-over areas.)" Of his killings, Kaczynski wrote: "My motive for doing what I am going to do is simply personal revenge." The Unabomber got no sympathy from victims and their families. Susan Mosser, who lost her husband in a Unabomber attack, urged the federal judge to "make the sentence bullet-proof, or bomb-proof, lock him so far down that when he does die, he'll be closer to hell. That's where the devil belongs."

Property formerly owned by Ted Kaczynski is for sale in Montana . As the "Unabomber," he killed three people and wounded 23 . 1.4 acres are being sold for $69,500 .

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- -- It's OK for Republicans to want President Obama to fail if they think he's jeopardizing the country, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal told members of his political party Tuesday night. Gov. Bobby Jindal is offering a spirited defense of Republicans who say they want President Obama to fail. Jindal described the premise of the question -- "Do you want the president to fail?" -- as the "latest gotcha game" being perpetrated by Democrats against Republicans. "Make no mistake: Anything other than an immediate and compliant, 'Why no sir, I don't want the president to fail,' is treated as some sort of act of treason, civil disobedience or political obstructionism," Jindal said at a political fundraiser attended by 1,200 people. "This is political correctness run amok." Since conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh said that he hoped that Obama would fail, Republicans have been pressed by Democrats and the media about Limbaugh's comments. Jindal, a potential 2012 presidential candidate, told the Republican audience he would "not be brow beaten on this, and I will not kowtow to their correctness." "My answer to the question is very simple: 'Do you want the president to fail?' It depends on what he is trying to do." Jindal, who served two terms in the U.S. House, returned to Washington to help his former colleagues raise more than $6 million for the 2010 midterm elections. And he likely picked up important political chits, should he decide to run for president. So far, Jindal has sidestepped questions about 2012. But on Tuesday he seemed to be laying the groundwork in case he eventually decides the political climate is right. A video of favorable back-to-back TV reports about Jindal preceded his introduction to the audience. And Jindal used his remarks to deep-pocketed Republican donors to emphasize his vision for how the Grand Old Party can get back on track. He made a point to criticize Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a "spending spree" that he said "is costing the taxpayers more than the Iraq war, more than the Vietnam War, and, near and dear to my heart, even more than the Louisiana Purchase." Jindal singled out House Republicans for standing up to Obama and helping the GOP return to its conservative roots. The governor took a controversial stand when he refused to accept $98 million in federal stimulus money to expand unemployment benefits in Louisiana, because he said it would force an unfair tax on businesses when the funding ran out. Democrats and other critics blasted Jindal's decision, saying he was influenced by presidential ambitions. But many conservatives saw his decision as a principled stand. Moments after Jindal wrapped up his remarks Tuesday, Obama held his second prime-time news conference 12 blocks away at the White House. Last month, Jindal delivered the Republican response following Obama's joint address to Congress. The governor was widely panned for his performance, which he addressed Tuesday at the top of his speech. "Many of you have asked that I reprise my State of the Union response speech," Jindal said. "That was a joke by the way. It's OK to laugh about it. "I have just learned that because of President Obama's opposition to torture, it is now illegal to show my speech to prisoners at Gitmo," he added. The governor's speech then took on a serious tone when he emphasized the need for Republicans to put the 2008 election behind them and embrace the role of loyal opposition party. "It's time to declare our time of introspection and navel-gazing officially over," Jindal said. "It's time to get on with the business of charting America's future. So, as of now, be it hereby resolved that we will focus on America's future, and on standing up for fiscal sanity, before it is too late." With the next presidential election three years away and the fact that he has to face Louisiana voters in 2011 if he seeks re-election, it is not surprising that Jindal does not publicly express interest in running in 2012. But if the governor is considering a presidential bid, he must now focus on learning to become a national candidate and building a political operation. Unlike potential 2012 rivals such as Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, Jindal doesn't have a national infrastructure in place, nor the experience the two men gained crisscrossing the country in their failed 2008 bids for the White House. And Jindal lacks the name recognition of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a former vice presidential nominee who is said to be considering her own campaign in 2012. GOP operative Alex Vogel said it is critical for Jindal or any other Republican candidate to begin amassing a list of national supporters similar to what Obama created for the 2008 campaign. "It is all about data," said Vogel, a former senior aide to the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and ex-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. "The best candidate in the world is only as good as his database. How many cell phone numbers, e-mails and mailing addresses can you collect? You can't collect that in a presidential campaign. You have to do that now." Vogel also said that beyond "fine-tuning his message," Jindal needs to continue giving speeches, attending political events and appearing on television if he wants to get used to running for national office. At 37, Jindal potentially has a long political future, whether or not he runs for president in 2012. "There is plenty of time between now and the primaries for him to tighten his game," said Jonathan Grella, a GOP strategist who has worked for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "He obviously has got a long ways to go before he performs at a presidential level, and particularly at the Obama level. That is a tall order. But Bobby Jindal is an above-average political performer now, and he has plenty of room to grow."

Jindal: If Obama's policies jeopardize U.S., nothing wrong in desiring his failure . The Louisiana governor addresses fellow Republicans Tuesday night . Jindal has sidestepped whether he will make a presidential run in 2012 . Jindal to GOP: Let's declare our time of "introspection and navel-gazing" over .

(CNN) -- Thousands of people in parts of the northern United States and southeastern Canada endured at least their fourth consecutive day without electricity Thursday because of ice-related outages, and power companies warned some still might not have power until at least the weekend. More than 232,000 customers were without power in below-freezing temperatures Thursday in parts of Michigan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and northern New England. Storms that began hitting Michigan on Saturday and moved through New England early this week knocked down trees and power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands in the dark. At least 19 people died in weather-related incidents since Saturday, authorities said Thursday. Of the casualties, 14 were in the United States, according to various emergency management officials. The majority died of carbon monoxide poisoning, the officials said. In Kentucky, five people died in flooding-related incidents, state officials said. In Canada, three people in Quebec and two in Toronto died from carbon monoxide poisoning, official said. In areas near Toronto, where officials said the storm was one of the worst to hit the city, more than 54,000 were without power Thursday. While that's down from 300,000 at the peak, utility officials there declined to estimate when the last outages would be fixed. "It's taking long because we haven't seen a storm like this in our history," Toronto Hydro spokeswoman Tanya Bruckmueller told CNN affiliate CBC News. "The amount of damage to both our equipment due to the trees coming down is slowing us down, as well as this morning we've got snow coming, which is much heavier on the branches and is now covering a lot of what we need to be repairing." Toronto resident Vic Baniuk told CBC on Thursday that his family hasn't had power for five days, and they were using a fireplace and a cast-iron stove to stay warm. "We're sitting in the dark and cold, and I feel that everybody has ignored us," he told CBC. A tree branch pierced his roof, making a bad situation worse. "This is not an inconvenience. This is an emergency, a disaster," CBC reported Baniuk said. Light snow might fall Thursday night and Friday morning in Toronto, where the temperature was -2 C (28 F) around 3 p.m. The temperature isn't expected to get above freezing until Saturday, with a high of 3 C (37 F) possible. Another 16,000 people were without power Thursday elsewhere in southern Ontario; 20,500 had no electricity in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, and another 8,900 still had outages in Quebec province, utility companies said. The Hyrdo-Quebec utility estimated that about 2,000 of its customers in Quebec, mostly in rural areas, would not get power back until Friday. Power to the people . Power crews were working around the clock and called in reinforcements from other states to help them wrangle electric lines back into place. They have made progress. Of the 470,000 customers left in the dark and cold earlier in the week in Michigan, all but 100,000 had electricity restored by Thursday morning, according to two utilities. High temperatures sat in the mid-20s around much of lower Michigan on Thursday. Ice could finally start melting Saturday, when temperatures could reach the high 30s or lower 40s. Michigan utility Consumers Energy warned the melting might not be all good news -- it might snap more tree branches and send them crashing into power lines, causing more outages. Consumers Energy said it expected to have most of the outages fixed by the end of Saturday. Utility crews have had to work against icebox weather conditions this week. One utility truck flipped over on a Michigan interstate Wednesday, as a dozen cars and trucks wiped out on the same patch of ice, CNN affiliate WOOD reported. About 600 customers had no power in parts of Vermont on Thursday morning. Roughly 30,000 people still were without electricity in Maine. With no power in her Litchifield, Maine, home on Wednesday afternoon, Mary Beth King cooked her family's Christmas dinner -- seafood chowder -- on an outdoor grill, CNN affiliate WGME reported. King's husband spent part of Christmas looking for a replacement for a generator that failed on Tuesday night. "We do have a wood stove in the basement, which is wonderful, so it keeps the house warm. So we're lucky for that," she told WGME. 'Room at the inn' The storm clouds had a silver lining for some who lost power. They found generosity and new friends after turning to shelters to stay warm. More than 200 people took refuge Thursday in Red Cross shelters in Michigan and Maine, according to the relief group's online shelter tracker. "Friends and family." That's how Bonnie Libby described her shelter mates to WOOD after living with them for three days. The outage was a cure for loneliness on Christmas Day for Larry Sutherland. "I would be spending it alone, and my Christmas dinner would be a microwave meal," he said. On Christmas Eve, power crews put the lights back on at the house of Dennis and Daisy Davis, but Christmas at home no longer felt right, and they returned to the Red Cross Shelter. "I think it is just all the people pulling together," Daisy Davis told WOOD. "I think it is the true meaning of Christmas." Bonita Thomas wanted to host her grandchildren in her Flint-area apartment for Christmas, but falling trees cut the power to her building on Monday, and she began to shiver. She wrapped herself in layers. But when temperatures fell to the single digits, it was too much -- she called her grandkids' father, told them to stay home, and she went to a Red Cross shelter. Thomas was sad that she couldn't host her grandchildren, but she's grateful for the room and board, she told CNN. "It's kind of depressing, but I just believe ... that God's still on my side. And there's room at the inn." CNN's Mayra, Cuevas, Stephanie Gallman, Kevin Conlon, Carma Hassan and Matt Daniel contributed to this report.

NEW: Authorities say 14 people died in the United States and five in Canada since Saturday . 232,000-plus customers without power in Michigan, Canada, New England . Electrical grids are rapidly recovering, but crews are working against the ice . Christmas took on new meaning for some at Red Cross shelters .

(CNN) -- The epiphany occurred at a baptism. With more than 800 people waiting, Pastor Rick Warren took them one by one and immersed them in the church's baptism pool. During this spiritual rite at Saddleback Church, the pastors hold the people briefly underwater, and then pull them out. "On that particular day, I was baptizing 858 people," Warren told his congregation last fall. "That took me literally four hours." "As I'm baptizing 858 people, along around 500, I thought this ... 'We're all fat.' " Warren turned his realization to himself. "But I thought, I'm fat," he said. "I'm a terrible model of this. I can't expect our people to get in shape unless I do." Warren, considered one of the most influential pastors in the country, delivered the inaugural prayer for President Obama in 2009 and wrote the best-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life." Now, he was embarking on a new mission: Curbing the obesity epidemic at church. Warren seems like an unlikely man to lead an anti-obesity crusade. A ruddy man with plastic frame glasses, he has admitted to gaining 90 pounds over the last 30 years and failing at various yo-yo diets. He declined an interview for this story. Based in Lake Forest, California, Saddleback is one of the largest churches in the United States and has eight locations throughout Orange County. Warren has a casual style in his ministry, usually preaching in jeans. Since January 2011, Warren has been shrinking. He gave up carbonated drinks, dairy and fast food, he told the church. He works out twice a day, according to his trainer, Tom Wilson. Warren shed 60 pounds on a diet-lifestyle program devised at Saddleback Church called the Daniel Plan. The program's name comes from the biblical story about Daniel. In the story, Daniel and his friends, who are Israelites living in Babylon, refuse to consume royal food and wine. By eating vegetables and water, "they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food," according to Daniel 1:15 in the Bible's New International Version. The Daniel Program, which started at Saddleback Church last January, advises how to eat healthier foods, encourages workout routines and urges participants to join small groups. The program was free. Warren recruited three doctors to develop the plan: Daniel Amen, a psychiatrist; Mark Hyman, a family doctor; and Mehmet Oz, a TV host and cardiac surgeon. "The secret sauce of Saddleback is we do this as a community," said Amen, one of the medical contributors. "It's very different than most health plans where you do it with yourself or your wife. You get to do this with a whole community." Studies indicate that people who try to lose weight or adopt healthier habits in groups are more likely to be successful than individuals working independently. The small groups have health and spiritual curricula, and provide a support network. Saddleback was the ideal place, because small groups already existed at the church and Warren had "instantaneous capacity to make this happen," said Hyman, another contributor to the Daniel Plan. "The church was the perfect incubator," he said. "This was a way of leapfrogging and getting a social experiment done." Chiquita Seals, a member of Saddleback, said that having a small group was instrumental to her 125-pound weight loss. Her group met twice a month to discuss their health, and they also hiked together. Each small group has a health champion, whom Seals credits with "helping me emotionally, physically." "The health champion guides the group -- 'This is what we're cooking, this is what we're doing' -- and cheers you on and helps you out. It's not just the food you're eating, it's also mental gain," she said. The church held a race, cooking demonstrations and various workout classes led by Tae Bo founder Billy Blanks. It overhauled the menus and vending machine products sold at church and placed symbols to indicate which choices were healthy. Doughnuts often given to the congregation were replaced with trail mix. The church developed a website with recipes, advice on physical activity and health information. "It's not a diet, not a healthy quick scheme, it's designed to be a way to create health," Hyman said. At the end of the first year, about 15,000 people had registered for the program and 250,000 pounds were lost, according to Saddleback Church. The Daniel Plan is a program the founders intended to spread to different faith communities across the globe, Hyman said. But many at Saddleback wondered why the church would get involved in health and weight loss. "I wondered whether this was something church should be doing," said Julie McGough, a member of Saddleback Church for 18 years. McGough and her husband decided to try the plan, because they had gained weight during his illness with multiple sclerosis. Between his doctor's visits, hospital appointments and busy schedule, the family came to rely on fast food as their staple. The couple and their two kids, ages 10 and 16, cleaned out their pantry, gave up the In-N-Out burgers and started cooking as a family activity. They started eating chicken, broccoli, squash and a variety of vegetables, and in smaller portions. They bought a trampoline for the kids and also started hiking. One year later, McGough has lost 28 pounds. Her husband has lost 55 pounds and stopped taking as many medications. "This is what we should be doing," McGough said about the church's involvement in the health plan. "I am far more able to serve God because I'm healthy." Warren said in several speeches to the congregation that he never paid much attention to the perils of obesity such as diabetes and heart disease. But when he heard that obesity could affect a person's brain power, it snapped him into action. Growing evidence indicates that obesity is associated with impaired cognitive function, such as attention and memory problems. Warren often repeats the same phrases when discussing the Daniel Plan. "The Father made your body, Jesus paid for your body, the Spirit lives in your body. You better take care of it."

Pastor Rick Warren started a health plan addressing diet and fitness at church . Warren has shed 60 pounds in one year . The Daniel Plan uses small groups to encourage healthier habits .

Osh, Kyrgyzstan (CNN) -- Life in this embattled country's second-largest city appeared calm Tuesday even as concerns over the plight of refugees grew. The calm came as the Central Asian nation's news agency AKI Press reported that the death toll had risen to 176, a number that some observers discounted as low. A team of Red Cross doctors who visited Jalalabad's main hospital estimated the death toll at "several hundred." The streets of the southern city of Osh appeared deserted, except for a few pedestrians and army checkpoints. Stores, warehouses and shops were burned along miles of streets, which were patrolled armed police and soldiers. Near the airport, the most dangerous part of town, no one could be seen on the streets, which were quiet except for the sounds of sporadic gunfire. In Jalalabad, about an hour away, journalist Dalton Bennett accompanied Kyrgyz military through the streets Tuesday evening and told CNN that the military appeared to have imposed total control in the downtown area. Explainer: Kyrgyzstan's ethnic unrest . But, in the outskirts of town, sporadic gunfire and impromptu "checkpoints" continued, he said. About two-thirds of the downtown area had been looted and/or burned, with Uzbek-owned buildings appearing to have been the primary targets, he said. Buildings marked "Kyrgyz" appeared undamaged, he said. In recent days, more than 100,000 ethnic Uzbeks have fled the clashes with ethnic Kyrgyz, streaming into camps in neighboring Uzbekistan, according to Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry. Thousands more have been denied passage into Uzbekistan because of a lack of resources. Many were standing on the Kyrgyz side of a barbed-wire fence. Three border crossings between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan were open, Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry said. One, at Yor Kishlok, Uzbekistan, remained closed. The closure came after throngs of people fleeing the violence overwhelmed refugee camps in Uzbekistan. Working together, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan have helped 16 medical facilities caring for more than 1,130 injured people in the past week, the ICRC said in a statement. Police said 15 officers have been killed. The United States and Germany have evacuated 89 people -- including 31 Americans and 40 Europeans -- from Osh, the German Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. They were taken to the capital, Bishkek, in the north. The United States is providing humanitarian assistance to the impoverished country and evaluating what further help may be needed, including military, a senior U.S. health official said in Washington. "Right now our focus is humanitarian but it remains to be seen exactly what, if any, security assistance Kyrgystan needs," said the official, who spoke on background because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue. The official said the United States is not considering acting alone to provide any security assistance. The U.S. military said the interim Kyrgyz government has presented an official request for aid from the U.S. government beyond the $800,000 in humanitarian assistance already provided. U.S. officials were working with the provisional government to determine how best to distribute another $200,000 in medical and emergency supplies. The clashes are part of the most serious outbreak of ethnic violence in the former Soviet republic since 1990, when hundreds of people died in skirmishes between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in Osh. It was not clear what sparked the violence, which came weeks after bloody protests removed Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev from office. But it was clear that Tuesday's calm did not indicate an end to the crisis. "This is far from over," said Anna Nelson, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, in a telephone call with CNN from Geneva, Switzerland. "It's still extremely volatile. The needs are still extremely great." Those Uzbeks who are most vulnerable are those who have had to remain in Kyrgyzstan, many of whom include orphans and the elderly, she said. For some, the situation is dire. "Orphanages are running out of food," she said. Mosques and hospitals in Jalalabad are receiving large numbers of burn victims and people with gunshot wounds, she said. On Uzbekistan's side of the border, refugees were seeking shelter in parking lots and abandoned buildings, the ICRC said. As demand for water outpaced supply, some refugees were drinking from irrigation ditches, raising concern about outbreaks of diarrhea. Some analysts have said the clashes stem from resentment from minority Uzbeks that they have been under-represented in government positions and fears from ethnic Kyrgyz that Uzbeks in the country will help Uzbekistan invade Kyrgyzstan. Refugees were seeking help at bleak camps on the Kyrgyz border with Uzbekistan. "People are screaming, 'We need food; we need food,' to those who are passing by," EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said. But in the refugee camp in Yor Kishlock, there were ample supplies of food, tents, beds, sheets and blankets. The vast majority of the camp's occupants were female. They said the males had largely stayed behind to look after their homes. The United Nations said it was sending an emergency team to Uzbekistan to aid refugees who had crossed the border. U.N. Security Council President Claude Heller said the group condemns the "continued acts of violence in the Kyrgyz Republic and notes the need to support the delivery of humanitarian assistance." He said the council was assessing the situation in Kyrgyzstan and called for "calm and a return to the rule of law" in the country. In Osh, that calm did come Tuesday. But some wondered how long it would last. "A pause before the unknown, and it's not clear if dark or light is ahead," said relief worker Will Lynch said. CNN's Matthew Chance, Brian Walker, Jill Dougherty and Nic Robertson contributed to this report.

NEW: Death toll at 176, Kyrgyz news agency reports; Red Cross estimate is higher . NEW: Concern grows over plight of ethnic Uzbeks who have fled the unrest . NEW: "This is far from over," Red Cross says .

LONDON, England (CNN) -- If there was a most wanted list for climate change culprits, coal-fired power stations would be number one. Protesters camping near the site of a proposed coal-fired power station in Kingsnorth, England. Burning coal contributes half of the excess carbon dioxide (CO2) polluting the earth's atmosphere, a statistic not lost on the hundreds of climate change protesters camping in a grassy field near Kingsnorth power station in Kent, England this week. Power company E.ON is planning to build a new coal-fired power plant on the site, subject to approval by the British government later this year. It's one of four power stations on a UK government shortlist to trial the country's first commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The International Energy Agency estimates CCS could reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by more than 85 percent. Protesters at the Climate Camp concede that if CCS technology was available now and could be fitted to the proposed power station then "maybe we'd look at it." So what is CCS? Carbon Capture and Storage refers to the process of stripping carbon dioxide from fossil fuels before or after they're burnt to produce energy. The carbon dioxide is then piped back into the earth to a depth of at least 800 meters -- deep enough for the pressure of the earth to keep it in a liquidized form where it stays for thousands, if not millions, of years. Where is it stored? Depleted oil and gas reservoirs are currently the most practical place to store large volumes of carbon emissions. More research would have to be done on other alternatives including deep saline aquifers and deep coal seams. Stuart Haszeldine, Professor of Geology at the University of Edinburgh says there's no shortage of potential storage sites. "You need the pairing of a porous reservoir overlayed and sealed by a lid of impermeable mudstone or salt rock, which is even better. That's actually very common worldwide." Why isn't it being done? Well, it is being done, but only a small scale. Trials are underway in a number of countries including Norway, Algeria and Australia. Last week, Australia's national science agency, the CSIRO, announced plans to test China's first post-combustion capture (PCC) technology at a pilot plant in Beijing. The problem is that while the different processes needed to capture and store carbon dioxide have been around for years, no one has brought them together on a large enough scale to cope with the volume of emissions from a typical power plant. And then there's the cost... Professor Haszeldine estimates that if a new power plant costs $1.5 billion to build, it'll cost an extra $700,000 to fit the capture equipment on the first experimental plants. In theory, the extra cost could be added to consumers' electricity bills but in a competitive power market how many customers would be willing to pay an environmental premium for their electricity and gas? Would you pay more for 'greener' power? Sound off below . "It's a very immature economic market," says Ian Phillips, director of infrastructure at CO2DeepStore, a UK-based company dedicated to the commercialization of carbon storage. "The people who might do the industrial scale-up -- the power stations -- have no economic incentive," he says. Show me the money . Aside from government subsidies and investment by companies and private parties, an obvious way to fund the change is through cap and trading schemes. Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme is the world's largest for greenhouse gas. It works like this: Energy companies are given strict limits as to how much carbon dioxide they can emit each year. If they exceed the limit or cap, they have to buy more. In 2014, the system is set to change. Energy companies will have to buy all their emissions permits, so from then on any company that stores some or all of its CO2 won't have to pay. If only it was that simple... "The problem is that the price of maybe €35 ($54) or €40 ($62) per ton of carbon dioxide will not be enough to fund the gap in the extra estimated cost of these new power plants," explains Professor Haszeldine. "There has to be a role of member state governments to bridge that gap. In principle that's possible because the government will receive the income from dirty power plants who will have to buy their emissions. What they need to do is take some of that income and give a grant or subsidy to those first experimental power plants." The theory is that as CCS techniques become more efficient, the cost of capturing carbon will come down so that from around 2020 it will become cheaper for companies to store carbon than to emit it. Is it really the way to go? Environmentalists are wary. Friends of the Earth says it's happy for CCS technology to be tested as long as it doesn't divert attention and funds away from developing renewable energy. "We are all accepting that a demonstration of CCS is reasonable -- you keep your options open in a situation of urgent global need," says Neil Crumpton, adding, "CCS in our view would be mainly a stop gap or a transition technology while we build solar technologies." So it is dangerous? In a word, no. Geologists are confident the C02 won't escape from sites approved for storage. Most of the underground vaults would be out at sea anyway. In some instances, the CO2 could be stored under residential areas, but strict licensing procedures and the need for constant, rigorous testing should allay fears. "One could argue that in an emergency situation even if you keep most of the CO2 down for one to two hundred years, you've got yourself out of the danger zone, even if it does begin to leak," says Neil Crumpton. Professor Haszeldine says the environmental cost of not doing it could be catastrophic. "The risk of not doing it is that the world continues to put carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels whether it's coal or gas or oil. The consequences of not doing it are absolutely catastrophic to ocean ecosystems and to the climate system of the world as we know it." Have your say. Is CCS the way to go? Send us your comments by clicking the "Sound Off" button below.

CCS technology being tested in small-scale projects around the world . Carbon dioxide removed from fossil fuels and piped back underground . Depleted oil and gas fields seen as best place to store captured CO2 . Change could be partially funded by emissions trading schemes (ETS)

Editor's note: CNN.com has a business partnership with CareerBuilder.com, which serves as the exclusive provider of job listings and services to CNN.com. If you're struggling to find work, try applying for positions that are more obscure. Job seekers in today's economy are all familiar with the difficulty in finding a job. Adding to that difficulty is the fact that many job seekers are all competing for the same positions and job titles. Perhaps the secret to finding a job in this competitive market is by looking for work in a lesser-known field that not many people know about. Do such industries exist? Absolutely -- you just need a little help in finding them. U.S. News and World Report compiled their annual "Best Careers" report and this year, they added something new. They profiled 10 jobs that scored just below "Best-Career" level but, because they're little known, they may be easier to land a job. Here are 10 of the best-kept-secret careers, in alphabetical order, according to U.S. News and World Report: . 1. Accent-reduction specialist . What you do: Trying to understand and communicate with people who have heavy accents or poor English can be difficult and frustrating. Whether your accent is from Brooklyn, India or the Southern United States, accent-reduction specialists will work with you to communicate more clearly and effectively. What you need: A master's or Ph.D. in speech-language pathology, a state-issued license in speech-language pathology, or a specialty credential in accent reduction or ESL training. Salary*: N/A . 2. Casting director . What you do: You cast all of the actors in commercials, movies, plays, etc., from the leading role to the hundreds of extras. You'll schedule auditions, read scripts, talk to agents and help actors relax in their auditions. Casting directors typically work alongside directors and producers to find the right person for a role. What you need: No formal training is required, but experience is vital. Many start out as interns or in an entry-level position as an assistant in a talent agency or as a casting assistant. A background in arts, English, film or theatre is helpful. Salary: $42,333 . 3. Child-life specialist . What you do: In this rewarding field, you'll work with sick children and their families in hospitals, hospices or programs for children with serious diseases. You'll determine the medical and emotional needs of the child and support him or her, whether it's creating games and activities, helping to get them comfortable in their surroundings, or role-playing scary medical procedures. You'll also help support the patient's family. What you need: A bachelor's degree in a related field and one year of experience working with hospitalized children. Salary: $43,997 . 4. Creative perfumer . What you do: Without getting too technical, you'll mix several scented chemicals to concoct the perfect fragrance. It can take hundreds of trials and consumer testing to get it just right. What you need: A good nose, lots of patience, experience and an education at perfumery school. It takes about seven years to train as a perfumer, and about 10 years before you are considered a qualified perfumer. Salary: $21,791 . 5. Orthoptist . What you do: Orthoptists provide vision training for patients with correctable vision defects like a cross or lazy eye. They measure visual acuity, focusing ability and eye-motor movement, then work with ophthalmologists (eye doctors) to create treatment plans for the patient. What you need: A combination of over one year of directly related training and/or experience; two years of post-bachelor's training is typically required. Salary: $40,280 . 6. Orthotist/prosthetist . What you do: Help patients with partial or total absence of limbs by either creating a custom-designed orthopedic brace (orthotist), or designing and making custom-fit artificial limbs (prosthetist). What you need: A combination of over four years of directly related training and/or experience. Salary: $58,134 . 7. Program analyst . What you do: Also called a management analyst, you'd work in federal and local governments, providing information on the most effective way to carry out a project or procedure. The job involves gathering and analyzing lots of data, in addition to writing reports outlining the information you found. What you need: A master's degree in public policy is preferred, but a bachelor's degree and experience is standard. Salary: $63,610 . 8. Program evaluator . What you do: You'll evaluate several different programs, making suggestions about changes to make them better, or whether they should even continue. You'll switch programs every few weeks (or whenever you are done evaluating), so you'll get to work with a variety of clients, whether it's a nonprofit, corporate venture or a government initiative. What you need: A bachelor's degree is sufficient, although some evaluators have a Ph.D. from specialized training programs. Salary: $56,647 . 9. Prospect researcher . What you do: True to their job title, prospect researchers identify prospective donors who are likely to contribute to a cause. Typically employed by nonprofit organizations, you will find people who have donated to similar causes in the past and dig up detailed information about them to help solicitors maximize the donation. What you need: N/A . Salary: N/A . 10. Surgical technologist . What you do: Essentially, you will scrub into surgeries and assist surgeons, nurses or other operating room personnel by arranging equipment and supplies, placing patients on the table and handing the surgeon his tools. "Scalpel!" What you need: Training programs last nine to 24 months and lead to a certificate, diploma, or associate degree. Salary: $33,777 . *Annual salaries according to CBSalary.com, powered by Salary Expert . Copyright CareerBuilder.com 2009. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority .

U.S. News and World Report does an annual "Best Careers" list . This year's list included 10 little-known jobs that have more opportunities . The list includes positions like casting director and creative perfumist . Education required ranges from a bachelor degree to highly specialized training .

(CNN) -- Five-time gold medal speed skater Eric Heiden was hanging out in a Team USA locker room Saturday, watching TV as a much younger phenom named Apolo Ohno broke his 30-year Olympic record. That record, for the most decorated American man in Winter Olympics history, stood since 1980, when Heiden shot to fame at the Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. To hear Heiden tell it, watching the 27-year-old Ohno eclipse his record didn't matter much. "Apolo and I couldn't have cared less," said Heiden, now 51. "All of us at this level don't really look at medal records as very important. We're very proud of what we are doing and what we've done as athletes -- and if you happen to win a medal all of us consider that to be a great thing." The difference between Ohno's medals and Heiden's is that Heiden won his all during the same Winter Olympics, an unprecedented feat that astonished Olympic fans around the world. Fast forward 30 years and Heiden's passion for athletic competition and camaraderie hasn't faded. Now an orthopedic surgeon, he treats and helps train the 2010 men's speed skating team, including Ohno. "Apolo is very dedicated and focused in his pursuit of the sport," said Heiden. "But he needs to understand that when an event is coming up he needs to really start backing off some of those outside interests so he can put in the time and effort to be a world-class skater." With a smile in his voice, Heiden offers an example of Ohno's recent appearance on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." "He's more of a celebrity personality than most of the skaters," said Heiden. Heiden's fairly familiar with celebrity. Those five medals in Lake Placid got his boyish Wisconsin face plastered on newspapers and TVs worldwide. Although Heiden said he isn't recognized much anymore, once in a while his name "will fire a synapse in many people's minds." Living a quiet life in Park City, Utah, with his wife, who is also an orthopedic surgeon, and two children, Heiden advises some of the world's fastest men on skates, including Ohno's friend and fellow Olympian Shani Davis. Helping Davis, who won speed skating gold Wednesday night in the 1000m long track, requires "making sure that all his needs are taken care of," said Heiden. "Sometimes that can be very demanding and very hard." Davis accepts little training guidance from others. One of the younger skaters on the U.S. team, 19-year-old J.R. Celski won his first Olympic medal Saturday with a bronze in the men's 1500m short track. What's remarkable, according to Heiden, was that Celski had been badly injured in competition just five months earlier. Celski, who crashed into the boards during trials in September slicing a deep gash into his left thigh, has made a near complete recovery, said Heiden. He said Celski's race on Saturday answered important questions about his mental recovery. "Physically, we were sure he was good, but we weren't sure about his confidence level before the race." Celski said he'd met Heiden before his injury, but it was while the doctor was treating Celski that they got to know each other well. "He's very humble and very down to earth, and I strive to be like that as well. It was great to get to know him and talk to him for who he was -- and not for what he did," said Celski. "He was one of the hardest working guys in the sport, and that's why he did so well." The cheese remedy: A second opinion . Would Dr. Heiden offer a second opinion about U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn's much talked-about home remedy for a bruised shin? She injured herself during practice just days before winning gold Wednesday in the alpine downhill. Vonn's remedy: wrapping her shin with a soft Austrian cheese. "We like to practice evidence-based medicine," he said jokingly. "I don't think anybody is going to take that remedy home and practice it on their patients." The closest thing to a home remedy for Heiden was the random newspaper, moleskin or felt he and fellow skaters would use to pad their skate boots to make them fit better. "You're always trying to work with what you've got," he said. "But I've never gone as crazy as telling somebody to do a cheese wrap." Let's remember that before he became a doctor Heiden set four Olympic records and a world record at Lake Placid. Shortly after his history-making feat, Heiden launched a second career racing bicycles, eventually competing in the Tour de France. This year, Heiden enjoyed Vancouver's opening ceremonies with other Olympic veterans, some of whom also gained fame on ice: figure skaters Kristi Yamaguchi and Scott Hamilton. Each Olympian, he said, knows what the other has gone through to reach their athletic dreams. "We enjoy the limelight," said Heiden. "We were recognized for what we did. And when you go back for each Olympics you sort of get your ego stroked again." Much has changed about long track speed skating in the past 30 years, but Heiden said no single development has done more to push athletes faster around the icy oval than the clap skate. Unlike traditional skates with blades well-fixed at the bottom of the boots, the blades on clap skates are hinged at the balls of the feet, shaving a precious 2 seconds off a skater's time with each lap. "I'm jealous, I wish I'd had a chance to try those things." Has anything else changed in the sport over the years? Yes, he said, most speed skaters now perform in warmer indoor venues. Laughing he describes the effects of brutally cold temperatures on the male anatomy. "Oh boy, these guys have no clue how cold it can be out on an open rink."

Eric Heiden won five gold medals in speed skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics . Heiden: Apolo Ohno needs to focus more on skating when events near . The way Shani Davis trains can be "very demanding and very hard" "When you go back for each Olympics you sort of get your ego stroked again," said the skating icon .

Mexico City (CNN) -- Telephones are ringing off the hook at this office in Mexico's capital, where a group of well-known activists are planning the final details of a protest on the other side of the Mexico-U.S. border. In a month-long Caravan of Peace across the United States, organizers say they will denounce what they believe are the devastating consequences of the fight against drug trafficking. San Diego, California, will be the first stop on Sunday for poet Javier Sicilia and 70 other members of Mexico's Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity on their trek through more than 20 cities in the United States. Along the way, 40 people whose family members are among the tens of thousands of dead and disappeared in Mexico's drug war will speak out about their experiences and work to create a new network with more than 70 U.S. nonprofit organizations. "We want citizens to confront the blindness of politicians and their interests as much in the United States as in Mexico," says Sicilia, who became one of Mexico's most prominent activists after his son's slaying in March 2011. The caravan will stop in sites north of the border that the poet considers key -- including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, Chicago and New York -- before arriving in Washington on September 10. "It will not be easy to cross the cultural divide to discuss subjects like drug legalization, the illegal production and sale of weapons, trafficking of migrants and money laundering," Sicilia says. And the protest's timing is another challenge, Sicilia says, noting that his group could struggle to gain attention during a fierce election campaign between incumbent U.S. President Barack Obama and his presumptive Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Still, he says he is confident that host organizations in the United States will help them create "a narrative that can sensitize the U.S. population about these problems." The tough political climate, the intense waves of heat sweeping the country this summer and the large distance to cover -- more than 5,800 miles (9,400 km) -- have inspired Sicilia to describe his upcoming journey across the United States as an "odyssey." For the mystical poet, who has become a key player criticizing Mexican President Felipe Calderon's strategy to fight organized crime, the caravan through the United States is the latest leg of a journey that began after his son's slaying. In March 2011, 24-year-old Juan Francisco Sicilia's lifeless body was found with six others, crammed inside a car outside the central Mexican city of Cuernavaca. Masking tape was wrapped around their skulls, faces, wrists and ankles. Authorities believe all seven victims suffocated to death, and they have accused local police of working with cartel members in the slayings. After his son's death, Sicilia said he would no longer write poetry. "The world is no longer dignified enough for words. They are choking inside of us," he said at the time. While Sicilia stopped publishing poetry, words remain his weapon. The movement he leads surged to national prominence after thousands joined a three-day protest march culminating in Mexico City's central square in May 2011. Since then, the poet has led a series of high-profile protests uniting people from across Mexico to tell the story of the country's losses and show the faces of those who died, disappeared or were displaced because of the fight against organized crime. "I think that our main accomplishment was to put victims in the center of politics, to say, 'These are not collateral damages. These are not statistics. They are human beings,' " Sicilia says. While he brought together witness testimonials as thousands joined his caravan marches across Mexico, he also garnered attention from the country's top leaders. The movement has met with congressmen and senators, with Calderon and with the candidates who competed to succeed him. "These are unprecedented things. They are seeds that are going to produce fruits at another moment," Sicilia says. But some of Sicilia's behavior -- like demanding the resignation of Mexico's top public security official, then changing his mind -- has raised eyebrows. Also, leading up to Mexico's presidential vote last month, Sicilia was criticized for saying he planned to cast a blank ballot. And for some, his poetic language has been difficult to interpret. "I think that's because a lot of poetry is misinterpreted or simply isn't heard," Sicilia says. Since the movement began, in addition to protest marches across Mexico and meetings with top officials, there have been notable losses. Members of the movement protesting violence in Mexico have also become victims. In a three-month period last year, three members of the movement were killed. After these cumulative experiences, Sicilia says he feels deceived. Mexican officials have said that more than 47,500 people have been killed in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon began a crackdown on cartels in December 2006. But activists like Sicilia -- who is sharply critical of Calderon's drug war strategy and the president's approach to dealing with victims of violence -- say the death toll is far higher than government estimates. "The politicians don't keep their word. They are overwhelmed by reality. On their agendas, the 70,000 dead do not exist. The war does not exist," Sicilia says. Even though Sicilia founded the movement and is its most identifiable face -- in 2011 he appeared as one of the protesters featured in Time magazine's person of the year edition -- he says he does not consider himself its leader. "The best way to destroy a movement is to focus it on one figure and practically deify him. Through my mouth, I speak of the pain of this nation, but I am not (the nation)," Sicilia says. Now, after more than a year of protests, Sicilia says this caravan could be his last. After the protest through the United States ends, the poet says he is considering returning to a spiritual retreat in France, where he spent time while his children were young. "I want to go, look within myself, find my solitude ... and end the pain (I feel) for my son."

A "peace caravan" aims to raise awareness about the drug war's consequences . The month-long protest led by a Mexican poet starts in San Diego and ends in Washington . Javier Sicilia: "We want citizens to confront the blindness of politicians and their interests" "It will not be easy to cross the cultural divide," the poet says of the U.S. peace protest .

Atlanta (CNN) -- The day after little Jorelys Rivera's mangled body was found in a suburban Atlanta trash compactor, Ryan Brunn sat in a stark room for a police interview. He began with confidence, but ended with trouble. Keith Sitton, a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, hooked up the jeans-clad Brunn to a polygraph machine. Then, he fired off a series of questions to the 20-year-old maintenance man. A videotape of Brunn's polygraph test was released Thursday. "Regarding that girl, do you intend to answer these questions truthfully?" "Yes." "Did you participate in any way in causing the death of that girl?" "No." "Did you cause the death of that girl?" "No." "Do you know for sure who caused the death of that girl?" "No." Sitton asked the questions three times. Each time, Brunn said he had nothing to do with Jorelys' killing. By the end of the interview, Sitton knew better. Brunn had turned into a prime suspect. In the videotape, he tells Brunn that he did poorly on the questions regarding his alleged participation in Jorelys' death and the disposal of her body. "I can see you're not doing good on this test," Sitton says. "Those two questions are really bothering me." "I'm not holding back," Brunn says. "I promise you. I'll take the test again." But that was not an option for Brunn. The next day, on December 7, he was arrested. Eventually, he pleaded guilty and, standing before a judge in a Cherokee County courthouse, he described in detail how he enticed, molested and killed Jorelys, 7, in Canton, 40 miles north of Atlanta. After he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Brunn hanged himself with his sweathshirt in a prison cell. It was that polygraph test that was started Brunn's unraveling. "I've been doing this for a long time," Sitton tells Brunn at the start of the session. But Brunn seems not at all concerned about the questions he is about to face. Some people think they can beat a polygraph test, said Dr. Peter Ash, a forensic psychiatrist at Emory University in Atlanta. "The fact is that most of them can't do it," he said. "You can control how you look. You can't control how you sweat." Besides, said Ash, criminals are not known for good judgment. His shirt sleeve rolled up to his shoulders, Brunn begins by telling Sitton that on a scale of one to 10, he is a 7.5 on the truth meter. That he had lied the day before when police asked him whether he'd run the trash compactor at the River Ridge Apartments in Canton, where Jorelys's body was found. "I should have just told the truth straight up," Brunn says. "But I didn't. I was scared." Brunn tells Sitton that his family was originally from New York but he had been living in Dahlonega, Georgia. He moved to the Canton complex in November, where he was living at a discount and working in maintenance. He'd finished 10th grade but no more. Sitton tells him it's never too late to graduate. Brunn went to Honduras a few years back on a church mission to help rebuild houses for the needy. Sutton asks him if he smoked marijuana. Brunn admits to smoking the night before. He answers Sitton's questions with apparent ease, not as a man who had committed a heinous crime. Later in court, he would describe how he used a roller skate to lure Jorelys into a vacant apartment. He told the judge he made the girl undress and wanted to take her for "sexual purposes." He said he got scared that she would go home and tell her parents what had happened. So he struck her with the skate, slit her throat and tossed her body into the compactor. He even taped a handwritten note telling investigators that Jorelys was in there, almost as though he wanted his crime to be discovered. By the end of the polygraph test, Brunn's voice is slight. He appears more nervous and goes outside to smoke a cigarette. When he returns, Sitton confronts him about his lies. "There's something on this that you're not telling us. Something that you are keeping to yourself," he says. "What is it you're holding back? Because we're trying to solve this thing." Brunn fiddles with his cell phone. Sitton tells him not to worry about his calls, that he's got more important things to worry about. "It's just written all over you. Something's bothering you." "I am not bothered at all." "You haven't told the complete truth about everything." "I have." It turns out Brunn lied about smoking pot, as well. He had smoked that morning, not the night before, as he said previously. Sitton tells him that he is concerned about Brunn's marijuana habit. Brunn says he gets high but "it doesn't make me crazy. I promise you that." Before the video cuts off, Sitton asks Brunn about allegations he faced in Virginia before his move to Georgia. He had been accused of sexually fondling another girl. "You know what I'm talking about," Sitton says. "I don't," Brunn replies. "Remember I said you had to be 100% truthful? I asked you if anyone made accusations. So what you done is told me a lie. You also lied about the trash compactor." "They put things in that child's head," Brunn says. "I'm a good person. I didn't do nothing to that little Spanish girl and I didn't do nothing to (the other) girl." There is little remorse in Brunn's words. Later in court, he would tell Jorelys' family that he was sorry. "Lo siento," he said in Spanish. But in front on Jorelys' sobbing mother, Brunn's apology fell far short. Two days later, he, too, was dead.

Ryan Brunn tells an agent in Georgia that he had nothing to do with the killing of Jorelys Rivera . The agent confronts him about some responses . Later, Brunn pleaded guilty and described in court how he killed the little girl . Brunn committed suicide after his sentencing .

(CNN) -- The former head of Turkey's military was sentenced to life in prison Monday in the controversial Ergenekon case. CNN Turk reported that Ilker Basbug, a former military chief of staff, and others were sentenced in the lengthy and polarizing court drama. He is the most prominent of hundreds of people accused of trying to overthrow the government. Along with Basbug, other retired high-ranking military officers, journalists, academics and politicians were sentenced. One military figure was Dursun Cicek. The retired navy colonel also got a life sentence, according to Turkish media. "This is a grave injustice," said Irem Cicek, the retired colonel's daughter. "We will fight against this system. We will resist." She added, "I will never forget this court, the names of the prosecutors, the names of the judges. I will never forget or let (them) be forgotten." Muharrem Ince, a spokesman for the opposition Republican Peoples' Party, called the sentences hostage-takings. "Our friends are hostages, they are not arrested," he said. "They are not convicts." The case underscores the divide in Turkey between secularists in the opposition and the military and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-oriented government, dominated by his Justice and Development party. Prosecutors have accused hundreds of suspects of being part of a covert ultranationalist organization that wants to overthrow the government and sow unrest. They allege that the group created dozens of websites disseminating propaganda aimed at bringing down Erdogan's government. Supporters of the process say the once-dominant military has a half-century history of overthrowing at least four governments in Turkey and meddling in civilian political affairs. But opponents of the government say the evidence has been fabricated by a government witch hunt intent on weakening and discrediting his secular and military political opposition. Tensions outside the court . The Ergenekon case had its origin in an investigation that began in 2007 after the discovery of a stash of grenades and bomb-making materials in Istanbul. The name is a reference to a mythical story about the origins of the Turkish people. The trials have been taking place at the 13th Istanbul High Criminal Court at the Silivri Prison Complex. More than 60 of the 267 suspects have been in detention -- in some cases for years -- as the court case has slowly proceeded. Along with military officers, the suspects included journalists, academics, political leaders and lawmakers. The roads leading to the court have blocked in all directions by security forces. Citizens who traveled from all points of Turkey to witness the court's verdict had been blocked from getting near the court. As the court began reading the sentences, police intervened in a crowd of roughly 1,000 people protesting the proceeding. Police tried to disperse crowds with water cannons, paint balls and tear gas. Sparks from tear gas canisters on dry grass started a fire. One protester who would identify herself only as Sibel said she was at the gathering for two reasons: to protest a lack of justice and to exercise her right of protest. "Those of us who were here, we had no weapons, nothing. Just my body, that's my weapon," she said. "They are treating us like criminals, but it is our constitutional right to protest, and they are not allowing us even that." Others were sentenced . Basbug was in charge of Turkey's military from 2008 to 2010 under Erdogan. Turkish media reported other sentences, including a life sentence for Dogu Perincek, chairman of the socialist Workers Party. Others sentenced include a former Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate spokeswoman, Sevgi Erenerol, who got a life sentence; Kemal Guruz, former head of Turkey's Council of Higher Education, who received a sentence of 13 years; author Ergun Poyraz, 29 years and seven months; Istanbul government official Gurbuz Capan, one year and three months; and academician Umit Sayin, four years. The military people with life sentences include retired Gens. Muzaffer Tekin and Veli Kucuk and retired Col. Albay Arif Dogan. Oktay Yildirim, a former military member whose alleged possession of grenades started the investigation, got nearly 34 years. A lieutenant, Mehmet Ali Celebi, got more than 16 years. The wife of Constitutional Court member Osman Paksut got two years and six months. Others were acquitted, including opposition lawmaker Mehmet Haberal. "I am very sad, our friends remained here. My heart wants to leave here with my friends. But unfortunately, our country is going through a difficult time. I wish these problems are resolved soon and citizens gain their freedoms back," he said. Journalist Tuncay Ozkan also was imprisoned for life. His daughter Nazli was incensed. "We will not pretend not to see this injustice, to not see how unfair this is. This is just the beginning for us. They will not silence us, and we will prevail." Nurperi Sancak, one of Perincek's attorneys, told CNN that defense lawyers proved their clients don't belong "to this fictional organization," a reference to Ergenekon. "I began representing my clients because I believe that they are not being tried for what they did but because of their political affiliations," she said. "Right now, in the conclusion of this case, I am sad, I am disappointed for Turkey. Because I know that when the truth comes out about the faked and made-up evidence, that the younger generation will be ashamed." Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told reporters that "whether we like it or not, we all have to obey the court's decision." "No one has the privilege to commit a crime. The judiciary made the decision it saw fit. We will all see what the next step brings together. We are not people that are personally happy to see anyone convicted or arrested, but there is a court decision and everyone must respect that," he said. CNN's Gul Tuysuz reported from Istanbul, CNN's Talia Kayali and Joe Sterling reported from Atlanta.

Prosecutors say the suspects are part of a covert ultranationalist organization . Daughter of a convicted officer: "This is a grave injustice" Critics say the trials are politically motivated and aimed at stifling opposition . "I am sad, I am disappointed for Turkey," a lawyer says .

(CNN) -- Angry supporters of the Syrian president rallied Saturday night at embassies and consulates of countries that voted hours earlier to suspend Syria's membership in the Arab League, anti-government activists said. Videos posted on YouTube purportedly showed several of the events. One from Damascus shows a large crowd of people chanting as they gathered outside Saudi Arabia's embassy in Damascus. Another, from Aleppo, shows angry backers of President Bashar al-Assad yelling as they appear to break through barriers at the Turkish consulate. Some demonstrators are seen taking a Turkish flag, which previously hung over the consulate, and burning it. Neither YouTube video showed any evident violence. Anti-government activists tell CNN that supporters of the Syrian regime also attacked the Turkish and French consulates in Latakia. CNN could not independently confirm the accounts because Syria has not granted international media access to the country. The developments came after 18 of the Arab League's 22 members voted to punish Syria in an emergency session at its headquarters. The move to suspend Damascus' membership in the alliance -- a stinging blow to al-Assad -- takes effect Wednesday. Only two member nations -- Lebanon and Yemen -- voted against the measure. Iraq abstained and Syria was barred from voting. Why did Arab League move on Syria? The league also called for sanctions against al-Assad's regime, but did not specify what those may include. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim read the league's decisions at a news conference after the meeting of the foreign ministers. The league called on member states to withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus, a decision that will be left up to each nation. And perhaps most surprising of all, the league urged the Syrian army to stop attacks on civilians and said that it will hold a meeting with opposition groups in the next three days to discuss a transitional phase in Syria's future. The Syrian National Council, a leading opposition group, welcomed the league's decision, calling it "a step in the right direction, and a clear condemnation of the Syrian regime." "The National Council emphasizes its readiness to participate in discussions regarding the transitional period within the scope of the Arab League, to ensure the stepping down of Bashar Al-Assad and the transition to a democratic government that represents the Syrian people and does not (include) anyone from the regime whose hands have been tainted with blood," it said in a statement. The fact that the league, the formal family of Arab states, took such a bold step against a nation that prides itself as the beating heart of Arabism, is a major development, said Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics. "Syria is now as isolated as ever," Gerges said. "I would call it a game-changer." The Arab League's stated purpose is to strengthen ties among its member nations, coordinate their policies and promote common interests. But the divisions among the 22 nations have diminished its effectiveness. In the case of Syria, however, the league's decision could open the door for broader international sanctions against the al-Assad regime. The punitive measures come after al-Assad's failure to abide by an Arab League proposal earlier this month to halt all violence, release detainees, withdraw armed elements from populated areas and allow unfettered access to the nation by journalists and Arab League monitors. But none of that has happened, according to daily reports streaming out of Syria. There have been reports of civilian deaths in the last few days and Saturday was no exception. The Local Coordination Committees, a network of opposition groups, reported 21 people dead, including 10 in Homs, the restive city that has emerged as the epicenter of the uprising. With pressure on Syria ratcheted up, some fear an escalation of brutality in the next few days. Syria's representative to the league, Yousef Ahmad, blasted the alliance's decision as illegal. He said it was "a eulogy for Arab common action and a blatant announcement that its administration is subordinate to U.S.-Western agendas," according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency. Earlier Ahmad had reiterated the government's claim that terrorist gangs were behind the violence and said Syria "made strides" in quelling the violence "despite armed groups' attempts to foil the plan since it was announced." Western leaders welcomed Saturday's decision. "After the al-Assad regime flagrantly failed to keep its commitments, the Arab League has demonstrated leadership in its effort to end the crisis and hold the Syrian government accountable," said U.S. President Barack Obama. "These significant steps expose the increasing diplomatic isolation of a regime that has systematically violated human rights and repressed peaceful protests," he said in a statement. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed those comments, calling the action "strong and historic." "The United States commends the principled stand taken by the Arab League and supports full implementation of its efforts to bring a peaceful end to the crisis," Clinton said in a statement. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the league's actions show "that it is time to increase pressure on the Syrian regime." Human rights activists have been pushing for weeks for the United Nations to take action and Amnesty International said Saturday that the Arab League's decision should pave the way for the Security Council. "Now that the Arab League has taken decisive action, it is time for the U.N. Security Council to finally step up to the plate and deliver an effective international response to Syria's human rights crisis," said Philip Luther, the monitoring group's Middle East and North Africa director. Human Rights Watch has also urged the Security Council to impose sanctions. It published a damning 63-page report Friday, based on interviews with victims and witnesses in Homs, that said al-Assad's regime's "systematic" crackdown on civilians amounted to crimes against humanity. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said earlier this week that more than 3,500 people have been killed in the brutal suppression of dissent since the Syrian uprising began eight months ago. CNN's Ben Wedeman and journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy in Cairo contributed to this report.

NEW: The Syrian National Council cheers the Arab League's decision . Videos purport to show regime backers at the Saudi embassy and Turkish consulate . Anti-regime activists say there were attacks at a French consulate as well . They were in reaction to the Arab League's call to suspend Syria's membership .

(CNN) -- Don't believe the hype. Billy Crudup plays Dr. Manhattan in "Watchmen," the film version of the popular graphic novel. "Visionary" director Zack Snyder, as the marketing would have it, has filmed Alan Moore's "unfilmable" graphic novel by treating the comic book panels as his storyboard and his Bible. Doesn't it bother anyone that this is about as far from the definition of "visionary" as it's possible to get? The visionary sees what others do not see. Snyder -- whose previous films were a remake ("Dawn of the Dead") and another scrupulously faithful comic book adaptation ("300") -- is more in the line of a fancy photocopier, duplicating other artists' imagery with a forger's intensity. A visionary transforms the world. Snyder slavishly transcribes what's set down 5 inches in front of his face. Alan Moore, who has refused to have his name on the movie (ditto its Moore-based predecessors, "V for Vendetta" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") and who has declined all reimbursement to protest the entertainment industry's fundamental lack of respect for intellectual property, counts as a bona fide visionary. His 1986 comic book is a landmark in the history of the form, a masterpiece of pop cultural angst, filtering Cold War nihilism and disillusionment through the inspired pulp idiom of mundane masked crimefighters and one genuine, possibly radioactive, superhero. In Moore's alternative 1985, Nixon is still president, the U.S. having won in Vietnam. The Soviets are effectively neutered by America's not-so-secret weapon, Dr. Manhattan, a kind of quantum ghost in the machine capable of reconstituting matter (and nuclear warheads) at will. Watch the stars at the premiere » . Moore's meta-comic switched back and forth in time with the same facility as Dr. Manhattan morphed between New Jersey and Mars, cutting between a doomsday conspiracy threatening to engulf the Earth and flashbacks relating the biographies of half-a-dozen "watchmen," a generation of intrepid masked avengers forced to hang up their capes and Spandex when public opinion turned on them in the late 1970s. (It's easy to discern the book's influence on subsequent films "The Incredibles" and "Mystery Men.") With its parallel stories and virtuoso zooming and panning visual tropes, Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons' "Watchmen" always felt cinematic. You could sense Martin Scorsese and "Taxi Driver's" Travis Bickle in Moore's squalid New York and vigilante anti-hero Rorschach, but proposed movies by Terry Gilliam and Paul Greengrass failed to materialize, foundering on the comic book's sophisticated narrative chicanery. The solution proposed by Snyder and screenwriters David Hayter and Alex Tse is simply to ignore the problem and stick to the text. In fairness, this strategy has proved wildly popular in adaptations of the "Harry Potter" books, for instance, "Twilight" and "300." The fans seem to demand it -- just as there is now a common assumption that a longer, unexpurgated DVD edition is inherently superior to the shorter, tighter theatrical version. "Watchmen" the movie provides ample evidence that more is more, but less might have been closer to Moore in spirit (that is, anarchic, witty and compelling). Clocking in at an exhausting 163 minutes even without some of the book's various subplots, the film forfeits momentum and suspense for a jerky succession of expository dialogue scenes, interspersed with occasional flashes of grotesque ultra-violence. It's all invariably filmed in Snyder's spasmodic, stop-go trademark style and accompanied by a jukebox score that ranges from Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen to Nena's "99 Luftballoons." On the few occasions where the filmmakers do exercise their imaginations -- in a credit montage relating the glory days of the crimefighters Weegee-style, and in a neat improvement on Moore's climax -- the results are actually ingenious and sharp. iReport.com: Fan underwhelmed by "Watchmen" But too many key scenes ring hollow, undermined by flat staging and tone-deaf treatment. One of them is the ridiculous moment when Dr. Manhattan's faith in humanity is restored by the revelation of ... Well, see it for yourself, and then compare with the infinitely more nuanced passage in the graphic novel. The considerable limitations of Swedish-Canadian actress Malin Akerman are cruelly exposed as Laurie, aka Silk Spectre II, and if Matthew Goode (playing Adrian Veidt) is the smartest man in the world, then we're really in trouble. Jackie Earle Haley and his "Little Children" co-star Patrick Wilson fare better as, respectively, the angry reactionary Rorschach and mildly conflicted Dan Dreiberg, while it's hard to take your eyes off Billy Crudup's naked blue avatar, Dr. Manhattan -- for various reasons. I guess an honest reproduction of a great comic book is better than the trivialization that often passes for adaptation, and in this case the material is so ingrained with audacious ideas the movie can't be counted a complete cop-out. But if it was really going to honor the original, "Watchmen" had to put the fear of God in us, to rekindle that prospect of imminent nuclear annihilation that haunted the Cold War world. And it had to remind us these rather sorry comic book characters were, as Moore insisted, more human than super. iReport.com: "Watchmen" very good, but not for kids . Snyder flunks that test. Yes it will hit the box office like a tidal wave, but ultimately the numb, enervating "Watchmen" is living on borrowed time. No smiley face here. "Watchmen" runs 162 minutes and is rated R. For Entertainment Weekly's take, click here.

"Watchmen" is so devoted to the comic book it misses vision, says Tom Charity . Film is based on renowned graphic novel about misfit crimefighters . A few good performances, but overall the film feels lifeless .

(CNN) -- Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman! What the heck was that flaming thing streaking across Australian skies? Australians in cities from Melbourne to Brisbane reported -- and, in some cases, filmed -- a large, burning object crossing the sky last week. Unlike the meteor that hit Russia in February 2013, this sky phenomenon was manmade. Scientists quickly realized that it was the third stage of a Russian Soyuz rocket used to launch a weather satellite July 8. Some, like Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Nobel Prize-winning Australian astronomer Brian Schmidt (@cosmicpinot), spread the news on Twitter. Although the Down Under fireworks were spectacular enough to be alarming, most space debris falls harmlessly to Earth, completely unnoticed. Some spacecraft parts fall within days of launch but most over considerably longer time scales. In the nearly six decades since Sputnik became the first satellite to orbit the Earth in 1957, humans have launched 7,500 satellites into orbit, according to McDowell. Those in low Earth orbit -- about 300 miles up -- travel through a very thin atmosphere that acts as a gradual brake on the satellite trajectory. Absent any human intervention, those satellites slowly spiral toward Earth over 10 or 20 years, depending on their exact orbit and the spacecraft shape. The Hubble Space Telescope has been in low Earth orbit for 24 years and counting only because astronauts boosted it back to a higher orbit at every space shuttle servicing visit. More than a thousand active satellites are orbiting the Earth right now. Slightly more than half are in low Earth orbit, including Hubble and the space station. Almost all the rest are in geosynchronous orbit, meaning they circle the Earth at the same rate it rotates. For a telecommunications company serving the U.S., it's obviously a big advantage to have a satellite hovering above the country all the time. A geosynchronous 24-hour orbital period requires a very high-altitude orbit. According to Newton's 400-year-old law of gravity, orbital speed depends only on the mass of the body being orbited (in this case, the Earth) and the radius of the orbit (the radius of the Earth plus the height of the satellite above the Earth). That's why Hubble, the much larger space station, the much smaller early satellites like Sputnik and Explorer I, and any other low Earth-orbit satellite take only 90 minutes to circle the globe. Geosynchronous satellites are way, way up there. Those orbits won't decay anytime soon. It's the low Earth orbit satellites that will fall down. Or rather, the dead satellite and related debris that can't be controlled by engineers at space agencies. Active satellites can be controlled from the ground; for example, Hubble is continually repointed from one part of the sky to another as it observes this galaxy or that star. As the blockbuster movie "Gravity" showed us, uncontrolled space debris can be very dangerous. In the movie, a Russian missile destroys a defunct satellite, starting a destructive and deadly chain reaction of debris destroying other satellites destroying still more satellites -- and, ultimately, destroying the space station in which the astronauts were based. In 1985, the U.S. demonstrated anti-missile Star Wars capabilities by blowing up a solar observatory named P78. Not only did this halt the science, it created a swarm of tiny pieces of debris. China did a similar thing in 2007. As physics tells us, blowing something up doesn't make it vanish; it just makes lots of tiny pieces moving more quickly. And smaller pieces are much harder to spot and track. The U.S. Strategic Command tracks space objects. Its Joint Space Operations Center has catalogued more than 39,000 manmade objects in orbit. About 60% have re-entered the atmosphere; 16,000 remain in orbit today. Of these, only about 5% are functioning satellites or payloads that can be controlled, while 95% is inactive space junk, including rocket bodies. NASA estimates that there are half a million pieces of space junk floating around the Earth, most too small to be tracked. But even bits of debris no bigger than a gumdrop can cause serious damage. Satellite technology has made it easy to phone around the globe, to a metropolis or even to Mount Everest. The downside is, pieces of satellites are going to fall back onto Earth. Thankfully, only the largest solid hunks fail to burn up before reaching the ground. In 1979, NASA's Skylab (a much earlier version of the space station) famously fell to Earth amid nail-biting worry. A few scraps were recovered in Australia (poor Australia, again!). Bits of ROSAT (a German X-ray astronomy observatory) and other satellites have also fallen to Earth. It is easy to calculate the path of the re-entering spacecraft because it is along the track of the orbit. But how quickly it descends depends on details that are much harder to predict. It makes a big difference how the structure burns and how it falls apart. Bigger pieces continue to hurtle downward while smaller pieces burn completely high up in the atmosphere. That's why predictions of where space debris will land are notoriously uncertain. The good news is that only one-quarter of the surface of the Earth is land, and most of that is uninhabited. So damage to people and property is rare. Most falling space debris lands harmlessly and with no witnesses. The likelihood of serious damage is very low. But a big hunk of metal -- or a large asteroid -- falling in the wrong place could be catastrophic. It's definitely a good idea to keep the Skylab-sized space junk controllable and to catalog asteroids that will pass near the Earth. But in the end, whether we go the way of the dinosaurs might just be down to luck.

A piece of space junk from a Russian rocket flew through the Australian sky . Meg Urry: Space debris falls to Earth all the time; most is harmless . But a big hunk of metal -- or a large asteroid -- could be catastrophic, she says . Urry: It's definitely a good idea to keep the Skylab-sized space junk controllable .

(CNN) -- Tuesday's off-year election might not have the high stakes of the 2008 presidential election, but there are several significant races worth watching: . • Virginia governor: McDonnell is projected winner . CNN has projected that Republican Bob McDonnell will be elected Virginia governor. The 55-year-old former state attorney general will be the first Republican to win the state's highest office in 12 years. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, McDonnell was leading Democratic opponent Creigh Deeds 59 percent to 41 percent. The race was seen as an early referendum on voters' attitudes toward President Obama and his policies and an opportunity for Republicans to turn back recent Democratic gains. More on Virginia gubernatorial race . • New Jersey governor: GOP's Christie is winner, CNN projects . Republican challenger Chris Christie will defeat New Jersey Gov. John Corzine, CNN has projected. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Christie was leading Corzine, a Democrat, 49 percent to 45 percent. Chris Daggett, an independent candidate, had 6 percent. Corzine, who was seeking a second term, trailed Christie during the summer, but recent polls showed them in a dead heat. As Election Day approached, some thought growing support for the moderate Daggett might siphon votes from Christie. More on New Jersey gubernatorial race . • New York mayor: Bloomberg to win third term, CNN projects . New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will win a third term despite a tough challenge from Democrat Bill Thompson, CNN has projected. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Bloomberg led Thompson 51 percent to 46 percent. Bloomberg's apparent victory comes after he changed the city's constitution to lift a two-term limit. Bloomberg, an independent candidate, had led Thompson, the city comptroller, by double digits in most pre-election surveys. Bloomberg has outspent his rival in TV ads, $33 million to $2.66 million. • Boston, Massachusetts, mayor: Menino wins, Globe says . Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has won a record fifth term, the Boston Globe reported. CNN is not making a projection in the race. With all precincts reporting, Menino led City Councilman Michael Flaherty 57 percent to 42 percent, according to the Globe. In Menino's previous races, he either won overwhelmingly or he ran unopposed. Boston.com: Menino wins fifth term . • Maine same-sex marriage vote: Early results are close . Early results on a measure that would reject a law allowing same-sex marriage were tight, according to the Bangor (Maine) Daily News. With 70 percent of precincts reporting, nearly 52 percent of voters chose to reject the law, with more than 48 percent voting to retain it, according to the Daily News. When Gov. John Baldacci signed the legislation on May 6, he did so knowing there was a possibility that voters could overturn it. In September, opposition groups delivered the necessary signatures to get a vote. Maine would be sixth state to allow same-sex marriage if voters uphold the legislation. iReport.com: Same-sex marriage proponents work to get out the vote . • Medical marijuana in Maine: 'Yes' has lead . Early results seemed to favor the passage of a referendum that would expand the use of medical marijuana in Maine. With 70 percent of precincts reporting, 59 percent of voters chose "yes" in the referendum, according to the Bangor (Maine) Daily News. Voters in Maine, one of 14 states to allow the use of medical marijuana, were asked to decide whether to expand the list of conditions that could be treated with medical marijuana and make it easier to expand the list further in the future. It also would create state-licensed dispensaries. Portland Press Herald: Turnout may surpass 50 percent, official says . • New York's 23rd Congressional District . Why it matters: A conservative backlash against a moderate Republican candidate propelled this race into national headlines as proof of an ongoing family feud between the far right and moderates for control of the party. What's the story?: Local Republican leaders picked Dede Scozzafava because of her appeal to centrist Republicans, independents and even some Democrats. But it sparked a conservative revolt, and Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman outpolled Scozzafava, forcing her to withdraw. Scozzafava has since endorsed Democrat Bill Owens. New York district bares fight for GOP's soul . iReport.com: Interviews with supporters of Owens, Hoffman . • Civil unions in Washington state . Why it matters: Washington decides whether to edge closer to same-sex marriage. What's the story?: Earlier this year, what is called Washington's "everything but marriage" bill was signed into law and gave registered domestic partners additional state-granted rights currently given only to married couples. In a vote similar to Maine's, Washington will decide whether to overturn the legislation. Share election day images from your town . • Atlanta, Georgia, mayor . Why it matters: Thirty-five years of African-American control of the mayor's office could end in Georgia's capital city. What's the story?: White City Councilwoman Mary Norwood is the front-runner in this nonpartisan race between her and chief competitors City Council President Lisa Borders and former state lawmaker Kasim Reed. Incumbent Shirley Franklin, limited to two terms, recently said she is voting for Reed. Watch how Atlanta's mayor isn't backing the front-runner . Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Coverage of mayoral race . • Houston, Texas, mayor . Why it matters: The nation's fourth-largest city could elect its first openly gay mayor. What's the story?: City Controller Annise Parker, who has been elected six times to citywide posts, has an even chance of winning, according to polls. Among her competitors are City Councilman Peter Brown and City Attorney Gene Locke. Watch how a Texas candidate could make history . KHOU: Voter turnout appears light Tuesday . Houston Chronicle: Scouting report on mayoral race . CNN's Paul Steinhauser, Emily Sherman, Ed Hornick, Robert Yoon and John Helton contributed to this report.

GOP's Chris Christie will win New Jersey governorship, CNN projects . New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg turns back tough challenge . CNN projects Republican McDonnell wins Virginia governor's race . Houston voters could elect Texas city's first openly gay mayor .

(CNN) -- On November 24, 1859, the first edition of a book that would shake the most deeply established beliefs about life was published in London. What would eventually be known as "The Origin of Species" was the opening shot in a debate that hasn't ended, even 150 years later. In a series of books starting in 1976 and in his 2002 TED Talk, biologist Richard Dawkins has explored the implications of Darwin's work. In "The Selfish Gene," Dawkins wrote, "Living organisms had existed on earth, without ever knowing why, for over three thousand million years before the truth finally dawned on one of them. His name was Charles Darwin." Watch the TED Talk by Richard Dawkins . Dawkins argues that there is no doubt that Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is true and, unlike some other scholars of the subject, says belief in evolution is not compatible with faith in religion. In fact, he argues, science and religion undermine each other. "I believe a true understanding of Darwinism is deeply corrosive to religious faith," Dawkins says in his TED Talk. There's no room for a God in the world as he sees it, and he believes atheists should be forceful in opposing religion. He acknowledges that it's an unpopular case to make, particularly in the United States. "It's an undeniable fact that to own up to being an atheist is tantamount to introducing yourself as Mr. Hitler or Miss Beelzebub," he said. "And that all stems from the perception of atheists as some kind of weird, way-out minority." Watch an interview with Dawkins . According to Dawkins, life was not created by an intelligent designer. In "The Selfish Gene," he wrote that science has established that, "We are survival machines -- robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes." Read why another writer believes evolution and faith can be compatible . Darwin himself was very slow to make his theory of evolution by natural selection public, taking 15 years from his early insights on the subject to the publication of the book -- and publishing it then only after naturalist Alfred Wallace had independently come up with the idea of evolution. Darwin struggled with the book, which he called "my abominable volume" and said that it "has cost me so much labor that I almost hate it." The book went through six editions with Darwin's input and sold many copies, but it was controversial from the start. Read the view of an advocate of "intelligent design" In an interview by e-mail last week, CNN asked Dawkins about Darwin and religion. CNN: How would you describe the book's importance compared to other classic books? Richard Dawkins: Dan Dennett described natural selection as the best idea anyone ever had, and that is an easily defensible talking-point. Wallace independently had the idea, and the main reason Darwin is remembered more than the admirable Wallace is that Darwin wrote the book that changed people's minds. Evolution by natural selection didn't trickle into public consciousness but was properly launched, fully fashioned, in a brilliant book. T.H. Huxley surely wasn't the only reader to close the book saying, "How extremely stupid of me not to have thought of that." CNN: In your TED Talk, you described American biologists as being in a "state of war" when it comes to defending evolution against its critics. Do you think that's still the case, nearly eight years later? Dawkins: Yes. More so, if anything. CNN: You contrast the British 10 pound note, which displays a likeness of Darwin, to the "In God We Trust" on American currency. Why are attitudes in Britain so significantly different on this question? Dawkins: I think it stems from the far greater popularity of religion in America, but that only pushes the question back a stage. Why is America so much more religious than most other western countries? CNN: What's your sense of Darwin's influence around the world? Dawkins: Evolution is almost universally accepted among those who understand it, almost universally rejected by those who don't. CNN: You maintain that science is corrosive to religion and that religion undermines science. In what practical ways do you see the influence of religion today affecting what science can accomplish? Dawkins: Since we are talking about practical ways, the obvious example is stem cell research. But there is a more pernicious and pervasive influence, which is an active shutting down of the critical faculties. Religion teaches us to be satisfied with non-explanations, and this is viciously corrosive of science and of the life of the mind generally. CNN: In your 1986 book, "the Blind Watchmaker," you wrote that, "For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, Darwinism seems more in need of advocacy than similarly established truths in other branches of science." Do you have any further thoughts on why that's the case? Dawkins: I think it is mostly because of biblical literalism. Then there's the added fact that, as the great molecular biologist Jacques Monod said, 'The trouble with natural selection is that everybody THINKS he understands it.' CNN: What's the greatest remaining mystery about evolution? Dawkins: How the evolution of the brain gave rise to the emergent property we call subjective consciousness. CNN: What question would you ask Darwin if he were alive today? Dawkins: Why did you wait so long before publishing your brilliant idea? CNN: You make the argument in the TED Talk for atheists to assert themselves boldly and overcome the cultural stigma against opposing religion. Do you see signs that such an attitude is taking hold? Dawkins: Yes, I am happy to say I do think so. I'd like to think that books such as those by Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens and me have initiated a turning of the tide. Editor's note: TED Talks appear Tuesdays on CNN.com through a partnership with TED, a nonprofit organization devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading." TED started in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three fields from which it took its name: Technology, Entertainment, Design. It has since spread ideas in many fields through conferences around the world and through its web site, TED.com .

Darwin's "Origin of Species" was published 150 years ago on November 24 . In a TED Talk, Richard Dawkins said evolution and religion are at odds . He urges atheists to be forceful in making their case for science . Dawkins: "Religion teaches us to be satisfied with non-explanations"

San Diego (CNN) -- I bet it sounded like a good idea at the time. Now, not so much. "It" was the ill-conceived decision by GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry to hitch his wagon to the clownish Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an opportunist who in recent years has taken to rounding up illegal immigrants and parading them outside his jail to catch the attention of television cameras. How did Perry get mixed up with that circus? Simple. The Texas governor got into a political scrape, and made the mistake of overcompensating. He was looking for quick validation from his party's nativist fringe because he had gotten hammered by GOP rivals for signing, in 2001, a reasonable bill in the Lone Star State that allows illegal immigrants who go to college to pay what other residents pay: in-state tuition. In fact, Perry didn't just sign that bill. He defended it and defiantly said he'd sign it again. Worse, in one debate, he told Republicans who disagreed with the measure that they didn't "have a heart." Good for him. Yet, after that, his poll numbers plummeted. In a futile attempt to get them up again, Perry underwent a radical makeover. He said that, if elected president, "My policy will be to detain and to deport every illegal alien that we apprehend." Ah, governor, you mean the ones you're not helping put through college? Perry even did penance by making a pilgrimage to the desert where he asked Sheriff Joe for his support. He got it. Just a few weeks ago, Arpaio announced he was endorsing Perry and he even went to New Hampshire to help him campaign. "The federal government has failed on border crime and border enforcement, and no candidate for president has done more to secure the border than Governor Rick Perry," Arpaio said in a statement. "I'm endorsing Rick Perry because we need a tough-on-crime president who will champion and fund full-time border security operations from Brownsville to San Diego." Now, America's toughest sheriff is busy fending off allegations of discrimination and racial profiling. Such is the result of a three-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. At issue: their clumsy handling of something they never had the know-how or skills set to do: immigration enforcement. The DOJ's report packed a punch. It accused Arpaio's office of maintaining a "pervasive culture of discriminatory bias against Latinos" that "reaches the highest levels of the agency." It accused the sheriff's deputies of routinely engaging in "unconstitutional policing" that includes racially profiling Latino drivers, illegally detaining and arresting Latinos and carrying out military-style immigration patrols sparked by racially tinged citizen complaints. It said that inmates in the county jails who don't speak English are often punished and denied critical services. Finally, it also charged that the leaders of the agency have an odious practice of using their power to retaliate against critics. None of this will come as a shock to Maricopa County's growing Latino population, which has been complaining of abuse by Arpaio and his deputies for several years. Following the report's release, the Department of Homeland Security immediately terminated its 287(g) agreement with the Sheriff's Office and denied it access to the federal databases that it is practically forcing upon other agencies to locate illegal immigrants under the controversial Secure Communities program. As someone who lived in Phoenix in the late 1990s and wrote columns for the Arizona Republic newspaper, I've known Arpaio and written about him for nearly 15 years. I prefer the original version. Back then, the sheriff said that his office should not waste limited resources enforcing federal immigration law. By contrast, Joe Arpaio 2.0 seems to take shortcuts that run afoul of the Constitution. Just because a media hungry lawman is hunting for illegal immigrants doesn't mean he can single out Latinos -- including the U.S.-born, some of whose families have lived on this side of the border much longer than Arpaio's ancestors have lived on this side of the Atlantic. Next, Justice Department officials will try to strike an agreement with Arpaio to implement a plan that fixes what is broken, one that can be enforced by a judge. The officials are giving the Sheriff's Office 60 days to come up with a solution or face litigation. Those who defend Arpaio and brush aside concerns over racial profiling will likely say that it's appropriate for law enforcement officers to put extra scrutiny on Latinos since most illegal immigrants in the United States are Latino. The last statement is true enough. But just because most illegal immigrants are Latino doesn't mean that most Latinos are illegal immigrants. Besides, the opponents of illegal immigration always want to convince us that they're colorblind. That argument gets hard to make when the apologists for racial profiling start defending the idea of singling out people of one ethnicity. So what did Perry do when the Justice Department report came out? The worst possible thing. He doubled down on his bad judgment. He had already made two mistakes in snuggling up to Arpaio and accepting his endorsement. He went for three by defending Arpaio. "I would suggest to you that these people are out after Sheriff Joe," Perry told reporters. "He is tough. And again, when I'm the president of the United States, you're not going to see me going after states like Arizona or Alabama, suing sovereign states for making decisions." Even if those decisions are bad? This is not a good sign for Perry. We need a president who has character and courage, and he showed both of those qualities early in this campaign. But we also need a president with judgment, and the ability to stop and change course when they take a wrong turn. For Rick Perry, that wrong turn occurred in the Arizona desert, near the intersection of ambition and fear. And now a once-promising candidate has lost his bearings. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette Jr.

Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Rick Perry has hitched his wagon to Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio . Perry was foolishly looking for quick validation from his party's nativist fringe, Navarrette says . Justice Department has accused Arpaio of discrimination and racial profiling, he says . A once-promising candidate has lost his bearings, Navarrette says of Perry .

(CNN) -- Archaeologists believe they have unearthed only a small fraction of Egypt's ancient ruins, but they're making new discoveries with help from high-tech allies -- satellites that peer into the past from the distance of space. The enclosure wall of the Great Aten temple in Egypt, as seen from the QuickBird satellite. "Everyone's becoming more aware of this technology and what it can do," said Sarah Parcak, an archaeologist who heads the Laboratory for Global Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "There is so much to learn." Images from space have been around for decades. Yet only in the past decade or so has the resolution of images from commercial satellites sharpened enough to be of much use to archaeologists. Today, scientists can use them to locate ruins -- some no bigger than a small living room -- in some of the most remote and forbidding places on the planet. In this field, Parcak is a pioneer. Her work in Egypt has yielded hundreds of finds in regions of the Middle Egypt and the eastern Nile River Delta. Parcak conducted surveys and expeditions in the eastern Nile Delta and Middle Egypt in 2003 and 2004 that confirmed 132 sites that were initially suggested by satellite images. Eighty-three of those sites had never been visited or recorded. In the past two years, she has found hundreds more, she said, leading her to amend an earlier conclusion that Egyptologists have found only the tip of the iceberg. "My estimate of 1/100th of 1 percent of all sites found is on the high side," Parcak said. These discoveries are of no small significance to the Egyptian government, which has devoted itself anew to protecting archaeological sites from plunder and encroachment. The Supreme Council of Antiquities has restricted excavation in the most sensitive areas along the Nile -- from the Great Pyramids at Giza on the outskirts of Cairo to the carvings of Ramses II in the remote south. Antiquities officials hope the move will encourage more surveys in the eastern Nile Delta in northern Egypt, Parcak said, where encroaching development in the burgeoning nation of 82 million poses the greatest threat to the sites. Old and modern methods . Parcak's process weds modern tools with old-fashioned grunt work. The archaeologist studies satellite images stored on a NASA database and plugs in global positioning coordinates for suspected sites, then tramps out to see them. Telltale signs such as raised elevations and pot shards can confirm the images. As a result, the big picture comes into view. "We can see patterns in settlements that correspond to the [historical] texts," Parcak said, "such as if foreign invasions affected the occupation of ancient sites. "We can see where the Romans built over what the Egyptians had built, and where the Coptic Christians built over what the Romans had built. "It's an incredible continuity of occupation and reuse." The flooding and meanders of the Nile over the millennia dictated where and how ancient Egyptians lived, and the profusion of new data has built a more precise picture of how that worked. "Surveys give us information about broader ancient settlement patterns, such as patterns of city growth and collapse over time, that excavations do not," said Parcak, author of a forthcoming book titled "Satellite Remote Sensing and Archaeology." The vagaries of climate in the region make satellite technology advantageous, too. "Certain plants that may indicate sites grow during certain times of the year," Parcak said, "while sites may only appear during a wet or dry season. This is different everywhere in the world." Archaeologists working in much more verdant climates, such as Cambodia and Guatemala, also have used the technology to divine locations of undiscovered ruins. They have been able to see similarities between the vegetation at known sites and suspected sites that showed up in fine infrared and ultraviolet images covering wide areas of forbidding terrain. "For the work I do [in Egypt], I need wet season images as wet soil does a better job at detecting sites with the satellite imagery data I use," Parcak said. "I can pick the exact months I need with the NASA satellite datasets." Benefits of a bird's-eye view . Remote subsurface sensing has been used in archaeology in one form or another for years, though the term "remote" doesn't necessarily imply great distance. Typically, a surveyor has wheeled a sensing device over a marked-out area to determine what lies below. The sensing devices employ any of an array of technologies, such as Ground Penetrating Radar. They bounce signals off objects below the surface and translate the data into images that a scientist's trained eye can decipher. Multispectral imaging encompasses technologies that "see" what the human eye can't, such as infrared and ultraviolet radiation. Scientists have used it for years to study the Earth's surface for a variety of purposes. Until resolution of these images improved, though, the only way to produce a sharp image was to be relatively close to the ground. For those lugging unwieldy gear across jungle and desert, an effective bird's-eye view can change the world. It lets them leave behind the days and days of meticulous "prospecting" and get results from airplane-mounted sensors or, later on, a flyover by an advanced satellite. One of the most advanced is called QuickBird, which has been in orbit since 2001 and can provide high-resolution images of 11-mile-wide swaths. The satellite can collect nearly 29 million square miles of imagery data in a year, according to DigitalGlobe, which developed and operates QuickBird. The company, based in Longmont, Colorado, is working on an upgrade. WorldView-2, to be launched in 2009, will offer sharper resolution of visual and multispectral images than QuickBird, according to the company's Web site. In the end, though, a tool is only as useful as its wielder. "Most of the advances have come through processing on the ground by end users such as Dr. Parcak," said DigitalGlobe spokesman Chuck Herring.

Sharper resolutions allowing scientists to use satellites to locate ruins sites . Pictures from commercial satellites have been sharp enough only for past decade . Images have helped archaeologist Sarah Parcak find hundreds of Egyptian sites . Colorado company's new, advanced imaging satellite to be launched in 2009 .

Editor's note: CNN Contributor Bob Greene is a best-selling author whose new book is "Late Edition: A Love Story." Bob Greene says a beer summit wouldn't unite Chicago police veterans and protesters remembering 1968 conflict. (CNN) -- Beer summits at the White House notwithstanding, not all controversies between the police and the citizens they serve are destined to turn into gauzy, orchestrated "teachable moments." Some wounds are so deep that they just may last forever. Which is a lesson in itself. As interesting an evening as I have spent this year took place earlier this summer on a Chicago, Illinois, street well west of downtown. "Just wanted to come spend time with some old friends," said Tom Dempsey, 67, as he arrived at the lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, next door to a plumbers' union training center. He had plenty of company. This was the first reunion of Chicago police officers assigned to the streets during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Not to diminish the heat of the emotions in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this summer, but in terms of international attention being focused on a police department, what happened in Cambridge was rather mild. The mayhem on the streets of Chicago during that long-ago August week, captured on film and in still photographs, has emblemized a moment in history. A federal commission used the term "police riot"; for more than 40 years the officers who were there have been offended and angry about that. So here they were in 2009, retirees in shorts and in golf shirts, in natty blazers and in khaki trousers. "A celebration?" said Bill Jaconetti, 66. "A celebration of what? This is just some former police officers getting together to remember when we were asked to protect a great American city." He fully understood it wasn't as simple as that; it never has been. The organizers of the reunion had elected to use uncompromising language on the Web site announcing the event. The anti-war demonstrators of 1968 were "Marxist street thugs"; criticism of the actions of the police was "unwarranted, inaccurate and wrong." The language was destined to get attention, and it did. Thus, half a block to the west of the lodge this summer, protesters were gathering behind police barricades. They felt that the organizers of the police reunion had mischaracterized and purposely insulted the anti-Vietnam war demonstrators of 1968; the police, for their part, have long believed that they were the ones who were provoked at that Democratic convention, that they were goaded in ways that were guaranteed to culminate with violent confrontations. Now, on this summer evening in 2009, the protesters, many of them not born in 1968, looked toward the arriving retired officers and chanted: "No justice! No peace! No riot police!" The whole world wasn't watching. In Grant Park near Chicago's lakefront -- site of some of the ugliest convention-week battles of 1968 -- hundreds of thousands of people had congregated on this day in 2009. It had nothing to do with the police reunion. Taste of Chicago, the annual food-and-music festival, had opened its 10-day run. Miles distant from that, out on Washington Boulevard, there were perhaps a few hundred retired officers in the lodge, and a lesser number of demonstrators to the west. Anyone three blocks away would have been unaware of either group. Many of the marquee players from the famous Democratic convention -- Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin from the dissenters, the first Mayor Richard Daley from the city, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley from the national media that spread the pictures -- are dead. And the former police officers who were approaching the front door of the lodge? "I know there were probably a lot of peaceful demonstrators in '68 who didn't want all that to happen," said John Wotring, 63, who had flown up from his home in Sanford, Florida. The one remnant from his life as a street cop is that the nickname his buddies had for him -- "Johnny Wo" -- is now, in retirement, a proud part of his e-mail address. They're on the back nine of life. "You ask about your buddy -- you say, 'How's so-and-so doing?' " said John Murray, 62, who was 21 during convention week. "You get the answer: 'He died' " The calls of this year's protesters summoned certain echoes. Murray said: "I was the age of the demonstrators in '68. I was a kid, too. But all they saw was the uniform." The two sides didn't speak to each other then, and not much seemed to have changed. "I think it's fine they're here," said retired officer Harold Brown. "It's a nice night. They're not hurting anyone." But the people chanting, kept at a distance, could not hear him. John Eshoo, 68, formerly of the 18th District, said, "Was I angry convention week? No. I was just so amazed that we were being faced with what we were being faced with." There's never going to be common ground, or an inch given on either side, even after everyone who was at the famous convention is gone. "I had served as a Marine corporal in Vietnam for 13 months," said Ken Lavorata, 64. "And then I came home and joined the Chicago police and there I was." The truly radical thing, on a 21st-century summer evening, would have been for someone to take down the wooden barricades at the end of the block and let the cops and those who were chanting toward them get together and talk. But if that was going to happen, it would have happened long ago. "I wasn't a big fan of the war, either," said retired patrol officer Murray, on a night so pretty it made you half-believe that life can be like that. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.

Bob Greene: Not all police-citizen disputes can be healed by a "beer summit" He says 1968 Chicago police veterans held a reunion this year . He says their publicity sparked protesters, who held a rally nearby . Greene: More than 40 years later, the sides haven't found common ground .

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Seventh graders at Ron Clark Academy became an overnight sensation during the presidential election when their YouTube performance of "You Can Vote However You Like" catapulted them to online stardom. "The higher the expectations, the higher the results," says Ron Clark, seen here with his students. Now, their creative and scholastic talents have proved the students to be more than just "one hit wonders." Academy students showcased their poetry and writings for CNN's documentary "Black in America 2," hosted by Soledad O'Brien. Cultivating student creativity is just one of the goals of academy founder Ron Clark, an enigmatic educator known for his unconventional teaching methods. Under his strict tutelage, students at Ron Clark -- who are predominantly African-American -- are expected to excel in all subjects and maintain a high standard of respect for their peers and teachers. "I'm teaching an eighth-grade curriculum to fifth-graders," says Clark. "Some people say my expectations of the kids, academically, is too high, but the higher the expectations, the higher the results." Watch Clark's students perform their original poetry » . But with high academic expectations come an equally high quotient for fun. It's become one of Clark's trademarks: singing and dancing to popular rap and R&B songs during class to get the kids engaged. "My first day at Ron Clark Academy, I thought all the teachers were psychopaths," says seventh-grader Jai Springs. "I thought Ron Clark was going crazy. He was up in front of the kids on desks, he was dancing. ... I never saw a teacher get up on a desk and dance. But now I'm used to it, so I get up on the desk and dance too," says Jai. Clark, formerly a schoolteacher from North Carolina, founded the academy with money he earned from his book titled The Essential 55, which detail Clark's 55 golden rules for success -- in and out of the classroom. Clark was invited to be a guest on the Oprah Winfrey show after winning Disney Teacher of the Year Award in 2001. Oprah believed so much in the well-mannered Southern school teacher from South Carolina that she encouraged him to write the book. Later she promoted The Essential 55 on her show, prompting it's ascension to New York Times bestseller list. Together with co-founder Kim Bearden, Clark transformed a decaying factory in a rough part of Atlanta, Georgia, into a state-of-the-art educational model for middle schools across the country. See newsmakers and iReporters on race, challenges, solutions for black America . Soon after the school opened its doors in 2008, a Christmas package from Winfrey arrived for Clark in the form of a $365,000 grant, or "a thousand dollars for each day of the year," as Oprah referred to it in the letter. Then came the elections, with a tight presidential race between Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and John McCain of Arizona. Inspired by rapper T.I.'s hit song "Whatever You Like," Clark's seventh grade class penned their own lyrics and dance moves. The students' performance carried a message: Cast your ballot because you support a candidate's policies rather than just his skin color. When they perform the song, half the seventh grade class touts the virtues of GOP's McCain while the other half root for Democrat Obama: "Obama on the left. McCain on the right. We can talk politics all night. And you can vote however you like." The students "can talk politics with the best of them," says Clark. Video clips of the kids performing have garnered over 15 million hits on YouTube. "We got lots of media attention. But when the media arrived to the school they realized the song is not the story, it's the kids," says Clark. One of Clark's credos is teaching a "global curriculum" with a heavy emphasis on current events. Himself an avid world traveler, Clark believes it's essential for his students to travel to other countries to develop an understanding and appreciation of the world in which they live. Through Delta's corporate sponsorship of the school, administrators have been able to send all 100 of their fifth to eighth grade students abroad before they graduate. "I'm not nearly as shy as I used to be," says seventh-grader Chi Chi Kasarachi after her first year at the academy. "My knowledge of the world has improved, I know more about what's going on in other countries and I'm more curious about things. ... I'm just hungry for knowledge," says Chi Chi. In fact, the students at Ron Clark Academy are better versed in current events and politics than many adults. "I never thought I'd be interested in watching the news," says seventh-grader Osei Avril. "Now I find it interesting because I have learned the stories behind the news," he says. Osei -- who pronounces Iranian President Ahmadinajad's name perfectly -- says he's interested in learning about world issues such as the Iranian elections, the Taliban in Pakistan, and the Palestinian- Israeli conflict. "At the beginning," says Clark, "the kids will say something like 'I've been to East Point [a suburb of South Atlanta]. After a few years they've been to Kenya, Japan, or South Africa, or England. ... They've become very comfortable with understanding the country and understanding themselves." But it's not just the travel or even the singing and dancing to rap music that make the school so special, say the students. It's the academy teachers' creative ways of instilling education, solid values, and a passion for learning. "They want you to pass the people at the top," says Jai. "To be at the top nonstop, be at your fullest, to be creative, to think out of the box." But school isn't all fun and games, she says. Clark is a strict disciplinarian that expects -- and enforces -- model behavior from all of the students. "I love Mr. Clark with all my heart, he's like a father to me," says Chi Chi. "He might fuss a lot, but I know he's doing it for our own good."

Ron Clark Academy students' '08 YouTube rap performance got millions of hits . Clark teaches "global curriculum" with heavy emphasis on current events . "I'm teaching an eigthth-grade curriculum to fifth graders," says Clark . Student: "My knowledge of the world has improved. ... I'm hungry for knowledge"

(CNN) -- South Africa may just have found another Paralympian to inspire a nation -- and perhaps the world. After "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius became the first double-amputee runner to compete at an Olympics, and Natalie Du Toit excelled in the pool, Lucas Sithole -- who lost both his legs and most of his right arm when he fell under a train aged 12 -- became the first South African to win a title at tennis' U.S. Open. "Natalie made a huge impact on South African sport, the same as Oscar," the nation's Davis Cup captain, John-Laffnie De Jager, told CNN. "Lucas can play the same role." Judging by the welcome he received in Johannesburg following his historic victory in New York in September, Sithole is well on his way. A large crowd greeted Sithole at OR Tambo International Airport, where he signed posters that read, "Rolling Inspiration." Reflecting on the scene, Sithole was still genuinely surprised. And why wouldn't he be? Such receptions for wheelchair tennis champions are highly unusual. "I wasn't expecting it but at the end of the day I was happy to be honored like that," the 27-year-old told CNN. "People were calling my name and it was nice to get recognized even if I'm only in wheelchair tennis. It was actually awesome, man. "Later on, even when I went from my house to the shop to buy bread, people still recognized me. I have no problem with that." Boost for African tennis . His emergence as a tennis ace comes at a good time for South Africa, since the country's No. 1 in the ATP ranks, Kevin Anderson, hasn't played in the Davis Cup for two years. Anderson is married to an American and last year in an interview with the New York Times didn't rule out representing the U.S. in the future. Liezel Huber, a former No. 1 in women's doubles, already changed her nationality, becoming an American citizen six years ago. She has since won three U.S. Open doubles titles. And some will say Sithole can take over from Pistorius in capturing the hearts of South Africans after the latter's fall from grace. There is no doubting that Pistorius' exploits on the track led to plaudits and a massive following -- without the use of half his legs he reached the semifinals at London 2012 competing against able-bodied athletes -- but his reputation has suffered since he was accused of murdering his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. "Lucas is fortunate that people in South Africa have already recognized athletes with a disability probably stronger than other countries," says Sithole's coach, Holger Losch. South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, sent Sithole a message of congratulations for his achievement at Flushing Meadows when he downed David Wagner on the latter's home soil. "It was no small feat," Zuma said in a statement. "He has made both the government and the people of South Africa immensely proud." Even if the attendance on Court 11 couldn't match the buzz for the men's final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on gargantuan Arthur Ashe Stadium, the atmosphere was nonetheless raucous. Shouts of "USA, USA" were meant to encourage Wagner but Sithole rallied from a set down to beat the world No. 1 in three sets, shedding tears of joy when the finale concluded. A left-hander like Nadal, Sithole also hits with heavy spin on his forehand. Prior to his accident -- Sithole said he preferred "not to go back there" when the incident was brought up in this interview -- he hadn't seen anyone play tennis. He picked up his first racquet only about seven years ago. "Certainly I thought that Lucas could be a force in the future but I just didn't know how long it would take him," Wagner, who plays with his racquet taped to his right hand, told CNN. "He's very quick around the court and has good chair skills and some big shots." Sithole and Wagner -- who are occasional doubles partners -- developed a rivalry in 2013, meeting nine times in singles since the end of May, and more battles are expected next year given they are the top two in the quads rankings. Thinking further ahead, Sithole aims to be on the podium at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. Wagner beat a then unseeded Sithole in the first round of the Paralympics in London a year ago. 'Double bagel' start . Sithole contested his first international wheelchair event in 2006 in the Netherlands, home to the most dominant wheelchair player of all time, Esther Vergeer. Wagner beat him in doubles and Sithole lost his opening singles match by the dreaded "double bagel" score of 6-0 6-0. "He's done exceptionally well to get to where he is now in a short time," said Losch. "His character is the thing that drives him the hardest and he relishes playing on the big stage. He's very competitive. "If you look at Lucas physically you'd think of all kinds of reasons he'd struggle to do stuff but when you get to know him, you see that he takes on challenges. He lives his life to the fullest." Attending a primary and secondary school for the physically disabled changed Sithole's mindset for the better as he saw fellow students thriving. And that has come full circle, as pupils from one of his former schools were among those who saluted him at the airport. Amassing more grand slam titles will only strengthen Sithole's profile, said De Jager, who rose to No. 11 in the world in doubles after overcoming a heart condition at birth. "I think it's going to be key for him now to keep improving and try and win some more big tournaments," he said. "I think if that happens it would be huge for tennis in South Africa, especially wheelchair tennis."

Lucas Sithole became the first South African citizen to win a U.S. Open tennis title . Sithole beat world No. 1 David Wagner in the men's quad final in New York . The 27-year-old received a hero's welcome when he returned to South Africa . He lost both his legs and most of his right arm when he fell under a train aged 12 .

(CNN) -- Who walks away from $10 million? Who creates something beloved and beautiful that will eventually earn him well in excess of $10 million, and says he doesn't want the money? The answer is a story of generosity and grace that seems fitting for this season of giving. I was doing some research on the great songwriter Irving Berlin, who, with his family, fled oppression in Russia when he was 5 years old and came to the United States. He knew no English; he grew up in poverty on New York's Lower East Side. He taught himself music. He wrote the lyrics and melodies to more than 1,500 songs, including some of the most popular in history: "White Christmas," "Easter Parade," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "This Is the Army, Mr. Jones," "Cheek to Cheek." His feel for the sound of words was close to perfect; if you want to learn the craft of writing, not only music, but any kind of effective writing, study the lyrics -- the precision, the economy, the playfulness, the respect for language and cadence -- of Berlin's "There's No Business Like Show Business." There is not a wasted syllable. Because "White Christmas" -- the cherished holiday song written by the Jewish immigrant -- will, as usual, be played and sung often this month, I was trying to find out all I could about Berlin's life and career. And came upon an astonishing, profoundly moving act of altruism. It has to do with the song he considered the most important he ever wrote -- the song that meant the most to him. In 1938, the vocalist Kate Smith was looking for a song to sing on her coast-to-coast CBS radio program to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Armistice Day. She asked Berlin if he would write something for her. He remembered a song he had begun years before, and had discarded. He brought it out and went back to work on it. Thus it was that, on the CBS radio network one November night, Kate Smith delivered the first public performance of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." The acclaim was immediate and electrifying. The world was on the verge of a terrible new war; all over the United States, people heard Berlin's song and took it to their hearts. He understood what a valuable property he had on his hands. And he quietly made a firm decision: . He never wanted to make a penny from it. He wanted whatever success the song had to be his gift to the nation he adored. "He believed that the United States had rescued his life," Laurence Bergreen, author of the Berlin biography "As Thousands Cheer," told me. "This was his genuine patriotic gesture. He had a real soft spot for America, and this is how he expressed it." Berlin instructed attorneys to draw up papers. He wanted to guarantee that every cent "God Bless America" ever earned went to a place that he thought would help to make the country's future brighter and stronger. In those months leading up to the U.S. entry into World War II, he selected the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts to receive the song's earnings -- specifically, he wanted the royalties to go to Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs in impoverished and disadvantaged areas. His binding legal instructions are in effect to this day, 73 years after "God Bless America" was first sung by Kate Smith and 22 years after Berlin's death. So far, there has been more than $10 million distributed to Scouting programs, and it's still coming in. "Irving Berlin and his heirs have never collected a penny," said Bert Fink, an executive in the office that administers the earnings from Berlin's songs. "He was always a staunch protector of his copyrights," said musicologist Sheryl Kaskowitz, who wrote her Harvard University Ph.D. dissertation on the song, and who is working on a book about it for Oxford University Press. "For him to do this with 'God Bless America' was his sincere thank you to the country." Trustees of the fund Berlin set up are free to allocate the money to programs where they feel it will be beneficial. It has gone to different Scouting organizations over the years. The current recipients of the royalties are the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Officials for both groups told me it is impossible to overestimate how much good the "God Bless America" royalties continue to do for boys and girls with few advantages or resources; there are Scouting programs in homeless shelters and public housing projects that would not exist were it not for the fund. The popularity of the song has seen ebbs and flows over the years. The country seems to find it anew when it is needed. On September 11, 2001, after the attacks, members of Congress stood together, Republicans and Democrats shoulder-to-shoulder, on the steps of the Capitol and, seemingly spontaneously, joined in singing "God Bless America." That signaled a renaissance for the song; it is now regularly heard at sporting events and public gatherings. In the final years of Berlin's life, he grew reclusive. He had not had a hit song in decades. Rock music and performances by singer-songwriters had replaced the kind of music he had mastered. But even toward the end, he found comfort in knowing how many young people the royalties from "God Bless America" were helping. His belief was simple: Everyone, regardless of background or beginnings, should be given a chance to shine. After all, look what happened to him. He died in 1989. The money will continue to go to Scout organizations as long as "God Bless America" is sung and played -- which is to say, as long as there is a United States of America. Who walks away from $10 million? Irving Berlin did. Happily and proudly. Why? The answer is as clear and direct as the second line in that song of his: . ". . .land that I love. . . ." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.

Bob Greene: Who walks away from $10 million? The composer of "God Bless America" did . Russian-born songwriter Irving Berlin saw it as "his gift to the nation he adored," says Greene . Berlin arranged for the song's royalties to be given away in perpetuity, Greene says . Greene: For 70 years, the money has been donated to Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs .

(CNN) -- The video game industry has had a slow start to the year, but that's about to change. As the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) takes over the Los Angeles Convention Center this week, the biggest games of this year and next will be showcased in front of 45,000 attendees. With a big slate of blockbusters scheduled to hit retail shelves this holiday, things are looking up for gaming. The game industry is growing rapidly through new business models like free-to-play games, mobile games and cloud-based gaming. But it still relies on big-name titles to fill its coffers and entice gamers to spend an inordinate amount of time on multiplayer experiences online. Like Hollywood, game publishers are counting on bestselling franchises and sequels to attract the growing demographic of people who play games. There are a lot of games at E3, but these five titles will stand out. Collectively they should provide hours of new interactive entertainment to gamers around the world once they're released over the coming year. "Resident Evil 6" (Capcom, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, October 2, 2012) In a rarity in the game industry, where delays are commonplace, Capcom actually moved up the release date for this much-anticipated horror sequel. The "6" in the title holds a deeper meaning, as this "Resident Evil" offers three distinct, yet interconnected, two-player cooperative gameplay experiences. Set 10 years after the events that ravaged Raccoon City, these globe-trotting survival horror stories feature six unique characters that gamers control to contend with the new C-Virus plague. The zombies in this game are smarter, faster and even wield weapons, upping the ante and requiring that second player's sharpshooting help. The development team is going for a more Hollywood feel with this blend of action and terror. Gamers will actually get a double-dose of this franchise with Sony Pictures releasing "Resident Evil: Retribution 3D" in theaters September 14. "Halo 4" (Microsoft, 343 Industries, Xbox 360, November 6, 2012) "Halo" developer Bungie has moved on to an original franchise for Activision, leaving Microsoft to turn to new developer 343 Industries for the first in the Reclaimer Trilogy of Halo games. Set four years after the events of "Halo 3," Master Chief returns with a new setting (the planet Requiem) but the same beloved first-person shooter action that has sold over 40 million games around the globe. The new game will further explore the man beneath the mask, John-117, while pushing multiplayer forward. Gamers can create their own Spartan IV warrior for multiplayer and engage in a four-player cinematic adventure in the new Spartan Ops or jump into massive competitive arenas with War Games. All multiplayer will be linked through the UNSC Infinity starship to keep players immersed in this rich sci-fi universe. "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" (Activision, Treyarch, PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, November 13, 2012) With the "Call of Duty" franchise breaking entertainment launch records every year and raking in over $1 billion per release, developer Treyarch is catapulting the first-person shooter action into the future. "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" spans a cinematic storyline that propels the action into 2025, although some backstory gameplay will focus on the 1980s. With American cities like Los Angeles under attack from flying drones and robots, players must contend with terrorist Raul Menendez, who's turned America's own military technology against itself. Treyarch is introducing more open-world gameplay to the mix and promises a more robust multiplayer experience (with all those new drones and robots), as well as an expanded Zombies mode with more undead enemies to contend with. "Crysis 3" (Electronic Arts, Crytek, PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, 2013) Crytek returns to a future Big Apple, circa 2047, in this first-person shooter, although New York has never looked quite like this. Players will explore a massive Nanodome called the New York City Liberty Dome, which offers a diverse range of environments known as the Seven Wonders. Taking control of the Nanosuit-armed Prophet, skyscrapers have been replaced by an urban rainforest teeming with overgrown trees, dense swamplands and raging rivers. It's within this landscape that players will hunt Ceph aliens and Cell Corporation henchmen using a composite bow (armed with the latest technology) and an assortment of high-powered weapons from Earth and beyond. Crytek is blending the best of both worlds from its first two bestsellers and offering gamers more options in both the campaign and multiplayer experiences this time around. "Dead Space 3" (Electronic Arts, Visceral Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, 2013) In space, no one can hear you scream. With Ridley Scott terrifying a new generation of audiences with "Prometheus," Electronic Arts' Visceral Games is bringing more alien horror to gamers. In "Dead Space 3," Isaac Clarke crash lands on a snowswept planet that just happens to be overrun with alien Necromorphs. After contending with these assorted alien monstrosities in the past, Clarke has new weapons and technology to help him perform the strategic dismemberment that has become the cornerstone of the franchise. The subzero planet adds a twist to the gameplay with more open, and hostile, environments to explore and even bigger creatures to content with. Fans of the franchise will also see a return of the more close-quarters, don't-be-afraid-of-the-dark areas, as well as those signature zero-gravity sequences. "Dead Space 3" is slated to scare gamers in the dead of winter early next year.

A slow year for video games will pick up at E3 next week . Bucking the trend, "Resident Evil 6" actually had release date moved up . Master Chief will be back in "Halo IV" "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" will move the action into the future .

(CNN) -- Occasionally, at odd hours, you may find that you have a Waffle House all to yourself. This allows for silent contemplation. There is one notation on the ubiquitous restaurants' familiar laminated, double-sided menus that has long intrigued me. This summer I finally decided to look into why that notation is there, and the answer led, in a roundabout way, to an unexpected and beguiling tale of American business, and of fathers and sons. You really do learn something new every day. The omelets on all those Waffle House menus are not described as mere omelets. They are designated as "Toddle House omelets." The Toddle Houses -- they have been out of business for decades -- were a cherished institution in the middle of the 20th century. I must have eaten hundreds of Toddle House meals as a boy and young man. They were open 24 hours a day, and were bare-bones. A counter and 10 stools. No booths. No tables. A place you could depend on. I never quite understood how those original Toddle Houses could make any money with only 10 customers at a time, but they were heartland perfection (if not perfect for one's heart). Cheeseburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, hash browns made on the grill right in front of you, breakfast round the clock, and the most mouthwatering chocolate icebox pie and banana cream pie imaginable. I can taste those pies right now, and it's been more than 40 years. The chain was based in Memphis, and, as mid-South historian Vance Lauderdale has written, "Everything was gleaming steel or white tile, and crammed into the tiny space were fryers and ovens and broilers and toasters and -- well, just about everything needed to prepare anything from a cup of coffee to a steak dinner." I thought the Toddle Houses had vanished from everywhere but my dreams -- yet they live on, on every Waffle House menu. And, because there are more than 1,600 Waffle Houses in the United States, there are a whole lot of Waffle House menus. To find out the reason for all of this, I got in touch with Waffle House headquarters, in Norcross, Georgia. I was told that there is no financial connection between Waffle House and the old Toddle House. But one of Waffle House's co-founders, Joe Rogers Sr., got his start as a Toddle House employee, and it was he who insisted on the Toddle House label on the omelets, as a fond and wistful homage to those lost little diners. Now. . . here's where the saga gets cool. I delved into Toddle House history. It turns out that the guy who built the Toddle Houses from nothing into a mid-century middle-American treasure was a fellow named Fred Smith. He had owned a bus company, had sold it, and had devoted his business acumen to the Toddle Houses. He died in the 1940s, leaving a 4-year-old son fatherless. The boy, also named Fred, went to college, joined the Marines, served two tours of duty in Vietnam, then came home and, like his dad had done, decided to start a company. It was based on an idea he had dreamed up while in school. It had nothing to do with the restaurant business. It was a little firm called Federal Express. How's that for a father-and-son success story? Toddle House and FedEx, sharing a common bloodline. It's one thing for a dad to teach his son the ropes in a family business, and hand it to him. And history is full of dads and their sons who have succeeded in the same field. John and John Quincy Adams, and George H.W. and George W. Bush, became presidents of the United States. Archie Manning and his sons Peyton and Eli all became National Football League quarterbacks. Bobby Hull and his son Brett are both hockey hall-of-famers. Kirk Douglas was a Hollywood leading man, and so is his son, Michael. But those sons followed their fathers into the same job. The first Fred Smith, though, was long dead by the time the second Fred Smith determined that he wanted to go into business. There must be something genetic about the creative business urge (or something in the Memphis water); the first Fred wasn't around to teach the second Fred how to do it, yet the Smiths built two completely different kinds of companies that on a national scale successfully fulfilled completely different consumer needs. And I just realized something: . Nine years ago, when a lifelong friend was dying of cancer and we who grew up with him and loved him were gathering to bid him farewell, we tried to think up a gift that would mean something special to him. I found, online, an antique shop in the South that had on hand an old dinner plate from a Toddle House (the slogan of the restaurants, modest yet confident, was: "Good as the Best." The slogan was baked into every plate). We'd had so many Toddle House meals together, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on those stools at the counter. We knew what the gift would represent to him. We were all going to sign the plate for our friend, so he could keep it on a shelf near his bed. But time was short. We didn't have the luxury of waiting. So I asked the antique shop owners if there was a way they could get it to us quickly. There was. They sent it FedEx. It arrived the next day, for us to sign and present to him. After he passed away, his wife did me the kindness of giving me the sturdy old Toddle House plate, complete with all of our signatures on it -- and his. I'm looking at it as I type these words. I realize only now that it was the first Fred Smith's prized product, brought safely to us by his son. What a country. Sometimes you have to just smile and shake your head. (Now, if there was only some way for FedEx to deliver a slice of that long-gone Toddle House banana cream pie. . . .) The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.

Bob Greene wondered why Waffle House menu sold Toddle House omelets . Toddle House eateries were a staple of his youth . Toddle House was the root of a remarkable father-son success story . The son of Toddle House's founder, grew up to succeed in a different venture .

Moorland, England (CNN) -- Like a modern-day King Canute, Sam Notaro is determined not to let rising waters flood his home. He lives in Moorland village in Somerset, southwest England, which has been hit hard by weeks of flooding. Streets have turned into rivers, cars are submerged up to their windshields, and homes have been abandoned. But Notaro is a lone holdout. He's created his own flood defense barrier, using a digger to raise a soil embankment topped with heavy clay to act as a seal. So far, it has kept the worst of the waters out of his home, with the help of pumps -- but the question is how long it will hold. "Like I say, if it rises a meter, I don't know if it will be enough. I don't know," he said. He may be the only one left, but he's not without help in his struggle against the elements. Marines -- part of a hundreds-strong military deployment by the UK government -- waded through the waist-high water Tuesday to help bolster his makeshift flood defenses. Notaro appeared stubbornly resolved to continue his battle despite the losing odds. "We were backed into a corner. It was low so we pushed some soil up, and then you've got to keep going, haven't you?" he said. King Canute, an 11th-century ruler of England, Denmark, Norway and part of Sweden, by legend went to the seashore and tried to hold back the rising tide -- but failed. In the low-lying Somerset Levels, where some homes have been underwater for weeks, many will know his sense of powerlessness. Dead birds litter beaches . Exceptionally strong winds in western England and Wales on Wednesday may add to people's woes. The Met Office, the UK's national weather service, issued a "red" warning, its most serious, saying winds were expected to gust at 80 mph across a wide area and might reach 100 mph in the most exposed parts of west and northwest Wales. After the wettest January in England since 1766, even if the heavy rain stops, ground water levels are so high that it could be weeks before life returns to normal. And Britain is not the only place facing wild weather. Huge waves are crashing onto the Portuguese coast, causing extensive damage, and there are high wind alerts in parts of Ireland, which faces the worst storm yet of the winter. Ireland's western Munster province and the town of Wexford could be buffeted by gusts up to 105 mph Wednesday, the national weather service said. Winter flood warnings have also been issued in parts of Brittany in northwest France. Meanwhile, the beaches of France's Atlantic coast are littered with dead birds, casualties of exhaustion after days of battling relentless wind and rain. The country's League for the Protection of Birds estimates more than 5,000 birds have died, many in the Charente-Maritime, Loire-Atlantique and Vendee areas. 'Money is no object' Some 5,800 properties have flooded in England since the beginning of December. Amid increasing questions over the government's response, Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday that "money is no object" in the relief effort and promised more troops to help despairing homeowners. "Britain is facing ... its wettest winter in 2½ centuries, and some of the worst flooding in decades," he said at a Downing Street news conference. There are still 16 severe flood warnings -- meaning there is danger to life -- in place, most of them in southeast England, as well as hundreds of lower-level flood warnings and flood alerts. And it's not over yet. "There is absolutely no sign of this threat abating and with further rain and strong winds forecast throughout the week, things may well get worse before they get better," Cameron warned. He pledged up to $16 million to help farmers whose fields are underwater and said more troops would be made available. Opposition leader Ed Miliband of the Labour Party told UK media that the flooding was a "wake-up call" and that investing in flood defenses had to be a priority for the government. Some of the worst-affected areas in recent days are in the Thames Valley west of London. Well-heeled towns and villages in Surrey and Berkshire, including Wraysbury, Chertsey and Datchet, near Windsor Castle, have been inundated as the Thames has burst its banks on its way downstream to the capital. Sandbags lined the entrances to small businesses and homes in Datchet menaced by the river's murky brown waters. Agency: More flooding to come . More than 1,100 homes have flooded along the Thames Valley in the past two weeks, the Environment Agency said. The agency warned that the towns of Windsor and Maidenhead, as well as communities along the Thames in Surrey, remain at high risk from the river Wednesday and Thursday. "Significant flooding" of homes and businesses is expected, it said, with the Thames expected to rise in places to its highest level in more than 60 years. With more rain forecast, water levels farther downstream will potentially rise over the weekend and early next week to the highest levels seen so far, the agency added. The Thames Barrier, which is deployed to prevent the tidal river flooding central London with devastating consequences, has been repeatedly pressed into action in recent weeks. "The barrier is working very, very hard," said Toby Willison, regional director for the Environment Agency. The agency operates the defense system -- which works by stopping high tides coming in when the river level is already high. "At the moment it's operated 29 times since the beginning of December ... which when you consider it was completed in 1982 and has only opened 154 times since 1982 -- it is operating much more frequently at the moment than it ever has done in the past," he said. CNN's Matthew Chance reported from Moorland, and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London. CNN's Max Foster, Jim Boulden and Zarifmo Aslamshoyeva contributed to this report.

NEW: Irish province faces gale-force winds with gusts up to 105 mph, forecasters say . NEW: More than 1,100 homes to west of London flood after the River Thames burst its banks . UK weather service issues warning for high winds in western England and Wales . Parts of northwest France are also facing the risk of flooding .

(CNN) -- Investigators have made three arrests in connection with the theft of a missing police captain's truck and have linked the vehicle to a Sunday night robbery in which one person was shot, Virginia State Police announced Wednesday. But while detectives have made "a significant amount of progress in a short amount of time," they have not yet found 45-year-old Kevin Quick, who has been missing since Friday night, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller told reporters. Two sisters and a brother were arrested Tuesday night at a hotel in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Geller said. Daniel Mathis and his sister Mersadies Shelton have been charged with grand larceny in the theft of Quick's 1999 Toyota 4Runner, while the second sister, Shantai Shelton, was picked up on an outstanding warrant from Louisa County, east of Charlottesville, where Sunday night's armed robbery took place, she said. The 18-year-old Mathis also was charged with robbery, malicious wounding and a variety of weapons-related charges in connection with the Sunday night robbery, but no details of that holdup were released. Mathis and his sisters were being held without bond Wednesday evening, Geller said. Donald Lowe, chief deputy sheriff in Louisa County, said the Sunday night holdup took place at a rural home. Investigators "were able to capture information" about a vehicle that led to the arrests Tuesday night, but no further details were disclosed. "We're very limited on what we can actually release at this time," Lowe said. Quick is an auxiliary police captain in Waynesboro, west of Charlottesville. He was last seen at his mother's house in Afton about 10:15 p.m. Friday, and was reported missing after failing to show up for a brother's birthday party Saturday afternoon. The 4Runner was captured by surveillance cameras at automatic teller machines twice. The first time was in the town of Fork Union, about 50 miles from Afton, about 11:40 Friday night; the second was in Manassas, on the outskirts of Washington, on Saturday night, Geller said. Each time, the same two people were in the picture, she said -- but authorities haven't said which, if any, of those arrested were in the image. The 4Runner turned up parked under a carport in Mineral, more than 30 miles northeast of Fork Union, on Monday. Investigators combed that area on foot Wednesday in hopes of finding some sign of Quick, said Sgt. Brian Edwards, a Waynesboro police spokesman. But that search ended unsuccessfully, Geller said. Virginia State Police say they suspect foul play in his disappearance, and civic leaders have put up $30,000 in reward money for information that helps find him. "Capt. Quick is a very outgoing person," Edwards said. "He had a lot of street credibility. He automatically commanded respect." Fork Union is one of two towns where Quick's silver 1999 Toyota 4Runner has been spotted since he was last seen. The other was a sighting later in Manassas, near Washington -- nearly 100 miles away. Police have linked two men to Quick's SUV and released a photo of one of them: The man wears a hooded sweatshirt that covers much of his face. Authorities hope the public can help them track him down for questioning. Quick had planned a big bash Saturday for his brother's 40th birthday -- hiring a DJ, hanging decorations and inviting friends and relatives to join in the fun. But the host never showed, prompting his family to start searching for him. "When he never showed, that was when people could tell there was something really wrong," Edwards said. "Family was really important to him. He wouldn't just ditch out on the family." Quick's family is deeply rooted in Waynesboro, a city of about 21,000 residents along the edge of the Appalachian Mountains, and has strong ties to its police department. Kevin Quick's late father joined Waynesboro police's reserve arm in 1983. His eldest son joined him in 1990, ascending the ranks over the subsequent years. The middle brother, Glenn, is an officer with the U.S. Capitol Police in Washington and has joined the search around Fork Union, Edwards said. Quick worked in the reserves while working day jobs, including the past 15 years as a production coordinator for the synthetic fabrics company Invista. He was laid off three weeks ago, according to court papers, and given a severance package in what Edwards called an "amicable" separation. The severance package had not yet been accounted for, according to a police affidavit filed as part of a request for a search warrant. The application asked Quick's bank for records of his transactions since January 1. Quick had been legally separated from his wife since 2007, but their divorce was not final, Edwards said. He said another woman gave birth to Quick's daughter four months ago, and he was headed to their home in Charlottesville when he disappeared. He had been living with his mother in Afton and took her to breakfast on Friday -- the last time his credit card had been used, Edwards said. He spent that day prepping for his brother's surprise party, then texted his child's mother to tell her he was on the way. His phone has been turned off since just before 11 p.m. Friday, according to the search warrant paperwork. When the party's 1 p.m. Saturday start time rolled around and there was no Kevin, his family suspected something was up. According to Edwards, authorities have already ruled out the possibility that he disappeared of his own accord. He was not involved in any undercover or large-scale operations: His duties involved administrative issues and training, Edwards said. He was off-duty at the time and had no known adversaries or enemies, but his status as a police officer "does bring into question whether or not he could have been targeted," the spokesman said. Authorities have "traced every possible route that he could have taken" between the various locations as part of extensive air and ground searches, Geller said. CNN's Carma Hassan contributed to this report.

Three arrested, but no sign of missing police captain, Virginia authorities say . Missing officer's truck linked to Sunday night holdup, state police report . Kevin Quick was last seen Friday night . Authorities ask for help in locating 2 men whom photos link to Quick's Toyota SUV .

(CNN) -- Debbie Phelps, the mother of swimming star Michael Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals in Beijing, is the author of a new memoir, "A Mother For All Seasons." Debbie Phelps, mother of Olympian Michael Phelps, tells Larry King her son has strong values. Phelps spoke with CNN's Larry King about her new book, a recent tabloid report detailing her son's partying ways and the infamous bong photo. The following is an edited version of the transcript. Larry King: You have this terrific new book coming. If I do say so myself, it's inspiring. Yet (Thursday's) lead story in the "New York Daily News" gate crasher column -- I don't know who writes that -- "tsk, tsk," it says, "Michael Phelps, partying your face off in public is not the way to reclaim your good guy image. The Olympian was been laying relatively low since his bong smoking scandal in January was out in full force Tuesday night at New York City hot spot Marquis" -- I think is the name -- "Michael was definitely having a good time, an eyewitness tells us, drinking straight from a bottle of Grey Goose. When the DJ started playing MIA's 'Paper Planes,' he got up started dancing like a loon and kept on yelling 'shots.' Phelps definitely had enough alcohol on hand for several four round. He ordered four bottles of Vodka." Is this tough for a mother? How do you react? Debbie Phelps: It's one thing that I learn at a very early age is I don't get caught up in gossip columns. I know my son. He has great values, lots of integrity. That's what I think about that. King: Did you talk to him about this? Phelps: I always talk to Michael. I talk to Michael every day. We talked about training today and things of that nature. King: But it would be normal to say, what happened, wouldn't it? I would say that to my son. Phelps: We give support. We give guidance. We give an ear to listen. And, again, I don't get caught up in gossip. King: Therefore, you don't believe it? I just want to establish what your feelings are. Phelps: I don't get caught up in gossip, Mr. King. King: What about something that wasn't gossip, the picture with the bong thing. It was a picture. Phelps: It's a picture, that's true. But, you know, a picture can say many things. It has many words. It has many meanings. It has many visualizations that you want to think. It depends on the person who is looking at that picture. You know, as a mom, I support all three of my children. I believe that no matter who you are in this country, in this world, there are obstacles that get into your life. I call them speed bumps in school sometimes. I heard someone say lightning bolts. That's another term for that. But, you know, how do we grow? How do we learn? You raise a child through 18. You send them off to college. You give them the roots. You give them the foundation to be a strong, young man, a strong lady. Life throws curve balls to you sometimes. How do you handle that curve ball? King: Michael is 23. That's an adult. He's an adult. Phelps: A young adult. King: Young adult. So one could say it's his life. He chooses to lead it. As our parent, we do our best to guide them, but 23 is 23. Do you view him still as a kid? Phelps: I view my 31-year-old daughter as a kid sometimes. You know, I look at each of my children independently and individually of themselves. They have many strong values, strong points, professionalism. I'm just very proud of all three of them and everything they've done. King: Do you think these kind of stories -- and you don't pay attention to them -- hurt your book? Phelps: I was asked many times and told many times, "Debbie, you need to write a book some day." As an educator, I'm thinking, I would really like to do that. It became a personal goal of mine to be able to publish a book, not knowing exactly what it was going to be. Was it going to be my life? Was it going to be parenting? Was it going to be swimming? Was it just going to be motivational and inspirational? When I take a look at the book I was able to write, I have great pride in that book because it shows other people, every woman, but not even women -- men can read this book also -- the inspiration and motivation of life. King: The question is, "Do you think these kind of stories might hurt the chance of people buying the book, which is what you want?" Phelps: People are going to have to make that decision. King: Do you think it might? Phelps: Life is life. I do want to say, though, in reference to the Beijing Olympics, we, as a family, I think, made a great impression on the world, on the United States. My son has great love for me. It's a great bonding relationship. Families are very important. King: Is he still a role model, do you think? Phelps: You know, when I think of the word role model, I'll go back to me being a little girl. It was my mom and my dad. They were my role models when I was growing up. When I hear that role model in a sentence with my son, what I think about with Michael is what he does with and for children. It might be things people don't even know of -- his association with the Boys and Girls Club. For years, he has done that (and) his association with Make A Wish. He touches kids' lives. So if an individual, wherever they may be, may select my son as a role model, I say that my son has strong values. I say he's a human being. And I say that from obstacles that get in people's ways -- we all have them, Mr. King, and you know that -- what do you learn from them and how do you rise above the occasion?

Debbie Phelps says she doesn't get caught up in gossip involving son, Michael . Michael Phelps reportedly seen partying at NY bar . Phelps apologized in January after photo shows him smoking from bong .

(CNN) -- "I just love it when I get milk-to-dark converts," says Kerrin Rousset, as she prepares to lead a small cocoa-hungry crowd through the narrow streets of Zurich's Old Town. Rousset, who makes a living leading people to the city's finest chocolates, needn't worry too much -- we're already lost to the dark side. We've joined her on a sunny afternoon in Paradeplatz, outside the flagship shop of Sprungli, a high-quality chocolate maker known for its delicate Luxemburgerli bite-sized almond meringues. We're here because, although in Zurich you're never more than a praline's throw from an artisanal chocolatier (not that any sane person would throw away a perfectly good praline), it's surprisingly tricky to locate truly excellent chocolate. It's a task for a local connoisseur who's already cracked the cocoa code. Rousset is a New Yorker with bright eyes, an unbelievably slim figure and a constant smile fueled by chocolate. She's also the founder of the Sweet Zurich tour. A resident of Zurich for the past six years, Rousset shares her knowledge and passion about the small shops during tours she's been running since 2011. Outside Sprungli, Rousset steers us away from what we thought would be our first chocolate hit. "You should definitely visit Sprungli while you are here," she says. "The place is always lively, but it's not included in our tour as we will focus on the more hidden, artisanal shops that would be harder to discover on your own." We follow obediently. A few minutes later, we're on a lively pedestrian street in the Old Town, sampling the wares in Honold, a family-owned confectionery and chocolate shop founded in 1905. Unexpected ingredients . I'm instantly hooked on Lotti's Best -- one of Rousset's suggestions -- a crumbly nougat feuilletine with tonka bean and a pinch of fleur de sel, covered with Criollo de Venezuela 65% and milk chocolate. Naturally, it's easier, and much more fun, to taste than to describe. During our next stops, we taste a variety of chocolate creations, often mixed with unexpected ingredients, such as lemongrass or galangal, that test our taste buds and preconceptions. "The secret lies in the balance: if you find the correct one, then the combination simply works," Rousset says. Cupcakes are included in today's menu and we happily try the moist, light cakes with cream cheese toppings (a refreshing alternative to usual butter cream) and playful names such as Marilyn Monroe and Kokos Chanel. Between choc stops, we pause at some of the city's numerous fountains to cleanse our palates. With church bells in the background, we discuss all things chocolate, such as cocoa bean origins and cocoa percentages. We learn that, as with wines, it's important to know where the beans originate from, because their "terroir" significantly determines chocolate flavor. It transpires the cocoa percentage figure given on many chocolate bars merely indicates darkness and sugar content and is no reflection of quality. As well as feeding our chocolate-buzzed minds with facts about the world of cocoa, Rousset also tells us how she began leading tours of Zurich's sweet spots. Becoming a chocolate tour guide . "When friends and family would come to visit, I would take them to my favorite sweet shops," she says. "Of course we would go to Sprungli, a Zurich institution, but it was fun to go to the small local shops where the owners had become friends, where we would chat and taste lots, too." While answering questions about Swiss confectionery on her blog, she realized that many of her friends who were either from Zurich or living there for years, didn't know about her favorite chocolate shops. That's when she decided to do something about it. Our sugary tour concludes in Conditorei Schober-Peclard, a legendary coffee house that's been successfully transformed into a pastry heaven. Owned by gastronome Michel Peclard, it's housed in an impressive 14th-century building with a lavish interior and photogenic ornamental cash register. The star here is the hot chocolate, which we taste in its cold edition, but there's an abundance of homemade pastries, cakes, ice creams and savory items. While we're recounting our favorite tastings from the evening, the manager invites us to taste his latest discovery, a surprisingly refreshing cold brew of coffee mixed with tonic water. Another great taste from the dark side. Tasting instructions . We ask Rousset to share her expertise on the art of proper chocolate tasting. "Use all your senses to recognize and appreciate a good quality chocolate bar; look for a nice sheen, not too glossy nor dull," she says. "Sound: Break off a piece and you should hear a distinct snap, letting you know it was well-tempered. "Smell: There are countless aromas in cocoa beans, so you'll smell a variety of natural aromas from fruits to spices to nuts, depending on the origin of the bean. "Taste: Let it melt in your mouth -- don't chew -- and you should taste several flavors and no bitterness. "A sign of a good quality chocolate is when there are several stages of flavor -- they develop in your mouth as it melts. More importantly, the flavor doesn't just disappear after you swallow, but lingers." Sweet Zurich Tour; tours run Tuesday to Friday at 2 p.m. and last about two and a half hours (tour groups are typically two to eight people); CHF85 ($93) Rania Margari is a freelance journalist with an interest in travel, food and lifestyle stories. She's based in Lausanne, Switzerland. CNN Travel's series often carry sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile. However, CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports. Read the policy.

Sweet Zurich tour focuses on local chocolate confectionery gems like Honold and Conditorei Schober-Peclard . Rousset advises chocolate tasters to let the chocolate melt -- not chew . As with wines, it's important to know where cocoa beans originate, because their "terroir" determines flavor .

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Millions of television screens reverted to black and white for a few minutes Sunday night as the 53rd annual Grammy Awards turned off the color for Bruno Mars. It was a section of the show that emphasized the connections current popular music has to the past, on a night with several music legends are teamed with new stars, including Barbra Streisand, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan. Mars sang his hit "Grenade," a performance that echoed back to the 1950s and Sam Cooke, or the 1960s and Otis Redding. Janelle Monae followed with a futuristic soul performance of her song "Cold War," which brought the Staples Center crowd to their feet for a long standing ovation. Rihanna made a triumphant return to the Grammys, two years after she canceled her performance hours after she was beaten by then-boyfriend Chris Brown. Rihanna teamed with rapper Eminem to perform their "Love the Way You Lie," a record of the year contender. As Rihanna sang the lyric "I need a doctor," they were joined by Dr. Dre. It was Dre's first live television performance in over a decade. Eminen was later handed a Grammy for best rap album for "Recovery," the best selling CD of 2010. Rihanna, who appeared to have recovered from her bout with the flu, also delivered a steamy rendition of her hit "What's My Name" with best new artist nominee Drake. Lady Antebellum took home five Grammys, including for song of the year, record of the year and best country album for "Need You Now." The group also was given two Grammys in the pre-telecast show. Jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding beat out Drake and Justin Bieber to win the best new artist award. The show opened with a "get-well card" to Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who is recovering from an undisclosed illness. Yolanda Adams, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride and best new artist nominee Florence Welch sang a soulful montage of Franklin's hits, including "A Natural Woman," "Ain't No Way," "Knock On Your Door," "Think," "Baby I Love You" and "Respect." Franklin did not attend, but instead a video message was played. "I especially want to thank all of you who took the time to send me get well cards and flowers, beautiful flowers, and most importantly your prayers during my time of hospitalization," Franklin said. "I wish I could have been with you tonight," Franklin said. "But next year, OK?" The star power from the past included Barbra Streisand, who sang her 1976 Grammy and Oscar winning song, "Evergreen." It was the theme song for "A Star Is Born," the film in which she starred with Kris Kristofferson, who introduced Streisand. Mick Jagger paid tribute to songwriter Solomon Burke, who died last October, by singing Burke's "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love." The Rolling Stones covered the song on a 1965 album. Bob Dylan sang and played his harmonica with best new artist nominee Mumford and Sons and rising roots rockers, the Avett Brothers, in a salute to the comeback of acoustic music. A musical tribute to country legend Dolly Parton featured Nora Jones, Keith Urban and Jon Mayer singing her song "Jolene." Lady Gaga popped out of a giant egg on stage at the start of her performance of "Born This Way," a song with a message about gay and lesbian rights. Gaga, who wore a raw meat dress on another red carpet last year, arrived inside the egg for the Grammys. Gaga was "incubating," her creative director Lauri Ann Gibson said. "It was necessary to incubate her for a certain time, because tonight she is actually birthing a new race," Gibson said. "A new race that doesn't have the ability to judge or hate in their DNA, so she is incubating right now so she goes through that process." Gaga, whose "Bad Romance" won her two Grammys during the pre-telecast show, was given the best pop vocal album Grammy during the telecast for "The Fame Monster." British alternative rock band Muse won the best rock album grammy for "The Resistance." Miranda Lambert won her first Grammy, taking home the best female country vocal award for her song "The House That Built Me." "Thank you, and I love country music," Lambert said. Train won the first Grammy handed out on the telecast. It was for best pop duo or group performance with vocals. "Thanks, Justin Bieber, for not being in a duo or a group," Train lead singer Patrick Monahan said, . A mini-tribute to the four-year career of the 16-year-old pop sensation included video of an even younger Bieber auditioning for his eventual mentor, Usher. Bieber sang a montage of three songs with Usher and actor Jaden Smith, the 12-year-old son of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. Cee Lo revamped his hit "F**k You" into "Forget You" so he could perform the record of the year contender on the broadcast. He was accompanied by Jim Henson's Muppets and Gwyneth Paltrow. It was a colorful performance, strikingly reminiscent of Elton John's guest appearance on the Muppets. With 98 of the 109 awards presented pre-telecast, producers had plenty of time for entertainment during the 3 1/2-hour live show on CBS. Jeff Beck, John Legend and Jay-Z each won three Grammys in the pre-telecast presentations, while BeBe & CeCe Winans, the "Crazy Heart" soundtrack and Usher gained two trophies. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock added two Grammys to his extensive collection, one for improvised jazz solo and one for best pop collaboration with vocals. With 14 of the trophies on his shelf, Hancock told CNN winning them never gets old. CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report .

NEW: Lady Antebellum wins 5th Grammy for the night . NEW: Eminen wins best rap album grammy . Esperanza Spalding wins for best new artist . Rihanna makes a triumphant return .

(CNN) -- One congressman says it's "shocking" how the Obama administration is now using the Patriot Act. But a senator says the secret court order for American phone records is "lawful." The Patriot Act, the landmark law born out of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, is at the center of an emerging controversy Thursday over how the Obama administration obtained a secret court order for phone records from the Verizon Business Network Service from April to July this year. The administration is accused of making a secret interpretation and going too far in that interpretation of the anti-terrorism law, specifically a portion called Section 215. Experts wonder whether the revelation of the secret order will prompt a public outcry and Congressional hearings. And a digital civil liberties lawyer argues the government can no longer claim state secrecy privileges in federal lawsuits seeking to shut down domestic surveillance programs. Even before this week's Verizon controversy, privacy advocates had long criticized Section 215 as vastly expanding the FBI's power to spy on Americans. The USA Patriot Act (pdf) The Verizon case apparently marks a difference between Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush in obtaining phone records, according to Tyler Newby, a former federal computer crime prosecutor under both administrations. The Bush administration also collected phone logs -- the same sort of "metadata" that the Obama administration is gathering from Verizon -- and even conducted wiretaps, but it did so without getting a court order. Now the Obama administration is invoking the Patriot Act's Section 215 -- as well as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act -- as the basis for a secret court order demanding Verizon records that show originating and terminating phone numbers, their location, time and duration. The FISA court's proceedings, held in Washington, are secret. "It's pretty broad authority that Section 215 gives the FBI," said Newby, who worked in the U.S. Justice Department between 2007 and early 2011. "It's important to note that this order does not permit the collection of the content of communications, so it's not a wiretap," said Newby, who now works for a Silicon Valley-based law firm that represents Facebook, Google and other companies. "That's important because if you're collecting content, then there is a privacy interest of individuals," Newby said Thursday. "With these business records -- what the government is calling telephony metadata -- there is not the same expectation of privacy. "Presumably this is going into a large and sophisticated data-mining database, looking for patterns and call activities" relating to terrorism, Newby added. One legal scholar wonders if the Verizon case will provoke a groundswell of outrage. "Now they have taken the calls of every single citizen from Verizon," said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University. "At what point do citizens stand up and say this is the tipping point? We're getting toward authoritarian power. "The problem is, every administration, every politician will say we're getting something from this," Turley said. "You can make that argument to remove all civil liberties." The revelation of the court order could help plaintiffs and their attorneys such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation in their federal lawsuits seeking to shut down government domestic surveillance programs. With the revelation of the surveillance of Verizon, the government can no longer argue state secrecy privileges in those lawsuits, said Mark Rumold, staff attorney at the foundation, a digital civil liberties organization. "The cat is out of the bag now, or they will have a difficult time convincing a judge that this information is still secret," Rumold said. About the secret court order against Verizon, Rumold said: "I don't know of any single other publicly disclosed order in the history of the United States that could have had the far-reaching effect that this one has. We're probably talking about millions of people. "There's no question in my mind that this type of order is illegal," Rumold said, adding that Congress ought to hold hearings on the Verizon case. The secret court order also is drawing strong criticism from within Obama's Democratic Party. Former Vice President Al Gore wrote on Twitter: "Is it just me, or is secret blanket surveillance obscenely outrageous?" Added Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colorado, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee: "While I cannot corroborate the details of this particular report, this sort of wide-scale surveillance should concern all of us and is the kind of government overreach I've said Americans would find shocking." Udall and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, who also serves on the Intelligence Committee, accused Attorney General Eric Holder in a letter last year of making "secret interpretations of public laws." "We believe most Americans would be stunned to learn the details of how these secret court opinions have interpreted section 215 of the Patriot Act," which deals with "business records," they wrote. But Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, described the FISA court order as "the exact three-month renewal of what has been the case for the past seven years." "This renewal is carried out by the FISA court under the business records section of the Patriot Act. Therefore it is lawful. It has been briefed to Congress," Feinstein said. "Terrorists will come after us if they can, and the only thing that we have to deter this is good intelligence to understand that a plot has been hatched and to get there before they get to us." Many analysts cited how federal surveillance of phone records could prove useful. "Think of the Boston Marathon bombings," said Fran Townsend, a CNN contributor and former Homeland Security adviser to President George W. Bush. Phone records could have proved valuable in tracking the suspects in that terror attack, Townsend said. "What numbers were they calling? Who were their associates? You may find witnesses," Townsend said. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the Intelligence Committee's ranking Republican, said the surveillance is nothing new. The gathering of phone records "has proved meritorious because we have gathered significant information on bad guys and only on bad guys over the years," he said.

NEW: "At what point do citizens stand up and say this is the tipping point?" professor asks . NEW: There's been no "single other publicly disclosed order" with such far-reaching effects . The Obama administration is accused of going too far in using the Patriot Act . Section 215 in the law gives FBI "pretty broad authority," former U.S. prosecutor says .

London (CNN) -- Lisa Suarez's voice breaks as she stands in the snow outside London's Heathrow airport, unable to get a flight home to Dallas, Texas. "It's very hard," she says. "All I want for Christmas is to hug my daughter." She and her family are among hundreds of thousands of people stranded by "freak weather conditions" that dumped unexpected tons of snow on Europe this weekend, snarling flight schedules at the continent's busiest airports. Heathrow planned to cancel all arrivals Sunday, but later said it might allow three planes to land. A dozen long-haul flights are scheduled to take off Sunday night, spokesman Andrew Teacher said. He did not say which ones. Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris told travelers to expect two-hour delays and cancellation of a quarter of flights. One in five flights was being canceled at the French capital's second airport, Paris-Orly, with delays of an hour expected, Aeroports de Paris said on its website. Germany's Frankfurt airport said at least 500 of a planned 1,300 flights would be scrapped Sunday. And more snow is expected in Germany during the day, which will put further strain on flight schedules, spokesman Waltraud Riehemann said. More than 200,000 passengers were due to take off from Heathrow on Sunday, said Donna O'Brien, a spokeswoman for Heathrow airport operator BAA. Most won't be able to, she said. Workers were trying to remove 30 metric tons of snow from each of the airport's 200 aircraft parking stands, according to the airport's website. Meanwhile, ground travel in France was also snarled by heavy snowfall and cold temperatures. The U.K.'s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said Sunday that French authorities reported they are preventing all cargo trucks and buses from using roads in northern france and the greater Paris metropolitan area, and that car travel is "unadvisable." Air and rail services were also affected, the office said. The adverse weather in France even affected pop singer Lady Gaga, who said on her Facebook page that all 28 of her tour trucks had been detained by the government for more than 24 hours. The Lady Gaga concert set for Sunday night was rescheduled for Tuesday, according to the website of the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, where it was to be held. A Monday concert remains scheduled. Paris police said that since noon Saturday, more than 1,300 trucks had been barred from entering Paris, and no trucks were being allowed to circulate in the city. They could not confirm whether Lady Gaga's trucks were among them. In other travel news: . --Britain's Automobile Association helped more than 3,000 drivers by 10:30 Sunday morning, and was getting 800 calls for assistance every hour, it said. It expected 14,000 call-outs by the end of the day, nearly twice the average on a Sunday. Another organization, the RAC, said it was getting 1,500 calls an hour to help drivers, mostly in Scotland. --London's Gatwick airport says its runway is open and "operations are gradually returning to normal." --Heathrow will have no flights from Terminals 1 or 4, and only a small number from Terminals 3 and 5, it says. Terminal 2 is closed for renovation. --Heathrow urges passengers to check with airlines before flying. Contact numbers are listed on its website, www.heathrowairport.com . --British Airways tells passengers to check www.ba2go.com before coming to the airport. Customers who need to rebook in the U.S. should call 1-800-247-9297. Those in the UK should call 0800 727 800. BA warns of high call volume despite hiring extra call center staff and urges people to call only if necessary. --BMI cancels all flights to and from Heathrow and asks passengers not to come to the airport. --British train operator Network Rail says trains are running more or less normally, but advises passengers to check before traveling. Heathrow is Europe's busiest airport -- and one of the busiest in the world. Paris Charles de Gaulle is second, and Frankfurt sees the third-highest traffic on the continent. Forecasters say the United Kingdom will remain in the grip of bitter winter weather at least through Monday. Heathrow employees are working to try to make the airport fully operational by Monday. "We've got a few thousand people that have, unfortunately, had to spend the night," BAA spokesman Teacher said Sunday. "We've been making them as comfortable as possible with blankets, with food and water." Teacher said ice is the main problem affecting flights. "We are extremely sorry for the disruption that's been caused to people's journeys today, but the decision has been made simply to avoid any kind of potential risk," Teacher said. "These are absolutely ... freak weather conditions," he added. "We've not seen a storm like this in 20 years." On Saturday, frigid temperatures and extreme conditions pummeled Europe. From Northern Ireland to Bulgaria, blizzard conditions left airports with heavy delays or shut them entirely. Snow, ice and fog have caused travel chaos ahead of a busy holiday travel week. And severe weather could continue on Monday as another series of weather systems move in, said Met Office special forecaster Tony Burgess. "There is another risk of [heavy snow] across England and south Wales on Monday," Burgess said. The next wave of snowy weather is expected to bring up to 20 centimeters (8 inches) to some parts of the United Kingdom, with London expected to receive 5 to 10 centimeters (2 to 4 inches) of snow. The weather system will move across France and Germany on Sunday. Below-normal temperatures are expected to continue in northern Europe into the beginning of next week. Journalist Nina Dos Santos and CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, Katy Byron, Kathryn Tancos, Mila Sanina, Boriana Milanova, Hada Messia, Per Nyberg, Peter Taggert, Denise Quan and Charley Keyes contributed to this report.

Trucks stopped outside Paris because of heavy snow . U.K. authorities issue travel advice for France . London Heathrow may let a handful of planes land, a spokesman says . Airports across Europe are dealing with significant delays .

(CNN) -- Next Monday, Google is officially shutting down its popular RSS feed reader, Google Reader. The service's demise after nearly eight years has come as a shock to many who depend on it to collect news into one place from all the websites they love. Its end has created something of a gold rush among startups and other tech companies vying to take the tool's place. Instead of just finding the closest thing to Reader, maybe it's time to change how you consume all that news. Looking at every single article for a source can be time-consuming, especially if you follow a huge number of sites, and a lot has changed since 2005. But before trying anything, take a minute to download all your information from Google Reader now. Google Takeout bundles up your feeds, folders, followers and other data into a zip file that you can use later with other services. (Many of the tools we mention will import data automatically from Google if you sign up before Reader closes.) Feedly adds Web version in new bid for Reader users . The replacements . Change isn't for everyone, and for people who rely on a comprehensive approach to seeing the day's news, finding the next best Reader imitator might be the best interim approach. There is already an overwhelming number of replacements that deliver straight RSS feeds. The best bets are Feedly, The Old Reader, NewsBlur, Aol Reader and NetVibes. Some new tools were rushed on to beat the July 1 demise of Google Reader and are bound to undergo more changes and improvements -- some are still being created such as Betaworks' Digg Reader. However, the weak links could also end up abandoned in time, and you'll have to search for a home for your carefully organized RSS feeds again. Think about what's most important to you. Are you primarily checking from a mobile device or from a regular Web browser, and do you need something that will sync across devices (some are only available as apps, others in browsers)? Is sharing stories important, or is reading the news a solitary activity? How important are images, cost, search features or the absence of ads? Social suggestions . Twitter is a killer news source. Major news surfaces naturally on the social network; a chorus of links or commentary about important stories will likely make its way into anyone's feed, whether they're following news junkies or just friends. The Discover tab shows popular links from your feed as well, but it's more effective to edit down whom you follow carefully or create custom lists for your various interests. You can follow your favorite news organizations or drill down by finding their Twitter accounts for specific sections or topics. If you like specific writers, follow them for their work as well as context on regular news or links to other writers they enjoy. Hashtags can be great for following news about a specific event or topic. Facebook is a different creature when it comes to news. It is decent for finding recommended links, but the posts and banter are more personal, happy and less about the outside world. People sometimes avoid posting links or talking about major news stories that might lead to uncomfortable clashes with friends and family. (Clashes and the resulting conversations are among the best parts of Twitter and flesh out the big news stories.) Fight of the aggregator . The RSS fire hose of news can be overwhelming for many people. A handful of clever tools do more than just show you feeds. They use your interests and some algorithms to figure out what types of articles and topics you will be most interested in and then serve up content that fits with your patterns. Articles are typically grouped by sections, such as sports or the stock market. The tools are big on sharing and use images heavily for a more magazine-like reading experience. Flipboard, Prismatic, Pulse and Zite (which is owned by CNN) are all popular options. Come back for the longer reads . RSS readers are great because you can scan headlines and the first few sentences of articles and get the gist without having to read them, only going further if it's a topic about which you want to know more. The meatier content (feature stories, long and winding narratives, the New Yorker) deserves more than a glance, but deep reads are different from the quick scan. Save the things you want to dig into later, even offline, with tools such as Instapaper, Pocket or Readability. Apple's Safari browser also offers a Read Later button. The direct route . Typing a news site's URL directly into a browser seems so passé. But when you just need a quick hit, going straight to a trusted local, national or international news organization might satisfy. Many organizations have their own stand-alone mobile apps on Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices. One advantage of these apps is that you can set up push notifications so you know as soon as something important happens. There is also Google News, which looks at all the news sources and arranges the breaking stories by popularity, highlighting the in-depth, opinion and featured stories on the topic. A neat visual take on Google News is Newsmap.jp, which Marcos Weskamp created before moving to Flipboard to work as a designer. No news is good news . The true minimalists can avoid the noise by checking one or two outlets once a day, trusting that the major stories will be featured prominently. News.me sucks in your Twitter and Facebook feeds and turns them into digestible daily e-mails that summarize the most talked about stories of the day. If you really want to check out, read the Harper's Weekly Review post, which is also available as a newsletter. Every Tuesday, it quickly and amusingly runs down the major stories that happened in the past seven days, with links in case you are intrigued and want to find out more. Mix and match . There is no one-fits-all solution for how to consume news, and many people hack together their own custom systems from various sources. For example, some go directly to their bookmarked must-read sites in the morning, keep up on current news with Twitter during the day and soak in longer articles on commutes with tools such as Instapaper. Some multitaskers keep TV or radio news humming in the background while they go about their daily activities. Google Reader was a great tool that will be missed, but its death is an opportunity to try new things and play with different apps, sites and tools for reading news online. Share your news-reading habits and suggestions in the comments.

The Google Reader is closing next week, and it's time to find a replacement RSS tool . There are imitation readers, shortcuts for later reading and smart aggregation apps . With some curating, Twitter can be a powerful news source .

(CNN) -- Picture a field full of heavy-set men sporting shaved heads and covered with tattoos. They pump their fists in the air and dance raucously in front of a stage festooned with Nazi flags and racist skinhead symbols. Others, including a few women, watch around the perimeter. Onstage, people are playing deafening music, shouting more than singing, with lyrics urging white people "to stand up and fight." Without the racism element, this might just be another concert. But this is music with a message -- a white power music concert. Every year, versions of this scene play out across the United States, if not in a field, perhaps in an old warehouse or, more rarely, an actual music club. Some white supremacists drive for hundreds of miles to attend. Others purchase or download white power music from the Internet. Since white power music arrived in the United States in the late 1970s, it has become a pillar of the subculture permeating the white supremacist movement. White supremacist groups strong . It is in this subculture that Wade Page, the white supremacist responsible for the massacre earlier this week at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, moved, made friends, and fully immersed himself. Page, 41, was a white supremacist skinhead who played in two white power music bands, End Apathy and Definite Hate, affiliated with the Hammerskins. The Hammerskins are a longstanding hardcore racist skinhead group with a history of violence and hate crimes. Page was a member, identifying himself as a Northern Hammerskin, part of the group's upper Midwest branch. White power music is a small music scene, not comparable to any mainstream music genre. The largest concerts won't attract more than 300 people; most organizers would be happy to see half that number. Music, military marked Sikh temple gunman's path . At any given time, about 100 to 150 white power bands are in the United States. The bands' own names defiantly express feelings of hate or violence: Aggravated Assault, Angry Aryans, Attack, Definite Hate, Final Solution, Force Fed Hate, Fueled by Hate, Hate Crime, Jew Slaughter and White Terror, among others. Most of these bands are the white supremacist equivalents of garage bands—nobody is getting rich from this music. Behind them are small record labels or distributors that specialize in white power music: Label 56, Tightrope Records, Final Stand Records, and others. Many bands are associated with a racist skinhead group such as Volksfront, the Vinlanders Social Club or, especially, the Hammerskins. The Hammerskins dominate much of the white power music scene. Many bands are Hammerskins-affiliated, while the group itself organizes hate music concerts, including Hammerfest, its largest annual event. Temple killings put spotlight on hate rock . The music comes in many flavors. The oldest is a racist form of Oi!, associated with the original skinhead subculture in Great Britain. Also popular is hatecore, a white supremacist version of hardcore punk. A white supremacist form of death metal music, known as National Socialist Black Metal Music or NSBM, has become popular. There are other small subgenres of hate music; even a few white power hip hop artists, though most white supremacists dislike hip hop. White power music conveys many messages. Obviously, it conveys hatred: antagonism toward Jews, immigrants, nonwhites, Muslims, gays and left-wingers. But songs can convey other messages, too. Some white power songs may glorify heroes or martyrs of the white supremacist movement. Some are essentially self-promotional, praising a group or leader. Songs that urge or celebrate generic violence are also common, emerging from a subculture in which violence is easily condoned. A number of songs attempt to convey some sense of commonality, to strengthen the sense that listeners are in a movement with shared ideas, goals -- or enemies. What are the effects of white power music? It's often hard to know exactly how music of any kind may affect someone. Music is universally acknowledged as powerful, yet its effects are often indirect. Hate music does sometimes create direct effects. Incidents of hate crimes being committed by people who had just been at a hate music event have been reported. More indirectly, hate music certainly contributes to the shared ideas and notions of the white supremacist movement, including its willing acceptance of violence. But there is a "chicken and egg" question, too. It is almost certainly the case that, for many white supremacists, the music doesn't motivate them to violence so much as reflect attitudes about hate and violence they already possess. Does the music motivate them to be hateful, or does the fact that they are hateful cause them to appreciate the music? For each individual, there's probably a different answer. White power music is often cited as a recruiting tool for white supremacists. This is certainly true to some degree, although most of their recruitment tends to be passive rather than active. Organized attempts are made from time to time by white supremacist groups to use white power music to attract young people, but none of these attempts has truly been successful. Of more importance is simply the existence of hate music. A certain number of people will like the music or the message, or both, and some may be drawn into the movement itself. The Internet has allowed more people to encounter this music than previously. What can be done about this music and the violence it seems to beget? One solution is to shine the light of day on the hateful lyrics and subculture, so that more people will speak out and reject their disturbing and sometimes violent message. This is part of the work we at the Anti-Defamation League do every day. A previous version of this commentary incorrectly included the band Hatebreed in a list of white power bands. Hatebreed is a self-described "hardcore metal" band. CNN regrets the error. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Lonnie Nasatir.

Lonnie Nasatir: Tattooed men pump fists in front of Nazi flags at white power music concerts . Nasatir: This music a part of white supremacist movement subculture since 1970s . For supremacists, the music reflects attitudes toward hate they already have, he says . Concerts don't attract a lot of people, he says, attempts to recruit are not truly successful .

(CNN) -- Remember Netflix, that little video rental outfit that sent you DVDs via the U.S. mail? The one whose red envelopes would arrive with dulling regularity and sit near your television for months on end as you attempted to catch up on your DVR recordings? It's playing with the big boys now. Netflix is, of course, no longer just a DVD rental service. It also streams movies and TV series -- including its own. On Thursday morning, Netflix received the ultimate recognition. One of the company's original series, "House of Cards," was nominated for best drama for the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards. Another, "Arrested Development," received a nod for actor Jason Bateman. A third, "Hemlock Grove," got two nominations. See the complete list of nominations . "House of Cards" is going up against veterans such as "Breaking Bad," "Mad Men," "Downton Abbey," "Game of Thrones" and "Homeland" for Emmy's most prestigious award. The series earned nine nominations overall, including lead acting nods for Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. The broadcast networks may want to take notes. Not a single show on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox or the CW was nominated for best drama, though network sitcoms such as "The Big Bang Theory," "Modern Family" and the now-defunct "30 Rock" were nominated for best comedy along with HBO's "Girls" and "Veep" and FX's "Louie." It's a trend that's been developing for years, as the broadcast networks have opted for franchising ("NCIS," "CSI," "Law & Order") and reboots ("Hawaii Five-O") over the complex, often serialized dramas that the cable networks have used to get publicity and establish a foothold in the medium. Nevertheless, it's surprising that such hits as "Scandal," "The Good Wife," "Once Upon a Time" and "Person of Interest" failed to earn enough support to nudge their way into the category. Original programming was a major gamble for Netflix, which had noticed how people had started "binge-watching" shows such as "Breaking Bad" -- watching entire seasons of popular series in one or two gulps. The service invested $100 million in "House of Cards," based on a British series from the 1990s. The bet paid off with increased subscriptions and a huge amount of media coverage -- coverage that was multiplied when Netflix decided to put "Arrested Development" back into production. Despite its cult following and major critical success, "Development" had been canceled after just three seasons on Fox in the early 2000s. (Creator Mitch Hurwitz had famously begged TV audiences to watch his low-rated show after it won a best comedy Emmy in 2004.) Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer said, "We are overwhelmed with 14 nominations and honored by a warm welcome which corroborates what we have always believed, that great television is great television regardless of where, when and how it is enjoyed." Of course, "Arrested Development" supporters can argue the show still gets no respect. The show didn't get a nomination for best comedy, though star Bateman did get a nod for best actor in a comedy. The show got three nominations overall. "American Horror Story: Asylum," the follow-up to the well-received "American Horror Story," led all programming with 17 nominations, followed by HBO's "Game of Thrones" with 16 and "Saturday Night Live" with 15. (The HBO movie "Behind the Candelabra" also got 15 nominations.) Perennial Emmy leaders "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" also did well, nabbing 13 and 12 nominations, respectively. "The Amazing Race" was nominated for best reality competition show for the 11th consecutive year. The show has won the category every year except 2010, when "Top Chef" -- also up in the category -- won. "Behind the Candelabra" earned nominations for best TV movie or miniseries. Both lead actors, Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, earned nominations for their performances as Liberace and Liberace's partner, Scott Thorsen. HBO's "Phil Spector" did well, with nominations for stars Al Pacino, Helen Mirren and the film itself. "Downton Abbey," PBS' juggernaut about an early 20th-century group of fraying British aristocrats, earned 12 nominations, including lead actor recognition for Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery. "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" are up for outstanding variety series. "Honored to be nominated for an Emmy this morning," said Jimmy Fallon, who scored a nod for his "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." "Takes the sting away from being snubbed by the ESPYs last night." There were a handful of surprises. Vera Farmiga picked up a best actress-drama nomination for "Bates Motel," the A&E series based on characters from "Psycho." Betty White -- now 91 and more popular than ever -- received a nomination for hosting her comedy-reality show, "Betty White's Off Their Rockers." "Mad Men's" Elisabeth Moss was nominated for both that show and the miniseries "Top of the Lake." And "Scandal's" Kerry Washington -- rising quickly on the chatter of her much-talked-about series -- received a best actress-drama nomination. HBO led all networks with a whopping 108 nominations. NBC and CBS tied for second; both got 53. And Netflix, though down the list, got 14. With the service rolling out more series -- "Orange Is the New Black" just got started, and another season of "House of Cards" is on the way -- expect many more in the future. The Emmys will be broadcast Sunday, September 22. The show will air on CBS.

Netflix's "House of Cards" in Emmy race . "Breaking Bad," "Mad Men," "30 Rock" get Emmy noms . "American Horror Story: Asylum," "Game of Thrones" are leaders . Emmys will air September 22 .

(CNN) -- Barbara Walters getting very personal with Monica Lewinsky. Steve Kroft squaring off against Bill and Hillary Clinton during a pivotal 1992 campaign interview. Lance Armstrong going to confession with Oprah Winfrey. All were "big get" interviews in what's become TV-speak for marquee encounters. But while various outlets now vie for the first post-"twerking" sitdown with Miley Cyrus, let's not forget that the biggest get of them all is still the exclusive property of David Frost, who died Saturday. His series of May 1977 interviews with former President Richard Nixon, revisited in the acclaimed 2008 feature film "Frost/Nixon," remains the Mount Everest of all such face-offs. The interviews also built a major bridge -- since crossed many times -- between the worlds of showbiz and traditional "hard news." Against all odds and in the face of unyielding skepticism from "real journalists," the man who once hosted "Let's Twist on the Riviera" went toe-to-toe with Nixon in his first interviews after resigning the presidency on August 9, 1974. In largely pre-cable times, and three years before the launch of CNN, Frost paid $600,000 for Nixon's time. That prompted the reigning ABC, CBS and NBC news divisions to reject Frost's advances rather than stoop to "checkbook journalism." He was left to cobble together a network of independent stations in the United States to broadcast the interviews, another precedent-shattering effort that far preceded Geraldo Rivera's 1986 syndicated ratings smash, "The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults." Frost's four taped 90-minute interviews with Nixon, which aired weekly, began with a May 4, 1977, program devoted to Watergate. And the widely perceived ladies' man with the sugar-coated interview style came away with the ultimate trophy -- an apology after Nixon's earlier burst of defiance. "I think unless you say it, you're going to be haunted for the rest of your life," Frost said, in search of an acknowledgment from Nixon that he had betrayed the public trust. "I let the American people down, and I have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life," Nixon said -- after earlier leaving Frost open-mouthed with the assertion that "When the president does it, that means it is not illegal." News: David Frost, veteran British broadcaster, dies at 74 . I re-watched the "Frost/Nixon" movie Monday night, and was re-impressed by the performances of Michael Sheen and Frank Langella in the title roles. Although some dramatic license was taken, director Ron Howard pretty much crystallized the initial perception of Frost in an early exchange between Langella's Nixon and his agent, Irving "Swifty" Lazar (played by Toby Jones). "Doing it with Frost would be a whole lot easier than doing it with Mike Wallace," Lazar tells Nixon, who also hoped to use the interview to publicize the publication of his memoirs. "It would," Nixon agrees. "But it would have a lot less credibility." But Lazar says they'd be paid a lot more by Frost. And so the deal was sealed. The late Wallace, then in his early years as "60 Minutes'" most famous bulldog, had an entertainment background himself as the host of several 1950s game shows. But he seemed to view Frost as an inferior during their at-times-combative "60 Minutes" interview. It aired shortly before Frost's first 90-minute program with Nixon. In an excerpt from their real-life exchange, Frost tells Wallace that he hoped for a "cascade of candor" from the former president. "A cascade of candor from President Nixon? Is this what you expect?" Wallace shoots back. "No," says Frost. "It was just a phrase that I thought would appeal to you." Wallace later tells Frost point-blank that Nixon is "hardly going to confess on the air anything about Watergate." He has a book coming out, so "why would he give it to you?" Wallace's underlying implication is that he would have been able to pry a mea culpa out of Nixon, while an amateur showman such as Frost would be unequal to that task. But Frost holds his ground, telling Wallace that "a lot more facts" about Watergate are now known. And that Nixon "realizes if he misses this opportunity, no one's going to buy the book anyway." Frost and Nixon clashed on Watergate in the last of their taped sessions, although the Watergate segment ended up airing first. It drew a reported 45 million viewers, easily outdrawing rival programming on ABC, CBS and NBC. Frost went on to interview a succession of British prime ministers, in addition to former president George H.W. Bush and, in 1992, maverick presidential candidate Ross Perot for a PBS special. Perot proved to be perhaps even pricklier than Nixon, telling Frost, "Everything you've just said is incorrect" after his interviewer suggested he had problems "dealing with equals." Frost later told me his encounter with Perot was "a very refreshing experience," although he would have to "acclimatize himself to being challenged." Post-Nixon and pre-Perot, Frost continued to mix and match, lending his name to political satire ("Spitting Image" after his earlier mid-1960s tenure as host of NBC's "That Was the Week That Was"); game shows ("David Frost Presents Ultra Quiz"); and entertainment specials ("The Spectacular World of Guinness Records"). But in the end he'll largely be remembered as a one-hit wonder who, 36 years ago, changed the face of television by doing it his way. He came, he saw, he conquered. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ed Bark.

Ed Bark: The late David Frost owned the first "big get" interview: Richard Nixon . He says it bridged showbiz and "hard news," though some questioned his journalistic cred . He says Frost drew apology from Nixon; Mike Wallace doubted he could do it . Bark: Frost would interview others -- Perot, Bush -- but the Nixon"get" is his legacy .

(CNN) -- As outrage over the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin continues to grip the nation, key questions remain unanswered over what happened the night of February 26 as conflicting accounts are given by witnesses and attorneys for both sides. What is known is that Martin, wearing a hoodie, ventured out from his father's fiancee's home in Sanford, Florida, to get a snack at a nearby convenience store. As he trekked back to the home with a bag of Skittles and an Arizona iced tea, he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer. Martin was unarmed. Zimmerman has said he acted in self-defense. CNN spoke to a witness to the shooting for a second time Friday, who offered new details about what she saw. Zimmerman's attorneys, for their part, were quick to knock down her statements. Here's what they said: . Who yelled for help? A recording of a 911 call made the night of the shooting captured someone pleading for help. Zimmerman has said he was yelling for help, according to his family members and his account to authorities. Martin's relatives have said they are certain the voice heard on the 911 call is Martin's. "From the very beginning and I still do feel that it was the young boy," the witness, who wants to remain anonymous, told CNN Friday. The witness lives in the apartment complex where the shooting occurred and saw the incident through her window. She described the cries for help as "devastating, desperate," and something "that will really always stay with me." When pressed if she could determine who was yelling, the witness said "it was the younger, youthful voice (rather) than it was the deep voice I heard when they were arguing." Zimmerman's attorneys jumped on the witness' characterization of Martin as "the young boy." "I'm not sure when she came to that conclusion," said attorney Hal Uhrig, noting that when news of the shooting first broke, pictures of Martin as a 12-year-old were the first to circulate. "The pictures you've put up tonight show a 6 foot 3 boy who was 17 years old," Uhrig said, pointing out that teenage boys can have voices that range from high to as low as a grown man. A police report listed Martin's height at six feet. Audio experts Tom Owen and Ed Primeau, who analyzed the 911 recordings for the Orlando Sentinel, said they don't believe it is Zimmerman who is heard yelling in the background of one 911 call. They compared those screams with Zimmerman's voice, as recorded in a 911 call he made minutes earlier. In that call, in response to the 911 operator's question, Zimmerman described a "suspicious" black male, who ended up being Martin. In describing her questioning by investigators, the witness remembered expressing that she should have done something more, in retrospect, after hearing the cries for help. "The lead investigator said to me kindly, 'Well, if it makes you feel any better, the person that was yelling for help is alive,'" she recalled. Who was on top of whom during the scuffle? Zimmerman says he killed Martin in self-defense after the teen punched him and slammed his head on the sidewalk, according to an Orlando Sentinel report that was later confirmed by Sanford police. One of the responding officers saw a wound on the back of Zimmerman's head and a bloody nose, and noted that his back was wet, indicating he had been lying in the grass, according to the police report. Martin's family and supporters say Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, racially profiled the teen, who was black, and ignored a police dispatcher's directive not to follow him. Zimmerman's attorneys interpret the call differently, and say the operator did not order Zimmerman not to follow. "I know it was very dark, but I really would have to say that I thought it was the larger person on top," the witness said, referring to the heavier build of Zimmerman. Craig Sonner, another Zimmerman attorney, questioned how the witness could determine the identities of those on the ground at that time of night and from her vantage point. "I think it was dark, and I don't think she's sure what she saw," Sonner said. The police investigation: . The Sanford police department has come under intense scrutiny for its actions following the shooting, and protesters have called for the firing of police Chief Bill Lee, who stepped aside temporarily last month amid criticism. The witness declined to characterize her questioning by investigators as "in depth," instead saying "I just kind of told what I saw and heard." She noted that when she offered to show the investigators where she saw the scuffle occur, she was told, "Nah, we don't need to see it." She added that two phone calls to the lead detective have gone unanswered. Her attorney, Derek Brett, said a follow-up visit on behalf of the state attorney's investigation on Wednesday yielded only 15 minutes of questioning. "It was very general," Brett said, adding that had he been in the investigators' position, he would have had her recount her story again. The state attorney's office declined to comment Friday, citing the ongoing investigation. Sanford police did not respond to requests for comment Friday. What will happen next? A grand jury is expected to convene next week and could take up the case. Whether a grand jury will choose to indict, Sonner said: "we don't know." Until now, only friends and relatives of Zimmerman's have come forward to offer his side of the story. Uhrig said Zimmerman "would love to be able to do that right now," but due to threats to his safety and the possibility of charges, he can't. "There's going to be a time, hopefully in the fairly near future, where he'll have an opportunity to tell the public exactly what happened," Uhrig said. Until then, Sonner cautions against jumping to conclusions. "Everybody wants to know what happened, but we need to take a step back and let the evidence come out," he said. CNN's Ashleigh Banfield contributed to this report.

A witness speaks to CNN for a second time, offering new details of the shooting . She says she is certain it was a younger voice yelling for help . Members of Zimmerman's legal team question the witness' recollection .

London (CNN) -- Amy Winehouse "was the happiest she has been for years," with a new love and renewed determination to overcome her drug addiction in her last weeks, he father said in a statement Tuesday as family and friends gathered for the singer's funeral in London. "But knowing she wasn't depressed, knowing she passed away, knowing she passed away happy, it makes us all feel better," Mitch Winehouse said. Record producer Mark Ronson, who worked with Winehouse on her Grammy-winning album "Back to Black," was among the mourners at the funeral, according to CNN affiliate ITV. But the singer's ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, was not released from prison to attend the memorial, a source familiar with the situation said. He is serving a 32-month sentence for burglary and possession of an imitation firearm, according to media reports. Sparse details are being released about the ceremony though Winehouse spokesman Chris Goodman described it as "a small, private event for a few friends and family." Investigators might not know what killed Winehouse until they get results from lab tests on her blood and tissue, due in two to four weeks, according to London's Metropolitan Police, also known as Scotland Yard. An autopsy was completed at St. Pancras Mortuary on Monday afternoon, two days after the singer was found dead in her London apartment. "It did not establish a formal cause of death and we await the results of further toxicology tests," a police statement said. An inquest into her death was opened Monday, the statement said. Her father, in his statement Tuesday, said his daughter had made a "fantastic recovery" as "recently Amy found love with Reg (Traviss.)" "He helped her with her problems and Amy was looking forward to their future together." Winehouse said. "She was the happiest she has been for years." He wrote of a "great night" with his daughter recently at London's 100 Club when "her voice was good, her wit and timing were perfect." "She told me that she had 'thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed herself,'" her father said. "The last time she called me she had found a box of old family photos and called me to go over to look. We spoke three times a day at least, she was very excited." Winehouse "was trying hard to deal with her drinking and had just completed three weeks of abstinence," he said. "She said, 'Dad I've had enough, I can't stand the look on your and the family's faces anymore,'" he said. Her boyfriend and mother told him Winehouse was "in good spirits" and not depressed when they saw her Friday, a day before her death. "That night, she was in her room, playing drums and singing." "As it was late, her security guard said to keep it quiet and she did," Mitch Winehouse said. "He heard her walking around for a while and when he went to check on her in the morning, he thought she was asleep. He went back a few hours later, that was when he realized she was not breathing and called for help." The singer, beloved for her talent but infamous for erratic public behavior, arrests and drug problems, was found dead Saturday afternoon in her London apartment. Winehouse's soulful, throaty vocals brought the British musician stardom in 2007, but her troubled off-stage life -- chronicled in her Top 10 hit "Rehab" -- won her notoriety. Her death came less than two months after her latest release from a rehabilitation program and weeks after she was booed offstage by disappointed fans in Belgrade, Serbia. Winehouse died at the same age as at least four other music legends. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison each died of drug overdoses when they were 27. Kurt Cobain was 27 when he committed suicide, soon after his release from rehab. Police were called to Winehouse's Camden Square apartment just after 4 p.m. Saturday in response to a report of "a woman found deceased," authorities said. Her song "Rehab," in which she sang "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no," helped form the public's view of Winehouse. She told CNN in a 2007 interview, "I don't care enough about what people think of me to conform to anything." The London-born singer was a tattooed teenage rebel after she was expelled from a prestigious performing arts school. Her first album, "Frank," debuted in 2003, when the singer-songwriter was 19. International success came with her 2007 album "Back to Black." She dominated the 2008 Grammys, winning five awards that night and delivering, via satellite from London, a strong performance of "Rehab." Winehouse's volatile marriage to Fielder-Civil took a toll on the singer's career. The couple divorced in 2009 after a stormy two years filled by drug addiction and arrests. Winehouse's parents went public with their efforts to help their daughter, telling the London Telegraph in 2009 that she was on the road to recovery. "A gradual recovery, which is good," Winehouse's father told the Telegraph. "With slight backward steps -- not drug backward steps, more drink backward steps if you follow my drift. I think that will be the pattern of recovery." The organization that awards the Grammys issued a statement Saturday calling Winehouse "a dynamic performer and musician who seamlessly blended rock, jazz, pop, and soul and created a sound all her own." "Her rich, soulful and unique voice reflected her honest songwriting and earned her a devoted fan following, critical acclaim, and the genuine respect and admiration of her musical peers," the Recording Academy statement said. "She will forever be remembered for her immense talent, and her music will live on for generations to come. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family, friends, and fans during this difficult time." CNN's Bharati Naik, Denise Quan and Alan Duke contributed to this report.

NEW: Winehouse was "in good spirits" the night before she died, her father says . Record producer Mark Ronson arrives at the funeral, but her ex-husband remains in prison . An autopsy "did not establish a formal cause of death," the coroner says . The 27-year-old singer was found dead at her home Saturday .

(CNN) -- Hackers have been busy causing service interruptions, breaching databases, and defacing hundreds of Ukrainian and Russian websites, as the crisis between the two countries plays out in cyberwarfare. The attacks have similarities to the resistance movement that sprung up among German-occupied countries during World War II, which took many forms including sabotage, espionage, armed confrontation and counter-propaganda. In addition to that list, today we can add digital or web-based actions including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, which shut down key websites, the defacement of government websites, and breaching government or key industry networks to access sensitive documents and release them to the world. Services like Twitter and Instagram may be used to capture events in real-time, and YouTube may be used for recruitment, training and propaganda purposes. The global networks that enable the incredible global communication and information-sharing applications we have all come to enjoy, all use insecure hardware and software. Just like there's no human cell that is immune to every virus, there's no piece of software that is immune from being exploited. As a result, the most powerful nations in the world today cannot reliably defend their own information and communications infrastructure from targeted attacks, by even a single hacker. To make matters worse, many of today's best hackers aren't employed by their respective governments. While the resistance movement of World War II had fewer skills to bring to combat than members of the armed forces, today we see a "super-resistance" composed of elite hackers, for whom cracking a secure network is certainly equal to and in some cases superior to that of a militarized cyberwarfare unit. OpRussia . Shortly after police cracked down on "Euromaidan" street protesters, who were calling for closer integration with the EU, in Kiev in November last year, Ukrainian security engineers began discussing the necessity of forming an all-volunteer cyberdefense force. By March 1, 2014, cyberattacks on both sides kicked into high gear. OpRussia, a hacker group formed under the Anonymous umbrella, posted a warning to Russian President Putin that his aggression against Ukraine would not stand on March 1, 2014. Since then, members of OpRussia have been attacking Russian business and government websites on a daily basis, including the website for the Russian Air Force, the website of the Kamchatka region, Russia's narcotics control service, and even a Russian escort service. Russian CyberCommand is another group of hackers, some of whom are Russian, who oppose Putin's annexation of Crimea and have been relentless in their attacks against Russian businesses and agencies such as Rosoboronexport -- Russia's sole agency authorized to sell defense and dual-use products and technologies to foreign entities -- and SearchInform.ru -- a Russian IT security company that provides services to Gazprom, Skolkovo, and other important organizations. Like OpRussia, Russian CyberCommand considers itself part of Anonymous. Anonymous . While the name Anonymous is frequently associated with cyberoperations that support revolutionary movements, that wasn't the case with these next two groups: Anonymous Ukraine and CyberBerkut, both of whom are Pro-Russia groups. Anonymous Ukraine attacked NATO websites on November 7 when Ukraine was considering establishing closer ties with the EU as well as NATO membership. On March 15, CyberBerkut attacked NATO websites again, however those attacks were a small percentage of CyberBerkut's onslaught against several hundred Ukrainian government and commercial websites from March 3 up until the present. The group's logo and name come directly from Ukraine's old special police unit "Berkut" and there are rumors that the group is composed of either Ukrainian or Russian former security services personnel. As of March 18, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that Ukraine would not be seeking NATO membership, a move designed to placate Russia as well as Ukraine's large Russian-speaking population. Yatsenyuk also announced a willingness to maintain political ties with the EU but will delay signing any economic agreements for the time being. 'Russian Cyber Playbook' Some Western pundits have drawn similarities between the current cyberattacks and those that happened during previous conflicts. Most of the Georgian government's communications systems were shut down by Russian hackers during the conflict there in 2008. But in fact there's very little similarity, and no actual evidence linking the Russian government to the current wave of cyberattacks against Ukrainian websites. This is not a page out of the "Russian Cyber Playbook" for several reasons: . Firstly, the Nashi, a government-financed Russian youth organization that was responsible for the attacks against Estonia in 2007 and Georgia in 2008 is no more. And secondly, in 2008, Russian hacker forums were actively recruiting volunteers for attacks against Georgia. Not so today. In fact, many Russian hackers are angry with Putin and are supporting an independent Ukraine. Time has not stood still since August 2008. In 2010, Russia published a new military doctrine which acknowledged the "intensification of the role of information warfare" and assigned as a task to "develop forces and resources for information warfare." Russia and most other nations have been investing hundreds of millions of dollars to improve their capabilities to conduct electronic warfare, information warfare, and cyber warfare via increasingly sophisticated means; and by that I mean techniques that include compromising a nation's electrical grid or GPS navigation system from the canopy of a combat helicopter. Russia, in particular, has spent the last few years developing dual-use technologies that will never be seen or defended against by its target -- for example, malware research that could be used to both defend against malware in peace time and use malware offensively as part of a military operation. But there will always be highly-skilled civilians who can quickly organize online, distribute easy-to-use denial of service tools, and cause mayhem and embarrassment to the enemy, whoever he may be. Read more: Cyberwar hits Ukraine . Read more: The gathering cyberstorm . Read more: Cyber arms control? Forget about it . The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeffrey Carr.

The Ukraine-Russia crisis is playing out in cyberwarfare, says Jeffrey Carr . Hackers have been causing service interruptions and breaching databases, he says . Carr says the attacks have similarities to the resistance movement in WWII Europe . He says the most powerful nations cannot reliably defend their infrastructure from attacks .

Fort Meade, Maryland (CNN) -- Pfc. Bradley Manning pleaded guilty Thursday to 10 of the 22 charges against him -- but not the most serious one, "aiding the enemy" -- in what the government says is the largest leak of classified documents in the nation's history. And, for the first time, Manning offered his rationale for the crimes. In court, Manning detailed why and how he sent classified material to WikiLeaks, a group that facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information through its website. He said he passed on information that "upset" or "disturbed" him, but nothing he thought would harm the United States if it became public. Manning said he thought the documents were old and the situations they referred to had changed or ended. Reading a statement for more than an hour, Manning described his motivations, beginning with what he called "sigact tables," documents describing significant actions in Iraq and Afghanistan that he said represented the "ground reality" of both conflicts. He said he'd become "depressed about the situation there" and made copies of the sigact tables in his secure workstation in Iraq. Then, he took them back to the United States and pondered what to do with them. Manning said he first called The Washington Post. He spoke to a woman who he believed was a reporter and told her the kind of material he had. After five minutes, he got the impression she wasn't taking him seriously, he said. He said he then called The New York Times and got nothing but answering machines, so he left a message and his phone number and e-mail address, but never heard back. Manning said he finally decided to send the documents to the WikiLeaks organization. "I believed if the public was aware of the data, it would start a public debate of the wars," he told the court. Manning acknowledged to the court he was not authorized to receive the classified documents he leaked and said he knows that he had other avenues through which he could have expressed his dissatisfaction. Exposing State Department cables, military video . After he sent the documents to WikiLeaks in early 2010, Manning said earlier, he became aware of an online debate about Iceland's financial troubles and its relations with the United Kingdom. He decided to learn more about the issue, using his access to State Department cables. He said he sympathized with Iceland in the dispute and believed that Iceland was being "bullied" by the UK, and that the United States wouldn't help. So he decided to send related information to WikiLeaks. It was published to the world within hours. At that same time, Manning said he learned about Reuters' battle with the U.S. military over video of a helicopter gunship attack on a truck carrying a Reuters news crew in Iraq. Two Reuters staffers were killed in the attack. He said the military told Reuters that the video might not exist, but Manning had seen it. He made a copy of the video and planned to send it to Reuters when his tour ended. Manning said the video and the behavior of the Americans involved was so disturbing, "It burdens me emotionally." He was so upset, he decided to upload the video to WikiLeaks immediately. In that case, Manning said, WikiLeaks did not publish the video right away. Later, while communicating through chat rooms with a person whom he believed to be a top WikiLeaks official, he was told that the video was about to be published, and that he wouldn't be hearing much from them for a while. "I'd have nothing but work to distract me," Manning said. Apparently bored by his regular analyst duties and prodded what he described as a curiosity about geopolitics, he began reading the State Department cables. He decided the American public should know how its diplomats go about conducting foreign affairs. Manning took the most widely distributed diplomatic cables and made copies for WikiLeaks. "I believed that the public release of these cables would not damage the United States, but might be embarrassing," he told the court. The court proceedings . After Manning's guilty pleas, Army judge Col. Denise Lind asked the defendant questions to establish that he understood what he was pleading guilty to. In addition, she reminded him that his lawyer had filed a motion to have the case dismissed on the grounds that he was denied his right to a speedy trial -- a motion that Lind denied Tuesday. By entering guilty pleas, Manning loses his right to have an appellate court consider that ruling, if he chooses to appeal. A military lawyer who follows the case told CNN the tactic is known as a "naked plea," or a guilty plea in the absence of a plea deal. The lawyer said that by using that strategy, the defense apparently hopes the government will feel victorious about the guilty pleas Manning has entered and won't go through the effort of a trial. But prosecutors reiterated that they will pursue the rest of the case against Manning. The judge accepted the guilty pleas, but noted Manning could withdraw them at any time prior to sentencing. He could receive up to 20 years on those charges. Manning said deciding to make the material public was "beyond my pay grade." Manning has asked for Lind, instead of the military equivalent of a jury, to decide his guilt or innocence on the 12 charges to which he pleaded not guilty. The most serious remaining charge, aiding the enemy, carries the potential for a life sentence. The U.S. military initially detained Manning in May 2010, shortly after WikiLeaks published the State Department cables. Manning was turned in by Adrian Lamo, a former hacker, whom Manning allegedly told about leaking the classified records. In December 2011, Manning's Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury hearing to determine whether enough evidence existed to merit a court-martial, began. He was formally charged in February 2012. After a military judge denied Manning's lawyers' motions to dismiss charges in April 2012, the process proceeded, with Manning's court-martial scheduled to begin on June 3. Larry Shaughnessy reported from Fort Meade and Mark Morgenstein wrote this report in Atlanta.

Manning offers his rationale for the crimes, saying he didn't mean to harm the U.S. He has pleaded guilty to 10 of 22 charges against him . Manning did not plead guilty to the most serious charge: aiding the enemy . His court-martial is scheduled for June 3 .

Washington (CNN) -- U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska on Saturday threw his support behind the Democrats' health care reform bill, giving the party the crucial backing it needed to avoid a Republican filibuster that would prevent a Senate vote. The first of a series of votes is set for Monday at 1 a.m., on a so-called manager's amendment, consisting of amendments crafted in the last week-and-a-half by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. At the request of Republicans, the entire package of amendments -- 383 pages -- was being read Saturday, for hours, on the Senate floor. The Senate could vote on the entire bill, a top priority of President Obama, before Christmas. However, a House Democratic leadership source told CNN that Obama's repeated requests for a health care bill to arrive on his desk by the end of the year won't be met. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the ongoing internal discussions within the party, said there is "no chance of a conference between Christmas and New Year's." Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said the latest version of the Senate health care bill "is a legislative train wreck of historic proportions." "If [Democrats] were proud of this bill, they wouldn't be doing it this way," McConnell said. "They wouldn't be jamming it through in the middle of the night on the last weekend before Christmas." McConnell said the legislation "will have a profound impact on our nation. This is not renaming a post office. Make no mistake, this bill will reshape our nation and our lives." Reid and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York spent most of Friday trying to answer concerns from Nelson, who had held back on supporting the bill because of his objections to public funding for abortions. Schumer said negotiations with Nelson over the legislation's health care provisions began Friday morning and ended with handshakes close to 11 p.m. Schumer and others involved in the talks said Nelson didn't want to make a public announcement about his decision to back the bill until the negotiated abortion language was entered into the record. Nelson's backing gave the Democrats the crucial 60 votes needed to move the bundle of recent amendments, which involved a spate of compromises, to the Senate floor. "Change is never easy, but change is what's necessary in America today. That's why I intend to vote for cloture and for health care reform," the Nebraska Democrat told reporters. Cloture is the procedure that allows senators to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matters, and thereby overcome a filibuster. Nelson warned, however, that if there are changes to the health bill when House and Senate leaders meet to resolve their differences, he will withdraw his support. The House has passed a different version of the bill. Obama said the Senate's health care reform bill would be the largest deficit-reduction measure in a decade. "We are on the cusp of making health care reform a reality," he said. "With today's developments, it now appears that the American people will have the vote they deserve on genuine reform that offers security to those who have health insurance and affordable options for those who do not." According to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation would offer a decrease in the deficit of $132 billion over the first decade, and more than $1 trillion in the 10 years after that, Obama said at a brief news conference. The new cost for the revised Senate bill is $871 billion, the CBO said. The previous price tag was $848 billion. Obama's was one of a flurry of press briefings held Saturday after Nelson's announcement. Nelson, a social conservative who opposes abortion, did not want taxpayer funds to pay for the medical procedure. One of his main requests was that states that offer insurance present at least one plan without the abortion option. In addition, he was assured that anyone receiving federal health subsidies would pay separately for an abortion. Two liberal U.S. senators who had not committed to supporting the health bill also announced Saturday that they would vote "yes" on its passage. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said he changed his stance because the measure now contains provisions for new community health centers. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he favored the insurance reforms in the legislation. Neither is totally pleased, but they told CNN it's a good first step. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, who was involved in some talks with Nelson, said she's satisfied that the agreement's language achieves its goal. "My goal was to try to reach some compromise so we could move forward on health care, where the basic premise was we could separate federal funds from private funds. I think we achieved that." Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, agreed, saying the deal follows the principles of the Hyde amendment, which prevents federal funds from being used for abortions. "Anyone who is in the exchange who also gets a federal subsidy because they're poor, if they choose a private insurance policy and want any kind of abortion coverage, they have to write that part of the premium from their own personal funds," the Florida senator said. The health bill proposes a health insurance exchange for those unable to afford health coverage or don't have coverage. No federal funds could be used to cover abortions for people participating in the exchange, the bill says. In addition, under national plans that would be administered by the Office of Personnel Management, there has to be, if a state chooses those, at least one that does not offer abortion coverage. Meanwhile, two congresswomen said they had "serious reservations" about the abortion provision in the Senate version of the health care bill. "This provision is not only offensive to people who believe in choice, but it is also possibly unconstitutional," said U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colorado, and Louise M. Slaughter, D-New York, in a statement Saturday. "As we have maintained throughout this process, health care reform should not be misused to take away access to health care. The more than 190-member Caucus will review this language carefully as we move forward on health care reform."

NEW: Source says Obama's requests for bill on his desk by end of year won't be met . Sen. Ben Nelson reaches agreement that allays his concerns about funding abortion . President Obama: Bill would be largest deficit-reduction measure in a decade . Sen. Mitch McConnell, Senate Republican leader, calls Dems' plan a "train wreck"

(CNN) -- It's hard for me to choose the greatest African films of the 21st century as the genres and styles of African cinema have evolved in a big way over the past 20 years or so. Movie makers are now showing a more vibrant Africa than the Francophone filmmakers did before them. I have chosen films that I loved watching and feel that they are a representative of what is out there in African cinema -- the rich mix and melting pot that is African cinema today. From a Whisper - dir. Wanuri Kahiu, Kenya, 2009 . This movie is very real and deals with the subject of terrorism -- based on the events surrounding the bomb attacks on the U.S. embassy in Nairobi in 1998. I liked Ken Ambani's realistic acting and I loved the music. Wanuri Kahiu is a good director who will go on to make greater films. The cinematography on this film was exceptional and although for me it had plot issues, I think in the end it all came together. Read this: Hollywood classics get African makeover . Viva Riva! -- dir. Djo Munga, DR Congo, 2010 . This is simply a sophisticated gangster movie. It has raw energy and puts a human face to all that is happening in the Congo. Sometimes just too real, it is gritty, fun and a must-watch thriller. Sinking Sands - dir. Leila Djansi, Ghana, 2011 . This film deals with domestic violence, but based on the personal journey of a man disfigured in an accident, which makes him turn against his wife. Ama K. Abebrese, who plays the wife, made this film for me and she won Best Actress at the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) for it, but I felt that director Leila Djansi made the film engage with the audience in an emotional way, showing not just the rawness of domestic violence, but taking us through a range of pain and forgiveness. The film also depicts how women can immerse themselves in guilt and force themselves to feel like the guilty party. Actors Jimmy Jean-Louis and Abebrese made this film a must watch and Djansi chose the right cast to make her directing look beautiful. The camera work on this film was excellent -- a bit dark and grainy, but one thing is for sure: you cannot watch "Sinking Sands" and not be affected. White Waters - dir. Izu Ojukwu, Nigeria, 2007 . "White Waters" was a very good movie. It tells the story of a disadvantaged boy who is discovered as gifted runner. I loved the feel, the music and the fact that it was about achieving something from nothing. I loved the cinematography. Izu Ojukwu, the director and my colleague, is going to shout as I say this, but I believe he is one of the best cinematographers Nigeria has and actor O.C. Ukeje was sensational and made this movie for me. Read more: Capetown takes on Tinseltown . Mwansa the Great - dir. Rungano Nyoni, Zambia 2011 . This is one of those films that makes Africa great. By showcasing the talents of the children who make up its cast, it shows off Africa's apparent talent. It's not just the cast that I enjoyed -- it has lovely directing too. Moolaade - dir. Ousmane Sembene, Senegal, 2004 . "Moolaade" dealt with a subject that most men would rather not deal with -- female genital mutilation. But director Ousmane Semebene was not afraid to tackle the subject and the manner of the film was artistic, yet detailed, and did not derail the issues that most people in Africa are afraid to confront. Coming from Sembene it was important, visual and professionally made -- and it pulls at the viewers' heart strings. Otelo Burning - dir. Sara Blecher, South Africa, 2011 . This is one movie I love, just because of the story line of young black South Africans in the 1980s excelling in surfing -- a sport that was reserved for the whites. The sound and picture quality was also excellent, as was the acting. "Otelo Burning" is one of the best African films I have ever seen and I feel it should have had a lot more accolades than it did. Read more: 'Netflix of Africa' brings continent to the small screen . Benda Bilili - dir. Renaud Barret, Florent de La Tullaye, DR Congo/France, 2010 . This is a great musical documentary telling the story of Staff Benda Bilili -- a group of disabled Congolese musicians. The band members start out making a living on the streets of Kinshasa, before becoming world-famous musicians. Irapada -- dir. Kunle Afolayan, Nigeria, 2007 . I love anything to deal with African myths and mysticism. This movie may not have the best sound quality but the storyline was interesting, and it was the first Nollywood film to make it to mainstream film festivals -- including the London Film Festival and Pan African Film festival in Los Angeles -- after winning an AMAA (Best Indigenous Film) in 2007. Ghett'a Life - dir. Chris Browne, Jamaica, 2011 . Not strictly an African movie, but "Ghett'a Life" is one of those films that I just love to watch. The music in this film is brilliant, and the cinematography too. It deals with the political violence in Jamaica in a realistic way, showing that people born in the ghetto can escape. "Gett'a Life" can be hard to deal with but when you watch the documentary "Marley" you begin to understand how politics, music and sports all merge in developing countries. For me, this movie is in the same league as "Otelo Burning," with its message that you can get out of the corner if you really try. Story line: excellent, acting: brilliant. What are your favorite African movies of the 21st century? Let us know in the comments section below.

"African Oscars" founder picks the best of African cinema . Among her choices of 21st century African films are "From a Whisper" and "Viva Riva!" "Movie makers are now showing a more vibrant Africa," says Peace Anyiam-Osigwe .

Oak Creek, Wisconsin (CNN) -- Two young children have emerged as heroes after warning others of a gunman on a rampage at their Sikh house of worship in suburban Milwaukee. Abhay Singh, 11, and his sister, Amanat, 9, were sitting outside the gurdwara Sunday morning when the shooter, identified as Wade Michael Page, first opened fire on two people. "We ran as fast as we could inside to warn everybody in the kitchen and everybody else there is a man outside with a gun," Abhay -- whose name means "fearless" -- told CNN's "AC360" on Wednesday. "We were a little bit scared." The children said they hid with others in a pantry after sounding the alarm. Their mother, Kanwal Singh, and father had told them to stay inside while they went to a store to get supplies for a meal at the gurdwara. But the children said the inside was hot. The horrified parents could not immediately reach the children. Shooting victims put others first . "We were worried and praying like hopefully we will see them again," KanwalSingh said. The FBI, meanwhile, said Wednesday that Page died from a self-inflicted wound to the head and not from a shot fired by a responding officer. Police previously said Page died after being shot by the officer. That shot in the stomach was potentially fatal, but Page died from the self-inflicted wound, said Teresa Carlson, special agent in charge for the FBI in Milwaukee. Carlson revealed few other details about the investigation of Sunday's shooting in Oak Creek. Six people were killed. She said that no clear motive has been established and that Misty Cook, Page's former girlfriend who was arrested Sunday on an unrelated weapons charge, is probably not linked to the shooting. "We do not believe she had anything to do with it," Carlson said. After authorities went to Cook's home to interview her, she was charged with possessing a gun, which is illegal because she is a felon. Page, a 40-year-old Army veteran who neighbors say played in a so-called hate-rock band, was the lone gunman, Carlson said. Police have not found any notes or other clues as to why Page went on a killing spree at the Oak Creek temple, and his family members have not reported observing warning signs. "This is a guy who moved around a lot," Carlson said. "We are zeroing in on any possible motives, but right now, we don't have one." Authorities have conducted more than 100 interviews nationwide with people including Page's family members, associates and neighbors, she said. They also are reviewing his e-mails and other electronic records. The investigation continued as a community reeled from the carnage. Explainer: Who are Sikhs? For a fourth consecutive night, mourners held vigils Wednesday to remember the dead and pray for the wounded. One gathering was held near the White House. Many of the estimated 200 or so people wore ribbons colored orange and blue to symbolize the identity of the Sikh community. Many wrote notes on a sign that had the names of the victims and read "United Against Hate." The sign will be sent to the Wisconsin temple. Authorities received tips that Page might have links to the white supremacist movement, but nothing has been confirmed, according to Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards and the FBI. Officials said that the 9 mm semiautomatic handgun with multiple ammunition magazines used by the attacker had been legally purchased. According to a man who described himself as Page's old Army buddy, the attacker talked about "racial holy war" when they served together in the 1990s. Christopher Robillard of Oregon, who said he lost contact with Page more than a decade ago, added that when Page would rant, "it would be about mostly any non-white person." Page, born on Veterans Day in 1971, joined the Army in 1992 and left the service in 1998, according to Army spokesman George Wright. The Sikh turban: At one personal and extremely personal . Page's service was marked by "patterns of misconduct," and he received a general discharge because of "discreditable incidents," according to a Pentagon official. Robillard said Page was pushed out for showing up to formation drunk. An Iowa-based trucking company, which employed Page from April 2006 to August 2010, said it fired him as a driver for violating company policy regarding impaired driving, which also applied to personal vehicles. Barr-Nunn Transportation, in a statement Monday, said Page was dismissed after he received an impaired-driving citation in North Carolina while driving a personal vehicle on his own time. "Additional documentation indicates he refused to submit to a chemical analysis to determine alcohol concentration or presence of an impairing substance at the time of the citation," the company said. Page lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for several years. He owned a modest house on a country road, but he ran into financial trouble and the home was foreclosed on, according to Wells Fargo bank. John Tew, manager of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle store in Fayetteville, told CNN he fired Page from his parts coordinator job in 2004 because Page "had a big problem with authority" and with working with women. Tew said he found an application for the Ku Klux Klan on Page's desk the day he was dismissed. Two neighbors of Page identified him in photos that showed him playing in the far-right punk band "End Apathy" with Nazi flags hanging near him. The six victims of Sunday's attack were identified by police as five men -- Sita Singh, 41; Ranjit Singh, 49; temple president Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65; Prakash Singh, 39, and Suveg Singh, 84 -- and one woman, 41-year-old Paramjit Kaur. Remembering the victims . CNN's Moni Basu, Brian Todd, Ted Rowlands, Carol Cratty, Mike Mount, Ed Payne, Scott Bronstein, Tom Cohen, Shawn Nottingham, Susan Candiotti, Deborah Feyerick, Phil Gast and Ben Brumfield contributed to this report.

NEW: Two children talk about warning others at temple . NEW: Vigil held near White House . FBI says gunman Wade Michael Page shot himself in the head . It says Page's ex-girlfriend was arrested on a weapons charge, probably isn't linked to shooting .

(CNN) -- If Paul Revere had owned a pair of sneakers, he undoubtedly would have laced up and gone on a midnight run instead of a midnight ride through the streets of Boston. Boston is sneaker city, especially this year, on the heels of the Boston Marathon bombing anniversary. Everybody is a runner -- in reality or in spirit. Turn a corner in this handsome, historic town, and you'll stumble upon at least one -- usually a pack -- of neon-garbed runners navigating their way through Boston's cobblestone streets and parks. You can improvise and create your own running route or follow one of these five running pathways -- some for nature lovers, others giving a nod to Boston's storied past. Whichever route you choose, you'll be swept up by "Boston Strong" -- the slogan for a proud town with running in its DNA. Boston is also a town that likes to celebrate its running, so we have suggestions later for where to hoist an after-run brew. On your mark, get set, go . The Charles River/Esplanade: This popular running route loops around the Charles River, taking in Cambridge and Boston. You'll have opportunities to cross several footbridges and other spans, including the BU Bridge, the Longfellow Bridge and the Mass Ave Bridge, depending on how far you want to run. On the Cambridge side of the river, you can dash by the Museum of Science, cross over the Longfellow Bridge and run along the Esplanade, passing the Hatch Shell where the Boston Pops perform on July 4. For a 4-mile loop, cross the Mass Ave Bridge to Cambridge, run along the Charles, cross over Longfellow Bridge, back along the Esplanade in Boston. Or, go for it, and run the entire 17-mile path all the way out to neighboring Watertown. Emerald Necklace: Frederick Law Olmsted of Central Park fame designed this gem, a lanky chain of nine green parks that stretches for more than seven miles covering 1,200 miles of parkland, including the flowery Arnold Arboretum. The Emerald Necklace begins at Boston Common in the heart of downtown, and dangles to Franklin Park (home to a zoo). Along the way, expect plenty of shade from tree-lined paths, some hilly, mostly paved. Run the whole stretch or just sections; the "T", Boston's subway, has stops along the way. (emeraldnecklace.org) Castle Island: This South Boston (Southie) loop has a lot going for it -- historical Fort Independence, ocean breezes and views of Boston, the Boston Harbor Islands and planes coming in for a landing at nearby Logan Airport. The run is a 3-mile loop or, for a 7-mile loop, include a run around the 'Sugar Bowl" (manmade Pleasure Bay), which is connected to Castle Island. Chestnut Hill Reservoir: Another beauty designed by Olmsted, this 1.6-mile trail hugs the reservoir in Cleveland Circle, on the outskirts of Boston, and is a nature nut's nirvana -- serene water vistas, wildlife and inspiring sunrises and sunsets. If you're ambitious, run up nearby Heartbreak Hill, the appropriately named hill that's a game-changer for many runners in the Boston Marathon. To get here, take the "T" to Cleveland Circle. The Freedom Trail Run: Sightseeing with a twist, this 5K run begins at Boston Common and takes you along the famed Freedom Trail, stopping at 16 sites along the way including Paul Revere's house and the Granary Burial Ground (John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Revere and other notable Bostonians are buried here.) An easy, breezy way to get in your run -- and see the sights, too. The run ends at Charlestown Navy Yard where runners get a complimentary sports drink and board the inner harbor ferry for a ride back to Boston. (freedomtrailrun.com) A leg up on after-run refreshments . Aw, Shucks: Belly up to the oyster bar at Union Oyster House, Boston's oldest restaurant, where Paul Revere and the Founding Fathers tied one on and slurped oysters. Or, head upstairs to settle into a booth. True, this is a tourist's bucket list spot, but also a fun spot to channel history and grab a post-run beverage, oysters and a meal. (unionoysterhouse.com) Home run: One of Boston's many Irish pubs, McGreevy's is especially popular for sports fans and music lovers (it's home base for Celtic punk band, Dropkick Murphys.) Expect a fun-loving scene, with floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto Boylston Street in nice weather. If you love baseball as much as running, this bar has a huge Red Sox following -- after all, it claims to be 1,200 steps from Fenway Park and channels Red Sox history with memorabilia. (mcgreevysboston.com) Run and a pint: Another Irish pub, not far from MIT in Cambridge, Asgard is a popular runner's cool-down bar, especially after a nearby Charles River run. Sit at one of the wooden communal tables or pull up a seat on the outside patio. (classicirish.com) Jog your memory: You've exercised your body, now grab a beer and flex your mind at Mass Ave Tavern. Casual and friendly, with an entire wall of board games (Scrabble, anyone?), this downtown location is a popular spot for runner group meet-ups. Bonus: After a weekend run, push the limit and take the all-you-can-eat Uncle Buck Pancake Challenge. (massavetavern.com) These pretzels are making me thirsty: Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall, located in the Seaport district, near South Boston, is a popular post-run drinking spot (think communal tables, pints and handmade pretzels with fun dipping sauces.) Harpoon serves about 20 beers, including a Harpoon IPA and, just in time for summer, the UFO Big Squeeze, a grapefruit Shandy. The brewery also sponsors the annual Harpoon 5-Miler running race. (harpoonbrewery.com)

Boston is a running town with plenty of scenic trails . On Monday, Boston will host millions of Boston Marathon runners . These five trails are great for a more leisurely run .

Amman, Jordan (CNN)ISIS militants have attacked Kirkuk in northern Iraq, an effort that might be an earnest attempt to capture the key oil-rich city or perhaps to divert Kurdish troops fighting to capture the Islamist extremist group's stronghold of Mosul. For months, ISIS has been facing off with the Peshmerga -- armed fighters who protect Iraqi Kurdistan -- to the west of Kirkuk. It had gone into areas on Kirkuk's outskirts, but not the central city. Until now, apparently. Heavily armed militants attacked an abandoned hotel in central Kirkuk that local police had used as their headquarters. Peshmerga and Kurdish anti-terror units later raided the hotel, wresting control of it from the militants and killing three of them, according to Peshmerga sources. In addition, two suicide bombers detonated themselves in an attempt to keep the Kurdish forces out. Also Friday, ISIS militants took over Maktab Khalid, an area about 12 miles southwest of Kirkuk, after heavy clashes with the Peshmerga. Among those killed was Brig. Gen. Shirko Fateh, the highest-ranking operational commander of the Peshmerga brigade located in Kirkuk. Photos posted by ISIS purportedly show the group's militants in control of parts of south and southwest Kirkuk, burning tents that had been used by Peshmerga troops. The U.S. military said Friday that an ISIS chemical weapons expert was killed during a coalition strike late last week. Abu Malik worked in Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program before joining al Qaeda in 2005, U.S. Central Command said. He was killed January 24 near Mosul. "His death is expected to temporarily degrade and disrupt the terrorist network and diminish (ISIS') ability to potentially produce and use chemical weapons against innocent people," the military said. There is no public evidence that ISIS has a dedicated weapons of mass destruction program. But U.S. Central Command said: "His past training and experience provided the terrorist group with expertise to pursue a chemical weapons capability." Kirkuk is a strategically important city in the months-long fight, one that has pitted ISIS against the Peshmerga, Iraqi government troops and an international coalition that has carried out airstrikes against the terrorist group. It is one of the few notable cities -- apart from the region of Kurdistan and its capital, Irbil -- in northern Iraq that haven't fallen to ISIS. Part of its significance stems from the fact its oil reserves are almost as much as those in southern Iraq. The Kurds and the central Iraqi government in Baghdad have long wrangled over control of those reserves, with each side wanting to keep hold of them. ISIS, which relies heavily on revenue from oil smuggling to fund its operations, has been coveting them, too. Peshmerga forces took over the Kirkuk area in June when the Iraqi army crumbled in the face of ISIS' advances and have played a vital role in defending it from ISIS since. In December, ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack there that killed at least 17 people and injured more than 20. The attack, according to ISIS, was meant to send a message to the Kurdish people and Peshmerga fighters. Still, Kirkuk is hardly the only place that has seen recent fighting -- which may be part of ISIS' rationale for Friday's attack there. The group has been fending off an offensive from Peshmerga fighters around Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and a focal point for all sides in the conflict, that has left the Sunni extremist group on its heels. The city of 1.5 million people on the Tigris River has been held by ISIS since June. ISIS has invested heavily in governing the city. Its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, pronounced his leadership of the caliphate at the Grand Mosque there in July. Kurdish officials say that as long as ISIS holds Mosul, it threatens Kurdistan. Likewise, neither the government in Baghdad nor its coalition partners can rest while terrorists occupy Iraq's second-largest city. Peshmerga forces have made steady progress against ISIS north and west of Mosul over the past two months. They have taken some 3,000 square kilometers (1,160 square miles) of the Sinjar area, as well as the area around the Mosul Dam, choking off access routes and threatening ISIS' main resupply routes. There's little doubt, though, that ISIS remains a very real force, and threat, in much of Iraq. The group, which calls itself the Islamic State, still controls a vast swath of that Middle Eastern nation and neighboring Syria. Its goal is to have a vast caliphate under its strict version of Sharia law, with its followers proving they will stop at nothing -- having been blamed for the large-scale killings of civilians, mass kidnappings and forcing women and girls to become sex slaves -- during its quest. That violent campaign continued Friday, and not just in Kirkuk. Dozens of gunmen believed to be from ISIS faced off Friday morning about 175 miles (285 kilometers) away in central Ramadi, police and health officials in that city said. Several hours later, that onslaught had been foiled and 20 gunmen were dead, according to the officials. Elsewhere in Ramadi, a suicide car bomb explosion at an Iraqi army checkpoint killed one soldier and wounded six others. Violence flared in other parts of Iraq as well that, while it hasn't been tied to ISIS, is further proof of the country's unsettled state. Six explosions went off Friday around Baghdad, leaving at least seven dead and 23 wounded, according to police officials. The deadliest such blast was in Bab Al Sharji, a busy commercial area in central Baghdad, leaving three dead and 10 hurt. Hope fades for ISIS captives as deadline passes . CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reported from Amman and Yousuf Basil from Atlanta, while Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq, Greg Botelho, Tim Lister and Frederik Pleitgen contributed to this report.

U.S. military says chemical weapons expert killed in airstrike near Mosul last week . Officials: Iraqi forces fend off ISIS fighters in Ramadi . Militants have taken over an area southwest of the city of Kirkuk .

(CNN) -- Kanye West wants his listeners to know that he is "a close high" to God. His latest album, "Yeezus," released Tuesday, offered several controversial track titles, including "New Slaves," "Black Skinhead" and the most audacious, "I Am a God." The track's credit says "featuring God," as if He's just another artist -- a Rick Ross or Pharrell Williams -- stepping into the studio to spit a couple of verses. The song closes with the verses, "I just talked to Jesus/he said, 'What up, Yeezus?'/I said "S*** I'm chilling/trying to stack these millions'/I know he's the most high, but I am a close high." Review: 'Yeezus' is Kanye West's darkest, most extreme album yet . So, does Kanye really think he's God's match? Some say the outspoken West is downright delusional, but Monica Miller, author of "Religion and Hip Hop," thinks otherwise. The rap star's god-absorbed lyrics are a referral to his high status in the music industry, not a statement of religious beliefs, said Miller, an assistant professor of religious studies at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. "I don't think (this Christian theological language) is creating a religion," she said. "He's using God to situate himself at the top of the game." But Pastor C. Andre Grier of Lithonia, Georgia's Union Missionary Baptist Church, believes West has been wrong from the get-go. Religious people "should want to be like Christ (in a humble way), follow Him, but any reference to equality means that you are wrong from the very beginning." The beginning . Before the world knew West as an egotistical rapper, he was under the radar as a music engineer making beats for chart-topping artists such as Alicia Keys, Ludacris and Mos Def. He was brought into the spotlight after producing several tracks for Jay-Z's classic hip-hop album "The Blueprint." His first album, "The College Dropout," dropped in February 2004, debuting at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. It was met with immediate acclaim, with some critics suggesting that it was the best debut album ever released by a hip-hop artist. "Jesus Walks" was the album's third single and the world's introduction to West's religious beliefs. The song received praise from critics for its open conversation of faith in the secular rap community. The gospel-choir hook of "Jesus walks" flows over lyrics like, "God, show me the way because the devil trying to break me down. ... The only thing that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now. ... And I don't think there is nothing I can do now to right my wrongs. ... I want to talk to God, but I'm afraid because we ain't spoke in so long." Kanye West: 'People look at me like I'm Hitler' The fallen angel . West could be forgiven for feeling touched to even be in a position to drop a record after a near-fatal head-on car collision required him to undergo facial reconstruction surgery and have his jaw wired shut. In interviews after the accident, West credited God with his survival. Within two weeks, he was back in the studio -- jaw still wired -- recording his groundbreaking hit, "Through the Wire," which included the lyric "Thank God I ain't too cool for the safe belt." Gaining fame and notoriety seemed to spark West's candor -- and cockiness. The following year, the rapper ran into his first bout of controversy during a Hurricane Katrina telethon where he uttered the infamous phrase, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." He'd go on to pose on a 2006 Rolling Stones cover as -- you guessed it -- Jesus Christ alongside the headline "The Passion of Kanye West." He wore a tunic and crown of thorns in the cover photo. His life changed further in 2007, when his mother, Donda, to whom he devoted so many songs and so much of his success, died of heart failure after cosmetic surgery. West's behavior grew increasingly bizarre, from engaging in beefs with photographers to storming out of awards shows when he didn't win, and culminated in an incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when he famously interrupted Taylor Swift during an acceptance speech for Best Female Video. Like many talented artists, West said he was funneling his pain into his music, and despite the various styles he's adopted over the past nine years, religion has been a consistent topic in his personal and professional life. See also: Kanye West is having a devil of a time convincing critics that he's not a Satan worshiper. Kanye West: Christ-like ego or showmanship? West, who was raised in a Christian home, is no stranger to citing his relationship with God in his songs. In addition to "Jesus Walks," songs such as "The One" and "New God Flow" give insight into 'Ye's self-proclaimed "Christ-like" persona. In his personal life, West has said he adamantly believes in providence. "I'm on a path that God puts me on. I don't believe that all of this happened by chance," he told Vibe magazine in 2009. "I just think God has put me in a really good space. And I think he has a mission for me. There's gonna be ups and downs. But it's something that he wants me to deliver to the world." He added, "I believe in God, but I don't buy into any particular, specific religion. So maybe I'm nondenominational or whatever. I don't know what the definition of it is. I just believe in God. I would never say that it's in Jesus' hands." Sounds like a contradiction coming from a man who nicknamed himself Yeezus, but at what point is he dishonoring religion by claiming to be a deity? Have you heard: 'Kimye' named their baby what?

Kanye West's new album, "Yeezus," has several controversial track titles . That includes the audacious "I Am a God" His lyrics have raised debate over whether he thinks he's a deity .

(CNN) -- The comedian Rodney Dangerfield used to complain, "I don't get no respect." Sometimes, it feels like those words ought to be printed on the presidential seal. Last week, Barack Obama was interrupted by Daily Caller journalist Neil Munro while making a statement on immigration. Munro shouted questions at him until the president was forced to stop and demand silence. Many media outlets, particularly those with a liberal bent, were outraged. The UK Guardian called it "a breach of etiquette so severe it managed to shock even the notoriously unfastidious journalistic profession." An MSNBC panel acknowledged that news conferences under Clinton and Bush could get awkward, but concluded that Obama gets even rougher treatment because of the color of his skin. The fact that Munro was shouting questions about immigration only added to the impression that the president's conservative persecutors are motivated by race. The problem is that this theory only holds up if Obama is being treated with a historically unique degree of hostility. He's not. Relations between presidents and press have always been fraught. President Theodore Roosevelt was the first POTUS to try to cultivate journalists: He assigned them a room in the White House. But journalists who put out reports without Teddy's consent (so-called "Muckrakers") were cut out of the loop, denied access to any federal department. Incidentally, Roosevelt's relations with ordinary voters were just as prickly. In 1912, he was shot while giving a speech on the campaign trail. With admirable sangfroid, Teddy calculated from the lack of blood that the bullet had not penetrated any organs and finished his oration, before being rushed to the nearest hospital. It puts Obama being told "You lie!" into perspective. Opinion: What's behind dissing of the president? It was Woodrow Wilson who started the formal press conference, and quickly regretted it. When reporters printed romantic rumors about his daughter, Margaret, Wilson harangued the press corps. "This must stop!" he shouted. "On the next offense, I shall do what any other indignant father would do. I will punch the man who prints it on the nose." Franklin D. Roosevelt turned the press conference into the question and answer session we know today and mastered it. But poor Dwight Eisenhower, who was used to getting 100% respect as a soldier, found the experience as a citizen rather trying. At his first conference after he had declared his candidacy for the presidency in 1952, he was shocked when, in the middle of a speech about the defenses of Europe, a journalist interrupted to ask, "What's the matter with your eye?" The general explained that he had an infection. At a later date, he was asked his opinion of his rival Robert Taft and said, "He's a goddam isolationist." Eisenhower was genuinely surprised when the remark was printed. Things only got worse in the 1970s, when Richard Nixon's combative approach to the press turned Watergate-era press conferences into a battleground. At a press conference on October 26, 1973, Nixon complained, "I have never seen or heard such outrageous, vicious, gutter reporting in 27 years of public life." Addressing one reporter, he added, "Yet, don't get the impression that you rouse my anger. You see, one can only be angry with those he respects." Watergate changed everything: After that, presidents would shield themselves from the press and try to manage their public appearances better. This wiped clean the popular memory of fiery exchanges, interruptions and acid put downs that had defined the previous century. A new dynamic occurred, whereby there would be long periods of managed relations between press and president that gave the false impression of obeyed protocol and mutual respect. But then, in the midst of a crisis, all the bottled-up emotions would get released at once. For example, while Lyndon Johnson held 135 solitary press conferences during his time in office, Ronald Reagan held only 46. The result was that when Reagan did take questions, the journalists often let him have it. The most notorious occasion was November 25, 1986, when Reagan held a press conference with Attorney General Ed Meese to discuss the Iran-Contra scandal. The president was interrupted by several reporters in the room — and reporters were still shouting questions as he walked away from the microphone. A large part of Obama's problem is that he has followed the Reagan example -- testing the patience of the press by prioritizing stage managed events (he gave 408 interviews in his first three years, compared with George W. Bush's 136) over question and answer sessions. According to political science professor Martha Kumar, Obama has held fewer press conferences for the White House press corps (17) than Bill Clinton (31), George H.W. Bush (56), and even Ronald Reagan (21) in the first three years. (George W. Bush, however, held only 11). Indeed, it's notable that after his confrontation with Neil Munro, Obama did not take questions. He was there to make a statement — it was not a news conference -- and it is understandable that some in the press might find that frustrating. The bigger, more sensitive issue is the degree to which liberal supporters of the president are conflating disrespect and racism -- and so actually poisoning the political atmosphere even further. Munro's interruption was rude and he deserved all the criticism he got. But times are tough in America right now and when things get rough, people inevitably turn on their leaders. Obama's announcement that the administration would grant effective amnesty to 800,000 children of illegal immigrants was bound to provoke an impassioned response. A classier person than Munro might have found a better way to voice anxieties. But invoking "racism" as the only way to understand the righteous fury of the right sounds like an attempt to gag the opposition. The fact is that Obama is a controversial president during a difficult time in American history. It's surprising that he hasn't been interrupted more rudely and more often. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Timothy Stanley.

Tim Stanley: Obama's recent interruption by Daily Caller reporter portrayed as rude . But he says there is long history of aggressive questioning of presidents by press . He says Wilson threatened to punch a reporter, Eisenhower was asked about his eye . Stanley: When presidents, like Obama, give few press conferences, pent-up press gets blunt .

(CNN) -- Nationally syndicated radio host Tom Joyner raised his hand in victory. "I hope now they rest in peace," Tom Joyner said of his two great-uncles who were wrongfully executed. Nearly 100 years had passed since his great-uncles, Thomas Griffin and Meeks Griffin, were wrongfully executed in South Carolina. On Wednesday, a board voted 7-0 to pardon both men, clearing their names in the 1913 killing of a veteran of the Confederate Army. It marks the first time in history that South Carolina has issued a posthumous pardon in a capital murder case. "It really, really feels good," Joyner told CNN's Don Lemon. Joyner made the journey to Columbia, South Carolina, with his wife, his sons, his brother and nieces and nephews. When the board announced its decision, they danced, hugged and kissed. "All of the above," he said. Joyner describes gleeful, historic moment » . In the end, it took only about 25 minutes for their pardon, nearly a century in the making. "It's good for the community. It's good for the nation. Anytime that you can repair racism in this country is a step forward," Joyner said. He said the ruling won't bring back his great-uncles, who were electrocuted in 1915. But it does provide closure to his family. "I hope now they rest in peace." Many who were present were touched by the symbolism and significance of the moment. "I felt like I was a witness to a historical event. It was pretty exciting around here," said Peter O'Boyle, the chief spokesman for the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. Dwayne Green, an African-American member of the pardon board, said he admired Joyner for seeking the pardon. "He's not only done his family a service, but also the people of South Carolina." "There's no statute of limitations on doing the right thing," Green said. "There's so much good that can come out of this public show of mercy." The unanimous vote, he said, was heartwarming and satisfying. "It's a great opportunity to show how much South Carolina has changed," he said. "While change comes slow, outcomes like this are a positive sign." Joyner, the host of "The Tom Joyner Morning Show," had known nothing of his great-uncles' murder convictions until last year. That's when esteemed Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. uncovered Joyner's past as part of the PBS documentary "African American Lives 2." In the documentary, Joyner explains that he never knew why his grandmother left South Carolina. "All I know is she left home and she ended up in Florida and she didn't stay in touch with her people, either," Joyner says. "Do you know why your grandmother moved away?" Gates says. "No," Joyner says. "I have no idea." Gates then shows him his great-uncles' death certificates. "Cause of death: Legal electrocution," it says. "They electrocuted my --" an astonished Joyner says, unable to finish his sentence. In that moment, Joyner began the journey that led him to Wednesday's pardon. Gates and legal historian Paul Finkelman aided in the research of his family history, and helped lobby South Carolina to pardon the two Griffin brothers. It wasn't the first time a pardon had been sought for the men. According to their research, more than 150 citizens of Blackstock, South Carolina, asked the governor at the time for their sentences to be commuted. Many prominent whites in the community, including the mayor and former sheriff of Chester County, came to the defense of the Griffin brothers. "I heard this case, and I don't think I could have given a verdict of guilty," one magistrate wrote. The Griffin brothers had owned 130 acres in the area and were well-liked in the community. They were convicted of killing John Q. Lewis, a 73-year-old veteran of the Civil War. Lewis was slain in his home on April 24, 1913. "Only the most profound sense of injustice would have led so many white leaders of the community and ordinary white citizens to publicly support blacks convicted of murdering a white man," Finkelman said in a letter to the board of paroles and pardons. According to the research uncovered by Finkelman, Lewis, the former Confederate soldier, apparently had an intimate relationship with a married 22-year-old black woman, Anna Davis. Suspicion initially turned to her and her husband after the murder. "It is plausible to believe that the sheriff did not want to pursue Mr. and Mrs. Davis because if they were tried, it would have led to a scandalous discussion in open court," Finkelman wrote to the pardon board on October 2, 2008. The investigation later turned to another man, Monk Stevenson, who would ultimately point police to the Griffin brothers and two other black men. Stevenson received a life sentence in exchange. "Stevenson later told a fellow inmate that he had implicated the Griffin brothers because he believed they were wealthy enough to pay for legal counsel, and as such would be acquitted," Finkelman said. The Griffin brothers and the two other men, Nelson Brice and John Crosby, were convicted in a trial that lasted four days. They were electrocuted on September 29, 1915. Now, Joyner says he urges all African-Americans to explore their pasts -- no matter how difficult that journey may be. "You can look at your ancestor struggles of the past and be encouraged. If they can go through what they went through, you can do much better," he said. His journey is continuing. He wants to know even more about his great-uncles -- what happened to their land, how they made the community better, what made them so well-liked by whites in segregated South Carolina. "Until we can repair some of the deeds of the past, we can't really look forward," he said.

Radio host gets pardon for his great-uncles who were wrongfully executed in 1915 . First time South Carolina has granted a posthumous pardon in capital murder case . "Anytime that you can repair racism in this country is a step forward," Joyner says . Thomas and Meeks Griffin had been executed for the killing of a Confederate veteran .

(CNN) -- Now that video game sales have eclipsed Hollywood box office revenues and sales of music CDs, you can bet your bitmaps some extraordinarily good games were released in 2009. In fact, therein lies the problem. With more than 1,500 games released each year -- for computers, consoles and handheld devices -- it's hard to narrow them down to a "Best of" list, let alone choose one as a holiday gift. Video game trends for 2009 included sequels (which isn't a bad thing in the gaming world), co-op play (working together rather than against one another), social games (though the music/rhythm genre is getting saturated) and of course, the growth of handheld gaming. But how do you know which games are worth getting blisters over and which ones will quickly become drink coasters? Fortunately, you've come to the right place. The following are the top picks for the best video games of the year (each of which cost $59.99 unless otherwise specified), divided by genre for your convenience. Best shooter . Activision's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" (for Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, PC; rated M) is a gripping near-future military shooter that challenges you to face off against a Russian terrorist organization in locations such as Afghanistan, Rio de Janeiro and Washington. Along with the single-player campaign are a handful of cooperative and competitive multiplayer maps and modes that give this first-person game plenty of replayability. Runners-up: Valve/EA's "Left 4 Dead 2" and 2K Games' "Borderlands." Best action/adventure . "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves," from Sony's Naughty Dog studio, provided the most memorable adventure in 2009. This outstanding PlayStation 3 sequel (rated T) once again stars Nathan Drake as he searches for a legendary jewel with extraordinary power. With excellent dialogue, huge set pieces and plenty of action (including multiplayer modes), this cinematic third-person tale makes you feel like the star of an interactive movie. It also just won game of the year at Spike TV's Video Game Awards. Runners-up: Ubisoft's "Assassin's Creed II," Warner Bros./Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum" and Electronic Arts' "Brutal Legend." Best platformer . For kids and kids at heart, Nintendo's "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" ($49.99; rated E) reinvents the classic "side-scroller" -- whereby characters run, jump and battle from the left side of the screen to the right -- by letting up to four gamers play at the same time. Collect coins, don special suits and discover hidden passages as you race to save the kidnapped princess. This Nintendo Wii exclusive is simply one of the year's most fun party games. Runner-up: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's "Scribblenauts." Best music game . By spinning, scratching and mixing with the included wireless turntable controller, Activision's "DJ Hero" (from $119.99; for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2/3, Nintendo Wii) proved to be the most innovative and immersive music experience of 2009, as you must "mash-up" two separate songs to create more than 100 mixes for the dance floor. Multiplayer modes, guitar and microphone support and unlockable characters all add to the fun in this T-rated game. Runners-up are MTV Games/EA's "The Beatles: Rock Band" and Activision's "Band Hero." Best sports game . More so than any other sports games this year, the savvy team at EA Sports responsible for "FIFA Soccer 10" (for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2/3, Nintendo Wii; rated E) has delivered an exceptional soccer simulation featuring myriad game modes (including online leagues for most versions), smart artificial intelligence, enhanced control and a revamped animation engine for ultra-fluid player and ball movement. Runners-up are EA Sports' "NHL 10" and 2K Sports' "NBA 2K10." Best role-playing game . Outstanding storytelling, intense action and many dozens of hours of game play are all hallmarks of Bioware's award-winning role-playing games -- and their latest is no exception. "Dragon Age: Origins" (for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC; rated M) is a fascinating fantasy adventure in which your decisions will affect how the single-player tale plays out. Travel through a huge world, use might or magic to defeat foes and unravel an epic story along the way. Best strategy game . One of the most surprisingly addictive games of the year is PopCap Games' amazing "Plants vs. Zombies" (for PCs; $19.95), a "tower defense"-style strategy game that pits you against slow-moving zombies who are trying to break into your home. Your tactical task is to pick the best plants, flowers and fungi to attack the undead. This T-rated game features many modes to indulge in, dozens of humorous zombie and plant types, and an unlockable music video to reward you for a job well-done. Best racing game . Get your motor running with Microsoft Game Studios' "Forza Motorsport 3" (rated E), an incredibly detailed racing game for the Xbox 360. Climb behind the wheel of more than 400 dream cars and tackle the more than 100 real-world tracks around the globe. Simulation fans will appreciate the authentic physics and handling of this driving game, while beginners can turn on a number of driving assists to help them win races. You can also log online within the game to show off your modified vehicles or race against others. Runner-up is Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's "DiRT 2."

The following are our top picks for the best video games of the year, divided by genre . 2009's trends included sequels, co-op play, social games, handheld gaming . "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" provided most memorable adventure in 2009 . Activision's "DJ Hero" was most immersive music experience of 2009 .

(CNN) -- It was at San Francisco's Olympic Club that "Gentleman Jim" Corbett, world heavyweight champion and to many the man who took boxing from a brawl to an art, trained and coached. Twenty-two years after his death, the sports club hosted its first U.S. Open golf tournament in 1955. Ben Hogan lost in a playoff to an unknown golf pro from Iowa and the course was on its way to developing a reputation as the graveyard of champions. Now, after four U.S. Opens there, the first rule of Olympic Club favorites is ... there are no Olympic Club favorites. That's more true than ever this time around. It remains to be seen whether we're in the post-Tiger Woods era or just an interregnum in his reign, but what's certainly the case is that these days a large number of players turn up at major championships with a genuine belief and chance of winning. One simple fact supports them: the last 14 majors have been won by 14 different players. It was very different back at that first Olympic U.S. Open. Then, Ben Hogan was the man. Nine major championships under his belt and already the subject of a Hollywood movie, Hogan went to San Francisco in search of his fifth U.S. Open. He seemed to have won it too: the TV commentator congratulated him on his victory and the broadcast went off air proclaiming Hogan as U.S. Open champion. Rather inconveniently, Jack Fleck, a pro from a municipal course in Iowa, birdied 15 and 18, forced Hogan into a playoff and then -- in one of the greatest sporting upsets of all time -- beat the great man by three shots. Olympic's reputation was cemented 11 years later when that era's superstar, Arnold Palmer, held a seven-shot lead over Billy Casper as he began the final nine holes. Against all odds, Casper drew level with Arnie to take the tournament to another playoff, and again it was the underdog who emerged as U.S. Open champion. Scott Simpson's victory over Tom Watson in 1987 and Lee Janzen's 1998 triumph over Payne Stewart in the next two U.S. Opens at Olympic merely confirmed the club as one where nothing could be taken for granted. Of course, the bookmakers have their favorite -- and the way Tiger Woods birdied three of the last four holes to win the Memorial at Muirfield Village two weeks ago convinced many that his time has come again, that he can move to within three wins of Jack Nicklaus' record 18 majors. The more cautious point out that his victory at Bay Hill earlier this season was followed by a disappointing performance in the Masters. Can Tiger consistently hit fairways and stay away from the Lake course's many thousands of tall trees? Will his putting stand up to the severe test of Olympic's greens? Only four days of championship play will let us know. He tied for 18th here in 1998, but revealed he has had to start a new course book due to all the changes made since then. On this month's Living Golf show, Nicklaus pointed out that while he had no idea how close he was to Bobby Jones' then record in the majors until a journalist pointed it out, Tiger has had Jack's record in front of him from his very first Masters. In fact, at the beginning of last season, our presenter Shane O'Donoghue asked Tiger if it was equaling Jack's record that drove him on. "I'm not looking to equal it," shot back Tiger with a steely non-smile. Nicklaus, sitting alongside Rory McIlroy for a special joint interview, also suggested that the 23-year-old defending champion could be the one to break his record. There will be more money on Rory to make it three in a row for Northern Ireland since golf's poster-boy took Jack's advice and practiced at Olympic last week, and his high ball flight should help with those approaches to tricky greens. But the last man to win back-to-back U.S. Opens was Curtis Strange more than 20 years ago. History is also against Dustin Johnson -- no-one has ever won a U.S. Open after winning the week before -- but then again he's a man rested (after injury), on form after his Memphis triumph and with the length to leave himself more lofted clubs to those slick, well-guarded putting surfaces. When world-renowned coach Butch Harmon tells you that Johnson is a major champion waiting to happen, maybe history should take a backseat. Last year at Congressional the heavens opened and softened all the greens, allowing the bold to fire at pins in a most un-U.S. Open style. This week the forecast is for dry weather -- and with San Francisco's breeze quickening those small greens even further, the one near-certainty is that we won't be seeing a repeat of Rory's 16 under par. No-one is going to stroll round the Lake course accumulating birdies. As the USGA's executive director Mike Davis puts it, balls will roll, and Olympic's numerous bunkers are likely to see a lot of traffic. In short, no-one with any sense can have much confidence trying to pick a winner this week. The truth is that every one of the 156 players in the field has a chance of lifting that trophy. The history of Olympic, at least, tells them that. But if you're looking to try to narrow things down a bit, it makes sense to look at patient, calm, in-form players with solid putting strokes and a mastery of the short game. So four names who cover at least most of those bases are: Johnson, 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, Jason Dufner -- a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this season --and world No. 1 Luke Donald. They may finish as the top four, they may miss the cut. It's not often that picking the top-ranked player is high risk, but then this is the U.S. Open at Olympic.

San Francisco's Olympic Club has earned a reputation as the graveyard of champions . Golf's last 14 majors have been won by 14 different players . Tiger Woods is bookies' favorite after recent Memorial win at Muirfield Village . Woods aiming to move to within three wins of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors .

(CNN) -- We have long moved on from the idea of African design being simply Africa centered. In the past couple of years it has made it onto catwalks in Paris, New York, Milan and beyond. And of course, as with any competitive market, there will always be new talent changing the game. In African fashion today, names like Lanre Da-Silva Ajayi, Thula Sindi, Deola Segoe, Ozwald Boateng and more are praised in the hallways of fashion houses. And now there is a new breed of designers who have caught the attention of fashion enthusiasts in Africa and abroad. So here are seven emerging African designers to watch out for this year. Shakara Couture . Ewemade Erhabor-Emokpae has had a long obsession with the vintage glamor of the 1920s and 50s. Her design label -- Shakara Couture -- has encompassed the aesthetics, ambiance and essence of the present couture era and added an African flair. Officially launched in 2012, the design label had its first major debut at the Music Meets Runway 2012 event where African designers clamoured together to unveil their late 2012 collections. Her collection was filled with long luxurious dresses with lace detail, creative fascinators, wide brim hats and satin gloves. Recently, she released a few photos from her 2013 collection titled "There is No Such Thing As Too Much Glamor." The campaign photos showcased a young housewife carrying about her daily chores dressed to the nines. Read this: Africa Fashion Week hits London catwalks . Kaela Kay . When I first encountered the Kaela Kay design label I was immediately struck with its big and loud prints and funky designs. Created by Ghanaian designer Catherine Addai the label thrives on its passion to transform bold and extravagant prints into feminine, sexy and modern clothes for the modern woman. Addai has created the Kaela Kay woman to stand out. The Kaela Kay woman is a refined socialite who walks with her shoulders back and her head held high. Apart from her label's aesthetics, which always have a professional outlook, another reason why the Kaela Kay brand caught my attention was because of its take on prints. It moves to re-interpret print combinations while still keeping its African foundations. Kitschai . When the 2013 collection "Unicorns and Bullet Wounds" from Kitschai was released, fashion enthusiasts were engulfed by a wave of curiosity. The design label introduced an edgy and risqué collection that wasn't typical of Nigerian designers and has not been seen elsewhere in this year's batch of collections. Created by London-based Nigerian Andrea Ushedo, she incorporated her punk/retro personality into the designs, making them just dark and edgy enough. With such an impressive debut, one can only wait in anticipation for what the label will bring out next. Love April . Whenever I think of the Ghanaian Love April design label, I think of sultry and feminine designs with a hint of African detail. Nina Barkers-Woode launched the Love April brand in 2011. She started it as a label offering ready-to-wear clothes for women, as well as leather goods and accessories. Read this: Glorious fashion in the desert . According to her interview with Shadders Africa: "It embodies today's woman with the marriage between sophistication and sexiness which allows her to step into the world, wherever that might be, feeling and looking confident." She last showcased her 2012/2013 collection at Ghana Fashion Week 2012, where it received a lot of praise. Milq & Honey . Dark earthy tones, gold panel details and a twist to every piece are the three qualities that come to mind every time I look at a collection piece from Milq & Honey. Owned by Gabriella and Kelly Davids, the South African label speaks to the confident woman who is sexy and edgy, yet glamorous and classy. Their clothes are inspired by energetic colors, animals and the natural patterns and shapes of the Earth. At the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Cape Town 2013 they debuted their 2013 collection, which was a mix of light and dark. They started off with a dark ensemble of typical Milq & Honey garments and then went off into a birth of colors in neon and summer-appropriate casual wear. Ernest Mahomane . With the experience gathered from being trained by Gavin Rajarh, Ernest Mahomane's eponymous label could easily pass off as one that has been in the business for years. The label opened the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Cape Town 2013 with an amazing combination of white and red dresses with gathered tulle, fitted bustiers and enhanced shoulder cuts that were as daring and serene as its Spring/Summer 2013/14 collection. The clothes have a smooth and classy appearance that isn't overdone and is true to the Ernest Mahomane ethos of transcendent beauty. Read this: Taking African colors to America's Deep South . Fenix Couture . This Nigerian-Canadian design label reminds me a lot of the Jewel By Lisa label. Its well-tailored designs and understanding for the female form are both professional and appealing. The brand was created by Josephyn Akioyamen, who started her journey into fashion while living in Lagos, Nigeria. She was constantly surrounded by intricate colors and prints and, of course, African culture. Fenix Couture is a combination of timeless elegance and modern luxury brought to life by stimulating textiles and precision tailoring. With its 2013 Ihotu Collection, the label introduced itself to the world as one not just to watch, but a label that is so transformational that it would last for years to come. Creating a fashion label begins with the birth of passion, after which the dream is filled with enthusiasm and drive. I have only listed seven African designers that are certain to do great things this year and in the years to come, but there are many others that, just like these, are taking the African fashion industry to new heights. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jennifer Obiuwevbi.

BellaNaija.com writer Jennifer Obiuwevbi charts the change in African fashion design . Designs from the continent have diversified in shape and style over the years . African fashion houses now pioneer international catwalk trends, she says .

Detroit, Michigan (CNN) -- Six men appeared in federal court Thursday, a day after they were arrested in raids targeting an African-American Muslim group that the FBI said sought to establish an Islamic state in the United States. Luqman Ameen Abdullah, the alleged leader of the African-American Muslim converts, was fatally shot during one of Wednesday's raids in the Detroit area after he fired at law enforcement agents who were trying to arrest him and four other suspects. An FBI dog was also killed. Authorities say Abdullah was the imam at a Detroit mosque where he preached offensive jihad, including violence against the U.S. government and law enforcement. A criminal complaint states that he repeatedly told three confidential informants he would never be taken alive, saying "If they're coming to get me, I'll just strap a bomb on and blow up everybody." Abdullah was one of 11 men charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit federal crimes, including theft from interstate shipments, mail fraud to obtain the proceeds of arson, illegal possession and sale of firearms, and tampering with motor vehicle identification numbers, the FBI said in a news release. Eight suspects were in custody, including one man already in prison on an unrelated charge and another man who was arrested on Wednesday and added to the charging sheet, U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Susan Plochinski said Thursday. An additional suspect was taken into custody in Canada on Thursday, an FBI statement said. Two men remain at large. Mujahid Carswell, aka Mujahid Abdullah, was taken into custody in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, by Canadian authorities Thursday afternoon, the FBI said. According to the federal criminal complaint, Carswell, 30, is the eldest son of Abdullah, who was killed in the raid Wednesday. Canadian Border Patrol is holding him on immigration violations, the FBI said. Of the six suspects who appeared Thursday afternoon in court, Abdullah Beard was ordered held without bail; and Muhammad Abdul Salaam's bail decision was delayed, as was that for Gary Laverne Porter, a 38-year teacher who was arrested at an area school. Ali Abdul Raqib was given a $10,000 unsecured bond; Abdul Saboor was given a $100,000 bond, despite a prosecution request that he be held without bond. Another man, Acie Pusha, who was arrested Wednesday, was described by the prosecutor as "minimally involved" and given a $10,000 bond. The FBI criminal complaint says the group held target practice in a mosque basement, blowing holes in concrete walls. It includes references to possible attacks on the government, including Detroit's federal building and the FBI. There is also discussion about causing trouble at the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit. But the men were not arrested for any of that. Two law enforcement sources said the information about possible attacks was included in the charging document to add "context for the crimes they're charged with, the purpose of the group." "They had to earn money for their mosque and the Ummah," one of the sources said. "And the purpose of Ummah was to set up a separatist state." Ummah refers to the nationwide group to which the suspects belonged, according to the complaint. It's a group made up of mostly African-American members, including some who converted to Islam while in prison. Ummah is led by Jamil Abdullah al-Amin -- formerly known as H. Rap Brown -- a 1960s radical and former member of the Black Panthers who once said "violence was as American as cherry pie." He is serving a life sentence in Colorado's Supermax prison for killing two Georgia police officers. Andrew Arena, the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation, contacted local imams and civil rights leaders in Detroit during Wednesday's operation "to bridge any gaps that could possible come over this," FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said. "He'd rather they hear it from him," she added. "We have a good relationship with the community and we want to keep it that way." In the 43-page criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan and unsealed Wednesday, authorities said the arrests were made based on information gleaned from confidential sources identified only as S-1, S-2 and S-3. "S-1 heard Abdullah encourage his followers to 'pick up guns and do something' rather than try to achieve their goals through peaceful means," the complaint said. S-2 recorded a conversation on December 12, 2007, in which Abdullah said, "I got some soldiers with me, so it's not like I, I don't have, you know, nothing. Brothers that I know would, you know, if I say 'Let's go, we going to go and do something,' they would do it," the complaint said. S-3 said that, on March 21, 2008, Luqman Abdullah told him "that the FBI is the enemy of Islam," the complaint said. The other men charged were identified as: . • Mohammad Abdul Bassir, aka Franklin D. Roosevelt Williams. He is serving a prison term at Ojibway Correctional Facility in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. • Mujahid Carswell. • Mohammad Philistine. • Yassir Ali Khan. • Adam Hussain Ibraheem. Acie Pusha was arrested on Wednesday and added to the charging sheet, Plochinski said Thursday. She would not provide details about the charges against Pusha. The two charged but still at large are Philistine, also known as Mohammad Alsahi, a 33-year-old resident of Ontario; and Khan, 30, who is believed to be a resident of Ontario and Warren, Michigan. All of the defendants "are members of a group that is alleged to have engaged in violent activity over a period of many years, and known to be armed," the FBI said. The complaint was filed by the FBI's counter-terrorism squad in the Eastern District of Michigan. CNN's Susan Candiotti, Carol Cratty and Ross Levitt contributed to this story.

NEW: Six appear in federal court Thursday, a day after they were arrested in raids . Alleged group leader was fatally shot Wednesday after firing at law enforcement agents . FBI says men were members of Ummah, led by former H. Rap Brown . Law enforcement sources say Ummah seeks to set up Islamic state in U.S.

(CNN) -- It's said nothing is certain in life except for death and taxes. For French football clubs it's a new punitive tax law that's worrying them to death. They fear one of Europe's top leagues, newly resurgent following significant investment from mega wealthy Qataris and Russians, could be irreparably damaged by the tax. On Thursday, French president Francois Hollande told a delegation of professional French football club leaders he wouldn't abandon the government's plan for a 75% tax on salaries reaching more than a $1.35 million. The clubs have been lobbying hard against the tax, arguing it endangers their future. It's estimated the tax could increase their costs by up to 30%. And they feel so strongly over the matter that they plan to go on strike. So if you're a French football fan don't expect to be watching the likes Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Monaco forward Falcao in action between 29 November and 2 December. If it goes ahead it would France's first football "strike" since 1972. Ibrahimovic is one of more than 10 players at Qatari-owned PSG -- France's richest club -- whose yearly pay exceeds $1.35 million. While the average Ligue 1 player's salary is estimated at just under $800,000, Ibrahimovic reportedly takes home $17.5 million a year. Many players would already be taxed at France's top marginal rate of 49%, which kicks in at $675,000 a year. Just for Ibrahimovic's hefty pay packet alone, PSG's costs would increase by nearly $12 million under the Hollande plan. Since world-class players have their choice of what countries they play in, French teams would have to absorb the increased taxes themselves if they want to attract top talent. Ahead of this weekend's games, PSG and Monaco are joint top of Ligue 1. But PSG could be at a further disadvantage in future given Monaco are exempt from French taxation laws and the principality club's tax expenditure would be $67.5 million less than the French champions per year. "The high-income tax of 75%, which was included in the 2013 draft budget of France, will have a disastrous effect on the competitiveness of French football," said the Professional Union of Football Clubs (UCPF) in a statement. Before the start of the season some of the world's best players -- like Edinson Cavani who joined PSG from Napoli -- If the taxation impasse remains, it is likely French clubs would struggle to attract the very top talent. "French teams will be at a disadvantage with regard to English clubs who only pay 40% tax," former Monaco chief executive Tor-Kristian Karlsen told CNN. "That will affect the standard of the league. It might also affect money coming into French football from foreign investment --- potential owners might be tempted to get more value for money elsewhere. "Monaco and PSG have raised the popularity and exposure of French football outside France," added Karlsen. "Some in France are still quite skeptical as to why and how they have got involved, but if you are supporter or if you enjoy watching French football they have brought only positive dimensions. "As an international observer, it is going to be difficult to uphold the current standard in the years to come if this tax comes in to play." French football has a strong tradition of developing young players through its academy system, but a French club hasn't won the Champions League -- Europe's top competition -- for over 20 years, though last season PSG reached the quarterfinals. "In the short term clubs would have to buy cheaper players for lower transfers and would pay lower salaries to avoid paying the 75%," said Karlsen as he outlined a grim future for French football. "When the player reaches a level where he starts to attract offers from abroad and will attract wages far above €1 million, or when a player becomes an international or starts to play well in European competition then there is no other option for him than to move abroad." Karlsen added: "What is a concern for the clubs is that their budgets relate to long-term contracts they have already agreed with players. "They feel the goalposts have been moved and it makes it extremely difficult for them to continue or plan to be successful in an environment that is already very challenging." Earlier this week UCPF president Jean-Pierre Louvel unveiled a study outlining the economic benefits French football brings France, given it has an annual turnover of $5.8 billion and there are potentially 25,000 jobs at stake. "The return on investment for the state is $ .5 billion", said Louvel, who is also the president of second division club Le Havre. "In addition, each euro generated by clubs creates additional 2.5 euros ($3.38) in the country's economy." A survey by pollster OpinionWay in October suggested 85% of voters did not think football clubs should be exempted from the high tax rate, which requires approval from the French parliament. And given France's economic problems -- it has only just emerged from recession -- some members of the French football community remain uneasy about the proposed strike. "I think that if our corporation goes on strike, we'll have to go into hiding, I mean really go into hiding," Evian coach Pascal Dupraz, was quoted in L'Equipe as telling radio station RTL. "I'm not totally for (the strike) personally, what worries me of course is that there is this tax, but, all French people suffer from having to pay taxes. "I just don't understand the anger from the club presidents; I just don't get it at all." It is not all bad news for French football fans given some observers expect a compromise to be reached. "I remain confident that some sort of solution will be found before the date of the strike voted for by the club's chairmen," Julien Laurens, a French football expert and writer for Le Parisien, told CNN.

French president Francois Hollande wants 75% tax on salaries over $1.35m . Proposal has met with the disapproval of French football clubs . Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco owned by Qatari and Russian billionaires respectively . Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic would cost PSG an extra $12m a year .

Boston (CNN) -- Two years ago, James "Whitey" Bulger -- the famed and much-feared head of the Boston mob -- was sitting pretty in Santa Monica, California. Today, he's sitting in prison, where he could potentially spend the rest of the life. The turn of events was capped Monday when a federal jury found the former mob boss guilty on 31 of 32 counts -- including extortion, money laundering, drug dealing and weapons possession. The jury held Bulger responsible for the murder of 11 people. The 83-year-old Bulger faces a maximum sentence of up to life, plus 30 years in prison. "So many peoples' lives were so terribly harmed by the criminal actions of Bulger and his crew. And today's conviction does not alter that harm, and it doesn't lessen it," said U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, speaking about the victims and their families. "However, we hope that they find some degree of comfort in the fact that today has come, and Bulger is being held accountable for his horrific crimes," she said. Bulger was accused of involvement in killing 19 people, including two women. Bulger linked to 11 murders . The jury found Bulger played a role in 11 of those murders, and that the evidence did not prove he was involved in seven, stretching back to 1973. The jury made no finding in one murder. Pat Donahue, widow of victim Michael Donahue, cried openly when the verdict was announced. Victim Eddie Connors' daughter, Karen, clenched her fists and said, "Yes" when her father's death by Bulger was proved. But the daughter of victim Francis "Buddy" Leonard left court after the jury did not find enough evidence to link Bulger to his death. "Thirty-eight years ago when my father died, we always knew who killed him. We still know who killed him, and we still cant get any justice," said Connie Leonard, now grown. And victim Debra Davis' brother, Steven Davis, left in disbelief after the jury had "no finding" in her death. Debra Davis was dating Bulger partner Steve Flemmi, and one day in 1981 just didn't come home. "It's hard to digest. With all the years since '81, I've been looking for answers, searching for answers, and I come out with an NF. It's not good enough," Steven Davis told CNN. "I put up a big fight for justice, for answers. Some people say closure. I don't believe in closure, but I believe that I deserve more than an NF. I'm disappointed," he said. Their lives had one thing in common: Bulger . 16 years on the lam . The eight men and four women of the jury deliberated for five days, over more than 32 hours, before reaching their verdict. The only count Bulger was not found guilty of was on the alleged extortion of Kevin Hayes, a ticket broker, who had said he was warned in 1994 that he had to give "payoffs" to Bulger in order to operate. Bulger showed no emotion as the verdicts were read. They came after seven weeks of testimony about murder, extortion, drug trafficking, loansharking, bookmaking and other gangster crimes covering the time Bulger ran Boston's Irish mob from the early '70s through late 1994, when he fled the city. Share your thoughts on the verdict . The case closes an epic criminal tale that included a life on the lam for 16 years that began when a crooked FBI agent told Bulger that he was about to be indicted on federal racketeering charges. The gangster who ruled south Boston soon became one of the most wanted men in America. Bulger the FBI informant became Bulger the FBI fugitive. It was the stuff of Hollywood moviemaking, and in fact, Bulger's mob-boss brutality inspired Jack Nicholson's character in the film "The Departed," which was directed by Martin Scorsese and won four Oscars in 2006, including best picture. Then, in 2011, the FBI finally tracked him down: Bulger was living on the other side of the country in an apartment just blocks from the beaches of Santa Monica. He had about $822,000 in cash -- largely $100 bills -- hidden inside a wall in his apartment, located in a tourist haven right beside Los Angeles. Bulger also kept 30 guns in his residence. Daring to the end, Bulger was hiding in plain sight, living under an alias with his girlfriend. They called themselves Charlie and Carol Gasko. Bulger 'pleased' by the verdict . It was a long fall for Bulger: One of America's notorious mob bosses was called "a rat bastard" and "a coward" by victims' relatives and former associates who attended or watched the trial. Bulger declined to take the stand to testify in his defense, telling the judge, outside the jury's presence, that his trial was "a sham" because he had an immunity deal with federal authorities in exchange for being an informant. The judge had ruled he couldn't make that claim during his trial. However, after the verdict, Bulger's lawyer said that his client was "very pleased" by both the trial and its outcome. "It was important to him that the government corruption be exposed, and important to him that people see first hand the deals that the government was able to make with certain people," attorney Jay Carney told reporters. Bulger's sentencing is scheduled for November 13. His girlfriend, Catherine Greig, pleaded guilty in March to charges of conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud. Her crime was "the most extreme case" of harboring a fugitive, prosecutors said. Greig, 61, was sentenced in June to eight years in federal prison. CNN's Dana Ford, Josh Levs and Michael Martinez contributed to this report.

NEW: Bulger was arrested in 2011 in Santa Monica, California, after some 16 years on the lam . NEW: He ran Boston's Irish mob from the 1970s through the early 1990s . NEW: A jury finds Bulger responsible for the murder of 11 people, guilty of racketeering . NEW: He could spend the rest of his life behind bars; Sentencing is set for November .

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Hailed as India's greatest actor, he's the legendary star of Sholay and leader of the mighty Bachchan clan. CNN talked to Amitabh Bachchan, the De Niro of Bollywood, at an International Indian Film Academy event in London... ......................................... Amitabh Bachchan talks to Myleene on the green carpet at the Indian Film Awards in Yorkshire, England . CNN: Right now, it's an exciting time for Bollywood. Amitabh Bachchan: Yes, I think it is. It's a great progression from where we were a few years ago, where even though we were the highest-making film nation in the world, we were looked upon with a certain amount of criticism and skepticism about our content and the way we make our films. Gradually, over the years, people have come to expect and accept that this is how we make the films, and it's all turning out to be profitable and exciting with viewers all over the world. CNN: Why do you think people had been so skeptical? Bachchan: Well, they felt that the content wasn't exciting enough, they couldn't understand the song and dance routine, they didn't like the very cliched stories or formulaic storylines, but that's the way we are. We must have song and dance in our lives; we've had it ever since the inception of cinema in India. Our stories are very social-based, very human-based. We are a very emotional nation. All our culture and tradition of over 5,000 years has come through a lot of heat and fire and eventually come out on top. That's how it is, and that's how it's going to remain. CNN: Is Bollywood escapism for the Indian people? Bachchan: You have to see it in a larger perspective. There are large numbers of people in India below the poverty line, there are large numbers of people who lead a meager existence. They want to find a little escape from the hardships of life, and come and watch something colorful and exciting and musical. Indian cinema provides that. So yes, the content of our television and our cinema is escapist in nature because we are there to provide entertainment. The select group of people who do make realistic cinema, who do make cinema perhaps a little more acceptable to the Western audience, is a very small percentage. CNN: What are the main differences between a Hollywood and a Bollywood actor? Bachchan: Conceptually we are both the same. We are all human beings, we are actors, we are put in different situations and conditions and we act. Perhaps the content of the Indian cinema is a lot more varied and diverse as compared to the ones the Hollywood actors get associated with. They more or less have a very single track presence, so to say. Indian actors, because of the format of our stories, need to be good actors, and be able to perform emotional sequences, do a bit of comedy, dance and singing, action, because all of this forms just one film. In many ways I'd say there are greater demands on Indian actors than there are on Hollywood. CNN: So do you think Hollywood actors could learn from the Bollywood actors? Bachchan: I don't know that we are worthy enough for learning something from us, but I do know that actors in India are very capable, very talented, and can be compared to the best anywhere in the world. CNN: What makes you the best actor in India? Bachchan: I don't use any techniques; I'm not trained to be an actor. I just enjoy working in films. It's more instinctive rather than anything else. I don't do the calculated rehearsed kind of approach, and I hope that I can continue that because I believe that instinct is much stronger and greater when you are performing on camera. CNN: Tell us about the upcoming remake of "Sholay." Bachchan: "Sholay" is an extraordinary film. It's the highest-grossing film and it had a great impact on our society. Obviously remaking it is a huge task. We are purely using the inspiration of the film. I am playing the baddie in the film, as opposed to one of the leading men in the original. It's a great challenge for any actor to do something different in a film. I will obviously not be playing the leading man, but it's exciting. At my age you don't get to run after the girl and win them over and fight the baddie, but I'm happy that I'm doing the negative role in this film and I'm enjoying it! CNN: Tell us about "Sarkar 2" -- it's becoming a bit of a family affair! Bachchan: It's a very powerful film, it takes influences from the Godfather. It's not exactly a remake, but it took inspiration from the Godfather and put it in "Sarkar." We are now doing "Sarkar 2," which is going to have Abhishek, my son, and his wife to be, so I think it will be wonderful for the three of us to work together again. Sarkar 2 will be a much larger film, larger in concept, larger in visuals. It promises to be very exciting. CNN: Is it nice to work with your family? Bachchan: The entire filming industry in India is one big family. We all feel that way whenever we make a film: it's a very homely feeling; we all live together, eat together, move around together. It's a wonderful feeling. I don't know how Hollywood behaves, but this is how we behave, and yes, when you have members of the family working with you it makes it all the more exciting. CNN: What's next for you? Bachchan: I think that it's important that actors keep getting challenged every day. For every creative person it's a terrible moment when they say they have done all they want to do. I like to feel the butterflies in the stomach, I like to go home and have a restless night and wonder how I'm going to be able to accomplish this feat, get jittery. That hunger and those butterflies in the stomach are very essential for all creative people. I'd like to believe that tomorrow is another challenge for me. I'm sure there is lots more for me to do, because there is lots and lots of stuff still to be explored. E-mail to a friend .

CNN talked to Amitabh Bachchan, the De Niro of Bollywood . Bachan: Indian films profitable and exciting with viewers all over the world . Bachan: Excited to be working with son and daughter-in-law .

Los Angeles (CNN) -- AMC's "Mad Men" won a fourth consecutive best drama series Emmy, while the ABC sitcom "Modern Family" took top comedy honors at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles Sunday night. PBS' "Downton Abbey," a Masterpiece production, won the best miniseries Emmy, although HBO's "Mildred Pierce" and ReelzChannel's "The Kennedys" had a share in the acting honors. Charlie Sheen delivered onstage drama when he took the stage to present the trophy for best lead actor in a comedy series, which he called "my old category." Sheen, bounced from his hit sitcom "Two and a Half Men" earlier this year after a spat with producers, said he wanted "to take a moment to get something off my chest and say a few words to everyone here from 'Two and a Half Men.' " "From the bottom of my heart, I wish you nothing but the best for this upcoming season," Sheen said. "We spent eight wonderful years together and I know you will continue to make great television." "The Big Bang Theory's" Jim Parsons won the category. When Sheen's sitcom replacement, Ashton Kutcher, appeared with "Two and a Half Men" co-star Jon Cryer to present an award, their banter was all about Sheen. "I'm that guy from 'Pretty in Pink,'" Cryer said. "And I'm not Charlie Sheen," said Kutcher. "And Jon, I want to tell you something. I do not think that you are a troll." It was a reference to Sheen's public trashing of his former cast member. The ladies competing for best lead actress in a comedy series conspired on a gag when their category was called. Each, starting with "Parks and Recreation" star Amy Poehler, walked on stage when their names were announced, lining up like beauty pageant contestants. Melissa McCarthy, who won for her work on the CBS sitcom "Mike & Molly," said backstage that it was Poehler's idea. While the show ended with the "Modern Family" cast onstage for the best comedy award, the sitcom also monopolized the first half-hour of the show, winning all of the first four Emmys handed out. The actors who play "Modern Family" couple Phil and Claire Dunphy now have matching trophies as Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell won the Emmys for best supporting actress and actor, respectively. It was the first Emmy for each. "I don't know what I'm going to talk about in therapy next week," Bowen said in her acceptance speech. "I won something!" "Modern Family" also claimed the Emmy for best directing in a comedy series, given to Michael Alan Spiller. The show's writers Steven Levitan and Jeffrey Richman won for best writing in a comedy series. "Welcome back to the 'Modern Family Awards,' " host Jane Lynch said as the show resumed from a commercial break. The "Glee" star is just the third woman ever to host the show, following in the footsteps of pioneers Angela Lansbury and Ellen DeGeneres. While "Mad Men" again won the top drama award, it was practically shut out for the other categories. Despite 19 nominations, a hairstyling creative service Emmy was the only other trophy given the AMC series this year. HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" was also shut out in the acting categories, although the drama series won seven Emmy's last week at the creative services ceremony and a best directing Emmy for Martin Scorsese. It was the first Emmy for Scorsese, who already has an Oscar from his career directing movies. "We approach 'Boardwalk Empire' as a film, a very long film," Scorsese said backstage. He said telling stories in a cable series "gives you more license and much more freedom" to develop characters. "You can do something really extraordinary." The four drama series acting awards were split among other series, including DirecTV's "Friday Night Lights," which claimed the best lead actor Emmy for Kyle Chandler, who plays Coach Eric Taylor. Julianna Margulies, star of the CBS drama "The Good Wife," carried home the Emmy for best lead actress in a drama series. It was her second Emmy win after eight nominations. The most unusual acceptance speech may have been delivered by Peter Dinklage when he was given the Emmy for best supporting actor in a drama series. The co-star of HBO's "Game Of Thrones'" took time to thank Kitty, who is the sitter for his dog, Kevin. "She's an important person in my life," Dinklage said backstage. Margo Martindale, who portrays Mags Bennett in FX Networks "Justified," won the for best supporting actress in a drama series. "Sometimes things just take time," said Martindale as she accepted. "Downton Abbey" was the most honored miniseries, with six Emmys, including for directing, writing, cinematography and costumes. Maggie Smith, who played the Dowager Countess of Grantham, won for best supporting actress, the mini-series only acting award. HBO's "Mildred Pierce" won five Emmys in the miniseries competition, including casting, music, art direction honors handed out last week. Guy Pearce, who played Monty Beragon in "Mildred Pierce," won for best supporting actor. "I got to have sex with Kate Winslet many, many times, and I didn't realize it was going to result in this," Pearce said in his acceptance. Kate Winslet, who played the title role in "Mildred Pierce," showed a high level of excitement when she accepted the best lead actress Emmy. "I was truly extremely unprepared," Winslet explained backstage. "It comes out the way it comes out." Barry Pepper, who portrayed Bobby Kennedy in ReelzChannel's "The Kennedys," won the Emmy for best lead actor in a mini-series or movie. Comedy Central's "Daily Show" wons the Emmy for best variety, music or comedy series for a ninth year.

NEW: "Mad Men" wins just two Emmys out of 19 nominations . NEW: "Modern Family" wins best comedy series . Charlie Sheen wishes former castmates well . "Glee's" Jane Lynch is just the third woman to host the Emmys .

(CNN) -- Let's play a little game. Which of the following signs did protestors hold at the March on Washington, 50 years ago this week, and which were held up this year by fast-food workers: . 1. "WE MARCH FOR HIGHER MINIMUM WAGES . COVERAGE FOR ALL WORKERS NOW!" 2. "WE ARE WORTH MORE" 3. "I AM A MAN" 4. "WE MARCH FOR JOBS FOR ALL . A DECENT PAY NOW!" The exclamation points, which apparently were more popular in the 1960s (despite what Twitter would have you believe!!!), are your best clue. Signs one and four are from 1963. Two and three are from 2013. Fifty years later, it's easy to forget that the full name of the 1963 "March on Washington" was actually "The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." Sutter: 99 must-reads on economic inequality . But flip through some pictures from that rally, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech and where civil rights leaders, to borrow his words, bent the arc of history towards justice and greater equality, and you'll see protest signs that put the economy as a front-and-center issue, just as it is now. "CIVIL RIGHTS . PLUS FULL EMPLOYMENT . EQUALS FREEDOM." President Obama, in commemorating the 50th anniversary of that march this week, smartly picked up on the theme that economic equality is "the great unfinished business" of King's vision for a just and fair America. "...[A]s we mark this anniversary, we must remind ourselves that the measure of progress for those who marched 50 years ago was not merely how many blacks had joined the ranks of millionaires; it was whether this country would admit all people who were willing to work hard, regardless of race, into the ranks of a middle-class life," Obama said Wednesday. "The test was not and never has been whether the doors of opportunity are cracked a bit wider for a few. It was whether our economic system provides a fair shot for the many, for the black custodian and the white steelworker, the immigrant dishwasher and the Native American veteran." The subtext of his argument: Class may be the new race. It's not that all battles for racial equality have been won -- they haven't -- or that we live in a post-racial society. But, in some remarkable and troubling ways, class has become an increasingly significant barrier to equality in modern America. The gap between rich and poor has been growing in the United States since the late 1970s, and our level of income inequality, one proxy measure for that gap, is now on par with many sub-Saharan African countries. Sutter: Who cares about the economy? ... You! It's become more difficult for the poor to move up into the middle class and more difficult for the middle to dig in its heels to stop from slipping into poverty. The American mantra of "work hard and you'll get ahead" is not always enough to sustain people. It's harder now to secure a financial future. This is the theme that underlies much of what's happening in America today. And it's something that goes back much farther than the recent recession. The fast-food workers, for example, who scheduled demonstrations across the country on Thursday, are frustrated by the fact that they can't make ends meet on $7.25 per hour. If you doubt whether that's true, please take a look at one fast-food worker's budget. Some workers, as Forbes reports, have to choose between paying for rent or food. "Should I pay my light bill (or) should I pay my gas?" one fast-food worker asks in this CNNMoney video. "I never can pay it all at once." "Right now the gas is off," she says. The workers demand a living wage of $15 per hour. I'm not sure what the fair wage would be. That's the subject for another column...or perhaps a book. But I do know that, as The Atlantic reports, fast-food workers in Australia make $14.50 an hour, about twice the U.S. minimum wage. And burgers haven't become too expensive Down Under. Some context is helpful for understanding that movement as well. The U.S. minimum wage is actually lower than it was in the late 1960s. Five years after King's speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial, the federal minimum wage, when converted into 2013 dollars, was $10.70, compared to $7.25 now. (The nominal minimum wage, according to the Congressional Research Service, was only $1.60 per hour in 1968. The $10.70 amount is adjusted for inflation). Sutter: White House should pay its interns . Education is another example. There's evidence poverty is a better indicator of educational achievement than race. "According to a 2011 research study by Stanford sociologist Sean Reardon, the test-score gap between the children of the poor (in the 10th percentile of income) and the children of the wealthy (in the 90th percentile) has expanded by as much as 40% and is now more than 50% larger than the black-white achievement gap -- a reversal of the trend 50 years ago," Sarah Garland writes for The Atlantic. "Underprivileged children now languish at achievement levels that are close to four years behind their wealthy peers." Four years behind their peers. Just because of their income. That challenges the very notion of who we are as Americans. We see ourselves as a middle-class country -- a place where anyone can work hard and succeed. And many do. We're a country of fighters. But it's become more difficult for the non-rich to make it. The country has made great strides toward racial equality since the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. But, in the 50 years since King's speech, economic justice seems to have become the more distant dream. The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of John D. Sutter.

Fast-food workers scheduled protests across the country this week . John Sutter: Class seems to be the social justice issue of our time . It's been 50 years since the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" Economic justice remains a distant dream for many, Sutter says .

(CNN) -- Tony Dorsett recalls a 1984 game against the Philadelphia Eagles when he was streaking up the field and an opposing player slammed into him. One helmet plowed into another. Dorsett's head snapped back, his helmet was knocked askew. "He blew me up," Dorsett told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I don't remember the second half of that game, but I do remember that hit." Dorsett compared the hit to a freight train hitting a Volkswagen. These days Dorsett is worried about the cumulative effects of hits like the one Ray Ellis laid on him that day. In the past two years, Dorsett's memory has given him increasing trouble. On Monday, doctors at UCLA told Dorsett, 59, he has chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the Hall of Famer said. CTE is a progressive degenerative brain disease found in some athletes with a history of repetitive brain trauma. The only way to definitely diagnose CTE is after death, by analyzing brain tissue and finding microscopic clumps of an abnormal protein called tau, which has been found in the brains of dozens of former NFL players. Opinion: Why I'm saying goodbye to football . However, a pilot study at UCLA may have found tau in the brains of living retired players. Some scientists say finding the disease in the brains of living players is the "holy grail" of CTE research, providing a means to diagnose and treat it, and the UCLA study may be an important first step. Using a scan called a positron emission tomography, or PET, typically used to measure nascent Alzheimer's disease, researchers inject the players with a radioactive marker that travels through the body, crosses the blood-brain barrier and latches on to tau. Then, the players' brains are scanned. "We found (the tau) in their brains. It lit up," Dr. Gary Small, professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and lead author of the study, said in February. Dr. Joseph Maroon, a neurosurgeon who works with the Pittsburgh Steelers, cautioned Thursday that the CTE diagnoses of Dorsett (and two other living former players) need further study. "This is very, very preliminary," he told Sportsradio 93-7 The Fan in Pittsburgh. "There are many, many causes of dementia or progressive memory loss, particularly when you get over 60 or 70 years of age. ... It's something to obviously be concerned about, and the question is what can be done about it?" Dorsett said the diagnosis explains a lot about his forgetting where he is driving and his mood swings. "Memory loss, more so than anything it's been my big deal," he said. "Sometimes you can have sensitivity to light and things like that. But my thing was not remembering. I've been taking my daughters to practice for years and all of a sudden I forget how to get there." His daughters are afraid, he said. They wonder which father they will get. Will he be the happy dad or the one in a bad mood. For others known to have had CTE, symptoms include depression, aggression and disorientation. In 2002, Mike Webster, a Hall of Fame center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was the first former NFL player to be diagnosed with CTE. After his retirement, Webster suffered from amnesia, dementia, depression and bone and muscle pain. What you need to know about concussions in the NFL . Unlike Webster, who spent his career smashing into opposition linemen many times a game and in practice, Dorsett was a superfast running back who made his enemies miss by darting past them or with a quick spin to avoid contact. He won the Heisman Trophy as college football's best player in 1976 and became an instant NFL star on the league's most popular team, the Dallas Cowboys. He played 11 seasons and gained 12,739 yards, eighth best of all time. His 99-yard run in 1982 is an NFL record. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994. Now he looks in a mirror and wonders. "And I say who are you? What are you becoming?" he said. "It's very frustrating to be a person that's been so outgoing, then all of a sudden, I'm like a couch potato." Other athletes have demonstrated erratic behavior, such as Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Justin Strzelczyk, 36, who died in a 2004 high-speed chase. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry died at age 26 after falling from the bed of a moving pickup during a fight with his fiancée. Opinion: NFL takes good first step to protect players . Some who showed signs of the disease have taken their own lives, including former Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Andre Waters, who shot himself in 2006; Terry Long, a former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman who killed himself by drinking antifreeze; and Junior Seau, the former linebacker who killed himself last year at the age of 43. Dorsett said that won't happen to him. "I'm going to beat this. Trust me," he said. Dorsett pins much of the blame for his health issues on team owners. He said a $765 million settlement of a concussion lawsuit with the NFL was not enough. "I can't put a price on my health. The owners knew (about the dangers of concussions) for years and they looked the other way, and they kept putting us players in harm's way." The deal calls for the NFL to pay for medical exams, concussion-related compensation, medical research for retired NFL players and their families, and litigation expenses, according to a court document filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. The agreement still needs to be approved by the judge assigned to the case, which involved more than 4,500 plaintiffs. NFL concussion settlement raises questions .

Tony Dorsett was a finesse running back who for 11 years often made opponents miss . At 59 he has been told he has a brain disease usually diagnosed in dead players . One neurosurgeon said there are different causes for memory loss, so more study is needed . Dorsett says he is becoming a less outgoing person who has trouble remembering directions .

(CNN) -- Marion Bartoli has retired from tennis with immediate effect, just six weeks after winning her first grand slam title at Wimbledon. The Frenchwoman, who beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki to be crowned champion at the All England Club, broke down in tears as she told reporters her body could no longer handle the strain of competing at the top level. The announcement came following the world No. 7's 3-6 6-4 6-1 defeat to Romania's Simona Halep in the second round of the Western and Southern Open. "This was actually the last match of my career. Sorry," the 28-year-old said during an emotional press conference in Cincinnati. "My body just can't do it anymore. I've already been through a lot of injuries since the beginning of the year. "I've been on the tour for so long, and I really pushed through and left it all during that Wimbledon. I really felt I gave all the energy I have left in my body. "I made my dream a reality and it will stay with me forever, but now my body just can't cope with everything. I have pain everywhere after 45 minutes or an hour of play. I've been doing this for so long, and body-wise I just can't do it anymore." Bartoli had not planned on calling time on her career prior to the match, but she knew once the contest had finished that it was time to hang up her racket. "You never know before the match that it's going to be your last match," she explained, "but I just felt that way after the match. "I felt I just couldn't do this anymore. After one set, my whole body was just in pain. "It's been a tough decision to make. I didn't make this decision easily. I've been a tennis player for a long time, and I had the chance to make my biggest dream a reality. I felt I really, really pushed through the ultimate limits to make it happen. "But now I just can't do it anymore." Bartoli turned pro in 2000 and, after battling for 13 years to win one of tennis' four grand slams, she now feels the time has earned the right to focus on other areas of her life. "As a tennis player you had to be at 100%," she added. "I'm the kind of person, when I'm doing something, I'm doing it 100%. I have to be on the practice court preparing for the next tournament tomorrow. "There are so many things to do in life rather than playing tennis, so I'm sure I'll find something. I just need a bit of time to settle down. "There is a lot of excitement as a woman. There is a lot of excitement as a wife. There is a lot of excitement as a mother. There is a lot of excitement to come up." Bartoli was taught tennis as a child by her father Walter, a doctor who coached her for most of her playing days until they split earlier this year and she began working with former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo. "I called him, yes. But my dad knows me enough to know it a bit when he saw me leaving home for the States," Bartoli said. "He kind of felt I was tired and I was exhausted, and he was not surprised by the decision. "He said, 'I kind of felt it somehow. I can see it in your eyes and see your body and I know all the work you've done to make it happen. I'm so proud of you. I will support you in anything you're doing.' " Bartoli first came to prominence when she reached the 2007 Wimbledon final, losing to Venus Williams. An unorthodox player with a distinctive serving style, she earned more than $11 million on the court -- $2.87 million of that this year -- with eight WTA Tour titles. "I congratulate Marion on her long, successful career," said WTA Tour chief Stacey Allaster. "She is an inspirational champion and a great ambassador for women's tennis that has dedicated her life to the sport and given so much back to the game." Courtney Nguyen, a tennis writer with SI.com, said the timing of Bartoli's decision has stunned everyone. "It is quite shocking, even before this tournament she had been making plans to play in exhibitions in Australia in January, she had been talking about still being motivated and wanting to achieve more goals in tennis," Nguyen told CNN. "I think a lot of people are either second guessing her decision or just saying 'You know what, Marion Bartoli played her tennis career on her own terms, in her own way, this is exactly the way Marion Bartoli would go out.' " Goran Ivanisevic, who was unable to defend his Wimbledon title in 2002 due to injury, said Bartoli might regret her decision when next year's tournament starts in late June. "There is nothing like playing at Wimbledon as 'Wimbledon champion.' I couldn't defend." the Croatian told the website of the senior players' Champions Tour. Guy Forget, who was Bartoli's captain in France's 2004 Fed Cup team, said she may have made a hasty decision. "Marion is a very smart girl, she is so dedicated about the sport that I'm always very cautious about someone's quote right after a defeat, and that happened right after she lost," the former world No. 4 told the Champions Tour website. "I hope she is going to change her mind. You don't want to have regrets looking back. Being a professional player is such an exceptional job and you don't want to look back in a few months or years later and think, 'Why did I stop?' "Go to the beach for a few days, go running in the park, just get your head together, spend some time with your friends. And, if you don't want to play the next week, just don't play it -- if you want to miss the U.S. Open, fine. "But just don't quit, don't take such a radical decision only a few weeks after winning the biggest tournament in the world."

Marion Bartoli retires from tennis with immediate effect . The Frenchwoman made the announcement after losing to Romania's Simona Halep . Bartoli won the Wimbledon title by beating Sabine Lisicki just six weeks ago . The world No. 7 says her body can no longer take the strain of professional tennis .

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A massive car bomb tore through the heart of a bustling marketplace in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, killing at least 100 people -- including many women and children -- and injuring at least 200 others, officials said. A vehicle packed with 150 kilograms (330 pounds) of explosives detonated at the Meena Bazaar, a labyrinth of shops popular with women. The impact destroyed buildings, burying people underneath the rubble, and sparked massive fires in the shops, mosques, and homes. In a year of seemingly endless militant attacks in Pakistan, this was the deadliest. Those who survived described a narrow escape: . "I ducked quickly and when I looked up it was complete darkness," said Imdad. "I couldn't see anyone. The cars and the van were lying upside down." Are you there? Send your photos and videos to iReport . Fareed Ullah, a student at a nearby mosque, was injured when he fell from the second floor as he tried to escape a fire ignited by the blast at the Meena Bazaar. "We only saw a red blaze and nothing else," he said from his hospital bed. "My friends and I fell from the second floor. We didn't know where we were." The remote-controlled detonation killed at least 100 people and injured as many as 200 others, hospital and government officials said. The deaths include 68 males and 32 females, including 10 children, the head of the main hospital in Peshawar said. The car bomb left a 10-foot-wide crater, and the flames spread quickly through stores selling highly flammable fabric. Residents and shopkeepers expressed outrage that militants were able to carry out the attack in broad daylight, the latest in a string of militant attacks targeting civilians in Peshawar. "What kind of security alert is this? It was an explosives-packed car," a middle-aged shopkeeper at Meena Bazaar said. "Look at the mosque, it ceases to exist anymore. For God's sake, do something!" "Increasing chaos" in Pakistan . The Peshawar car bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack on Pakistan since the October 2007 attack on a homecoming rally for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. More than 135 people were killed in the suicide bombing in Karachi. Bhutto escaped harm, but she was assassinated two months later. Wednesday's bombing happened hours after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, to shore up U.S. support in nuclear-armed Pakistan, as it battles a rising Taliban insurgency. Clinton condemned the strike, and dared the militants who were responsible to put down their arms and appeal to the Pakistani people through the political process. "If the people behind the attacks were so sure of their beliefs, let them join the political process, let them come forth to the people and make their case that they don't want girls to go to school, that they want women to be kept back, that they believe they have all the answers," Clinton said in a joint news conference with her Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad. "They know they are on the losing side of history but they are determined to take as many lives with them as their movement is finally exposed for the nihilistic, empty effort that it is," she said of those responsible for the car bombing in Peshawar. Read more about Clinton's comments on blast . Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also condemned the deadly attack, offering his condolences to the victims and their families and directly addressing the attackers. "We will not buckle, we will fight you because we want stability and peace in Pakistan," Qureshi said. "You are on the run and we know that. We defeated you in Swat and Malakand. You think by attacking innocent people and lives you will shake our determination? No, sir, you will not." The attack is the deadliest terrorist attack carried out in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province which has been the site of five militant strikes this month alone. A suicide car bombing on October 9 in Khyber Bazaar killed at least 49 people and injured 135 others. And, just last Friday, a car bomb exploded outside a banquet hall in Peshawar, wounding at least 15 people. The massive casualties in Wednesday's bombing prompted a state of emergency at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, where most of the injured were treated. The hospital appealed to other medical centers -- and to the public -- to donate blood, hospital officials said. North West Frontier Province is bearing the brunt of the massive civilian displacement from Pakistan's military offensive in the neighboring tribal region along the Afghan border. More than 180,000 civilians have fled to North West Frontier Province from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, according to the United Nations. Pakistan's military offensive is currently focused on South Waziristan, where the government believes the Pakistani Taliban has masterminded numerous attacks, including the October 10 siege of Pakistan's army headquarters in Rawalpindi, outside Islamabad. That siege and other attacks outside the tribal region have raised concerns about the ability of government forces to maintain control. President Obama signed legislation this month providing an additional $7.5 billion in assistance to Pakistan over the next five years. The White House is working on a comprehensive review of U.S. strategy in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. Peshawar is a strategic city for both Taliban militants and the U.S. and NATO military, who are waging a battle against Taliban militants in neighboring Afghanistan. Located about 100 miles (167 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Islamabad, Peshawar sits on the main supply route into Afghanistan and is the gateway to Pakistan's ungoverned tribal regions. Journalists Nazar al Islam, Nasir Habib and CNN's Samson Desta and Reza Sayah contributed to this report.

Explosion hits bustling marketplace in Peshawar killing at least 100 people . 10 children among those killed at Meena Bazaar . More than 200 people injured in the blast which left a 10-foot-wide crater . Incident comes as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Islamabad .

(CNN) -- There's a lot of head-scratching at the CIA over an article in Vanity Fair magazine that dubs Erik Prince, the founder of the notorious private military contractor Blackwater, a "tycoon, contractor, soldier, spy." In the piece, he comes across as so entrenched with the CIA that the agency needs him to perform the most sensitive secret missions, including those involving hunting down and taking out al Qaeda operatives. It's true that Prince, as the sole owner of one of the most well-connected private military contractors in modern history, is in a position of enormous trust within the government. So why is it that he's lashing out publicly at that same government? Prince, a 40-year-old former Navy SEAL, inherited what he called a sizable amount of money when his father died in the late '90s. He's used that money to help climb to the top of an industry that has mushroomed since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. He built Blackwater, now operating under the name Xe, from the ground up, into a sprawling complex with enough tanks, planes and ammunition to launch a small war of its own. When President Obama addressed the nation and talked about his Afghanistan strategy, he didn't talk about the shadow army already employed there. There are more private contractors in Afghanistan on the U.S. payroll than there are U.S. troops. While Prince is a huge beneficiary of U.S. contract dollars, he has long been frustrated by two things. First, he doesn't like the reputation his company has gained, with his men painted as ruthless cowboys -- which some are, but some aren't. Second, he believes some people in the government just don't appreciate him the way they should. Prince uses the Vanity Fair article to re-air a lot of his complaints, but the story contains a great deal of classified information, with details about covert programs that involved him. So does that mean that when convenient, he uses that information to help express his frustration? Prince unabashedly criticizes parts of the government he doesn't like. And some current and former government sources question whether that's a smart move. They ask whether, as a man who benefits financially from those contracts, he should really go public with his criticisms of the same government that signs his checks. Although the CIA has never publicly confirmed Prince's involvement -- it has become common knowledge in the industry he disclosed details of that relationship to me, among many other things, in the book I wrote on him that was published earlier this year. A lot of those details came up again in this latest article, but Prince went even further this time. The Vanity Fair article reports that Prince is "privately and secretly doing the CIA's bidding, helping to craft, fund and execute operations ranging from inserting personnel into "denied areas," places U.S. intelligence has trouble penetrating, to assembling hit teams targeting al Qaeda members and their allies." Some former CIA officials are, quite frankly, annoyed. Not only do they believe that Prince is overplaying any role he may have had or still has with the agency, but they believe he is exploiting it for personal gain. Few of the sources I talked with wanted their names associated with Prince or his company, but when asked about the Vanity Fair article, CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano told me the agency has never "talked about what role contractors may or may not have played in ... initiatives over the years. But what no one should forget or overlook is the fact that this agency has the talent, tools, and authorities to go after terrorists, and has done so successfully." In other words: We can do our own jobs just fine, thank you very much, Mr. Prince. Another source with former ties to the CIA was outraged by the article, saying that Prince was putting a target on the backs of his own men by alluding to a close relationship between Blackwater and the agency. He fears that all around the world, Blackwater contractors would be perceived as agents of the CIA. A government official who also thought that the article exaggerated Prince's role in the CIA put it this way: . "Blackwater has good people. They do hard work, sharing the burdens of service overseas. But they're not well-served by strange tales, the kind of stuff you saw in Vanity Fair about miraculous penetrations of hard intelligence targets or private assassination squads with their fingers on the trigger. "That should all be shelved under fiction, the kind of stories that end with the alarm clock going off and mom calling you down to breakfast," the official said. What the article doesn't say is just how much of a PR headache Prince has become. One of the lessons that has come with the marriage between private and military is that for a private business, PR can be crucial to your survival; for a covert operation, it can be deadly. Striking a balance between the two has been the source of much hand-wringing in Washington. But no matter how you feel about private military contracting, it is here to stay. All of the major U.S. agencies -- the State Department, the Department of Defense, the CIA -- do business with Prince, and all are dependent on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. I flew with Prince to Afghanistan shortly after the shootings in a Baghdad traffic circle in September of 2007 that killed 17 people. Blackwater guards were accused. Four pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial; a fifth struck a deal with prosecutors. Prince's frustration was obvious. He felt like he had given everything to his country and that his country had let him down in countless ways; namely by not defending him publicly when his company came under fire after the shootings. Prince says he does what he does for love of country, but of course, he doesn't do it for free. His companies have received well over a billion dollars in the process. I asked his spokesperson to comment on concerns that Prince might be jeopardizing agency programs by going public with the details -- after all, he does have a security clearance. The response was this: "Truth is he is a quiet hero, a great patriot and American. We need more men like him." Quiet? Really? The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Suzanne Simons.

CIA dealing with revelations by Erik Prince, founder of military contractor Blackwater . He paints himself in magazine article as entrenched in sensitive CIA secret missions . Suzanne Simons says many are annoyed Prince complains about government that pays him well . She says military contractors have more people in Afghanistan than U.S. troops there .

(CNN) -- Richard Turere, 13, doesn't like lions. In fact, he hates them. Yet this bright Maasai boy has devised an innovative solution that's helping the survival of these magnificent beasts -- by keeping them away from humans. Living on the edge of Nairobi National Park, in Kenya, Turere first became responsible for herding and safeguarding his family's cattle when he was just nine. But often, his valuable livestock would be raided by the lions roaming the park's sweet savannah grasses, leaving him to count the losses. "I grew up hating lions very much," says Turere, who is from Kitengela, just south of the capital Nairobi. "They used to come at night and feed on our cattle when we were sleeping." Read this: Boy's website tracks big beasts . So, at the age of 11, Turere decided it was time to find a way of protecting his family's cows, goats and sheep from falling prey to hungry lions. His light bulb moment came with one small observation. "One day, when I was walking around," he says, "I discovered that the lions were scared of the moving light." Turere realized that lions were afraid of venturing near the farm's stockade when someone was walking around with a flashlight. He put his young mind to work and a few weeks later he'd come up with an innovative, simple and low-cost system to scare the predators away. He fitted a series of flashing LED bulbs onto poles around the livestock enclosure, facing outward. The lights were wired to a box with switches and to an old car battery powered by a solar panel. They were designed to flicker on and off intermittently, thus tricking the lions into believing that someone was moving around carrying a flashlight. And it worked. Since Turere rigged up his "Lion Lights," his family has not lost any livestock to the wild beasts, to the great delight of his father and astonishment of his neighbors. Read this: Teaching lions and humans to get along . What's even more impressive is that Turere devised and installed the whole system by himself, without ever receiving any training in electronics or engineering. The 13-year-old's remarkable ingenuity has been recognized with an invitation to the TED 2013 conference, being held this week in California, where he'll share the stage with some of the world's greatest thinkers, innovators and scientists. "I did it myself, no one taught me, I just came up with it," says Turere. "I had to look after my dad's cows and make sure that they were safe." Human-wildlife conflict . Nairobi is the world's only capital with a national park, where wild lions, rhinos and other beasts roam free against the urban backdrop of skyscrapers rising from the nearby bustling city center. Each year, thousands of camera-toting tourists visit the park -- which is fenced along its northern boundary but open in the south -- hoping to catch a glimpse of the lions inhabiting its rolling plains and valleys. Read this: Orphaned girl starts university at 14 . But for the pastoralists and Maasai tribes around the park, a lion sighting is usually bad news; valuable livestock are often lost to lions looking for easy prey, prompting rural communities to take matters into their own hands. In some cases they've killed whole prides that they perceived as threat, or as retaliation for lost livestock. The use of pesticides such as Furadan -- a tablespoon of which costs less than a dollar and is enough to kill a lion -- has become a particularly ruthless way of doing so. The rising human-wildlife conflict, coupled with a fast-growing urban encroachment, means that Kenya is now home to less than 2,000 lions, a massive drop compared to the 15,000 that lived there just a decade ago. Large sums have been spent in recent years by officials in a bid to protect the lions and strengthen Kenya's tourism industry. Yet conservationists say that many of these top-down initiatives fail to gain traction with local populations. And this is why inventions like Turere's -- home grown, simple, affordable and effective -- can make a big difference. Indeed, several neighbors of the Turere family in Kitengela have sought Turere's help, asking him to install the system in their enclosures. In total, around 75 "Lion Light" systems have so far been rigged up around Kenya. "This is a solution that was invented by somebody in the community," explains Paula Kahumbu, executive director of the Kenya Land Conservation Trust and chairman of the Friends of Nairobi National Park. "Therefore the support for it is very high." Bright ideas, bright future . Kahumbu and her colleagues first came across Turere's innovation some two years ago in the course of their fieldwork. Stunned by the boy's achievements, they helped him get a scholarship at Brookhouse International School, one of Kenya's top educational institutions, where he started last April. "Richard is quite an extraordinary boy," says Kahumbu. She describes him as a "very smart, curious and surprisingly confident [boy] for his age and background," who's integrated smoothly among his new classmates, most of whom are from wealthy families. "One thing that's unique about Richard is that if you give him a problem, he'll keep working at it until he can fix it," she adds. "He doesn't give up; he doesn't find things too difficult; he's not afraid of being unable to do something and I think this is why he is such a good innovator -- because he's not worried that it might not work, he's going to try and do it anyway." Turere says his dream is to work in aviation when he grows up. "Three years ago when I was in the savannah herding my father's cattle I used to see the planes flying over and landing at the airport and I was like, one day I'll be a pilot and an aircraft engineer," he says. For this remarkable boy, it's clear that the sky is the limit.

Richard Turere, 13, has found an innovative way to protect his family's cattle from lions . He created "Lion Lights," which keeps the predators away from the family's enclosure . The Kenyan boy will speak about his invention at the TED 2013 conference .