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(CNN) -- A decision by world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking not to attend a conference in Israel in support of an academic boycott of the country has sparked controversy in Israel and a vitriolic debate online. Hawking, who's a professor at Britain's Cambridge University, had initially accepted an invitation to the high-profile Israeli Presidential Conference, taking place in Jerusalem in June. His change of heart this week appears to be the result of pressure from Palestinian academics to abide by a boycott set up in protest over Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. "A letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli president's office from Stephen Hawking regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference, based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott," a Cambridge University spokesman told CNN on Thursday. Hawking is also unable currently to fly for health reasons, the spokesman said. Cambridge University initially said Hawking's poor health was the reason he was no longer attending, according to local media reports. Hawking, who is quadriplegic as a result of an incurable degenerative disease, has had repeated health problems. Hawking's letter said he had first accepted the invitation "to express my opinion on the prospects for a peace settlement but also because it would allow me to lecture on the West Bank," the conference organizers said. His decision to boycott the conference, hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres, a Nobel peace laureate, has prompted a "Twitterstorm." Some tweeters accuse him of anti-Semitism or comment on his physical disabilities, while others applaud his support for the Palestinian academics. One tweeter, Ali Abunimah, observes: "Amazing how many Israelis on Facebook want Stephen Hawking dead, electrocuted or made to suffer in other nasty ways." Haaretz writer Chemi Shalev, who describes himself as a "political junkie, proud father, concerned Israeli, veteran journalist," tweets: "My take: Stephen #Hawking is now the academic boycott movement's unlikely poster boy." 'Outrageous and improper' Israel Maimon, chairman of the Presidential Conference, said Hawking's decision to pull out of the event was wrong. "The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and improper, certainly for someone for whom the spirit of liberty lies at the basis of his human and academic mission," he said in a statement. "Israel is a democracy in which all individuals are free to express their opinions, whatever they may be. The imposition of a boycott is incompatible with open, democratic dialogue." Some 5,000 people from around the world are expected to attend, Maimon said, to hear speakers who include global technology company executives, academics, Nobel laureates, artists and past and present world leaders. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Soviet-era President Mikhail Gorbachev and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair are all expected to attend, he added. Hawking, who's also a cosmologist, astronomer and mathematician, is the author of books including the best-seller, "A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes." The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement was established in 2005 by Palestinian civil society groups, which called for international groups and "people of conscience" to boycott or put pressure on Israel "until it complies with international law and Palestinian rights." Omar Barghouti, one of the founding members of the movement, told CNN: "Stephen Hawking is the most prominent academic today to respect the Palestinian boycott guidelines and to refuse to visit Israel. This reminds us of the moral weight of academics in the boycott of apartheid of South Africa." He said Hawking had been convinced by the "unanimous Palestinian voice" he heard from his contacts within the Palestinian community. "There is deep appreciation among the Palestinians for Professor Hawking's respecting the boycott, and we sincerely hope that we convince many hesitant academics to follow suit and to shoulder a moral responsibility of boycotting Israel until it complies with international law," Barghouti said. The Jerusalem Post reports that Hawking has visited Israel four times, most recently in 2006, when he lectured at Israeli and Palestinian universities. West Bank housing . Israel's government gave initial approval Wednesday to plans to build 296 housing units in the settlement of Bethel, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas strongly condemned the decision, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said Thursday. Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina, in a media statement quoted by WAFA, said the Israeli move would sabotage the peace process and efforts made by the U.S. administration to move it forward. A U.N. Human Rights Council report in January said Israeli settlements had taken a "heavy toll" on the rights and sovereignty of Palestinians. It outlined the consistent violation of Palestinians' rights in what it called a "creeping annexation" by Israel in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Palestinians welcomed the report's findings, but Israel, which considers the Human Right Council to be biased, said the report would hurt the peace process. There are about 250 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the report said, all started since Israel seized the lands after the Six Day War in 1967. Israel's consistently growing presence in East Jerusalem and the West Bank has caused great tension between Israel and the Arab world, including Palestinians. Israel says its presence is needed for security. CNN's Kareem Khadder, Stephanie Halasz, Michael Schwartz and Saad Abedine contributed to this report.

NEW: Founder of Palestinian boycott movement welcomes Hawking's decision . Physicist Stephen Hawking decides to pull out of a high-profile conference in Israel . Hawking's move prompts fierce reaction on Twitter, including accusations of anti-Semitism . Conference organizer says academic boycott against Israel is "outrageous and improper"

(CNN)Mars One, a group that plans to send humans on a one-way trip to Mars, has announced its final 100 candidates. They have been selected from 200,000 applicants and will go on to further testing later this year, which they expect to include team-building exercises and later, isolation. Eventually, 24 will be selected to make up six crews of four, which Mars One says they hope to launch to the Red Planet every two years from 2024, with the aim of starting a colony there. The Dutch non-profit hopes to use existing technology to carry out the mission. However, the planet has always been a difficult target for exploration, with only around half of all unmanned missions succeeding. The journey itself is expected to take around seven months, and a recent MIT study found that, should the first explorers succeed in landing, using current technology they would likely survive just 68 days. So what kind of person chooses to go to Mars on a one-way mission? The list of 100 finalists includes scientists and academics as well as those who are just seeking the ultimate adventure. We spoke to two of the British hopefuls. For Rigby, a chemistry graduate, who currently works as a secondary school lab technician, it is a lifelong passion for space that led to her decision to apply. "I have always been interested in space; I grew up in the 80s watching shuttle launches, but always used to think that space travel was just for the Americans. When the opportunity came up I had to put my name forward." But she admits that not everyone has been happy with her decision to apply, and the risks associated. "Generally the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive from my friends and family since I told them I was down to the final 100, but it's going to be difficult for my mum. I haven't told her yet," she says. Rigby explains that when she first applied in 2013, her mum told her she didn't want her to go as she knew she would be selected and that she would never see her daughter again. "I am very divided by it, but the way I see it, I have a responsibility to more people," Rigby says. She believes that the whole purpose of the mission is to inspire a new generation and that she has a responsibly to those who come after her. And she is unfazed by those who claim the whole idea is improbable: "Pioneers are always ridiculed, but I am doing this for something better, which will hopefully benefit more people than just staying at home and keeping my mum happy." Opinion: How will space explorers cope with isolation? It is this sense of responsibility and passion for the plans which drove Rigby through her selection process. Her initial video application included a speech she had rehearsed several times, talking about how Mars One is all about doing something for the greater good. She also had to take a standard medical examination and then a 15-minute interview, where Rigby was quizzed on past Mars missions and plans for Mars One. She succeeded in answering every question correctly. As for the risk -- "of course I am scared," she says. "It's something that has never been done before, it's a leap into the unknown. When people ask me why I am going to Mars to die, I say we are all going to die, but it's important what you do before you die." "I applied because it is the ultimate opportunity," explains Weedon, a 27-year-old manager who describes herself as somebody who doesn't want to lead the ordinary "nine-to-five" kind of life. "I want to be able to go down in history," she says. "I want to be able to say I made a difference to the future of mankind." Weedon doesn't have a background in science, but says she is driven by the challenge. It's an aspiration shared by her family: Weedon's brother also applied but was not selected for the final 100. "My brother is pretty jealous, but the rest of my friends and family are proud and excited." The only exception is Weedon's boyfriend, who doesn't want her to go. Weedon thinks it was her teamworking skills which saw her through this far -- in her current job she works as part of a group of four, the same size as the planned Mars One crew. But she's not pretending a trip to Mars is going to be a walk in the park. "When I think about it seriously I am petrified," she says, "but that doesn't put me off, it drives me forward." Though she admits she doesn't know if she is the right person for the job: "Nobody can say 100% how they will react until training." Like many who applied, the chance to join the small group of people who have left our planet is the biggest draw for Weedon. But there are still questions over whether the mission will even happen. As well as the MIT study raising doubts over the technology, Mars One must raise an estimated $6 billion, which it hopes to achieve through various methods, including crowdfunding, sponsorship and sales. But Weedon is optimistic. "I definitely think it will happen, but in terms of the current roadmap, I just don't know whether it will happen on time," she says. "A lot will depend on the unmanned missions planned for 2018." Not daunted by the prospect of leaving behind friends and family, Weedon believes that the one-way trip is what needs to be done if we are ever to colonize Mars. "Leaving will be a test of character, but we will still have contact through emails -- it's not game over." Astronaut set to spend one year in space .

Mars One announces 100 candidates for Mars colony . First launch is planned for 2024, to land in 2025 . There are doubts over the feasibility of the project, but "pioneers are always ridiculed," says Mars hopeful Alison Rigby .

San Francisco (CNN) -- The America's Cup, the most prestigious yachting race in the world and its oldest at 162 years, will seemingly join the aviation age this weekend when a new design of boat sails as fast as 52 mph. The sight of these modern catamarans -- whose mainsail is even called a "wing" -- has been described as "flying" sailboats because the hulls will rise out of the water and ride on hydrofoils, moving faster than the wind itself. As one race skipper said in the race's promotions, "once the boat foils, it's like hitting a turbo button in a car." If this spectacle seems mind-boggling, it's intended: The America's Cup is better known for its old-fashioned sailboats -- the sloop, which has one hull with a fabric mainsail -- that in 2007 reached a top average speed of 14 mph, or 12 knots. Now the organizers of America's Cup -- led by Silicon Valley executive Larry Ellison, whose Oracle team won the last championship in 2010 -- have transformed the sport into "a new-age speedster" event, designed to draw new audiences to international sport's oldest trophy, which predates the modern Olympics by 45 years. To lure spectators, the America's Cup is being held for the first time inshore, not offshore, in San Francisco Bay, where gusty winds and a scenic shoreline are part of a strategy to make the regatta a sensational made-for-TV sport. As to be expected with such grand plans, however, the new America's Cup is roiling in controversy and concerns that its thrill-seeking is just too deadly. One sailor was killed in May while practicing for the race in the bay aboard the Swedish Artemis Racing team's boat when it capsized in winds only a little above normal at 25 to 35 mph. Andrew Simpson, 36, was a double Olympic medalist. The race has a high financial price, too -- scaring off some racers. "We've had our issues, we've had our accidents, we've had a tragic loss of life," acknowledged Iain Murray, regatta director of the 2013 America's Cup. The cost to field a team -- around $100 million-- is being blamed for a smaller-than-expected field of challengers. The regatta begins Saturday and could end September 14 at the earliest. Entry requires a specially designed sailboat, called the AC72, the shorthand for the 72-foot-long America's Cup catamarans. As such, it has become a billionaire's pastime to build a boat and assemble a crew. The four boats vying for the Cup -- the smallest fleet in history -- mirror such wealth. Ellison, the world's fifth richest man, has again funded Oracle Team USA in this year's finals. Team Artemis of Sweden belongs to Torbjorn Tornqvist, an oil entrepreneur in that country. Italy's Luna Rossa is backed by the head of the fashion house Prada, Patrizio Bertelli, who is worth $6.7 billion. And the New Zealand team is financed by its government and Emirates Airlines as well as other sponsors. Critics say the 21st century marketing strategy of the race tarnishes the grand ol' Cup, founded in 1851. "It was big money before. This time it's mega-money, and that's one of the failings of this edition of the America's Cup. This one has just been too expensive for the times and too complicated in terms of the technology needed," said Jack Griffin, an expert on sail racing who's regarded as a historian of the America's Cup. Enthusiasts such as Griffin were expecting as many as 15 teams, including from China, Korea and Australia, to seek the Cup. That number didn't materialize. "I think people just said this is too hard for me. I can't win," Griffin said. Race officials acknowledge how an expensive sport is getting more expensive, but that's true for other sport teams, whether it's baseball or football. "Well, I think you can look at many sports -- you can look at a NASCAR team, a Formula One team, you can look at a polo team -- you can spend that amount of money on a lot of different teams," said regatta director Murray. Even so, he said he wished more boats sought this year's Cup. But the payoff could be legions of newcomers fascinated by speed and technology -- as well as the coastal vistas. America's Cup sailboats can reach 35 knots, or 40 mph, in winds of almost half that amount, at 18 knots or 21 mph. Hydrofoils reduce drag and boost speed. "There's no denying that the hundreds of millions being spent are bringing a new excitement to the sport and perhaps some new fans as the final series of the Cup is about to get underway," Murray added. A new era is unfurling in sailing, Murray said. Though it's strongly criticized, Murray defended the modernization of a world classic. "We have boats sailing around 50 mph -- which is unheard of in the history of sailing," Murray said. "The way these guys are pushing these boats, it's quite remarkable and a huge test of the competency of putting a crew together to race in the America's Cup. So I look back and say it was the right decision."

The America's Cup will feature a new design of boat, a catamaran with hydrofoils . The boat can sail 52 mph, "an unheard of" speed in sailboat racing . But fewer teams are entering the race because it's now so expensive . Race organizers defend their strategy to seek new audiences for the race .

Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Ukraine and Russia plan to approve a road map to improved trade relations on Tuesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Sunday in a late-night interview on Ukraine's national broadcaster, Inter TV. The announcement comes just hours after a European Union officer said the EU had halted work on a trade agreement with Ukraine, after Kiev failed to show "clear commitment" to signing the deal. Stefan Fule, European commissioner for enlargement and European neighborhood policy, said earlier Sunday on Twitter that the words and deeds of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his government on the proposed pact were "further & further apart. Their arguments have no grounds in reality." Fule said he had told Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov in Brussels, Belgium, last week that further discussion on the agreement was conditional on a clear commitment by Kiev to sign the deal, but he had received no response. "Work on hold, had no answer," he tweeted. Last month, Kiev spurned the agreement in favor of closer economic ties with Moscow, and the prime minister's Sunday night interview revealed new details about that relationship. Azarov said that in addition to the trade relations deal, he hoped an agreement could be reached Tuesday on gas commerce, which would hopefully provide a solution for Ukraine's unprofitable gas transportation system. "We hope to renew negotiations about the three-party consortium, which would include Europe as well, to provide transparent conditions for gas transit and gas transportation system management," Azarov said. However, Azarov rejected claims that Ukraine is leaning toward joining Russia and other former Soviet republics in the Customs Union. "These are speculations. None of the papers we have prepared are in any way related to the Customs Union," he said. Ukraine's recent diplomatic activity has sparked mass protests. Thousands of people have poured onto the streets of the capital, angered by the government's U-turn away from integration with Europe. Setting up tents and barricades, they have stood their ground in Kiev's Independence Square, known as the Maidan, paralyzing the center of the capital. On Sunday the protesters were addressed by U.S. Sen. John McCain, who has been critical of Ukrainian authorities' use of force against demonstrators. "People of Ukraine, this is your moment. This is about you, no one else. This is about the future you want for your country. This is about the future you deserve," he said to loud cheers and chants of "Thank you." "A future in Europe, a future of peace, with all of your neighbors. The free world is with you, America is with you, I am with you." The senator visited Independence Square on Saturday, where he snapped pictures with his cell phone as he met with opposition leaders. He was accompanied on stage Sunday by Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut. "Ukraine will make Europe better and Europe will make Ukraine better," McCain said. A pro-government rally was also being held Sunday. The anti-government demonstrations are the biggest since the Orange Revolution overturned the results of the eastern European country's 2004 presidential election. East vs. West . The EU had kept its offer on the table, and the bloc's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, on Thursday said Yanukovych had assured her Kiev intended to sign the deal after she met with him. A day earlier, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told a government meeting Ukraine was still open to signing the European integration deal, if the European Union would agree to provide financial assistance to Ukraine of around 20 billion euros ($27.5 billion). On Sunday however, an EU diplomat told CNN there was "lack of clear commitment and timetable." "We have had no reply (on timetable) from the Ukrainian authorities and so there is no basis to continue work," the diplomat added. Ukraine is split between pro-European regions in the west of the country and a more Russia-oriented east. Protesters say an EU agreement would open borders to trade and set the stage for modernization and inclusion. They accuse Yanukovych of preparing to take the country into a Moscow-led customs union. Moscow has leverage that may have affected Yanukovych's decision last month to backpedal on the EU talks because Russia supplies Ukraine with natural gas. The EU is also pressuring Yanukovych to free his chief political opponent, Yulia Tymoshenko, who has languished in jail for two years after being convicted of abuse of power in 2011. The EU and other critics decried the verdict as a sham. The Orange Revolution that swept Yanukovych from office in 2004 also brought the pro-Western Tymoshenko to power. At the rallies in Independence Square, protesters have carried her picture. Investigation . Kiev's handling of the protests has been met with stern responses from Western governments. In an overnight crackdown last week, police tore down barricades the protesters had set up. Before that, violence had broken out at a previous demonstration. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating some top government officials over the beating of students at anti-government protests two weeks ago. The subjects of the criminal investigation include Ukrainian Deputy Secretary for National Security Vladimir Sivkovich, Kiev Police Chief Valery Koryak and Kiev Mayor Oleksandr Popov. A fourth person also is under investigation. The case will be put before a judge on Monday, who could order house arrest for those being investigated, said Valery Vilkova, spokeswoman for the general prosecutor. READ : Ukraine protests: 5 things you need to know . CNN's Mark Morgenstein contributed to this report .

NEW: Ukraine's PM says road map to improved Russia-Ukraine trade relations to be signed . EU official says Kiev has failed to show "clear commitment" "Work on hold," EU Commissioner Fule tweets . "America is with you, I am with you," Sen. McCain tells demonstrators in Kiev .

(CNN) -- "Well, how do you remember any son?" John Regelbrugge II asked in a telephone call from his home in northern California. The body of his son, Navy Cmdr. John Regelbrugge III, 49, was among at least 16 bodies recovered after a massive landslide Saturday swallowed houses and trailers in Washington's Cascade Mountains. At least eight more bodies await inclusion in the official count once medical examiners identify them. "I mean, you know, he was just one hell of a man," his father recalled. "He was a great boy, very active in sports. He loved to hunt. He was one of my hunting partners for years until he went to the Navy." The Navy, where Regelbrugge served 32 years, said in a statement Thursday that it was still awaiting the coroner's official report before releasing information about "our dear shipmate and his family." But John Regelbrugge II, 72, had no doubt. The commander's brothers and two of his sons found his body in a debris field near where Regelbrugge lived with his wife, Kris, who also died. They had hoped to run into him helping the rescue effort, his father said. "Actually, he's not officially dead yet," said his father, choking with emotion. "You know how the red tape is, the medical examiner and all that crap. There's no two ways about it. I mean, the boy that called me says, he's laying at my feet dead. He had the dog next to him. They weren't going to give up until they found him." His son's Navy uniforms and his officer's sword was across the river from where the two-story house once stood in the remote, mountainous area. His son appeared to have his arms up, perhaps trying to protect himself, his father said. Regelbrugge and his wife had slept in on Saturday morning, when they had expected to travel to Seattle to visit their daughter, Sara. "His brother Greg lives up there and called him at 9:40 in the morning, and he said John just got up and they would get going in a little bit," John Regelbrugge II recalled. "Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, the mud hit. They never got going." Regelbrugge II and his wife raised their family in a rugged and isolated community northwest of Sacramento. That passion for the outdoors and the beauty of the mountains drew his son and his wife to Darrington. "We live in the middle of nowhere as it is," the father said. "Right now, I'm about nine miles north of a town of about 5,000 and six miles southeast of a town of a little over 1,000. When John went to school ... there were 800 people in town and a graduating class of 20 or 21 kids. He's always been in the country. He enjoyed being out. He used to love to ride the horses. He and one of his brothers would disappear up into the hills on the horses and come back hours later." From Darrington, Regelbrugge commuted to his job at an area naval base, his father said. "He bought that place in the middle of nowhere," said John Regelbrugge II. "That's why it's so hard to believe that mudslide wiped anything out. I know they keep saying 30 homes. There were eight homes on Steelhead Drive and that's where he was. I never saw nothing but a few farms around there. Those eight homes are gone." John Regelbrugge II said his son threw a big party the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day that was attended by neighbors from Steelhead Drive and the vicinity. "All the neighbors were there -- 30 of them," he said. "That was everybody that lived there. They were real tight. Everybody had a half-acre or three-quarters of an acre. There were like 30 people living there, and 20-something of them are dead." Regelbrugge recently served aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. A 2012 tweet from the Navy said that at the time, he had three sons in the service: Brian Regelbrugge was a cryptologic technician 2nd Class in the Navy; Kyle Regelbrugge was a Navy machinist's mate fireman; and Scott Regelbrugge was an Army corporal. The couple also had two daughters. "He loved the Navy," John Regelbrugge II said. "That was his big thing. He was his mom's sailor boy. He had over 27 years on his sea clock. He was out to sea a lot. He took the Navy like a duck takes to water." Scott Regelbrugge left to work at a local sawmill before the landslide came, his grandfather said. When Regelbrugge joined the Navy, he would write poems to his late mother, Grace. "She was so proud of him," the eldest Regelbrugge recalled. "She passed away on July 28 at 10:35 in the morning. I'm still trying to get over that. She died of pancreatic cancer. That upset Johnny something terrible too." Since his mother's death, Regelbrugge had called his father twice a day to check on him. "He was worried about me," the father said. "I prefer to be alone after my wife died." Asked how he remembered his son, the father said simply: "John just loved life." How to help the victims . CNN's Chelsea J. Carter, Ana Cabrera and Ben Brumfield contributed to this report.

Navy Cmdr. John Regelbrugge III and his wife were found after deadly landslide . The couple slept in on the morning of the landslide, his father said . Regelbrugge's brothers and two of his sons found his body . Victim's father: "There were like 30 people living there and 20-something of them are dead"

(CNN) -- Your tax dollars that fund Medicare may be going toward excessive amounts of name-brand drugs when cheaper generics could be prescribed instead, a new report suggests. A small portion of doctors nationwide is costing American taxpayers big time because of their tendency to prescribe name-brand medications through Medicare even when generics are available, according to an analysis by ProPublica, a nonprofit organization producing "investigative journalism in the public interest." The biggest offenders are 913 practitioners who, thanks to disproportionately prescribing name-brand drugs, cost taxpayers an extra $300 million in 2011, say ProPublica's Charles Ornstein, Tracy Weber and Jennifer LaFleur. Each of these doctors wrote at least 5,000 prescriptions that year, according to the report. Many of these doctors also had financial ties to the companies that manufacture the drugs they prescribed, ProPublica reports, and have accepted thousands of dollars from drug companies in the form of promotional or consulting fees. Although Medicare's drug program has been considered an achievement in government health care, "this seeming fiscal success has hidden billions of dollars lost to unnecessarily expensive prescribing over the program's eight-year history," the report said. The detriments of Part D . Part of the wasted money results from well-intended aspects of Medicare. A provision called Part D, which has given individuals with low incomes access to cheap medications, has at the same time enabled doctors to prescribe name-brand drugs without complaint from low-income patients, ProPublica said. Regardless of the medication's cost, Part D allows patients to pay less than $7 per prescription if they have low incomes. The lack of incentives for cheaper drugs for low-income patients is an important point raised by the report, said Jonathan Gruber, an MIT economics professor who was not involved in the study. Insurance companies can use financial incentives to sway participants who are not impoverished toward generic coverage, Gruber said, which has generally prompted a shift toward lower-cost generic coverage. But low-income populations are covered by the subsidy, which caps what they pay for prescriptions anyway, so there aren't financial incentives for the use of generics. "Medicare needs to find a different way to monitor prescribing patterns and lower costs for this population," Gruber said in an e-mail. Part D cost taxpayers $62 billion last year, and more than a third of that went toward this low-income subsidy, ProPublica reported. More than 11 million people receive the subsidy. The ProPublica piece pointed to an analysis from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, which reports to Congress on Medicare, showing that Medicare could save $1.3 billion a year in seven drug categories if generics were prescribed to low-income patients and other Medicare enrollees in the same proportion. The savings might be even more, to the tune of $44 billion in a decade, according to the Washington think tank Bipartisan Policy Center. Medicare pays for one in four prescriptions in the United States, ProPublica said, but it does not limit the name-brand drugs that physicians can prescribe. Who are the doctors prescribing so many name-brand medications? ProPublica found some patterns in ethnic neighborhoods and areas around large cities. For instance, a stretch of Koreatown in Los Angeles has seven of the doctors with high rates of name-brand prescribing, and a building in Brooklyn with six such doctors is in a Russian community. The "average cost of a Part D prescription in these enclaves can be more than 50 percent higher than that of surrounding areas," ProPublica said. A challenge for the medical community . The report's findings about money wasted on brand-name drugs aren't too surprising, said Dr. Tara Bishop, assistant professor of public health and medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. "I think that there's a lot of marketing and misconceptions about how good is the newest, latest drug for which there's not a generic alternative," said Bishop, who was not involved with the ProPublica report. There are few instances where brand-name drugs are superior to their generic alternative, Bishop said. She could not think of a specific example. "By and large, if there is a generic, it should be prescribed," she said. There are some efforts already in place toward addressing the problem. For instance, the way Bishop's electronic health records are set up, when she enters a medication into her system, a generic gets automatically prescribed if one is available. She also noted that sometimes pharmacies will give patients the generic version of a drug even if the brand name has been prescribed unless the physician has specified otherwise. There are also drugs that have no generic equivalent, Bishop noted. But for those that do have generic alternatives, marketing efforts are generally stronger for the brand-name versions. "Many of us who practice medicine and know about the issues of rising health care costs, know that we spend a lot on brand-name medications when we don't necessarily need to," she said. "This is an interesting study because it quantifies it with a very small group of doctors." Variations in prescriptions for brand-name drugs have been on the radar of many insurance companies and health care researchers, Bishop said. They should look at the issues presented in the ProPublica report to help control rising health care costs, she said. Why some doctors continue prescribing brand-name versions of drugs that have generic equivalents is an important question, she said. "That's a question that the medical community has to come to terms with," she said. "Are we not being good stewards of the resources that are available by prescribing things that could have cheaper, as effective alternatives?"

ProPublica report: Hundreds of millions of dollars wasted on name-brand drugs . Taxpayers paid $300 million extra in 2011 thanks to 913 practitioners, report says . Medicare Part D has no incentive for low-income patients to demand generics, professor says .

(CNN) -- For a good part of her career, Martina McBride's success has largely been due to relying on Nashville songwriters and approaching arrangements in a pop-country fashion. While hits like "Wild Angels," "A Broken Wing" and "Wrong Again" solidified her position as country radio royalty, McBride's shaking things up these days. She's ditched both of those early crutches and now is exploring writing on her own and injecting a more roots-oriented sound into her instrumentation. Such is the case with "Eleven," McBride's 11th studio album, which drops today. These days, she's working with new management, has a new label in Republic Nashville and wrote six of the 11 songs that appear on her latest project . As the 45-year-old singer soldiers on, what about this moment inspired change, and how's her own songwriting coming along? CNN spoke with McBride recently as she was prepping for a concert in Minot, North Dakota. CNN: "Eleven" comes with a lot of professional changes. Why is this? Martina McBride: You know, sometimes it's just time to shake things up a little bit. When you've been at a certain place and management for 18 years, I just felt like I really need someone around me with some fresh ideas, some new passion and energy. CNN: As female country musicians age these days, are there pressures to stay youthful? How does one age gracefully in Nashville? McBride: Oh, I think the same way you age gracefully anywhere else. Females have always had more of a focus on the way they look. No matter what business your in, if you're in the public eye -- whether you're an actor or a rock musician or even head of a corporation, it's always been that way. You just try ... I don't know, I try not to focus on it. I'm still the same voice I had before, and I still have a lot to say. CNN: "Eleven" was largely written by you -- something you've taken on recently. What's your writing process like? McBride: It's different every time. Sometimes I'll have an idea or a title. ... I'm still growing as a writer. One thing I think I bring to the table is having a certain type of lyric, in that I want the song to feel honest and real. I don't do it 365 days a year, so I'm fresh. I also don't know a lot of the rules, which is probably a good thing. For me, it's still about discovery. I'm still in the stage of writing that I'm discovering, getting confidence as a writer and that I do have some talent for it. It's a good discovery at this stage of the game. CNN: And sometimes songwriters who start out at 20, by 30 they feel like they're all tapped out. McBride: I grew up admiring Linda Ronstadt, Pat Benatar, Reba (McEntire). I didn't really grow up enamored only with singer-songwriters. When I moved to Nashville, it wasn't a big deal for me just to find songs by great writers and make them my own. But what I really found with this record was that it's so nice to not have to wait for someone to write something. Obviously, I love every record I've made, but I feel like this record is more authentic to me. I don't know. It's different than just singing a song after it's already been written. I'm excited about that. CNN: On "Eleven" the first single's called "Teenage Daughters," which is about the trouble they can cause. Did you give your parents any heart attacks growing up? McBride: Oh, oh, yeah. So far, my daughter is much better than me. I grew up on a farm in really rural Kansas, where there was nothing to do. Out of boredom, the activities we found to do, weren't exactly the best for my parents to go through. But I think the song's about -- the teenage experience and wanting that independence and rebelling against the rule is so common, no matter where you are in the world. CNN: It seems harder these days to be a teenager. McBride: It's different. They have a lot of peer pressure. We all did, but they have a cavalier attitude about things. They don't have the same caution about certain things and are more like "whatever, it's not that big a deal." CNN: You were associated with the pop-country movement of the '90s, but listening to "Eleven" and looking at your recent output, it doesn't seem like you're interested in that anymore. McBride: It's interesting that you say that. I don't know if I ever stood out to make a particular type of record. Before, I was so dependent on the songs I found and the songs that came in. I was drawn to certain types of songs but I didn't have the luxury of waiting around for years and years. I had a vision of "Eleven" being more organic, more retro, like a '70s rock record. It is less pop. CNN: On the Grammys, you performed a tribute to Aretha Franklin with Christina Aguilera, Florence Welch, Jennifer Hudson and Yolanda Adams. Are there aspects of pop and rock these days you find intriguing? McBride: I love Train's new record. And I love One Republic's record. My daughter's really into the Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons, so I've been listening to them recently. That's a whole new type of thing; I don't know what you'd call that.

Martina McBride drops her 11th album today . The singer is taking the reins and writing more of her own material . She says her latest project is less pop than past albums .

(CNN) -- Almost ten years ago to the day, the world watched aghast as scenes of carnage unfolded across the countries of the Indian Ocean. The 2004 tsunami was one of the most devastating natural disasters in living memory and the donor response -- a huge outpouring of governmental and private support -- a heartening riposte to what was a hugely traumatizing event. It has provided an ideal case study for disaster relief, and an Oxfam report, published today, examines the lessons that have been learned, as well as areas that the humanitarian relief sector still needs to improve upon. Widespread disaster . The tsunami, which hit communities as far afield as Thailand, Indonesia, Somalia and Madagascar, was sparked by a massive, 9.1 magnitude earthquake which struck off the western coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The immediate impact was devastation. A staggering five million people needed humanitarian assistance in the first few days following the incident. The hardest-hit countries -- Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand -- were among the poorest, and the disaster only compounded the developmental and societal issues those nations were already facing. Unprecedented donations . Oxfam says the response to the humanitarian catastrophe was the "largest-ever privately funded response," with private donations making up 40% of all money raised -- an impressive $5.4 billion, which came close to matching government donations of $6.4 billion. A further $2 billion of disaster relief funding came in the form of loans and grants. Oxfam itself raised $294m for the tsunami relief effort, with over 90% of its funds coming from private donors. Jane Cocking, Oxfam's Humanitarian Director told CNN it was largely the "absolutely horrific" scale of the tragedy that brought out peoples' generosity. "People automatically empathized, they came out of the blue and just wanted to help." "All the things that come together to ensure that people do connect were all there -- it was a natural disaster (as opposed to a man-made humanitarian crisis), it was enormous, completely unexpected," she said. Multinational assistance . Oxfam sent aid to seven of the worst-affected countries and continued to provide assistance well after the initial relief effort. The scale and effectiveness of the relief operation meant many of the countries were able to return to some semblance of normality a few short months after the disaster had such a widespread impact. In the wake of the disaster, badly-hit regions opted to "build back better," creating solid infrastructure better able to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis, and investing more in emergency education and evacuation procedures. But the speed and level of funding for the disaster was unprecedented, and in itself almost overwhelming; like other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Oxfam soon halted fundraising for the disaster, urging the public to donate to other, less-well publicized emergencies by mid-January 2005. Lessons learned . The charity says that one of the key lessons learned from the tsunami and its aftermath is that humanitarian funding needs to become more equitable. Pooled funds, Cocking says, allow agencies like Oxfam to use donations for humanitarian crises which are equally important, but perhaps not as high impact. "There is simply not enough money going into the humanitarian system," Cocking says. "Having donations spread out enables impartiality -- people in South Sudan have as much right to aid as a person in the tsunami. For us to be able to allocate our funds impartiality allows us to deliver our funds in a more equitable way." The tsunami was one of the first disasters to be extensively captured on camera, and the extent of media coverage makes a sizable difference to the public -- and governments -- opening their wallets, Oxfam says. Windows into the disaster areas . Indeed, how the media has changed in its representation of natural disasters in the decade between 2004 and 2014 largely comes down to the growth of social media and access to camera-equipped mobile devices, Cocking says. "The expansion of the number of people who have access to mobile technology focuses it on experience of the individual. In the 1990s [humanitarian crisis survivors] depended on organizations like Oxfam to get the word out, but not so much any more. Now it is much more personal." Oxfam's report also highlights the importance of coordination; in 2004, the lack of a unified plan meant that efforts were scattergun, and often involved NGO workers operating outside of their main areas of expertise. Oxfam notes that "close to 200 international NGOs (were) operating in (Indonesia's) Aceh province alone." Inequalities exacerbated . The charity says that, in the aftermath of the tsunami, it learned a great deal about inequalities exacerbated by the onset of natural disasters. Women, it concludes, are more likely to die in such circumstances, a state of affairs compounded by poverty. Recruiting more female relief workers, especially at the coordination level, providing safe shelter and toilet facilities for women, and "prioritizing livelihood activities for women as well as men," can reduce this disparity, the report recommends. Having experienced the full brunt of a disaster of this magnitude, the affected countries have been urged to "build back better," enhancing their own preparedness to lessen the impact of future events. While the idea of a repeat of a natural disaster of this magnitude is unsettling, it is heartening to know that the lessons of 2004 have been digested and those aid-givers better equipped as a result.

2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the most devastating events of recent times . Disaster spurred unprecedented levels of giving . Oxfam report examines what the humanitarian sector has learned from it, 10 years on .

(CNN) -- The answer to J. C. Penney's endless woes is right in front of its corporate eyes. The answer is wearing a plain white T-shirt. And the answer has a name: . James Dean. Penney's -- the century-old chain of midmarket department stores that were once a solid downtown presence in big cities and small towns in every state -- is floundering. It seems to be in utter turmoil, and has been for a while. Some members of its board of directors have been at each other's throats; one of those directors, William Ackman, resigned last week after publicly upbraiding the others. The CEO's office might as well have a revolving door. Last fiscal year, according to The Wall Street Journal, Penney's lost $1 billion as sales dropped 25%. After a previous CEO was fired, the company took out advertisements apologizing to its customers for what the shopping experience had become. The in-store staff was reported to be demoralized and confused as the once steadfast and prosperous chain struggled to figure out what it even is. What Penney's needs right now, more than anything else, is some defining. Enter James Dean. He died in an automobile crash in 1955 at the age of 24. He had made just three movies: "Rebel Without a Cause," "East of Eden" and "Giant." But his mystique and glamour have only become bigger over the decades. James Dean, now and forever, is the very picture of youthful cool. He never grew old -- so he never grows old. What does this have to do with J. C. Penney? For years after Dean's death, there were young men all over the United States who went to Penney's for one reason: . They believed -- the rumor was widespread -- that the T-shirt for which Dean was known was a Penney Towncraft T-shirt. Plain. White. No logo. No words on it. No special tailoring. It was what James Dean -- born in Marion, Indiana, smack dab in the middle of J. C. Penney country -- favored. Or, at any rate, that was the legend -- what today might be called an urban legend. It was passed from one guy to another, without anyone being quite sure where he'd first heard it. Back then -- I can vouch for this -- young men fervently believed it, and it brought them to Penney's. Penney's, at least in their minds, was James Dean Land. Their conviction about Dean and the Penney Towncraft T-shirt was like the unshakable conviction among young Americans in the early 1960s that the lyrics to "Louie Louie" were dirty. Because of the pervasiveness of the belief, it became accepted reality. To quote from "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" -- which starred another beloved James, James Stewart -- "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." Penney's should aggressively embrace this. It should print the legend. It should pay whatever it takes to the estate of James Dean to purchase the rights to an image of him in a classic white T-shirt. And he should become the face of the chain. What has it got to lose? Nothing else is working. It has struggled with various strategies to lure shoppers, especially young shoppers. It all has failed. But James Dean is everlastingly young, perpetually rebellious. "Live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse" is a phrase often associated with him, although he did not originate it. If Penney's were to make Dean the consistent image of the company, the stores themselves might find a fresh chance at life in the victory lane. Let Walmart and Kmart and Target and Sears and Macy's and Sam's Club and all the faceless stores in all the faceless malls be just that: faceless. Penney's needs to separate itself from the pack. James Dean, and that T-shirt, are the antithesis of, even the antidote to, so much of what ails contemporary culture. Frantic self-promotion and garish logos and slogans plastered on every surface and the "look-at-me" attitude of modern life -- what is a more stark rejection of that than a plain white T-shirt? If you can get customers into your store to buy one thing, they just may stay to buy other things. The trick is getting those customers to come back through the front door. James Dean did it once for Penney's, without even trying. The chain ought to roll the dice and see if he can do it again. As it is, the recent face of Penney's has been the face of its feuding board of directors, bickering with each other as if they are auditioning for a movie called "Rebels Without a Clue." As James Dean once cried out from a movie screen: "You're tearing me apart!" That has to come to an end. The stores deserve to survive and thrive, to be the reliable part of American life that they were when they were steady on their feet. Right now, J. C. Penney's problem is that no one really knows what it stands for. Let it decide it wants to stand for that which is eternal and cool. And let it turn for help to He Who Is Eternally Cool. Would it be a risk for Penney's? Would it be taking a big chance? Sure. But, as Dean himself once reportedly said: "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." That goes for businesses, too. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.

Bob Greene: J. C. Penney is in trouble; could James Dean be the answer? He says urban legend was that Dean wore Penney's plain, white Towncraft T-shirt . He says Penney should use that; adopt Dean as face of its brand, win back customers . Greene: Penney's, a stalwart of American retail, could break from pack with Dean's help .

(CNN) -- Do you know why so many children think they're entitled to a comfy life filled with toys, smiles and puppy dogs? I blame Santa Claus. Not "white" Santa Claus or "nonwhite" Santa Claus. Just Santa Claus. Christmas came early for perennial critics of Fox News when host Megyn Kelly got sucked into the country's racial vortex by insisting that Santa Claus -- and, also, for that matter, Jesus -- is white. It all began with a column by Slate culture blogger Aisha Harris, who is African-American. In the piece, provocatively titled "Santa Claus should not be a white man anymore," Harris noted that she grew up with "two different Santa Clauses" -- one in popular culture that was white, and one she knew in her household, who was black. She advocated that, from this point on, Santa should be depicted as, eh, a penguin. Kelly was having none of it. "Just because it makes you feel uncomfortable doesn't mean it has to change. Jesus was a white man, too. It's like we have, he's a historical figure that's a verifiable fact, as is Santa, I just want kids to know that. How do you revise it in the middle of the legacy in the story and change Santa from white to black?" After being criticized and ridiculed from here to the North Pole, Kelly accused her detractors of "race-baiting" and claimed that her comment was lighthearted. She did apologize, however, for her comment about Jesus, saying she had learned the question was "far from settled." I can relate to part of what Harris said. As a parent, I'm also living with two different Santa Clauses. But it has nothing to do with skin color. My two Santas are "Good Santa" and "Bad Santa." I'm not worried about what color Santa Claus is. Teacher to student: You can't be Santa -- you're black . What I'm worried about is the challenge of raising well-behaved kids in a society that sometimes make this difficult. As a parent of young children -- 8, 6 and 4 -- I want to care for them but not coddle them. I don't worry about being too hard on my kids or demanding too much; I'm more concerned that, like many parents, I'll wind up being too soft, too accommodating and too eager to excuse their misbehavior. I want them to be kind, thoughtful, generous and grateful for all they have. And do you know who sometimes works against me on that last front? Ol' St. Nick himself. You see, the opposite of grateful isn't ungrateful. It's entitled. After all, it's hard to feel thankful for something that you believe you're owed. And if you want to know where the American culture of entitlement begins, try eavesdropping when your kids talk to Santa Claus. You'll either get Good Santa or Bad Santa. In my first encounter this year, I got a Good Santa. I know the difference because, over the years, I've had plenty of Bad Santas. That guy -- who lingers at malls and department stores -- must work on commission. He encourages kids to rattle off a list of all the toys they want. Kids come away thinking that Christmas is all about gifts -- and unearned gifts at that. Bad Santa doesn't ask anything in return for his largess. A child gets toys just by being a child. On the other hand, Good Santa is old school. He requires that kids put some skin in the game. That's what happened when I took my 6-year-old son, along with his 6-year-old and 5-year-old cousins, to see Santa just a few days ago. We weren't at the mall or department store but at a Christmas get-together at our neighborhood club house. When the boys approached Santa and began to rattle off what they want for Christmas, he put up his hand and stopped them. First, he asked if they had been good this year. Then Santa got on his soapbox. He told them to listen to their parents (and their uncle) and not fight with their siblings. And if they did that, he said, maybe they'd get the toy they want. But they'd only get one, so they had better choose wisely. The kids nodded obediently. They each asked for one gift and promised to hold up their end of the bargain. The jury is still out. I was pleasantly surprised. This Santa really was a saint. He was the kind of Santa I remembered growing up, and I hadn't seen him in years. Throughout life, our kids will get plenty of encouragement to think of themselves as entitled. We should make the holidays about teaching them that, whatever they want, they have to earn by being good -- good to others, making good choices and practicing good behavior. Some people say it takes a village to raise a child. But do you know what would really come in handy? A few good Santas. Meanwhile, back in the cultural war, it's a silly waste of time for Americans to argue over whether Santa is white or black. What matters is his philosophy on gift-giving. Besides, this whole argument is positively 20th century! In 2010, Latinos made up 16% of the U.S. population, and they are expected to account for as much as 30% by 2050. Everyone knows that, at least in the United States and Latin America, Santa is Latino. So, this year, skip the cookies, and leave out some tamales. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette.

Cultural debate flares over question of whether Santa is white . Ruben Navarrette says Santa's color doesn't matter, but his message does . He says Santa's message should be that kids earn gifts but aren't not entitled to them . At holiday time, some Santas help parents do their job right, Navarrette says .

(CNN) -- Top Democratic lawmakers called Tuesday for high taxes on the controversial AIG bonuses, as new details emerged on who got those bonuses. Congress is looking at ways to deal with the outrage surrounding AIG's controversial bonuses. "My colleagues and I are sending a letter to [AIG CEO Edward] Liddy informing him that he can go right ahead and tell the employees that are scheduled to get bonuses that they should voluntarily return them," Sen. Charles Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Because if they don't, we plan to tax virtually all of [the money] ... so it is returned to its rightful owners, the taxpayers." Schumer's comments came the same day New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo confirmed in a letter to Congress that AIG paid 73 employees bonuses of more than $1 million each. Cuomo also wrote that 11 of the employees no longer work for the company. The largest bonus paid was $6.4 million; seven other people also received more than $4 million each. "Until we obtain the names of these individuals, it is impossible to determine when and why they left the firm and how it is that they received these payments," Cuomo wrote to a congressional committee. AIG has been under fire for awarding seven-figure bonuses to employees while being kept afloat by more than $170 billion from the U.S. government's financial bailout. The company insists the payouts are needed to keep talented executives on the payroll, but public anger over the moves has prompted Congress and the Obama administration to seek some ways to reclaim the money. Watch Sen. Schumer vow to recoup the bonuses » . Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced on the Senate floor Tuesday that the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee will pursue a legislative fix in such a way that the "recipients of those bonuses will not be able to keep all their money -- and that's an understatement." Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Montana, will propose a special tax within the next 24 hours, Reid said. "I don't think those bonuses should be paid," Baucus said Tuesday. The special-tax idea was first floated Monday by Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. "We have a right to tax," the Connecticut Democrat told CNN. "You could write a tax provision that's narrowly crafted only to the people receiving bonuses." Watch why Americans have a right to be angry » . At an unrelated hearing Tuesday at which IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman was testifying, Baucus asked the nation's top tax official, "What's the highest excise tax we can impose that's sustainable in court?" Shulman did not respond directly, but Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, chimed in to suggest the tax could be as high as "90 percent." President Obama on Monday expressed dismay and anger over the bonuses to executives at AIG. "This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed," Obama told politicians and reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, where he and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner were unveiling a package to aid the nation's small businesses. Obama said he will attempt to block bonuses for AIG, payments he described as an "outrage." See a snapshot of facts, attitudes and analysis on the recession » . "Under these circumstances, it's hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. I mean, how do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?" Obama was referring to the bonuses paid to traders in AIG's financial products division, the tiny group of people who crafted complicated deals that contributed to the shaking of the world's economic foundations. Watch Obama say he's outraged by bonuses » . The president said he has asked Geithner to "pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole." Obama said he would work with Congress to change the laws so that such a situation cannot happen again. The president spared Liddy from criticism, saying he got the job "after the contracts that led to these bonuses were agreed to last year." But he said the impropriety of the bonuses goes beyond economics. "It's about our fundamental values," he said. iReport.com: Sound off on AIG . Under pressure from the Treasury, AIG scaled back the bonus plans and pledged to reduce 2009 bonuses -- or "retention payments" -- by at least 30 percent. That has done little to temper outrage over the initial plan, however. In the House, Democrats are trying to shame AIG executives into forgoing the bonuses. They're also investigating possible legal avenues Congress can take to force the company to return money used for bonuses, a House Democratic leadership aide and a House Financial Services Committee aide said Monday. The committee is trying to determine whether Congress can force AIG to renegotiate the bonuses, which the company says it is legally required to give employees under contracts negotiated before the company received its first infusion of bailout dollars in September, according to the committee aide. Who's insured by AIG? » . Both aides said it is unclear what authority Congress might have to force AIG to take back the bonuses. Liddy will face intense questioning about the bonuses when he testifies Wednesday before the House Financial Services subcommittee on capital markets. CNN's Ted Barrett, Dana Bash and Elaine Quijano contributed to this report.

NEW: Sen. Schumer: We'll enact a new law that will "tax bonuses at a very high rate" AIG paid 73 people bonuses of $1 million or more each, New York AG reports . Senate majority leader says Senate Finance Committee looking into bonuses . Sen. Chris Dodd suggests tax provision crafted toward recipients of bonuses .

(CNN) -- Erroll Southers In the aftermath of the attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253, it is likely the Senate will move to confirm the embattled nomination of Southers as head of the Transportation Security Administration when it returns from its winter recess. Objections to Southers' confirmation were first made by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina over the potential unionization of TSA employees. Southers is the Los Angeles International Airport's assistant chief for homeland security and intelligence. The airport's police department, which Southers has helped manage since early 2007, is the largest such operation in the country, with approximately 1,200 employees. Southers is also associate director at the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events at the University of Southern California. The former FBI special agent served as a deputy director of homeland security for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. CNN Political Ticker: DeMint defends blocking appointment . Miriam Siefer The attorney who will defend the 23-year-old Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up Northwest Flight 253 is no stranger to terrorism cases, according to The Detroit News. Miriam Siefer, chief federal defender with the Federal Defender Office in Detroit, Michigan, represented James Nichols when he was a suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing. His brother Terry Nichols was convicted for that act of domestic terrorism. Siefer is now the lead attorney for Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, who is accused of hiding explosive materials sewn into his underwear that could have brought down the airplane. "She's one of a handful of people who is universally respected and admired by people in the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Alan Gershel, the former head of criminal prosecutions in Detroit who now is a law professor at Cooley Law School in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Detroit News: Suspect's lawyer old hand at terror cases . Micah Fialka-Feldman A U.S. district judge has ruled that Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, violated a federal law by refusing to allow Fialka-Feldman, a disabled student, to live in a campus dorm and now must make a room available for him. The Detroit News and NPR report that Fialka-Feldman has a mild cognitive impairment that hinders his ability to read and write. But the university said because he was in a special program and not a full-time student, he couldn't live on campus. It took him two buses and two hours to get to campus from his parents' home. The judge ruled that Oakland University had discriminated against Fialka-Feldman, who says he will hang a poster in his room with quotes from civil rights leaders. One says: "A community that excludes one member is not a community at all." NPR: Intellectually disabled student wins dorm suit . Detroit News: Student wins housing fight . William Koch The Palm Beach, Florida, billionaire says that a 1787 Lafite Bordeaux with Thomas Jefferson's initials etched into the bottle is fake. "I thought that I had a piece of history, a piece of America's most important history," Koch told the Los Angeles Times. So Koch sued the seller and has filed four other lawsuits. He says there are more to come. His goal is to clean up an industry where a single bottle can go for more than $100,000. In 1989, Koch purchased the Lafite and three other bottles of Bordeaux, also purported to be Jefferson's, for about $500,000. In the federal lawsuit he filed in New York against the wine supplier, Koch claims Jefferson's "initials" were etched into the bottle with modern-day power tools. Los Angeles Times: Wine collector sues over alleged fakery . Michael Landers This 15-year-old 10th-grader from Old Westbury, New York, is the youngest player to win the men's national singles championship in table tennis, or pingpong. In a New York Times profile, Landers says his training can last 30 hours each week. For 14 months, Goran Milanovic, a former Serbian discuss thrower, has been putting him through 90-minute workouts two or three times a week. NY Times: The ping-pong prodigy . What makes a person intriguing? There are people who enter the news cycle every day because their actions or decisions are new, important or different. Others are in the news because they are the ones those decisions affect. And there are a number of people who are so famous or controversial that anything they say or do becomes news. Some of these people do what we expect of them: They run for office, pass legislation, start a business, get hired or fired, commit a crime, make an arrest, get in accidents, hit a home run, overthrow a government, fight wars, sue an opponent, put out fires, prepare for hurricanes and cavort with people other than their spouses. They do make news, but the action is usually more important than who is involved in the story. But every day, there are a number of people who become fascinating to us -- by virtue of their character, how they reached their decision, how they behaved under pressure or because of the remarkable circumstances surrounding the event they are involved in. They arouse our curiosity. We hear about them and want to know more. What they have done or said stimulates conversations across the country. At times, there is even a mystery about them. What they have done may be unique, heroic, cowardly or ghastly, but they capture our imaginations. We want to know what makes them tick, why they believe what they do, and why they did what they did. They intrigue us.

Nominee for TSA chief held up by South Carolina senator . Lawyer for terror suspect familiar with terrorism cases . 10th-grader is youngest player to win national table tennis championship .

Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- The Indonesia volcano that threatened President Obama's visit is now "likely" to shorten an already brief stop to the capital city of Jakarta. Obama arrived in Indonesia, where he spent part of his childhood, on Tuesday for a two-day trip. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who earlier told reporters that officials were closely monitoring the ash cloud from Mount Merapi, said forecasting shows air traffic might again be disrupted. Obama is scheduled to meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and hold a news conference with him; attend an official dinner; and visit the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in southeast Asia. Gibbs said the President still hopes to deliver a speech at the University of Indonesia. "My sense is, our hope is that while we may have to truncate some of the morning we can get the speech in," Gibbs told reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight from New Delhi to Jakarta.. Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said earlier that Obama lived in Jakarta for several years as a boy. In the university speech, "he'll have a chance to talk about the partnership that we're building with Indonesia ... [and]also to talk about some of the themes of democracy and development and our outreach to Muslim communities around the world, while also speaking of Indonesia's pluralism and tolerance as well," Rhodes said ahead of Obama's 10-day tour of Asia. "While [Indonesia is] a Muslim majority, it's a host to a broad religious diversity," Rhodes added. On Sunday, Muslims staged rallies across Indonesia to protest Obama's visit to the world's largest Muslim-majority nation. "We don't see the differences between Obama and Bush. They both oppress Muslims. They both have blood on their hands," said Ismail Yusanto, a spokesman for the Muslim group Hizbut Tahrir. "That's why we reject Obama and we don't believe that he's reaching out to Muslims." About 20,000 people attended the rallies, the spokesman said. More than one in 10 of the world's Muslims live in Indonesia, which has about 205 million Muslims. Obama's trip to Asia started Saturday with a three-day visit to India. His stay in India -- the third largest economy and one of the world's few growth markets -- included a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and an address to the nation's parliament. In another major sign of growing ties between India and the United States, Obama on Monday backed a permanent seat for India in the U.N. Security Council. "In the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed U.N. Security Council that includes India as a permanent member," he said to India's parliament. The statement came as Obama made a wide-ranging address that envisioned closer economic and security ties between the United States and India, standing "shoulder to shoulder" with the world's largest democracy. Obama praised India's democratic institutions: its free electoral system, independent judiciary, the rule of law, and a free press. He said India and the United States have a unique link because they are democracies and free-market economies. "When Indians vote, the whole world watches. Thousands of political parties. Hundreds of thousands of polling centers. Millions of candidates and poll workers, and 700 million voters. There's nothing like it on the planet. There is so much that countries transitioning to democracy could learn from India's experience; so much expertise that India can share with the world. That, too, is what's possible when the world's largest democracy embraces its role as a global leader," he said. Noting the country's rise as a world power, Obama said he sees the United States cooperating with India in various international and regional alliances. He praised India's role in the climate change negotiations and its role as a top contributor in U.N. peacekeeping missions. Obama's visit to India included a town hall-style meeting with students, a celebration of the Hindu holiday Diwali and a visit to Humayun's Tomb, an architectural precursor to the Taj Mahal. On Wednesday, the president will leave for South Korea, where he will attend the G-20 summit in Seoul. Obama is to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao while both are in South Korea. The U.S. president also is to deliver a speech to U.S. troops in South Korea on Thursday, which is the Veterans Day holiday in the United States. Obama's Seoul visit will include a meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and a news conference. The U.S. president will leave South Korea for Japan on Thursday. In Japan, Obama will speak at a CEO Business Summit that is part of an Asia-Pacific Economic Council summit. Obama's packed schedule includes other APEC events and bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The president's Asia tour is part of an administration focus on a vital region for expanding trade and fighting terrorism, Rhodes said ahead of the trip. "If you look at the trend lines in the 21st century, the rise of Asia, the rise of individual countries within Asia, is one of the defining stories of our time," Rhodes said, later adding, "We see core U.S. national interests that will be advanced by us playing a key role in helping to shape the future of the region and making clear that we're an Asian and a Pacific power." Obama will head back to the United States on Sunday. CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian contributed to this report.

NEW: Obama could leave Indonesia early due to Mount Merapi eruptions . The U.S. president arrives in Indonesia after three days in India . He is scheduled to meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono . His Asia tour will include the G-20 summit in South Korea and the APEC summit in Japan .

Abu Dhabi (CNN) -- At 23, Asma Al Muhairi has never considered herself a social activist. But a shopping trip to a Dubai mall left her so irate that she started a campaign against revealing clothing and has sparked a major debate in the United Arab Emirates. Al Muhairi's campaign to persuade expats and tourists to dress more modestly began after she and her friend Hanan Al Rayes saw a young woman in shorts that they considered left little to the imagination. She said many people in Dubai Mall were looking at the woman, but no one did anything, so she approached security guards and threatened to call the police. "We never saw this 10 years ago or even five years ago," said Al Muhairi, who began her campaign through a hashtag on Twitter -- #UAEdresscode. "I'm only 23 but when I was young it was different," she added. "I feel sad for the new generations. My nieces when they go to the mall they think it's fine to look at people dressed like this. "It makes me sad. In our days people always knew it was wrong. It is in our culture and our religion." While wearing skimpy clothing is not illegal in the United Arab Emirates, shopping malls have policies that state knees and shoulders should be covered. On returning from the mall, Al Muhairi discussed the issue with Al Rayes and wrote a message on Twitter, saying "till when will we keep seeing people going against our rules and showing indecent dresses?" Initially, Al Muhairi and Al Rayes had no intention of starting a campaign, just sharing their views with friends. However, the discussion grew as the issue touched a nerve with many. "I never though that in 10 days I would become a social activist," said Al Muhairi. The campaign has started a debate on how closely foreigners should follow local customs while in the United Arab Emirates, and just what standards of dress are acceptable. Also on Inside the Middle East: Egypt elections: 'Women need a champion' Local newspapers, personalities and those prominent on social media have weighed in on the debate, calling on the country's authorities and shopping-mall managers to enforce a conservative dress code. Some have suggested that tourists arriving at airports should be given a brochure explaining local customs and standards of dress. The British Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Dominic Jermey, had already made his own plea to visitors before Al Muhairi and Al Rayes began their campaign. In an interview with the Ministry of Interior's 999 Magazine in March, Jermey said: "The vast majority of expats living here dress entirely appropriately, and I think that most British people who live here or visit here get it absolutely right. Some who get it slightly wrong tend to get very bad sunburn! "But seriously, I think it is really important for expats and tourists to understand the norms of the society they are in, so that is why we, through our embassies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi work very closely with tour operators, local schools, and the airlines, in particular Emirates and Etihad, to run a campaign called Know Before You Go." The issue goes to the heart of what can at times be a clash of cultures. More than 80% of the United Arab Emirates population is expatriate, according to Visit Abu Dhabi, and much of the country's wealth is built on its foreign workers. The country prides itself on its welcoming attitude to foreigners. Most Emirati women wear abayas -- long robes that cover the whole body -- but the expectation for foreigners is more relaxed. The government advises visitors to respect local culture by avoiding "excessively revealing" clothes in public places. Although most of the attention has been focused on women, Al Mulhairi also has her sights on men who wear shorts, go bare-chested or wear clothes that are too tight fitting. She said: "We should start in the malls distributing booklets with instructions. We need to create awareness and let people know about this campaign and that people here are upset about this issue. "We should give a deadline -- from a certain date, everyone will know that if they wear certain kind of dress, the mall won't let them in, or maybe give them a fine. Someone suggested giving them something to cover themselves." Also on Inside the Middle East: Young upstarts plotting Mid East art revolution . Many foreigners, as well as Emiratis, agree that more needs to be done to educate visitors on what is acceptable. Trudy Klein, a 30-year-old South African who has lived in Dubai for six years, said: "We are living in a Middle Eastern country. There are things we need to respect about the country and the religion. We are guests. "I've seen girls that really push the limits. It wouldn't be a bad idea to educate some women to show respect." Khadija Sali, a journalist from the Philippines, said: "We have to respect the culture and respect ourselves as well. Don't wear anything too short or too tight, it's common sense." However, she said she would draw the line at shopping mall security guards giving people extra clothes to cover themselves. "The campaign is good but they shouldn't go over the top," said Sali. "There are more important issues out there that they could do campaigns about -- sick people, children dying, hungry people, not what people wear in the malls." Follow the Inside the Middle East team on Twitter: Presenter Rima Maktabi: @rimamaktabi, producer Jon Jensen: @jonjensen, producer Schams Elwazer @SchamsCNN and writer Catriona Davies @catrionadavies .

Asma Al Muhairi started campaign after seeing woman in skimpy shorts in a Dubai shopping mall . Shopping malls in the United Arab Emirates expect visitors to cover their knees and shoulders . Brochures should be given out at airports explaining the need for modest dress, say campaigners .

Washington (CNN) -- With longtime Republican Sen. Dick Lugar going down in defeat, Democrats were quick to paint the conservative candidate who beat him in Indiana's primary as "too extreme." The result in Indiana was what Democrats had hoped for, but as the old proverb goes: "Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true." Lugar is the longest-serving Republican in the Senate and is known as a moderate who has been willing to reach across the aisle to work with Democrats during his 36 years in the chamber. He was defeated by more than 20 points in Tuesday's primary by Richard Mourdock, the two-term Indiana state treasurer, a much more conservative candidate who enjoyed strong backing from local and national tea party groups, as well as some other leading fiscal conservative organizations. Mourdock says he doesn't anticipate successful compromise in the Senate and hopes bipartisanship will be defined as Democrats backing the Republican agenda following the 2012 elections. "I hope to build a conservative majority so bipartisanship becomes Democrats joining Republicans to roll back the size of government, reduce the bureaucracy and get America moving again," Mourdock said Wednesday morning on CNN's "Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien." He added that those on both sides of the aisle should not compromise their principles, saying that "one side or the other has to win this argument, one side or the other will dominate." Minutes after Mourdock's victory over Lugar, national Democrats were quick to characterize Mourdock as too extreme for Indiana. "Richard Mourdock is a right wing Tea Party ideologue who questioned the constitutionality of Medicare and Social Security, says there should be more partisanship and less compromise in Washington, and actually compared himself to Rosa Parks," declared Guy Cecil, the executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, in a statement. "Tens of thousands of Hoosiers who have voted for Dick Lugar their entire voting lives are going to reject a Tea Party candidate like Richard Mourdock and support an honest, common sense job creator like Joe Donnelly," added Cecil. Donnelly, the Democrats' Senate nominee, is a former small business owner and current three-term congressman who represents Indiana's second district, which includes South Bend and other areas of the north-central part of the state. Cecil compared Mourdock to Ken Buck, the former Weld County, Colorado, district attorney who defeated the more moderate former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton in Colorado's 2010 GOP Senate primary then went on to lose his general election challenge to Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet. National Democrats hope that Donnelly will fare better against Mourdock than he would have against Lugar in a general election, where moderate voters from both parties and independents are crucial in determining who wins and loses. National Republicans quickly rallied around Mourdock. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement that Mourdock "has the NRSC's full support and we are committed to helping elect him as Indiana's next U.S. Senator in November." And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he fully backs Mourdock and looks "forward to welcoming him to the United States Senate next year." Freshman Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a darling of conservatives, sent an e-mail to his fundraising list Tuesday night, asking people to donate to Mourdock's campaign. While Republicans rally around Mourdock, Democrats have the match-up they dreamed about in Indiana. They suggest that many "disillusioned" Lugar supporters may now cross over and vote for Donnelly. And Cecil said that the Mourdock victory over Lugar "makes the Indiana Senate race a toss-up." But that's not the take right now from two of the top non-partisan political handicappers. The Rothenberg Political Report is keeping its ranking of the contest as "Lean Republican." "Richard Mourdock isn't Christine O'Donnell," says Stuart Rothenberg, the report's editor and publisher. O'Donnell was the tea party-backed candidate in Delaware who pulled an upset in the state's 2010 GOP Senate primary, defeating longtime Rep. Mike Castle, the GOP establishment candidate. O'Donnell lost by 16 points in the general election to Democrat Chris Coons. "While a Mourdock-Donnelly race will start off close, with some Republicans bitter over Dick Lugar's loss, over the long haul, Democrats have a decidedly uphill fight in this Republican-leaning state," Rothenberg added. The Cook Political Report is moving its rating of the race from "Likely Republican" to "Lean Republican." "This race is more competitive than it would have been if Lugar were the GOP nominee. We don't feel that it's in the toss up column now, but there's a potential to get there," saysJennifer Duffy, who covers Senate races for Cook. Then-Sen. Barack Obama won Indiana in 2008, the first Democrat to capture the state in a presidential election in 40 years. But Obama's re-election campaign may not spend a great amount of money and resources to try to keep the state in the "D" column this November, further complicating the Democrats' hopes of capturing Lugar's Senate seat. As for the big picture, the Democrats currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate. But they are defending 23 of the 33 seats up for grabs in November.

Democrats hoped to run against Mourdock, who they say is too "extreme" Mourdock defeated Lugar, GOP's longest-serving senator, in primary . Cook Political Report moved the race from "likely" GOP win to leaning that way . Democrats hope disillusioned Lugar backers will cross lines .

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Gunmen broke into the house of a women's rights activist in the volatile northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Thursday and beheaded her, police said. Iraqi Interior Ministry troops conduct inspections at a checkpoint in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in May. The victim was identified as Nahla Hussain, the leader of the women's league of the Kurdish Communist Party. She was alone in the house at the time of her death. It is not known what the circumstances were that led to the attack. Violence against women has been an ongoing problem in Iraq. The killing comes ahead of next month's provincial elections, a post-Saddam era watershed event that's generating an uptick in civil unrest and political infighting. Twenty-four officers from the interior and defense ministries were arrested this week accused of facilitating the activities of former Baathist regime members, the Iraqi prime minister's media spokesman said Thursday. The arrests appear to have been politically motivated, a senior U.S. military official told CNN Thursday. The official said Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is believed to be behind the arrests. Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said the detained officers have links to the al-Awda party, an underground successor to Saddam Hussein's Baath party, . The Baathist movement ruled Iraq for 35 years but was banned after Hussein was overthrown in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The arrests, which were made inside and outside ministerial offices, were carried out by an elite force that reports directly to al-Maliki, according to an Interior Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Al-Maliki's media spokesman, Yasseen Majeed, denied that report and said the arrests were made by Iraqi security forces acting on judicial arrest warrants. Majeed, al-Maliki's military office, and Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command told Iraqi State TV that reports of a planned coup are incorrect. Majeed said the arrests were precautionary measures. He said investigations are continuing into the suspects, who are accused of facilitating the activities of "terrorists" and "outlaws." Initial reports listed arrest tolls that ranged from 20s to the 30s and said the arrested were all from the Interior Ministry, which oversees policing, border enforcement and internal security. The ministry has been criticized by Iraqi and U.S. officials for inefficiency, corruption and infiltration by Shiite militia groups during the Sunni-Shiite violence in 2006 and 2007. According to the Interior Ministry's spokesman, Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, the highest-ranking person taken into custody was a brigadier general, and the others were low-ranking officers. He said 23 officers were detained and judicial authorities were questioning them. The Interior Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity said at least 32 ministry employees were arrested between Monday and Wednesday. That official had no information on the reasons behind the arrests. He said at least two generals were among the arrested, and identified one as Gen. Ahmed Taha Abu Ragheef, head of the ministry's Internal Affairs Department. Khalaf said Ragheef was not among those arrested, and Ragheef himself appeared on state TV to issue a denial. He said he took part in the investigation that led to the action. It is not yet clear how many Sunnis and Shiites were arrested in the case, but Saddamists tend to be Sunnis. Al-Maliki is a Shiite, and the government is dominated by a Shiite bloc, called the United Iraqi Alliance, and a Kurdish bloc. One knowledgeable Iraqi politician told CNN he believes this and other discord at present in Iraq, such as attacks, arrests and political infighting, stems from internal conflicts between political parties ahead of the January 31 provincial elections. The voting -- to be held in 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces -- has been much anticipated by U.S. and Iraqi officials, who hope the election of local government officials can empower grass-roots Iraqis and give alienated Sunni Arabs more political clout. Sunnis, who had more power under Saddam than they do now, feel they have been marginalized in Iraq's new political system, where the majority Shiite population and the Kurds have emerged as powers. Elections won't be held in Tameem province, where political disputes in the city of Kirkuk have yet to be resolved, and in the three Kurdish autonomous region provinces. As for the Interior Ministry, a September 2007 report assessing the status of Iraq's security forces slammed it and the National Police, which it operates. The report by the Independent Commission on Security Forces in Iraq, called Interior "a ministry in name only" and said it was "widely regarded as being dysfunctional and sectarian, and suffers from ineffective leadership." It said the National Police force has been "operationally ineffective" and "sectarianism in its units undermines its ability to provide security; the force is not viable in its current form. The National Police should be disbanded and reorganized." The Defense Ministry oversees the military. The 2007 report had promising words for the Iraqi army, special forces, navy and air force, describing them as "increasingly effective" and "capable of assuming greater responsibility for the internal security of Iraq." CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.

Leader of Kurdish Communist Party women's league killed in home . Motivation for woman's killing in Kirkuk not known . Separately, officers linked to outlawed offshoot of Baath party arrested . U.S military official says arrests appear to be politically motivated .

Austin, Texas (CNN) -- Texas lawmakers returned for a second special session on Monday to reconsider anti-abortion legislation derailed initially by a one-woman filibuster and a raucous crowd at the state Capitol that drowned out a final effort to push it through. In calling the Legislature back into session, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, described last week's events in the state Capitol as "unprecedented anarchy" and said "mob rule" would not be tolerated this time around. State Sen. Wendy Davis, a Democrat who led last week's dramatic political charge and became a newly minted heroine of abortion rights in the process, energized a rally in Austin before the Legislature reconvened. Wendy Davis: From teen mom to Harvard Law to famous filibuster . "Together we can do what they won't. We can stand. We can stand up together. We can stand up for what's right. We can stand up for Texas," Davis said to cheers. "Texans need someone who will stand up for their values." Davis talked for more than 10 hours last Tuesday in helping to run out out the clock on the legislation that would be one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the country, if approved. The last ditch attempt by Senate Republicans to pass it before a midnight deadline was thwarted by spectators in the Captiol chanting "shame! shame! shame!" Perry said on Monday that dramatic tactics would not work this time. "We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do," Perry said in a statement. In a series of radio interviews, Perry also said the lieutenant governor and the speaker are not going to allow "turmoil" and "mob rule" in their chambers. Republicans confident of passage . Republicans are confident the legislation will pass this time, considering they have a month to consider it. But Davis told CNN that she and Democratic allies had "a few tricks up their sleeves." She declined to offer details, but noted that it would be challenged immediately in court if it passes. Davis' pink sneakers: When fashion statements become social symbols . The bill would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and would tighten regulations on abortion clinics and the doctors who work at them. Critics said the measure would have shut most of the abortion clinics in Texas. In a series of radio interviews on Monday, Perry said the lieutenant governor and the speaker are not going to allow "turmoil" and "mob rule" in their chambers. The shouting, which Perry described as "unprecedented anarchy" marked an unprecedented moment in the Capitol, but the governor insisted it won't derail the bill. "Regardless of whether there is a vocal opposition ...Texans and their views will prevail," he said. Bitter debate . The virtual debate over the legislation has been less than civic at times, with supporters coalescing around the Twitter hashtag #stand4life and opponents using #standwithwendy, in honor of Davis, as their rallying point. "WE ALL know all abortions are NOT for mother's health, but simply bc they don't want a baby then. Farce to protect baby murder. #Stand4Life," said a post from Rhonda Nelson. A tweet from Boise Blue Convert said, "Fight the American Taliban, #standwithwendy." Perry and Davis have continued to spar. Perry claimed Davis ignored her own past as the daughter of a single mother in her bid to prevent abortion rights from being restricted in the Lone Star state. "I'm all about honest, open debate," Perry said at a national "Right to Life" convention in Dallas last week. "Parliamentary tactics are certainly nothing new. But what we witnessed Tuesday was nothing more than the hijacking of the Democratic process. And this is simply too important a cause to allow the unruly actions of a few to stand in its way." Perry argued Thursday that biography should instead have provided Davis guidance in her personal views on abortion. "The fact is, who are we to say that children born into the worst of circumstances can't grow to live successful lives?" Perry said. "In fact, even the woman who filibustered in the Senate the other day was born into difficult circumstances. She was the daughter of a single woman. She was a teenage mother herself. She managed eventually to graduate from Harvard Law School and serve in the Texas Senate. It's just unfortunate that she hasn't learned from her own example, that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential and that every life matters." Texas parents agree not to pressure teen to have abortion . On Monday, Davis pointed to her daughter, now 30, and said she doesn't "regret for one moment" the decisions she's made in life. "We're fighting for a Texas where every woman is able to overcome her unique challenges because she had the same choices and same chances I had," Davis said, adding Republicans in the state were "bullying women who need help with their healthcare." The state senator told NBC News she hasn't "ruled out" the idea of running for governor next year but is focused on preventing the abortion bill from passing in the special session. In her slew of recent media interviews, Davis has argued that Perry is simply trying to boost his political aspirations by being a big voice in the abortion battle. Asked about Davis on Monday, Perry, who hasn't announced whether he'll run in 2014, told KFYO the issue is about a debate over life and women's health, not "someone's political future." Opinion: The truth about the Texas filibuster and abortion . CNN's Ashley Killough and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry calls second special session to address anti-abortion legislation . A filibuster by state Sen. Wendy Davis thwarted first attempt to pass bill last week . Critics say the bill will shut most of the state's abortion clinics . Perry says "unprecedented anarchy" disrupted previous consideration of legislation .

(CNN) -- When Ernie Els won the U.S. Open in 1994, he was the first South African to claim a major golf title in 16 years. Perhaps more importantly, he was the first to win one since the end of apartheid and the start of the "Rainbow Nation" -- his victory at Pennsylvania's Oakmont Country Club came less than two month's after the country's historic elections in which Nelson Mandela was voted president. So when Els won his fourth major crown on Sunday after Australian Adam Scott capitulated on the closing holes of the British Open, the 42-year-old knew who to thank. "A lot of the Olympic theme this year has got President Mandela in it, so he's been very much in my thoughts," Els said of the celebrated former anti-apartheid activist, who turned 94 last week. "Believe it or not, I was lying watching cricket (South Africa against England) and I was just kind of day-dreaming and that thought came through me in a split second. Scott's collapse hands British Open crown to Els . "If I win, I told myself, I'd better thank President Mandela because I grew up in the era of the apartheid, and then changing into the democratic era President Mandela was right there. "Right after the change I was the first one to win a major, so there's a lot of significance there in my life. In a way we intertwined together in a crazy way and I just felt he's been so important for us being where we are today as a nation and as sports people." Els has joined an elite group of golfers -- including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and Lee Trevino -- who have won two Opens on either side of the Atlantic. His earlier successes led the way for compatriots Retief Goosen, who won the U.S. Open in 2001 and 2004, Trevor Immelman (2008 Masters winner) and two players he has helped develop through his golf foundation -- Louis Oosthuizen (2010 British Open) and Charl Schwartzel (2011 Masters). Giving it back: Els' off-course passions . Els' unexpected victory at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, coming 10 years since his 2002 British Open victory at Muirfield, has been hailed by his compatriots. "Thank you for lifting SA flag high to de world of golf. You are an inspiration to all South African kids," Jabu Likhele wrote on Els' Facebook page. Hugo Myburgh posted: "Truly an inspiration to every South African, that no matter what's happened over years of suffering and struggle can and has been overcome and a true smile reflects that!!!" Others paid tribute to Els' work with raising awareness of autism, a condition which afflicts his son Ben. "As a 4 times a year hacker of a golfer and a father of a 26 year old son with severe autism I want to say way to go Ernie winning the Open after all you and your family have been through what a triumph!" wrote Brad Doyle from Phoenix, Arizona. Son's autism gives golf ace Ernie Els a grand ambition . Nine-year-old Ben Els was watching on television in London while his father conjured up an unlikely victory at the Lancashire links course in north-west England. "I made a lot of putts with Ben in mind because I know Ben's watching," Els, who has raised millions towards building an autism research center, told reporters. "He loves when I hit golf balls -- he's always there. He comes with me. He loves the flight of the ball and the sound. "I know he was watching. He gets really excited and I wanted to keep him excited, so I made a lot of putts for him." Els was supposed to have headed straight to Canada for a PGA Tour event, but has delayed that so he can celebrate with Ben, wife Liezl and daughter Samantha. "Ben's coming through now nicely. He's a wonderful boy now and he's a bright boy, so we're going to have a lot of fun." Els has now won major titles in three different decades, but not along ago it appeared that the former world No. 1's days as a contender were over. He failed to qualify for this year's Masters after throwing away a winning position during a PGA Tour event in March, but he rebounded with a ninth-place finish at last month's U.S. Open as he was again in the title mix on the final day. "Not too many people win majors at my age, it means so much more, it feels so special," he told CNN. "You're almost blase in a way when you're young. It was like okay, you knew you were going to win and here we go. When you get older and you've gone through the mill a bit like I have, this is so special." Last year Els, known as the "Big Easy" for his languid playing style and relaxed manner, dropped out of the top-50 rankings for the first time since 1993. He has now moved back up to 15th, and paid tribute to his coach Claude Harmon -- the latest in a line of top instructors from that family, including his father Butch (who also worked with Els) and his namesake grandfather. "He's helped me immensely with my game, with confidence and so forth. I'm very grateful to Claude, he's one of many in that circle around me," Els said. "He's one of many I want to thank, but obviously Claude is right at the top of the list."

Ernie Els dedicates British Open victory to former president Nelson Mandela . Els was first South African to win a major golf title in post-apartheid era . His win at Royal Lytham is popular at home and across the world . Els has raised millions of dollars for his autism charity, inspired by his son .

(CNN) -- A now-retracted British study that linked autism to childhood vaccines was an "elaborate fraud" that has done long-lasting damage to public health, a leading medical publication reported Wednesday. An investigation published by the British medical journal BMJ concludes the study's author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, misrepresented or altered the medical histories of all 12 of the patients whose cases formed the basis of the 1998 study -- and that there was "no doubt" Wakefield was responsible. "It's one thing to have a bad study, a study full of error, and for the authors then to admit that they made errors," Fiona Godlee, BMJ's editor-in-chief, told CNN. "But in this case, we have a very different picture of what seems to be a deliberate attempt to create an impression that there was a link by falsifying the data." Britain stripped Wakefield of his medical license in May. "Meanwhile, the damage to public health continues, fueled by unbalanced media reporting and an ineffective response from government, researchers, journals and the medical profession," BMJ states in an editorial accompanying the work. Speaking to CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," Wakefield said his work has been "grossly distorted" and that he was the target of "a ruthless, pragmatic attempt to crush any attempt to investigate valid vaccine safety concerns." The now-discredited paper panicked many parents and led to a sharp drop in the number of children getting the vaccine that prevents measles, mumps and rubella. Vaccination rates dropped sharply in Britain after its publication, falling as low as 80% by 2004. Measles cases have gone up sharply in the ensuing years. In the United States, more cases of measles were reported in 2008 than in any other year since 1997, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 90% of those infected had not been vaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown, the CDC reported. "But perhaps as important as the scare's effect on infectious disease is the energy, emotion and money that have been diverted away from efforts to understand the real causes of autism and how to help children and families who live with it," the BMJ editorial states. Wakefield has been unable to reproduce his results in the face of criticism, and other researchers have been unable to match them. Most of his co-authors withdrew their names from the study in 2004 after learning he had had been paid by a law firm that intended to sue vaccine manufacturers -- a serious conflict of interest he failed to disclose. After years on controversy, the Lancet, the prestigious journal that originally published the research, retracted Wakefield's paper last February. The series of articles launched Wednesday are investigative journalism, not results of a clinical study. The writer, Brian Deer, said Wakefield "chiseled" the data before him, "falsifying medical histories of children and essentially concocting a picture, which was the picture he was contracted to find by lawyers hoping to sue vaccine manufacturers and to create a vaccine scare." According to BMJ, Wakefield received more than 435,000 pounds ($674,000) from the lawyers. Godlee said the study shows that of the 12 cases Wakefield examined in his paper, five showed developmental problems before receiving the MMR vaccine and three never had autism. "It's always hard to explain fraud and where it affects people to lie in science," Godlee said. "But it does seem a financial motive was underlying this, both in terms of payments by lawyers and through legal aid grants that he received but also through financial schemes that he hoped would benefit him through diagnostic and other tests for autism and MMR-related issues." But Wakefield told CNN that claims of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism "came from the parents, not me," and that his paper had "nothing to do with the litigation." Read autism coverage on "The Chart" blog. "These children were seen on the basis of their clinical symptoms, for their clinical need, and they were seen by expert clinicians and their disease diagnosed by them, not by me," he said. Wakefield dismissed Deer as "a hit man who has been brought into take me down" by pharmaceutical interests. Deer has signed a disclosure form stating that he has no financial interest in the business. Dr. Max Wiznitzer, a pediatric neurologist at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland, said the reporting "represents Wakefield as a person where the ends justified the means." But he said the latest news may have little effect on those families who still blame vaccines for their children's conditions. "Unfortunately, his core group of supporters is not going to let the facts dissuade their beliefs that MMR causes autism," Wiznitzer said. "They need to be open-minded and examine the information as everybody else." Wakefield's defenders include David Kirby, a journalist who has written extensively on autism. He told CNN that Wakefield not only has denied falsifying data, he has said he had no way to do so. "I have known him for a number of years. He does not strike me as a charlatan or a liar," Kirby said. If the BMJ allegations are true, then Wakefield "did a terrible thing" -- but he added, "I personally find it hard to believe that he did that." CNN's Elizabeth Cohen and Miriam Falco contributed to this report.

NEW: Dr. Andrew Wakefield says his work has been "grossly distorted" British journal BMJ accuses Wakefield of faking data for his 1998 paper . "The damage to public health continues" as a result of the autism-vaccine claim . The study was retracted and Wakefield lost his license in 2010 .

ST. POELTEN, Austria (CNN) -- The daughter of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man accused of keeping her in a cellar for decades and fathering her seven children, testified against him by video at his trial Tuesday. Josef Fritzl is seen without his face covered and surrounded by security guards Tuesday. One of Elisabeth Fritzl's brothers, Harald, also testified by video, a court spokesman said. The media and public have been barred from the courtroom for sensitive parts of the trial. Fritzl has pleaded guilty to incest and other charges, but denied murder and enslavement. He pleaded "partly guilty" -- an option in Austrian court -- to multiple charges of raping his daughter, Franz Cutka, a spokesman for the court in Landesgericht St. Poelten, said. A verdict is expected on Thursday, Cutka said. Elisabeth testified on an 11-hour videotape. Portions of the tape were played Monday, and Fritzl was asked about it. The remainder of the tape was played Tuesday, officials said. Watch his face in the courtroom » . Authorities have said Elisabeth and her children were given new identities and are in a secret location. Details of her testimony were not made clear at the daily afternoon news conference. Asked at the news conference why other family members have not testified, officials said they did not wish to do so. Watch media at Fritzl trial » . The murder charge relates to an infant named Michael Fritzl who died soon after birth, allegedly from lack of medical care, State Prosecutor Gerhard Sedlacek says. A neo-natal expert gave evidence Tuesday in relation to the murder charge. As he had Monday when the trial opened, Fritzl concealed his face behind a file binder as he arrived in court to shield himself from reporters, television cameras and photographers and escorted by a phalanx of police officers. Later Tuesday he dropped his guard and was pictured with the binder by his side, talking to security guards. During the trial, prosecutors have painted a chilling picture of the more than two decades Elisabeth spent in the cellar of the family home in Amstetten with three of her children. Fritzl took three other children upstairs, authorities have said, telling his wife and other relatives that the missing Elisabeth had dropped them at the house. The woman and the remaining children never saw daylight, prosecutors said, and Fritzl went away for long periods of time, causing them to go hungry when he did not bring them food. Watch Fritzl's first day in court » . To punish them, prosecutors said, Fritzl sometimes turned the power off in the cellar for up to 10 days. In addition, they alleged, Elisabeth was often sexually assaulted in front of the children. The case first came to light in April 2008 when Elisabeth's then-19-year-old daughter, Kerstin, became seriously ill with convulsions, and Elisabeth persuaded her father to allow the girl to be taken to a hospital. Hospital staff became suspicious and alerted police, who discovered the family members in the cellar. Police said Fritzl confessed to them that he had sex with his daughter, kept her and their children in captivity, and burned the body of the infant in an oven in the house. Elisabeth told police the infant was one of twins, and died a few days after birth. When Elisabeth gained her freedom, she told police her father began sexually abusing her at age 11. Seven years later, she said, he drugged, handcuffed and locked her in the cellar. To back up his story that she had run away, Fritzl forced Elisabeth to write letters, authorities have said. Defense attorney Rudolph Mayer has said his client, 73, expects to spend the rest of his life in prison. Under Austrian law, if Fritzl is convicted on several offenses, he will be given the sentence linked to the worst crime. The charges he faces are: . • Murder: The infant who died in 1996 died from a lack of medical care, the state prosecutor said. The charge carries a sentence of life in prison. • Involvement in slave trade: From 1984 until 2008, prosecutors allege, Fritzl held his daughter, Elisabeth, captive in a dungeon, abused her sexually and treated her as if she were his personal property -- in a situation similar to slavery. If he is convicted, the sentence could range from 10 to 20 years in prison. • Rape: Between August 30, 1984, and June 30, 1989, Fritzl "regularly sexually abused Elisabeth," according to the prosecutor. The sentence could be from five to 15 years in prison. • Incest: Parallel to the rape charge. It carries a sentence of up to one year. • Withdrawal of liberty: Three of the children Fritzl had with Elisabeth were illegally held captive in a dungeon with no daylight or fresh air, according to prosecutors. That charge carries a sentence of one to 10 years. • Assault: Between August 28, 1984, and April 26, 2006, Fritzl repeatedly threatened Elisabeth and their three children with gas and booby traps as warnings in case they tried to escape, authorities allege. The sentence would range from six months to five years. CNN's Diana Magnay and Frederik Pleitgen in St. Poelten and Melissa Gray in London contributed to this report .

Incest rapist Josef Fritzl in Austrian court for the second day of his trial . Fritzl drops his guard, is pictured without binder obscuring his face . Austrian accused of keeping daughter in cellar for decades, fathering her 7 children . Daughter Elisabeth give pre-recorded videotaped evidence .

St. Paul, Minnesota (CNN) -- For 1st Lt. Jeremiah Lynch the golden day of coming home from a lengthy deployment in Kuwait was everything he had dreamed it would be. "The day I came home from deployment was just euphoric," recalls Lynch, who is part of the Minnesota Army National Guard. "It was fantastic. Somebody dropped me off at home, and the kids are all running out and hugs and kisses." But as Lynch had been warned the honeymoon welcome home period would soon be over and hard work lay ahead. "Yes, the first day back is just a fairy tale, of course. And then you have to start trying to put yourself back into the life of your family." "And of course they've been working with you gone for a year, and they've changed how they do things. I was advised to expect that and also to try not to come back and suddenly be in charge. I didn't listen to that advice." Lynch, who has been with the Guard for seven years is married and has three young children, Janna, 9, Galiana, 4, and Frederick, 3, who was born while Lynch was deployed. He knew of many of his friends also deployed were going through tougher times. Divorces were not uncommon, nor were separations. His wife Erin offers some advice: "It's not like if there was anything broken before deployment, it's all of a sudden going to be fixed." Mrs. Lynch knows what she is talking about. She's in the armed forces and was herself deployed during 9/11 to Kosovo. She admits it's hard to seamlessly re-introduce a spouse who has been gone for so long. "Welcoming the old husband back, it's a brand new feeling of 'Yeah you're new, and I like you and you smell nice," Lynch said. "And then there is this 'No this is my routine, and my part of the dresser, and don't take this over.' It's kind of mixed up." Mixed up all right and entirely too common. Abigail Gewirtz knows all about the new normal for family life after deployment. In fact she and her team at the University of Minnesota are conducting a five-year program trying to help just those families affected. "Deployment is tough," Gewirtz said. "It's tough when one parent is away and the other parent is single parenting. But the most stressful time is when families have to kind of reconstitute and parents have to get back on the same page and that can be really tough." The program is called ADAPT and stands for After Deploymnet: Adaptive Parenting Tools. It's only offered in Minnesota to deployed parents with school age kids. The 14-week class offers skills and tools to help the transition back into family mode. The premise is that if the parents are stressed, parenting suffers and that trickles down to the kids. "When you have been in combat, there are sights and sounds and smells and even tastes that remind you of terrible things," Gewirtz said, "and so everyone who comes back from an environment where you had to react not respond because you could be killed if you didn't react instantaneously, they'll have to recalibrate their emotional responding." ADAPT teaches parents to learn to take a pause before they start, for example, yelling at their kids if they drop their backpacks on the floor. Their approach is to take a breath, maybe even leave the room. Then when their initial fear over hearing loud noises has passed, go back to their kids and instruct them in just what want them to do. In this case, put backpacks where they belong. "Going to the (ADAPT) classes I realized how many things we were doing wrong," said Jeremiah Lynch. The couple completed the program some months ago and gives it credit for making his re-integration back into family life a lot easier. "Frankly we were turning into the yelling, shouting parents that if a child isn't doing what they are supposed to be doing we just keep saying it over and over again louder to their faces until they comply." Now Lynch explains he has a new approach. "You can't yell from another room 'Clean your room!' because they're not going to understand that. You have to get down to their level, maybe put a hand on them and look them in the eye and say, 'Hey you need to clean your room right now, please.' " According to the Lynches, just a few of these simple tools and techniques have greatly lowered the level of stress felt in the household. Tools, techniques and most importantly communication seems to be at the forefront for making the transition easier on those that have been deployed as well as their families who have stayed behind. Gewirtz sums it up this way, "When families don't communicate, there is a sense of walking on eggshells especially with someone who has come back with lots of scars. There is a sense that if we talk about it, it will be worse because it's so painful. But our treatment of PTSD indicates that exposure or talking about it is really the key to recovery, and I think that is no less true in a family context." As for the Lynch family, they are doing just fine. With the help of the ADAPT tools, lots of communication and a good and ever ready sense of humor, they thrive. But on top of that Jeremiah Lynch has some good advice for those soon to be coming home: "Listen to what you are being told about how hard it is, because it is that hard. And don't expect it to be fantastic when you get back. Lower your expectations." In fact he suggests: "Lower them a lot and then you'll be pleasantly surprised."

For returning troops, getting back into the family dynamic is not easy . 1st Lt. Jeremiah Lynch struggled transitioning after a deployment to Kuwait . The ADAPT program teaches parents tools and techniques to make reintegration easier . When parents bare emotional and physical scars, communicating more helps .

LONDON, England (CNN) -- "Oh, the humanity." When these three words were uttered by aghast radio journalist Herbert Morrison -- as the LZ129 Hindenburg airship crashed and burst into flames in New Jersey in 1937 -- it was seen as the end of airships. The other remaining Zeppelin-class dirigible, the Graf Zeppelin II, was destroyed by the Nazi administration who felt the materials could be put to better use with more conventional aircraft. The Aeroscraft ML866 is a prototype for future cargo vehicles that could have a payload of up to 60 tonnes . But, 70 years on, could the Hindenburg-style airship be experiencing a renaissance? There are two types of craft that are commonly called "airships." The first is basically a balloon filled with a lighter-than-air gas, with an attached pod for the pilot and passengers, and tilting propellers to aid with descent and maneuvering. These are known as 'blimps' and are commonly used for promotional activities, for filming sporting events and by law enforcement agencies for surveillance. But their limited payload make them unsuitable for other purposes. The other type of airship is the dirigible. Like a blimp, a dirigible airship is filled with lighter-than-air gas but it has an internal skeleton. This greater rigidity allows dirigible airships to carry larger payloads than blimps. See pictures of airships through the ages. » . While the Hindenburg crash dented public confidence in the dirigible airship concept, the principal cause of the disaster wasn't bad design but propaganda. The Germans were desperate to show off their technical achievement. But the United States, the world's primary supplier of the inert gas helium (which was used to inflate and lift the airships), had imposed a military embargo on the gas. So the Hindenburg was filled with the massively explosive gas, hydrogen. And it exploded. Massively. In recent years the concept of the dirigible airship has been reevaluated because of the environmental need to find lower-carbon methods of freight transportation; and the military and humanitarian need to deliver supplies to remote locations not served by airports. One failed attempt to resuscitate the airship content came from the German company Cargolifter AG in the mid 1990s. It planned a large airship, the CL160, to be used as a transporter for large and heavy loads. A giant hangar, one of the world's largest structures, was built in Brand, near Berlin in Germany, for storage and manufacture of these giant craft. But Cargolifter became insolvent in 2002. The hangar was sold for a fraction of its construction cost and now houses an indoor water park. In 2005 the Aeros corporation of Montebello, CA. resurrected the airship concept. Responding to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)'s "Walrus" program the company was given a $3.2 million grant to develop: "a very large airlift vehicle concept designed to control lift in all stages of air or ground operations including the ability to off-load payload without taking on-board ballast other than surrounding air." What distinguishes a "Walrus" craft from a Hindenberg-style airship is that it would not be lighter than air. Rather it would generate lift from a combination of aerodynamics, propellors and gas buoyancy. This would allow for a quicker descent without the expulsion of lift gas, for instance. DARPA terminated the Walrus program but Aeros is continuing to develop the technology with a view to creating an enormous civil airship utilizing a glass-fiber and carbon-fibre semi-monocoque envelope structure. The planned Aeroscraft ML866 could be the next generation of corporate transportation. With more than 465 square meters (5000 square feet) of interior floor space, the ML866's interior could house a floating boardroom or an opulent flying home. Because it would be flying at a lower altitude than a passenger jet (6,000 to 12,000 feet, as opposed to 25,000 to 35,000 feet) the cabin would not be pressurized. The technological legacy of the Walrus program is the COSH (control of structural heaviness) system. By compressing and decompressing stored helium, the aircraft can become lighter for take-off and heavier for landing. If Aeros secure funding to develop the ML866, it would be offered with a choice of turboprop engines (for either greater speed or heavier payload). But could large airships supplement the role of large passenger aircraft? Flight International's technical reporter Rob Coppinger is skeptical: . "Whether it is cargo, corporate or mass transpiration I think the issues with airships are; can [airships] carry enough people/cargo between two popular destinations and do it fast enough to carry a sufficient volume of cargo/people to generate enough revenue to pay for the development, certification and running costs? "I think if it were easy to financially justify, they would exist already." Coppinger concedes, however, that airships could have potential military applications. Aeros plans to begin testing a non-rigid airship, the Aeros 40D, in 2008 to demonstrate the helium compression and decompression system. Production of a prototype Aeroscraft ML866 has begun, with a test flight planned for 2010. ...................................... Are dirigibles just a load of hot air? Would you travel by airship? Share your views and read others' thoughts in the Just Imagine forum.

Airship concept all-but abandoned after 1937's Hindenburg disaster . New-style airships will be heavier-than-air and use helium, not hydrogen . Aeros hopes to have a prototype of its "floating boardroom" flying in 2010 .

(CNN) -- Johnnie Tuitel, a professional motivational speaker who has flown nearly half a million miles, is no stranger to airline trouble. Even the most savvy of business travelers, like Tuitel, are not spared inconveniences due to delays, cancellations and mechanical failure. But Tuitel experienced something new last month. For the first time in his 20-year career, he said, he was ordered off a plane that had been cleared for takeoff for what could be called his own mechanical failure. Tuitel is wheelchair-bound because of cerebral palsy, a condition he has managed to turn into a source of inspiration for the national audiences he addresses regularly. "My first reaction was to worry about my family's safety," Tuitel said about the request for him to get off the plane. "I've got kids, my father's 78 years old and not in good health; I thought, 'They're going to tell me something I don't want to hear'" They did, but it was of a different sort: He was told he was removed from the plane because of his physical condition. "Their argument was if something were to happen, I can't help myself or somebody else, which is an assumption first of all. Second of all, the people that made the decision are not medical doctors," said Tuitel, 47, of East Grand Rapids, Michigan. "They basically told me I was too disabled to fly and I had to fly with a companion and I had to purchase that companion's ticket," he told HLN's "Prime News." The airline, US Airways, said he was ordered off the flight for his own safety. "He did not appear to have the ability to assist himself in evacuating in the event of an emergency," said Michelle Mohr, a US Airways spokeswoman. "He appeared to have a lot of difficulty moving." Tuitel had been on a US Airways flight from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Kansas City, Missouri, where he had a late-September speaking engagement. Tuitel said he had looked into what legal courses were available to him. The Air Carrier Access Act outlines how airlines should deal with people with disabilities, but it is unclear whether US Airways' actions violated the act's provisions. But afterwards, he told "Prime News" that he would not sue. Instead, he said, he would prefer to approach the matter from a civil rights standpoint. "It's against the law to stop me from traveling for a specific reason, and if I'm already on the plane, they violated my civil rights. It's like telling Rosa Parks you can't sit on the bus," Tuitel said. "I'm not angry. I was just embarrassed because I couldn't do my job." US Airways' official policy on disabled passengers stipulates that "for safety-related reasons, if a passenger has a mobility impairment so severe that the person is unable to physically assist in his or her own evacuation of the aircraft, the airline requires that the passenger travel with a safety assistant to assist the passenger to exit the aircraft in case of an emergency evacuation," Mohr said. "Safety is our number one priority and we did not feel it was safe for Mr. Tuitel to fly that day," she said. Tuitel said that, after he was escorted off the flight, he booked a seat on Delta Air Lines and had no problems traveling alone on that flight. The airline did not contact him until nearly three weeks later, Tuitel contends, after stories began to emerge about the incident. Its only offer at that time, he said, was to reimburse him for the flight. He declined. But Friday, as the story spread to more media outlets, Mohr said US Airways' "customer relations team had an extremely productive discussion" with Tuitel. "We asked Mr. Tuitel if he might be interested in working with us as a sounding board to help us continue to work toward improving our service for our customers with disabilities," she said. Tuitel confirmed they had "a very productive talk." "They do want to right this wrong and they do want to work with me," he said. "And I am hopeful -- don't want to sound cynical but it is a big company -- I am hopeful we can come up with a solution that won't only work for the two of us but will make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone with a disability in the future." Rich Donovan, who is on the board of trustees of United Cerebral Palsy and also has the disease, didn't see the incident as one of negligence or an intent to discriminate on the part of US Airways. He attributed Tuitel's experience to a lack of training and a lack of clarity about policies and how they're applied to disabled travelers. "There's a general lack of understanding of disability amongst the entire travel industry, and I think that's simply because they look at it as a compliance issue, rather than a customer-service issue," said Donovan, who is the chief investment officer of IPS Capital. Tuitel said he wants to make sure this doesn't happen to other disabled passengers. "I don't want a little boy with a disability not have the opportunity to go somewhere. I don't want a young girl with a disability going out for her first job interview by herself to be told she can't fly in an airplane," Tuitel said. Donovan said he hopes this incident will serve as a learning experience for airlines and make customer service better. "I think some dialogue and some handwringing and some getting down into the weeds here is what needs to happen so that this stuff doesn't occur again," he said. CNN's Miguel Susana and Marnie Hunter contributed to this report.

Johnnie Tuitel was removed from a plane because he was deemed to need too much aid . He has cerebral palsy, but has traveled nearly half a million miles in 20 years . Tuitel is a motivational speaker for disabled people .

(CNN) -- News of a recent meningitis outbreak has sent many Americans into panic mode. As of Thursday afternoon, 170 people in 11 states had become sick with the noncontagious fungal meningitis; 14 of those have died. Health officials expect those numbers to rise as the investigation continues. The cases have been linked to injections of contaminated steroid medication made by the Massachusetts-based New England Compounding Center. "I'll be skipping my allergy shot," @TheAnchorMom tweeted. "Maybe this is crazy but ever since the meningitis outbreak I am scare(d) to get a flu shot even (thinking) it will be contaminated," Lana Flores posted on Facebook. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday as many as 14,000 people may have received the contaminated steroid injections. Health officials have been able to contact about 90% of those to warn them. The idea that a medication created to fix health problems could potentially harm people is frightening, especially when that medication was contaminated in something called a compounding center. Typically medications are mass-produced by drug manufacturing companies. So what's a compounding center, and why are we getting our medications from it? Compounding pharmacists customize medications to fit an individual's needs. Doctors prescribe these custom medications when the manufactured drug won't work -- for example, when a dosage is too large, or a patient has an allergy to a dye or ingredient in the original product. Pharmaceutical compounding is a common practice, said David Miller, executive vice president and CEO of the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists. In fact, compounding is the way all medications were made up until about the 1950s, when mass manufacturing of medications began. "That was the only way that medications could be filled for people -- having pharmacists making it from scratch," Miller said. Meningitis outbreak: Your questions answered . Now compounding pharmacists work in pharmacy centers like the New England Compounding Center, in hospitals, in small independent drugstores, and in drugstore chains like Walgreens or CVS across the country. But only 1% to 3% of all prescriptions currently dispensed in the United States are compounded, according to the IACP. Dr. Jennifer Shu, a pediatrician in Atlanta, said she regularly writes prescriptions for compounded medications for her child patients. Sometimes it's to ask the pharmacist to turn a manufactured pill into liquid form so children can take it easily. Other times the compounding pharmacist adds a flavor to the medication to make it more appealing. "That's just our only option," Shu said, "unless you want to sneak it into their food." Hospitals often ask for compounded drugs to receive the correct dosage for specific surgeries. If the manufactured bottle contains too much, they would have to waste the rest of the medication since the sterilized seal has been broken. Compounding pharmacists also work for veterinary practices. Many of the same medications we take can be customized for our pets or the animals in zoos. Kevin Outterson, an associate professor of health law and bioethics at Boston University, said there's been a recent increase in reliance on compounding pharmacies in the United States. Physicians and clinics are increasingly getting material from compounding pharmacies because they can sell drugs at a lower cost than major manufacturers, he said. Compounding pharmacies usually make only a couple of doses for a specific patient, which can lower the cost of production. Of course, the opposite can also be true -- if the compound is a complex cancer drug, producing just a few doses would be exponentially more expensive than mass production. Miller said compounding pharmacies also fill gaps when there's a drug shortage. As drug companies struggle to keep up with orders, or when they stop producing altogether because they're not seeing a profit, these pharmacies can access the raw drug ingredients and provide the medications for patients who are already in midtreatment. One question the outbreak has raised is why and how a compounding pharmacy was shipping out medications to 23 states. Did all 75 facilities that received the contaminated steroid injections have prescriptions filled for the medication? Or was the NECC acting as a manufacturer? One woman's fight for compounding pharmacy guidelines . "The saddest part about this is that there were so many doses administered," Miller said. "(Meningitis) takes up to a month to a month and a half to develop. We've got patients who may have been exposed who are literally waiting to see if anything happens. As a pharmacist, that really upsets me personally, and it upsets my entire profession." On Wednesday, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick accused the NECC of misleading regulators and operating outside its license by shipping large batches of drugs nationwide. And the state pharmacy board took the step of requiring all compounding pharmacies in Massachusetts to sign affidavits stating they are complying with state regulations requiring compounders to mix medications for specific patients. With so many questions still unanswered, the public's worries about allergy shots, flu shots and other prescription medications are understandable, Miller said. Unfortunately, this kind of contamination could happen with any drug -- manufactured or compounded. Yet the vast majority are perfectly safe, Miller said, and patients shouldn't avoid a needed medication out of fear. However, he said, patients should feel free to ask their doctor or pharmacist: Where does this drug come from? Meningitis outbreak highlights failed oversight efforts . CNN's Miriam Falco, Danielle Dellorto and Ashley Fantz contributed to this report.

NEW: The CDC says 14,000 people may have received contaminated injections . 170 people have been sickened, 14 have died in outbreak . Pharmaceutical compounding is a common practice, experts say . Only 1% to 3% of all prescriptions dispensed in the United States are compounded .

(CNN) -- The U.S. should stop arresting responsible marijuana users, Rep. Barney Frank said Wednesday, announcing a proposal to end federal penalties for Americans carrying fewer than 100 grams, almost a quarter-pound, of the substance. Rep. Barney Frank's bill would radically curb federal penalties for personal marijuana use. Current laws targeting marijuana users place undue burdens on law enforcement resources, punish ill Americans whose doctors have prescribed the substance and unfairly affect African-Americans, said Frank, flanked by legislators and representatives from advocacy groups. "The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government's business," Frank said on Capitol Hill. "I don't think it is the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time." The Massachusetts Democrat and his supporters emphasized that only the use -- and not the abuse -- of marijuana would be decriminalized if the resolution resulted in legislation. Watch Frank lay out the proposal » . The Drug Enforcement Administration says people charged with simple possession are rarely incarcerated. The agency and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy have long opposed marijuana legalization, for medical purposes or otherwise. Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use, according to the drug control office. "Smoked marijuana has not withstood the rigors of science -- it is not medicine and it is not safe," the DEA states on its Web site. "Legalization of marijuana, no matter how it begins, will come at the expense of our children and public safety. It will create dependency and treatment issues, and open the door to use of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior, and drugged drivers." Allen St. Pierre, spokesman for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, likened Frank's proposal -- co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas -- to current laws dealing with alcohol consumption. Alcohol use is permitted, and the government focuses its law enforcement efforts on those who abuse alcohol or drive under its influence, he said. "We do not arrest and jail responsible alcohol drinkers," he said. St. Pierre said there are tens of millions of marijuana smokers in the United States, including himself, and hundreds of thousands are arrested each year for medical or personal use. iReport.com: Is it time to legalize pot? There have been 20 million marijuana-related arrests since 1965, he said, and 11 million since 1990, and "every 38 seconds, a marijuana smoker is arrested." Rob Kampia, director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said marijuana arrests outnumber arrests for "all violent crimes combined," meaning police are spending inordinate amounts of time chasing nonviolent criminals. "Ending arrests is the key to marijuana policy reform," he said. Reps. William Lacy Clay, D-Missouri, and Barbara Lee, D-California, said that in addition to targeting nonviolent offenders, U.S. marijuana laws unfairly target African-Americans. Clay said he did not condone drug use but opposes using tax dollars to pursue what he feels is an arcane holdover from "a phony war on drugs that is filling up our prisons, especially with people of color." Too many drug enforcement resources are being dedicated to incarcerating nonviolent drugs users, and not enough is being done to stop the trafficking of narcotics into the United States, he said. Being arrested is not the American marijuana smoker's only concern, said Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance Network. Those found guilty of marijuana use can lose their jobs, financial aid for college, their food stamp and welfare benefits, or their low-cost housing. The U.S. stance on marijuana, Piper said, "is one of the most destructive criminal justice policies in America today." Calling the U.S. policy "inhumane" and "immoral," Lee said she has many constituents who are harassed or arrested for using or cultivating marijuana for medical purposes. California allows medical marijuana use, but the federal government does not, she explained. House Resolution 5843, titled the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008, would express support for "a very small number of individuals" suffering from chronic pain or illness to smoke marijuana with impunity. According to NORML, marijuana can be used to treat a range of illnesses, including glaucoma, asthma, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and seizures. Frank, who is chairman of the Financial Services Committee, said that about a dozen states have approved some degree of medical marijuana use and that the federal government should stop devoting resources to arresting people who are complying with their states' laws. In a shot at Republicans, Frank said it was strange that those who support limited government want to criminalize marijuana. Asked whether the resolution's passage would change his personal behavior, Frank quipped, "I do obey every law I vote for" but quickly said he did not use marijuana, nor does he encourage it. "I smoke cigars. I don't think other people should do that. If young people ask me, I would advise them not to do it," he said. If HR 5843 were passed, the House would support marijuana smokers possessing up to 100 grams -- about 3½ ounces -- of cannabis without being arrested. It would also give its blessing to the "nonprofit transfer" of up to an ounce of marijuana. The resolution would not address laws forbidding growing, importing or exporting marijuana, or selling it for profit. The resolution also would not speak to state laws regarding marijuana use.

DEA, White House say marijuana dangerous, has no accepted medical use . Decriminalization advocates say marijuana laws should mirror alcohol laws . NORML spokesman says marijuana user arrested in U.S. "every 38 seconds" HR 5843 would not affect laws on growing, importing, exporting marijuana .

Herat, Afghanistan (CNN) -- As we stroll down a dusty back street in Herat, Afghanistan's third-biggest city, a high gate made from sheets of rusted corrugated iron and a door that's bolted shut confronts us. On the other side of this fortress-like barrier we can hear children's voices and playful laughter. When we knock the voices fall silent and a young man comes to the gate. He asks for our names and the purpose of our visit. Satisfied with the answer, the door is unbolted and we're allowed inside. Behind the high wall, four little girls -- the youngest a smiling two-year old with food on her face -- greet us in a concrete-covered courtyard. Garbage is piled up in one corner, while a broken down motorcycle leans against a brick wall. While this scene may appear perfectly normal, their mother's story is anything but. We're led up stairs to a room with carpets and cushions on the floor -- this is where the family eats and sleeps. As the afternoon light streams through the window, Sitara appears. She tries to cover her face with her long beige scarf, but her beautiful brown eyes are visible. So too are the jagged scars -- shocking confirmation of the horrific attack she suffered four months earlier. In December last year, 23-year-old Sitara was asleep on the floor with her daughters when her husband woke her. He needed money for a fix of heroin and crystal meth -- an addiction he'd developed over the course of their marriage. When she was married off to him as a child bride at the age of seven, his drug of choice was hashish. But now this man -- 20 years her senior -- was a full-blown addict. Monster . He wanted to divorce Sitara so he could take their daughters and marry them off for a few thousand dollars for each girl's virginity. But Sitara refused -- this protective mother adamant her children were not going to suffer the same fate as her. She'd reached her limit with his destructive drug use and the monster he'd turned into. But she didn't realize just how much of a monster he'd become. That night he demanded money and a simple ring she was wearing -- the only jewelry she possessed. When Sitara said no, he bashed in her head until part of her brain was protruding from her skull. She was almost unconscious. He then pinned her down, got a knife and cut off her nose and upper lip. "My head was throbbing and he was on top of me, that's when I saw the knife," she recalls. I struggled but then blacked out. When I woke up, I tried to touch my nose and lips but I felt nothing." Sitara's girls were asleep except for 10-year-old Somia. I ask her what happened, but her elder sister, Parisa, steps in and explains. "We were all asleep except for my sister Somia. I asked her why didn't she wake me up? She told me our father threatened her that if she screamed, he would cut her just like our mother. "My father then tripped over me as he was pulling my mother by the hair. I woke up and started screaming at him. Then he ran away and we never saw him again." Mutilated and unconscious . Neighbors who heard the screaming alerted police who found Sitara mutilated, unconscious and lying in a pool of her own blood. She was taken to hospital where doctors managed to stop the bleeding and stabilize her. However, she'd been disfigured so badly in the attack that Afghan authorities decided to fly her to Turkey for more specialized medical care. That's where surgeons used part of Sitara's forehead to construct a new nose, while taking tissue from her thigh to rebuild her upper lip. "When I finally woke up and saw my face, I hated it. I hate it every day. It would be better to be injected with poison and die - that's how I feel," she says. "When my children saw me after my face changed, they didn't believe I was their mother." The Ministry of Women's Affairs in Afghanistan eventually relocated Sitara and her daughters to their current home -- an apartment they share with her mother and three brothers. It's cramped and basic, and they have few belongings, but they feel safe. Police have not caught Sitara's husband -- she believes he's fled into the mountains or crossed the border into Iran. Women for Afghan Women, an organization that supports victimized women, is hoping to send Sitara to the United States for reconstructive surgery but are yet to find a surgeon. "I just want the surgery to happen soon. I don't want to stay like this," Sitara says. "Will I have the same face as before? Some people tell me I will have a better face. But it's hard to believe that." Daughter's hope . Sitara's little girls now seem oblivious to her deformities. They love their mother regardless of what she looks like -- though Somia, who witnessed the appalling attack and suffers nightmares most nights, says her mother is sad all the time. "We just want our mother to get well and smile again. If she works we can go to school and I will become a doctor. Then I can help people like my mother." According to a United Nations report published in December last year, Afghan authorities registered an increased number of reported acts of violence against women and girls in 2013 but prosecutions and convictions remain low. The report said the authorities showed a tendency towards mediation rather than applying criminal sanctions and legal protections for women, and this often fails to protect women from further violence.

23-year-old Sitara was sleeping when her husband attacked her, asking for money . He was looking for money to fuel his long-term drug habit . Husband threatened to sell their young daughters as child brides to make money . Sitara's wounds were so severe she was flown to Turkey for treatment .

(CNN) -- I am a medical sociologist, which means I study the health of whole societies. I've spent more than 20 years studying the best possible ways to address alcohol problems in societies -- what works and what doesn't to protect people from harm. I work as a professor in the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and at the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute. This allows me to connect with other scientists who come from very different backgrounds but who want to work together on big problems -- think of a Manhattan Project, only one focused on protecting health through the collaboration of scientists who study everything from tiny cells to entire societies. So three years ago, a pediatric endocrinologist named Rob Lustig walks into my office and asks for my help. Rob tells me that he's finding many connections between the metabolism of fructose (sugar) and ethanol (alcohol) in his work on metabolic functioning, liver damage and the obesity epidemic. Rob runs the obesity clinic at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, where he spends his days trying to help morbidly obese kids who feel hungry all the time. One of the saddest effects of sugar overconsumption is to dampen the natural hormones that tell kids' bodies when they've eaten enough, leading them to feel hungry even as they overeat. Rob says he's also seeing that too much sugar in these kids' diets causes severe liver damage -- they have even started doing liver transplants on some of the kids in his clinic. Fast-forward to today, and here's what we've learned: . -- More people on the planet Earth are dying from chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes than anything else. This is even true for developing countries that have turned a critical page on health: People in those countries are now more likely to die from the "diseases of affluence" than from the "diseases of poverty" like malaria and cholera. Major risk factors in chronic disease, of course, are alcohol, tobacco and junk food consumption. -- Many of the health hazards of drinking too much alcohol, such as high blood pressure and fatty liver, are the same as those for eating too much sugar. When you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense. Alcohol, after all, is simply the distillation of sugar. Where does vodka come from? Sugar. -- We may be thinking about obesity and chronic disease in the wrong way. Most experts are worried about sugar because it's "empty calories" that make people fat. But what leads to chronic disease is actually something called metabolic syndrome, which can be caused by the toxic effects of sugar. -- Added sugar at the levels consumed by many Americans changes our metabolism -- it raises blood pressure, critically alters the signaling of hormones that turn hunger on and off, and can damage the pancreas and liver. Worldwide consumption of sugar has tripled over the past 50 years, and along with that has come an obesity pandemic. But obesity may just be a marker for the damage caused by the toxic effects of too much sugar. This would help explain why up to 40% of people with the metabolic syndrome -- what leads to diabetes, heart disease and cancer -- are not clinically obese. What should we do about all this? First, we think that the public needs to be better informed about the science of how sugar impacts our health. Second, we need to take what we know about protecting societies from the health harms of alcohol and apply it to sugar. What doesn't work is all-out prohibition -- that's very old-school and often creates more problems than it solves. What does work are gentle "supply side" controls, such as taxing products, setting age limits and promoting healthier versions of the product -- like making it cheaper for a person to drink light beer rather than schnapps. The reality is that unfettered corporate marketing actually limits our choices about the products we consume. If what's mostly available is junk food and soda, then we actually have to go out of our way to find an apple or a drinking fountain. What we want is to actually increase people's choices by making a wider range of healthy foods easier and cheaper to get. Turning around obesity and chronic disease will be an uphill political fight, but there's plenty that concerned people can do: . -- Contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Congress to encourage them to take sugar off the Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) list. This is what allows food producers to add as much sugar as they want to the products we eat. -- Support our local, state and federal officials in placing a substantial tax on products that are loaded with sugar. Ask them to use the proceeds to support a wider range of food options in supermarkets and farmer's markets. -- Help protect our kids by getting sports drinks and junk food out of our schools. Ask our school boards to replace those vending machines with good old-fashioned drinking fountains. Ask local officials to control the opening hours and marketing tactics of the junk food outlets surrounding our schools. That way, kids can walk to school without being barraged by advertising for sugary products that taste good but harm their health. We need to remember that many of our most basic public health protections once stood on the same battleground of American politics as sugar policy does today. Simple things like requiring a seat belt and having an airbag in your car to save you in a crash were once huge political battles. Now, we take these things for granted as simple ways to protect the health and well-being of our communities. It's time to turn our attention to sugar. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Laura Schmidt.

Researchers seeing similar effects from too much sugar and too much alcohol . Alcohol is simply the distillation of sugar, she says, and sugar should be taxed and regulated . Schmidt: We may be thinking about obesity and chronic disease in the wrong way . She says tackling obesity and chronic disease will be hard, but concerned people can do plenty .

(CNN) -- As election 2012 heats up, the question of how corporations will figure into the first presidential election post-Citizens United is a hot topic. This week, both Pepsi and Coca Cola renounced their membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, giving us a hint of what corporate accountability might look like this election year. The companies quit the trade group, which had been pushing restrictive voter ID laws, after being targeted by prominent African-American progressive group Color of Change. With the controversial 2010 Citizens United decision, the Supreme Court declared the corporate expenditure ban unconstitutional, holding that independent expenditures could not be constitutionally limited in federal elections, and implicitly that corporations could give unlimited amounts to other groups to spend, as long as the expenditures were made independently from the supported candidate. The president criticized the move in his State of the Union address that year, and a poll shortly after the decision demonstrated that 80% of Americans, from both sides of the aisle, opposed the ruling. Subsequent polls show consistent concern about the amount of corporate money being spent in our political system. The soda giants' announcements indicate that corporate fallout in 2012 may extend well beyond ad spending enabled by Citizens United. Social media has enabled consumers to register opinions with unprecedented speed and visibility and, in the ever-competitive marketplace, companies are responding in real time. Coca-Cola announced it would leave ALEC a mere five hours after Color of Change went public with its complaint. Pepsi followed suit on Thursday. At issue are two hot-button topics: voter suppression and the "stand your ground" law that has been invoked as defense in the February shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Both are timely and relevant, both disproportionately affect the African-American community and both were hatched in closed-door sessions at ALEC meetings. ALEC is not a new group; it predates the Citizens United decision by almost four decades. ALEC brings together corporations, conservative think-tanks and Republican legislators to collaborate on model legislation generally introduced through state houses. The voter ID laws at the center of the controversy have passed several state houses and face challenges from the Justice Department for racial bias. An estimated third of African-Americans do not hold state registered identification, so would be prevented from voting under these laws. Voting rights advocates claim these laws would effectively keep millions of Americans from the polls. Yet studies show that voter fraud is exceedingly rare and where it does exist, it is not likely to be remedied by instituting ID laws. This sharp protest against ALEC laws comes on the heels of the institution being spotlighted for its role in the stand your ground legislation at the center of the Trayvon Martin tragedy. Stand your ground was unveiled by the National Rifle Association at a 2005 ALEC gathering and since the initial meeting, 24 states have passed the law. News: NRA's role with ALEC . Americans generally co-exist peacefully with the corporations whose activities pervade our daily lives. There is a mutually recognized symbiotic relationship. But, at a time when American confidence in government is at an all-time low, voters have little tolerance for displays of affinity between elected officials and powerful corporate interests. Early on in the Republican primary, presumed nominee Mitt Romney was skewered for a response to a question at the Iowa State Fair, where he proclaimed, "Corporations are people." This is a sentiment almost 60% of Americans disagree with, and it reinforces that Romney's history of wealth and corporate elitism put him out of touch with the common concerns of most Americans and casts doubt on where his loyalty would lie if elected. Coke and Pepsi are hardly the first to face the wrath of disgruntled citizens. In 2010, Target Corp. came under intense fire after Minnesota campaign disclosure laws revealed that it had given a contribution on behalf of Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Emmer was known as a social conservative who opposed civil rights for gay and lesbian people and opposed immigration reform. Weeks of backlash followed, included demonstrations at more than 1,000 Target stores nationwide, hundreds of thousands of petition signatures and an intense social media campaign. In the race to command the marketplace through brand loyalty, the corporations' own marketing strategies can make them vulnerable to consumer backlash. Target had positioned itself as the family friendly, all-American department store. It was a place people could feel good shopping after Wal-Mart became a target for its union busting. Similarly, "Have a Coke and a Smile" doesn't fit as a slogan for a company involved in robbing Americans of their democratic right to vote. Color of Change is a perfect emissary to Coke. The company established a dedicated marketing group for African-Americans in 2006 and just this year promoted a campaign targeting black teens to celebrate Black History Month. So, Color of Change represents a critical business demographic and its concerns must be taken seriously. Republican leaders have and will continue to cry foul about these kinds of efforts. However, as 2012 unfolds, we'll see more of them. These campaigns have become the embodiment of democratic principles in a country where consumer choices matter and the government is seen as too close to corporate interests. This power of the pocketbook has the potential to invigorate the free market by investing more people in its outcome and to crowd-source our cultural norms by reflecting the values of a diverse country. This is something all Americans should embrace. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ilyse Hogue.

Ilyse Hogue: Coke bowing out of ALEC shows how accountability looks in election year . She says American Legislative Exchange Council pushed voter ID, "stand your ground" laws . She says in post-Citizens United world, people don't tolerate mix of corporations, politics . Hogue: Look for more consumers to seek democracy amid corporate influence .

Washington (CNN) -- If House Republicans have their way this summer, the Bush-era tax cuts would become permanent, "Obamacare" would begin to be dismantled and energy regulations would be rolled back. On Friday, House GOP leaders unveiled their summer agenda with an eye on the fall campaign, including those and other items that probably won't become law, but will highlight the party's message on the economy. In a memo to GOP members, Majority Leader Eric Cantor promised a vote on the most contentious issue --extending the Bush-era tax cuts that expire at the end of the year — before the House begins its monthlong summer break in August. Republican leaders have been mum on the details, but the measure is expected to renew the current rates for some period and lay out a framework for tax reform that lowers rates across the board. Many of the details, however, including which deductions would be eliminated, would be put off until next year. Cantor's memo says the House will focus in the coming months on "addressing job creation and the economy, reducing spending and shrinking the size of the federal government while protecting and expanding liberty." In addition to the tax issue, the majority of items Cantor cites for floor action -- votes to repeal portions of Obamacare, roll back "job-inhibiting" red tape and press for more domestic energy production -- will land with a thud in the Democrat-led Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made it clear that anything the GOP-led House passes dealing with taxes or deficit cuts is DOA in the Senate. With the November election five months away and almost zero motivation for bipartisan cooperation, the reality is that any major action will be postponed until after the election. The fiscal cliff . Another thorny issue facing Congress: how to deal with automatic spending cuts to federal agencies scheduled to go into effect in January as part of the budget deal last summer. Republicans in the House and Senate are pushing bills to fence off any impact on defense with deeper cuts to domestic programs. In a recent letter to GOP senators, Reid said the Republican line in the sand against new revenues means no deal on these issues can happen. "Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans' blind adherence to tea party extremism is making it impossible to reach this sort of balanced agreement before the election," Reid wrote. Cantor's memo leaves out how the House will deal with some lingering and politically charged issues before the election. Both Democrats and Republicans say they want to avoid interest rates on student loans doubling in July, but there is no agreement yet on how to pay for legislation to head off the increase. The House passed a bill targeting what the GOP says is a "slush fund" that pays for public health programs as part of the health care law. Democrats want to offset the costs with a tax on some businesses. After the Senate failed to pass either party's preferred plan, the standoff continues. Transportation, women, drugs, post office on agenda . While both chambers passed legislation -- the "Violence Against Women Act" -- that funds programs combating domestic abuse, the issue has become a political battle, with Democrats arguing GOP resistance to expanding protections to gays and lesbians and native Americans amounts to a "war on women." Republicans counter that Democrats hijacked the measure for political purposes and are picking a "fake fight" to appeal to female voters. House and Senate leaders are also still negotiating details on a multiyear transportation bill that gives states billions of dollars for new infrastructure projects. But both sides are tangling over how long to authorize the federal program and the GOP's insistence that the bill include authorization for the Keystone pipeline that would transport oil from Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico. There are some areas where bipartisan action is expected. After the Memorial Day holiday the House will take up a bipartisan intelligence bill, and legislation reforming how the Food and Drug Administration approves new drugs, a measure that passed overwhelmingly in the Senate. The House will vote on Oversight Committee Chariman Darrell Issa's proposal to overhaul the postal service, which will need to be reconciled with a different package the Senate passed this month. Dialing up the rhetoric . The Republican agenda signals the rhetoric on the House floor in June and July will match the sticky Washington heat. The GOP is planning votes on energy bills most Democrats oppose, pushing for more drilling on public lands and removing federal regulations on energy producers. Nadeam Elshami, spokesman for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, immediately dismissed the GOP calendar. "The Republicans have spelled out an agenda that fails to address jobs and will hold the middle class tax cuts hostage because the GOP refuses to let millionaires, Big Oil and corporations that ship jobs overseas pay their fair share," Elshami said. While both parties eagerly await the ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether the president's signature health care law will stand, the House will vote to repeal a tax on medical devices that helps fund the law and overturn a provision of the law that would prohibit the use of personal spending accounts to pay for over the counter medications. GOP congressional leaders have been huddling on how to address health care if the high court strikes down the law, but aides caution that nothing has been decided on what kind of reforms Republicans would pursue if they were given a clean slate. Continuing their pledge to slash federal spending, the House will also vote on bills reducing federal agencies' budgets, but few of these bills are expected to pass the Senate, so both sides are gearing up for negotiations on a short-term bill to keep the government funded after the current authority runs out in September. While there may be a flurry of activity this summer on Capitol Hill, it's safe to say the December "lame duck" session of Congress will be a jam-packed month where most of these issues will be resolved.

House Republicans want to roll back regulation, dismantle "Obamacare" None of these measures will likely become law, but are election-year manuevering . Congress must act by the end of the year to avoid dire fiscal consequences .

(CNN)Almost two years since the Tsarnaev brothers allegedly placed two bombs at the Boston Marathon finish line, turning the city's beloved Patriot's Day race into a war zone, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is finally going on trial. By the time the brothers were captured (one dead, one alive), they were accused of having killed four people, blown the limbs off another 16 and injured more than 260. But while I have heard many say they wish the authorities had simply added the younger Tsarnaev brother to the list of the deceased while they had the chance, that didn't happen. So now we find ourselves facing down a trial. Tsarnaev will be convicted (after all, the prosecution has, according to The New York Times, lined up 590 law enforcement witnesses, 142 civilians and more than 1,000 exhibits, including images of him placing his backpack -- believed to have contained a bomb -- near an 8-year-old killed by the explosion). But it is unclear what the punishment will be. That raises what is perhaps the key question of the case: Should we kill Tsarnaev? And the answer, despite the abhorrent nature of the crime, is simple: No, we should not. We are better than that. The fact is that the death penalty isn't justice, it's revenge. And in seeking it out, we would be engaging in something Tsarnaev is alleged to have sought in the name of Muslims killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. (He made his motive clear when he scrawled "Stop killing our innocent people and we will stop" as he hid from police in a boat.) Indeed, the death penalty is nothing more than institutionalized revenge. And while seeking revenge makes for great action movies, in real life it lowers our own standards. And we have set our standards very high in Massachusetts, including having abolished the death penalty three decades ago. In fact, no one has been executed in Massachusetts for 67 years. It goes without saying that this is a deeply painful time for family and friends who lost loved ones that day, but research does suggest that executions do not give victims' families closure. Getting revenge won't bring back the lives that were lost, and state-sanctioned killing is not how we do things here. And it isn't how we want things done, either. In a Boston Globe poll in September 2013, for example, only a third favored the death penalty over life without parole for Tsarnaev. I've been disappointed that our leading politicians -- Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, and our new mayor, Marty Walsh, both opponents of the death penalty -- have failed to speak out clearly against the federal government for seeking the death penalty in this case. Indeed, even though Attorney General Eric Holder is personally against the death penalty, he authorized it in this case, and plea deals to avoid the death penalty have so far failed. I guess it's easier to be outspoken against the death penalty when you're not defending an alleged terrorist, but instead pointing out the alarming number of death row prisoners who have been wrongly convicted. Or that according to some, it costs 10 times more to try to execute someone than put them in jail for life. Or that it doesn't actually appear to deter crime. Or that the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and the Supreme Court has already ruled against the death penalty in cases against the mentally ill or minors. And with that in mind, it's important to remember in this case that the defense will not be eyeing an acquittal, rather a sentence that spares Tsarnaev's life. To make this case, the defense attorneys will no doubt delve deep into his personal history, the evidence that his older brother, Tamerlan, was the mastermind, and that Dzhokhar was under his brother's spell. Perhaps most importantly, it should be remembered that in defending Tsarnaev, they are not endorsing him, but instead are endorsing our collective humanity and our Constitution, fighting for even the worst among us to be afforded its consideration and its protection. My husband and I have lived in the Boston area for 18 years, we have run many marathons, and like so many folks, we had friends who were injured when those bombs when off. What struck us so profoundly about the attack, though, was not the destruction and devastation, but our response. Our response was profound and full of courage. First responders went running toward the blast areas to help. Runners, many of whom were doctors or veterans who had just finished running 26.2 miles, carried the injured to safety or ran to emergency rooms to help tend to the wounded. It's that kind of resolve that defined the day, not the attack itself. Greater Boston, an area of millions, became a community of one: a "Boston Strong" community. And after the bombings, we took our kids to the makeshift memorial at Copley Square, we donated to the One Fund, we cried as we watched the interfaith memorial service held just days after the blast. A year later, we joined millions of people along the race course and cheered on the 36,000 runners who ran one year after the bombing. Running the race again was a way to reclaim both the day and the finish line. Like marathoners, the survivors have pushed ahead one step at a time, and in their own ways: starting foundations, getting married, and learning to dance and run again. And this is what we should keep doing -- moving forward, leaving the attackers in the dust, forgotten in a cell somewhere to live with what has been done. Revenge is by its very nature a backward-looking emotion. If we are to truly leave that atrocious act behind us, we should therefore shun it, and instead keep putting our best foot forward, looking to our future, not behind us. If we do that, we will be the stronger ones -- Boston Strong.

Mel Robbins: Death penalty isn't justice, it's revenge . Dzhokhar Tsarnaev shouldn't be put to death, she says .

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The most eagerly anticipated animated film this year hits big screens this weekend, as "The Simpsons Movie" opens worldwide. The Screening Room spoke to creator Matt Groening and writer Al Jean in London about everyone's favorite two-dimensional yellow family. Simpsons supremo Matt Groening with his creations at the film's premiere in Springfield, Vermont . Matt Groening told the Screening Room that fans had driven the demand for the movie. "We've had fans clamoring for a movie for the past 18 years," he said. The film has taken four years to come to fruition, as writer Al Jean explained. "What really held us up for a long time was to have enough people to do the show and the movie," he said. "We talked for a while about doing the movie after the show is done, but the show is never done! So it really started in earnest in 2003, when we started working on this story that became the movie." Technology has also played its part. Jean continued, "The technology to do this film really wasn't even around five years ago. For example, there was this joke I once pitched and David Silverman, the director, started drawing and as I was pitching it, it went into the film and it was cut a day later. To go from pitch to cut in two days is pretty impressive." Its creators hope that "The Simpsons Movie" will both satisfy long-term fans and bring Homer and Marge's family to a new audience. Groening told the Screening Room, "This movie is designed to both honor the people who have loved the show all this time, so there's lots of little details for them in the movie, little characters and stuff who they know and love, but we also want people who don't know the family to not be completely confused. It is a complete movie experience, but again, we have a lot of little details that only the really, true die-hard fans are going to get." And fans can expect to be entertained by plenty of cartoon mishaps. Groening said, "When you see somebody fall off the roof in a live-action film, it's funny -- we all love it. But it's not as funny as when Homer falls off the roof. I don't know what that says about humanity, but we do like to see cartoon characters hurt themselves and there's quite a bit of that." But how have Springfield's finest led the field for so long? Groening believes that a large part of the Simpsons' success is down to the traditional animated techniques used to create it -- and that its hand-drawn charm puts the movie ahead of its CGI rivals. He told CNN, "The difference between our film and these other films is that we have no penguins, okay? So that's the big difference. (Although we do have one penguin.) "But the other thing is, our film is done the old fashioned way. It's got a lot of errors and flaws in it. These computer-animated films -- and I love them -- are perfect. They're spooky, they're so good. Ours is a way for us to honor the art of traditional animation." Al Jean thinks that the series' success is also down to its wide appeal. He says, "I have a two year old and she loves the Simpsons already, just because of the way it looks and the family. And then on the other hand, we do satirical references that only an adult would get." A large part of the appeal of "The Simpsons" comes from its ability to portray the more touching moments in family life, like Jean's favorite moment in the movie. "It's a scene where Bart is really mad at his father," he told CNN. "He's sitting in a tree outside the Simpson house at night. He looks over and sees the Flanders house and thinks how wonderful it would be if he lived there. It's just really sweet: there's something really warm about that scene." Groening, who has been meeting fans worldwide while promoting the movie, said that the Simpsons phenomenon has excelled his wildest dreams. "It's not just the numbers," he told CNN. "The numbers are good, but it's the intensity and the tattoos. The tattoos are freaky. You know? And it's not all just Bart and Homer. You'd think it would be just Homer. I talked to this one guy and he had Millhouse, and I said, 'Oh my god, Millhouse!' and he said, 'Yeah, everybody gets Bart.'" While Groening never expected the series to run for so long, he told the Screening Room he has no plans to quit while it's ahead. "The answer is, 'No end in sight! No end in sight!'" he said. "We're having fun, we hope the audience has fun, and as long as that's true, we'll continue doing the show." Jean believes the show has proved it has longevity. "I'm sure [it], like Mickey Mouse, will live on and on," he said. And he also hopes the Simpsons' success will continue. "In terms of new episodes, we're doing another season after the movie comes out for sure, and then the casts' contracts expire, but I'd love to get another three seasons and maybe another movie," he said. But what is the legacy of this much-loved yellow family? Matt Groening sees the film as the culmination of two decades of hard graft. He says, "I want to make sure that everyone who's ever worked on this show is proud of their work on this movie, so this rewards the writers, the animators, the actors. It's basically a celebration of twenty years of The Simpsons." E-mail to a friend .

Simpsons creator Matt Groening: Movie is culmination of 20 years' hard work . Writer Al Jean says success is down to show's universal appeal . Movie uses traditional hand-drawn animation techniques .

(CNN) -- Once again, the head of world soccer has put his foot in his mouth. Sepp Blatter, the man who infamously said that racism on the pitch could be settled by a handshake, has been forced to apologize to Cristiano Ronaldo after apparently mocking the Real Madrid and Portugal star. When asked at a question and answer session at an English university last Friday if he preferred Ronaldo or his rival Lionel Messi, the FIFA president at first said he could not decide. However, after extolling the virtues of Barcelona's "good boy" Messi, he stood up and gave the audience at Oxford a bizarre impersonation of Ronaldo, calling him "a commander on the field of play" and then claimed he spent "a lot more at the hairdresser's." Blatter concluded: "I like both of them, but I prefer Messi." Ronaldo, who was named Tuesday with Messi among 23 candidates for FIFA's 2013 Ballon d'Or world player of the year award, posted a response on social media along with a link to footage of Blatter's performance. "This video shows the respect and consideration that FIFA has for me, my club and my country. Much is explained now," Ronaldo wrote to his 22.2 million Twitter followers and 64 million "likers" on Facebook. "I wish Mr. Blatter health and a long life, with the certainty that he will continue to witness, as he deserves, the successes of his favorite teams and players." Ronaldo won the 2008 world player of the year title for his exploits at Manchester United, but has seen Messi claim it every year since his world-record $130 million transfer to Spain. He has been runner-up four times, and was particularly aggrieved to miss out after helping Real end Barca's La Liga reign in the 2011-12 season. Blatter's antics brought condemnation from Real, whose coach Carlo Ancelotti said it was "disrespectful." "He shows every day that he is a great player and he respects everyone," the Italian said of Ronaldo, who has scored more than 200 goals in just over four seasons at Real . Madrid president Florentino Perez, who signed Ronaldo, wrote a letter to FIFA complaining about the player's treatment by a man who is a "socio" (honorary member) of the club -- which represented Spain as one of the ruling body's founder members back in 1904. "It that has been a huge disappointment among the Madridista family, especially since these unfortunate and unacceptable manifestations come from the president of world football's governing body," Perez wrote. "On the one hand, they are unfair to a football player who has millions of fans around the world. This is without doubt one of the best players of all time. He embodies the values of sport in a society certainly in need of these kind of examples. "Finally, we understand that your comments may influence the votes of those who have to decide on who should receive the award." Blatter wrote to Ronaldo via Twitter, saying: "I apologize if you were upset by my light-hearted answer at private event on Friday. I never meant to offend you." He also sent a reply to Real, which the club published on its website. "In response to a question about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the moderator asked me to choose between one of the two and, in this moment having commented that Messi is the type of son all mothers would like to have, I ended up saying his name," Blatter explained. "However, I want to make it clear that for me Cristiano Ronaldo is at the same level as Messi and that they are both exceptional players, each one in their own way. "It was never my intention to upset or show a lack of respect towards Real Madrid, one of their players or their fans." Meanwhile, Barcelona moved four points clear in Spain with a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo on Tuesday. Messi was not able to add to his eight La Liga goals this season, leaving him joint second with Ronaldo, but he helped set up Cesc Fabregas' second goal. Fabregas had earlier curled in off the bar to make it 2-0, while his blocked shot allowed Alexis Sanchez to net an early opener. Espanyol moved up to eighth despite being held 0-0 at home by struggling Sevilla. Real will host Sevilla on Wednesday and second-placed city rival Atletico Madrid will travel to Granada Thursday. In Italy, fourth-placed Inter Milan failed to close the gap significantly on the Serie A leaders after being held 1-1 at Atalanta. It left Walter Mazzari's team eight points adrift of top side Roma, which hosts Chievo on Thursday. In England, Chelsea knocked Premier League leader Arsenal out of the League Cup with a 2-0 win in north London. Fullback Cesar Azpilicueta took advantage of a defensive mixup to net the first-half opener and fellow Spaniard Juan Mata doubled the lead in the second spell with a superb right-foot shot. Manchester United reached the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win over EPL struggler Norwich, as Mexico striker Javier Hernandez scored twice, but Fulham's poor season continued with a 4-3 defeat at second division Leicester. Birmingham also scored four against Premier League Stoke, but lost out 4-2 on penalties following extra time, while West Ham won 2-0 at second division leader Burnley.

Sepp Blatter apologizes after impersonating Cristiano Ronaldo at a student address . FIFA president had been asked to choose between Ronaldo and his rival Lionel Messi . Ronaldo's club Real Madrid protests and questions Blatter's impartiality ahead of awards . Messi and Ronaldo among 23 candidates for FIFA's 2013 Ballon d'Or world player of year .

(CNN) -- A week before 9-year-old Michaela Garecht was kidnapped in Hayward, California, in 1988, she wrote a poem about people who had been abducted, her mother said Tuesday. Cases of missing girls Ilene Misheloff, left, and Michaela Garecht now linked to Garrido investigation. "She sat down at the coffee table and wrote a poem about people behind the doors of steel, an amazing poem for a 9-year-old, ... and a week later she was kidnapped," Michaela's mother, Sharon Murch, said. "It seems to me ... like it must be some sort of a prophesy or premonition, and I keep hearing the words that she said -- 'It's about people who were kidnapped and are being held captive, not people who were kidnapped and were killed.'" Her comments came as authorities looked into whether Michaela's abduction and other unsolved kidnappings in the region are in any way related to Phillip Garrido, who was arrested last week for the kidnapping and rape of an 11-year-old girl just three years after Michaela was taken. That girl, Jaycee Lee Dugard -- now 29 -- was found alive last week, living in a tent and shelter compound in Garrido's back yard in Antioch, California -- 30 miles from where Michaela was kidnapped. The discovery raised Murch's hopes that her daughter might also be safe. "My husband told me (about Dugard's discovery) at 5 in the morning. He woke me up and told me he had heard it on the news," Murch said. Watch how case raises mother's hopes » . "And I leaped up yelling, 'Oh, my God. I was, of course, joyful for Jaycee herself, but my first thought was 'please God, let Michaela be with her.'" Murch said she feels there is a "strong possibility" that the two cases are linked. A bone fragment found near Garrido's home was being analyzed to determine whether it is was human and whether it connects Garrido to any other crimes, authorities said. The bone fragment was found on a neighbor's property in an area that Garrido had access to, they said. Watch how bone fragment may offer clues » . Murch said police have approached her in the past five days to ask what Michaela was wearing on the day of her abduction. "They apparently found a lot of stuff there," she said, referring to the Garrido property search. Police in several other San Francisco Bay Area agencies are also investigating possible ties between Garrido and other missing persons' cases. In Dublin, about 25 miles east of Oakland, police were looking into whether Garrido was connected to the 1989 disappearance of Ilene Misheloff. She was 13 when abducted, investigators said. Antioch -- where Garrido is accused of holding Dugard -- is about 40 miles east of Oakland and about 165 miles southwest of Dugard's hometown, South Lake Tahoe. Contra Costa County sheriff's Lt. Steve Simpkins said police in Antioch and neighboring Pittsburg were searching Garrido's property "for evidence relating to open cases." Murch says the kidnappings of her daughter and that of Dugard have several similarities. "The method of kidnapping was the same. They were both dragged into cars. The description of the cars was very similar. The girls looked very much like each other. There have been points in the past where the investigations have crossed with the same suspects, and Jaycee was found very close to home here." Hayward Police Lt. Chris Orrey said both girls were abducted in daylight, and a sketch of a suspect resembled Garrido, she said. Orrey said there were differences as well, though she would not elaborate. But she confirmed that Hayward police had been in contact with Michaela's family and witnesses since Dugard was found alive. Murch said a neighbor who witnessed her daughter's kidnapping called her on the phone when she saw Garrido on television and commented on a car removed from the Garrido property. "That car looked like the car that Michaela was kidnapped in," Murch quoted her as saying. According to Murch, her daughter and a friend rode their scooters to the neighborhood market on a Saturday morning. "They left the scooters outside the door. When they came out, one of the scooters was not where they left it. Michaela spotted it in a parking lot next to a car and went to get it, and when she bent over to pick up the scooter, a man jumped out of the car, grabbed her from behind, threw her into the car and took off with her." That car was described as a tan color, possibly with some primer on it. "Even before this (Dugard's reappearance) came up, I really had a feeling that perhaps my daughter might still be alive and might come home. And this has just heightened my hope for that," Murch said. She said she keeps busy by writing on her daughter's Web site. "In some ways, it's a lot easier to continue to live without hope than to get your hopes raised again. Living with hopes not fulfilled is one of the hardest things, I think. "If Michaela is out there and can hear me, I want her to know that I would like her to come home, that nothing that's transpired over the last 20 years can change the love we have for her. There's nothing that we can't overcome."

Michaela Garecht, 9, kidnapped three years before Jaycee Dugard . A week before her abduction, Michaela wrote poem about kidnapping, mother says . Girls' kidnappings seem similar, Sharon Murch says . Police also looking for links into 1989 kidnapping of Ilene Misheloff .

London, England (CNN) -- A Canadian graduate student has found the only known printed copy of Haiti's Declaration of Independence, tucked away in Britain's National Archives, researchers said. Duke University student Julia Gaffield found the eight-page pamphlet, dated January 1, 1804, while researching Haiti's early independence, Duke said in a statement Thursday. The discovery sheds light on the early history of Haiti and the relations it had with its Caribbean neighbors at the time, Gaffield and Duke Professor Deborah Jenson said. Gaffield is researching early 19th-century Haiti for her doctoral dissertation in history, Duke said. She did research in France, Haiti and Jamaica, where she saw a handwritten copy of the declaration in the papers of Jamaica's governor at the time, George Nugent. It indicated there was a printed version somewhere, but it wasn't enclosed. In late January, Gaffield went to London for research at the National Archives, where she found the printed declaration. "I wasn't specifically looking for it, but I had an eye out for it because I knew it was missing," Gaffield said. "We figured there was an original somewhere, but didn't know if it still existed." The declaration had not been misplaced and had been in the archives for a long time, Gaffield said. The period had simply not been studied in detail, and Gaffield said she figures people who saw the document before probably didn't realize what they had. Gaffield said she was thrilled by the discovery, but had to wait until the end of the day to notify her advisers at Duke, in North Carolina. "The archives are not the place to make a big scene," she said. Haiti's declaration is only the second of its kind in the world, the first being the U.S. Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and others, Duke said. The pamphlet, written in French, has three distinct parts, the National Archives said. The first two pages are titled "Liberte ou La Mort," which translates to "Freedom or Death," in which the generals of the Haitian army sign their names to an oath swearing to renounce forever the French yoke or die rather than live under its domination. Next, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the general-in-chief, addresses the citizens of Haiti in an impassioned defense of independence and the destiny of the nation. On the final page, Haitian army generals proclaim Dessalines governor-general for life and swear to obey without question laws issued under his authority. "To bring this document to light in Haiti's darkest hour may be seen as a symbol of renewal and rejuvenation, helping Haiti rebuild its national spirit following the recent earthquake," said Ian Wilson, president of the International Council on Archives. "Julia's achievement in recognizing the significance of this printed document deserves high recognition." Oliver Morley, the acting chief executive of the National Archives, said they were pleased to play a role in the discovery. "It's incredible that the long search for this important document should finally end at the National Archives," Morley said. "This declaration sent to the British government by Haiti's first independent leader is of great historical importance to both Haiti and the British people, and provides unique insight into the first successful slave rebellion of modern times." Jenson, a professor of French studies at Duke who has researched the U.S. publication of Haiti's independence documents, said the discovery also shows Haiti had a fully functional printing apparatus at every moment of the new nation's independence. Researchers had looked for the printed declaration before, without success, said Laurent Dubois, a Duke professor of French studies and history and one of Gaffield's advisers. In 1952, Haiti asked intellectual Edmond Mangones to find an original or printed copy so it could be displayed for the nation's 150th anniversary, Dubois said. Mangones searched in many archives in Haiti and elsewhere before writing with exasperation that all his searching had been "in vain," Dubois said. "It is really beyond belief," Mangones said at the time, "that not even a copy of the original printed version has been found in France, or in England, or in the United States." Gaffield's discovery, Dubois said, "has finally changed that." Documents from Haiti's early history have not been well preserved and are scattered in various places, said Dubois, who is working with other historians to rehabilitate Haiti's archives after the January 12 earthquake. Dubois and Gaffield consulted Patrick Tardieu, a noted Haitian archivist at Brown University, to confirm the document's authenticity. "I was so happy to find out it was true," Tardieu said. "It is an important document, and its discovery is important news for Haiti's scholarly community and more broadly for the people of Haiti." Gaffield said she hopes the discovery will remind historians, Haitians and the world about the early history of the only country in the Western Hemisphere where slaves successfully revolted to gain national independence. "The Haitian Revolution was of immense consequence to Jamaica and other colonies in the Caribbean, as well as to the United States," Gaffield said. "This find is further evidence that there was contact and negotiations going on between them. Haiti was not isolated after independence and it played a complicated role in a world based on colonialism and slavery."

Student Julia Gaffield found document in Britain's National Archives . Pamphlet, dated January 1, 1804, is only known record of Haitian independence declaration . This declaration was sent to the British government by Haiti's first independent leader . The first two pages are titled "Liberte ou La Mort," or "Freedom or Death."

(CNN) -- In the Information Age, it's easier than ever to steal and publish data. Corporations and governments have to adjust to their secrets being exposed, regularly. When massive amounts of government documents are leaked, journalists sift through them to determine which pieces of information are newsworthy, and confer with government agencies over what needs to be redacted. Managing this reality is going to require that governments actively engage with members of the press who receive leaked secrets, helping them secure those secrets -- even while being unable to prevent them from publishing. It might seem abhorrent to help those who are seeking to bring your secrets to light, but it's the best way to ensure that the things that truly need to be secret remain secret, even as everything else becomes public. The WikiLeaks cables serve as an excellent example of how a government should not deal with massive leaks of classified information. WikiLeaks has said it asked U.S. authorities for help in determining what should be redacted before publication of documents, although some government officials have challenged that statement. WikiLeaks' media partners did redact many documents, but eventually all 250,000 unredacted cables were released to the world as a result of a mistake. The damage was nowhere near as serious as government officials initially claimed, but it had been avoidable. Fast-forward to today, and we have an even bigger trove of classified documents. What Edward Snowden took -- "exfiltrated" is the National Security Agency term -- dwarfs the State Department cables, and contains considerably more important secrets. But again, the U.S. government is doing nothing to prevent a massive data dump. The government engages with the press on individual stories. The Guardian, The Washington Post, and The New York Times are all redacting the original Snowden documents based on discussions with the government. This isn't new. The U.S. press regularly consults with the government before publishing something that might be damaging. In 2006, The New York Times consulted with both the NSA and the Bush administration before publishing Mark Klein's whistle-blowing about the NSA's eavesdropping on AT&T trunk circuits. In all these cases, the goal is to minimize actual harm to U.S. security while ensuring the press can still report stories in the public interest, even if the government doesn't want it to. In today's world of reduced secrecy, whistle-blowing as civil disobedience, and massive document exfiltrations, negotiations over individual stories aren't enough. The government needs to develop a protocol to actively help news organizations expose their secrets safely and responsibly. Here's what should have happened as soon as Snowden's whistle-blowing became public. The government should have told the reporters and publications with the classified documents something like this: "OK, you have them. We know that we can't undo the leak. But please let us help. Let us help you secure the documents as you write your stories, and securely dispose of the documents when you're done." The people who have access to the Snowden documents say they don't want them to be made public in their raw form or to get in the hands of rival governments. But accidents happen, and reporters are not trained in military secrecy practices. Copies of some of the Snowden documents are being circulated to journalists and others. With each copy, each person, each day, there's a greater chance that, once again, someone will make a mistake and some -- or all -- of the raw documents will appear on the Internet. A formal system of working with whistle-blowers could prevent that. I'm sure the suggestion sounds odious to a government that is actively engaging in a war on whistle-blowers, and that views Snowden as a criminal and the reporters writing these stories as "helping the terrorists." But it makes sense. Harvard law professor Jonathan Zittrain compares this to plea bargaining. The police regularly negotiate lenient sentences or probation for confessed criminals in order to convict more important criminals. They make deals with all sorts of unsavory people, giving them benefits they don't deserve, because the result is a greater good. In the Snowden case, an agreement would safeguard the most important of NSA's secrets from other nations' intelligence agencies. It would help ensure that the truly secret information not be exposed. It would protect U.S. interests. Why would reporters agree to this? Two reasons. One, they actually do want these documents secured while they look for stories to publish. And two, it would be a public demonstration of that desire. Why wouldn't the government just collect all the documents under the pretense of securing them and then delete them? For the same reason they don't renege on plea bargains: No one would trust them next time. And, of course, because smart reporters will probably keep encrypted backups under their own control. We're nowhere near the point where this system could be put into practice, but it's worth thinking about how it could work. The government would need to establish a semi-independent group, called, say, a Leak Management unit, which could act as an intermediary. Since it would be isolated from the agencies that were the source of the leak, its officials would be less vested and -- this is important -- less angry over the leak. Over time, it would build a reputation, develop protocols that reporters could rely on. Leaks will be more common in the future, but they'll still be rare. Expecting each agency to develop expertise in this process is unrealistic. If there were sufficient trust between the press and the government, this could work. And everyone would benefit. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bruce Schneier.

Bruce Schneier: In today's world, massive leaks of secrets should be expected . It may seem odd, but governments should negotiate with leakers, he says . Schneier: It's in everyone's interest to avoid unnecessary disclosure of secrets . Governments could negotiate what amounts to a plea bargain .

(CNN) -- How can it be? The United States and Iran, sworn enemies for 35 years, are talking about working together to quell the al Qaeda-inspired insurgency sweeping northern Iraq. Such cooperation sounds unthinkable. They are fierce adversaries on issues such as terrorism, Iran's nuclear ambitions and Syria's civil war. Iranian leaders call the United States the "Great Satan," while former President George W. Bush labeled Iran as part of an "Axis of Evil." It was headline news last year when their leaders spoke briefly by phone, the first contact at that level since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 drove the U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi from power. But should we be too surprised by this latest version of strange bedfellows, now known as "frenemies" in the modern vernacular? There's even an old saying of uncertain origin to define it -- the enemy of my enemy is my friend. What's going on? This time, the common enemy is the threat of a regional war based on sectarian battle lines, pitting Sunni and Shia Muslim governments and peoples against each other across the Middle East. Only the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its al Qaeda backers would want that, it seems. They seek to establish a Sunni-dominated Islamic state stretching from Iraq to northern Syria. "We are now closer than ever to a regional war in the Middle East," Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, who heads the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said Tuesday. "Events in neighboring Iraq will have grave and violent repercussions for Syria. The most dangerous aspect of these developments has been the rise of the sectarian threat, a direct consequence of the dominance of extremist groups like ISIS." Shiite majority Iran seeks to protect Shia interests and power in Iraq, while the United States wants to see a stable Iraq after pulling its troops out of the country in 2011 to end its eight-year campaign that began by toppling Saddam Hussein from power. Also, Iran has sounded a more positive tone toward the West since last year's election of President Hassan Rouhani to succeed the more volatile Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Where do things stand? On Monday, the United States and Iran held "very brief discussions" about Iraq and the threat posed by ISIS on the sidelines of nuclear negotiations in Vienna, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested possible collaboration with Iran on Monday, telling Yahoo! News that "we are open to discussions if there's something constructive that can be contributed by Iran -- if Iran is prepared to do something that is going to respect the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq." A senior State Department official said while Washington was open to engaging the Iranians, "these engagements will not include military coordination or strategic determinations about Iraq's future over the heads of the Iraqi people." The official said on condition of not being identified that the discussion concerns the ISIS threat to "many countries in the region, including Iran," as well as the need to support a more inclusive approach by the Iraqi government than the sectarian efforts by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced plans on Tuesday for Britain to reopen its Tehran embassy, which has been closed since an attack by protesters in 2011 triggered a dramatic breakdown in relations. What's in it for the United States? Even a conservative member of Congress who once advocated military strikes on Iran said Washington needs Tehran's help. "The Iranians can provide some assets to make sure Baghdad doesn't fall," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told CNN on Sunday. A host of experts agree, including Meghan O'Sullivan, a former deputy national security adviser during the Iraq war. "There is a political solution here that I think could be both in Iran's interest and the U.S. interest," O'Sullivan said. Whether the United States likes it or not, working with Iran on the Iraq crisis might be a necessary evil, retired Maj. Gen. James "Spider" Marks said. "There are necessary steps that we have to take with Tehran that we've probably never taken before, and would prefer not to take," Marks said. What's the downside? Teaming up with Iran could certainly have its pitfalls. The United States is wary of furthering Iran's already considerable influence in Iraq. The Shiite Iranian regime is Maliki's closest ally in the region, and a U.S.-Iranian partnership could alienate Iraq's Sunni population as well as Sunni nations in the region such as Saudi Arabia that are U.S. allies. Meanwhile, the United States doesn't want to jeopardize international talks on Iran's nuclear program that resumed this week. The talks are intended to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and the United States and Israel have repeatedly said they would use military means if necessary to achieve that outcome. Will Iran and the U.S. work together on the ground? A senior security official in Baghdad said Iran has already sent about 500 Revolutionary Guard troops to help fight the ISIS militants. Rouhani then denied that happened, but said he would be open to helping if asked, according to Iranian state TV. A Pentagon spokesman said Monday that military coordination with Iran was not in the cards, similar to what the senior State Department official told CNN. Back to Iraq: What can -- and should -- the U.S. do now? CNN's Elise Labott and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.

NEW: U.N. panel chief warns of Middle East regional war . Both Iran and the U.S. have reasons for wanting to quell the ISIS militant surge in Iraq . Secretary of State Kerry suggests possible collaboration with Iran . Working with Iran might be a necessary evil, says a retired U.S. general who served in Iraq .

(CNN)The Internet is a dangerous place for Mariam Veiszadeh right now. It's where death threats lurk and vile messages appear faster than they can be deleted. But it's also a place where support is growing in a Twitter counter-campaign -- #IStandWithMariam -- to the urgings of a U.S.-based white supremacist website, the Daily Stormer, to "be as nasty, hurtful, hateful, offensive, insulting and 'vilifying' as you possibly can." And they have been. "Leave now before we behead your mother and bury you all with pigs..." said one tweet from an account, which has since been suspended. Many of the messages include extremely offensive hashtags. Veiszadeh, an Australian lawyer and founder of the Islamophobia Register, which tracks instances of abuse against Muslims, knows exactly why she's being targeted. "The reality is people don't abuse me just because I'm a woman or because my name is Mariam or because I'm Middle-Eastern. They abuse me because I have a scarf on my head and because I'm a Muslim," Veiszadeh told CNN. Last October, Veiszadeh posted an image of a T-shirt for sale in Woolworths, one of Australia's biggest retailers, which showed the Australian flag with the words "If you don't love it, leave." She called the shirt "bigoted," a flood of complaints followed and the shirt was withdrawn from sale. Woolworths apologized and blamed an ordering error, saying it "should never have been on our shelves." That could have been the end of it. However, three months later, the Australian Defence League (ADL) -- a right-wing group that's calling for Islam to be banned in Australia -- posted Veiszadeh's tweet on its Facebook site, along with another one she posted saying "Everyone is entitled to dress as they please," with the title "Hypocrisy Much?" The post attracted dozens of offensive comments. Abusive tweets followed but the campaign took a more sinister -- and organized -- twist when the Daily Stormer implored its "troll army" to attack her. The post, in part, justifies the attack as revenge for the prosecution of a 22-year-old woman from Ipswich, in the Australian state of Queensland. The woman allegedly sent a stream of invective to Veiszadeh, calling her a tramp, whore, "rag head" and other offensive names. She's been charged with "using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offense" and is due to appear on court on March 11. On the blog post calling for the tirade of abuse, the Daily Stormer publisher justifies the attack by saying attempts to ban freedom of speech "should be responded to with the most ridiculous conceivable hateful speech." It recalls a similar "successful" campaign against Luciana Berger, a British MP who was targeted with a barrage of abusive messages after a man was jailed for sending her an anti-Semitic tweet. "The goal of these operations is to purposefully enrage the target, so as to escalate the situation to the level of media attention, and the method for doing that is through the most extreme speech possible," writes Daily Stormer publisher Andrew Anglin on one blogpost. He said attention would force a discussion about whether people should be jailed for hate speech, concluding that "the vast majority of White (sic) people do not think name-calling should be an imprisonable offense." Veiszadeh is adamant the campaign of intimidation will not be successful. "If their stated objective is to silence me, then my stated objective is to do the exact opposite," she said. Earlier this week, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott foreshadowed tougher penalties for hate speech, as part of a move to strengthen the country's counter-terrorism laws. "No one should make excuses for Islamist fanatics or their imitators here in Australia," Abbott said. Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane -- who himself has been the target of a Daily Stormer hate campaign -- says the country's current laws under the Racial Discrimination Act "send an important message to bigots and racists." "Those who peddle messages of hatred should be made to answer for their extremism. And they should know that the rest of Australian society rejects their promotion of fear and division," he said. However, the Racial Discrimination Act does not cover attacks on a person based on their religious beliefs. That's covered by state laws, which vary from state to state. Veiszadeh said in New South Wales, where most of Australia's Muslims live, there's no law to cover Muslims who are abused on the basis of their religion. Of the Queensland woman due to face court, Veiszadeh said, "Had this woman not referred to my ethnicity, I would have absolutely no grounds to take action against her." But even a change in Australian law wouldn't solve the issue of attacks emanating from outside the country by trolls who create multiple fake accounts to attack then vanish. The Daily Stormer has issued instructions to its followers on exactly how to do it, reminding them not to threaten violence (though some have), presumably in an attempt to avoid legal action. Right now, Veiszadeh is concentrating on naming the trolls and urging her 15,000 followers to block their accounts. "I'm still getting horrifying images and abusive tweets but, as bad as that sounds, I've become accustomed to it. I've developed a thick skin and for me it's about exposing bigotry and raising awareness about Islamophobia."

Australian lawyer receives barrage of abuse at the urgings of a U.S. website . The Daily Stormer instructed followers to be as " nasty, hurtful, hateful, offensive" as possible . Counter campaign sees thousands tweet #IStandWithMariam .

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- Just hours after the United States warned that North Korea would achieve nothing with threats or provocations, Pyongyang moved a long-range rocket it plans to test fire to a launch pad Monday, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said. A U.S. official said the United States also has seen signs the North Koreans are preparing to launch a long-range rocket. The news broke at the start of a two-day nuclear summit in Seoul that is bringing together leaders from the United States, Russia, China and dozens of other nations to discuss how to deal with nuclear terrorism and how to secure the world's nuclear material. Overshadowing the summit's message of international cooperation was an announcement by North Korea that it plans to carry out a rocket-powered satellite launch in mid-April. South Korea has said it considers the satellite launch an attempt to develop a nuclear-armed missile, while U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday such a launch would bring repercussions. "Here in Korea, I want to speak directly to the leadership in Pyongyang. The United States has no hostile intent toward your country," Obama said during a speech to students at Seoul's Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. "But by now it should be clear, your provocations and pursuit of nuclear weapons have not achieved the security you seek. They have undermined it." South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Monday his country would "thoroughly retaliate against North Korea" if provoked. If the rocket is launched, South Korea is prepared to "track its trajectory," said the Defense Ministry official, who did not want to be named. "There are concerns that parts of the rocket may fall within South Korean territory," he said. "If that were to happen it would threaten lives and cause damage to the economy. To guard against that, they (the military) will be tracking the orbit." The rocket was moved to a launch pad in the northeastern portion of Dongchang-ri, a village in northwest North Korea, the South Korean official said. North Korea says it has a right to a peaceful space program and has invited international space experts and journalists to witness the launch. Prior to Obama's speech, Pyongyang said it will see any statement critical of its nuclear program as "a declaration of war." Using ballistic missile technology is in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874 and against a deal North Korea struck with the United States earlier this month that, in return for food aid, it would not carry out nuclear or missile tests. "There will be no rewards for provocations. Those days are over," Obama said in his speech. "To the leaders of Pyongyang I say, this is the choice before you. This is the decision that you must make. Today we say, Pyongyang, have the courage to pursue peace and give a better life to the people of North Korea." The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency's director general, Yukiya Amano, said the U.S.-North Korea deal is "not over" despite Pyongyang's plans to launch the rocket. "We have established contact at a working level, and they are keeping contact with the North Korean mission in Vienna," Amano said. "Nothing has been decided yet." He said the International Atomic Energy Agency needs to consult with North Korea and other parties involved in the multilateral talks, known as the six-party talks. Obama's wide-ranging speech also touched on the U.S. commitment to further cut its stockpile of nuclear weapons, and he issued a stern warning to Iran. The president said sanctions have led to the "slowing" of Tehran's nuclear program. But it remains a concern. While the president didn't specify the course of action if Iran does not comply with international demands and produces nuclear weapons, he left little leeway for Tehran's leaders. "Iran must act with the seriousness and sense of urgency that this moment demands. Iran must meet its obligations," Obama said. Later, Obama met with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, and the two agreed that there is a window of opportunity to pursue diplomacy and that Iran should take advantage of it, Ben Rhodes, one of Obama's deputy national security advisers, told reporters. The two leaders also agreed the proposed launch by North Korea would be a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, he said. "There is agreement that provocative acts like this will only increase isolation going forward," Rhodes said. The rocket launch site is near the Chinese border. China has somewhat of a diplomatic relationship with North Korea, though the relationship between the two countries is limited because of Pyongyang's routine provocations. As a result, North Korea's planned launch was front and center in a meeting between Obama and China's president, Hu Jintao. "The two leaders agreed to coordinate closely to this potential provocation, and registering our serious concerns," Rhodes said. The two also agreed there is a broad view in the international community that a satellite launch would be destabilizing, he said. Obama and Hu also discussed North Korea's new leadership, "this being a sensitive time on the Korean peninsula, and this being a new leader who is going to take some lessons from what works and what doesn't," Rhodes said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took over from his father following the latter's death in December. "That's a conversation President Obama had with both China and Russia," Rhodes said. "... I think they also share a frustration with the choices the new leadership has made as well." CNN's Paula Hancocks, Tim Schwartz, Becky Brittain, and Pam Benson contributed to this report.

NEW: South Korea says it will retaliate if provoked . A U.S. official says there are signs the North Koreans are preparing a launch . China and the United States agree a rocket launch would be destabilizing . North Korea moves a long-range rocket to a launch pad in Dongchang-ri, an official says .

London, England (CNN) -- A secret document that appears to show that Iran was working on building nuclear weapons as recently as 2007 is "alarming" and "part of a body of evidence backing up deep concerns over Iran's nuclear program," a Western diplomatic source with knowledge of the papers told CNN on Monday. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, has a copy of the secret papers, which were also obtained by the Times of London, the source said. IAEA officials confirm they are investigating the document but said they have not formally asked Iran for more information about it. A top international nuclear expert said it seemed to point to Iranian efforts to build a bomb. "The only realistic use of this is in a nuclear weapon," said David Albright, the president of the Institute for Science and International Security. "It shows that either Iran is developing the capability [to build nuclear weapons] or it is moving to implement a bomb program -- and either one is bad," said Albright, who reviewed the document for the Times before the newspaper published its report Sunday. But Albright warned that the document is edited and has no date on it. The source who gave it to the Times said it was from 2007, but neither the Times nor the ISIS was able to date it definitively, Albright said. In Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the Times' "claim that Iran is working on the final and important component of a nuclear bomb is false and not worth paying any attention to," the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "This type of statement is made in the media to put political and psychological pressure [on Iran] by the officials of various countries," Mehmanparast said, according to the Fars report. United States intelligence concluded in 2007 that Iran had suspended work on its nuclear weapons program in 2003. In the National Intelligence Estimate released in December 2007, the U.S. intelligence community dramatically reversed course from its 2005 evaluation. It expressed "high confidence" in 2005 that the Islamic Republic was working toward nuclear weapons, then two years later said -- also with "high confidence" -- that Iran had stopped its weapons program in 2003. Iran denies seeking to build nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is to produce civilian energy and medical research. But it is under intense pressure from the international community, with Britain and France saying last week they would push for stronger U.N. sanctions on Tehran. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wouldn't comment on the secret document Monday, but told reporters that concerns about Iran's nuclear program "have been heightened already" in recent months after revelations of a once-secret nuclear enrichment facility near the Iranian city of Qom, and Iran's Cabinet authorizing the construction of at least 10 new nuclear production facilities. She said the Obama administration has taken a "dual-track" approach to Iran, including the offer of engagement and taking part in nuclear talks. "We've been at the table. But I don't think anyone can doubt that our outreach has produced very little in terms of any kind of positive response from the Iranians," Clinton said, adding that the second approach -- the international pressure -- is key to pushing Iranian officials to change "their actions and decisions concerning the nuclear program." Mehrdad Khonsari, a former Iranian diplomat, says the revelation about the document "means, essentially ... that the Iranians have been lying to everybody" when they said they were not seeking to build nuclear weapons. Khonsari said it was no accident that this document appeared when it did. "The fact that the document comes out at this time makes it very difficult for Russia and China not to go along with more sanctions," he said. It would also make it easier for "Israel to go ahead with a unilateral strike" on Iran's nuclear facilities, he added. "The agenda will change as a result of the publication of this document unless the document is proven to be false by the Iranian authorities," said Khonsari, who is now a senior research consultant at the Center for Arab and Iranian Studies. Khonsari -- who left Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 -- has not seen the original document but said the material published by the Times "is what an authentic document would look like." "It places pressure on the Iranian government to try to use what time remains to get out of this situation," he said. According to a report dated Monday on the Web site of Albright's group, a neutron initiator is a critical component of a nuclear weapon. The ISIS report said the device "would most likely be placed at the center of a fission bomb made from weapon-grade uranium" and "works by the high explosives compressing the nuclear core and the initiator" to produce a "spurt of neutrons" as a result of fusion. "The neutrons flood the core of weapon-grade uranium and initiate the chain reaction," the ISIS report said. Albright said the document described efforts to "research and test a neutron initiator," a nuclear component for which he could not see "any civil use." "They appear to be doing the right things," he said. "But you don't know how it fits into a nuclear weapons program." He also said the public had failed to understand a key part of the debate about Iran's nuclear program. "It's not whether there is something or nothing, but whether there is a capabilities focus or an actual decision to build nuclear weapons," he said. "It's not like an on-off switch, it's like a dimmer control." CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance and Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report.

NEW: Iran calls claim of work on nuclear bomb part "false and not worth paying any attention to" Papers reinforce "deep concerns over Iran's nuclear program," source says . It says U.N. nuke watchdog has a copy of papers, which Times of London also obtained . IAEA says it's investigating document, hasn't formally asked Iran for more information about it .

(CNN) -- While many people still associate Facebook games with casual offerings like Zynga's "FarmVille," the social media giant has expanded its game catalog through titles like KIXEYE's "War Commander" and Kabam's "The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle Earth." Now, Facebook has partnered with start-up U4iA Games (pronounced "euphoria") to launch its first "core" video game, the first-person shooter "Offensive Combat." The game, which had a soft launch three weeks ago, has already attracted over a half-million players with no marketing. The game is playable as a Facebook App and included in the Action games section of the site's App Center. "Facebook wants to bring the next-level gaming consumer to their platform," said Dusty Welch, co-founder and CEO of U4iA Games. "Core games monetize the highest and are the stickiest." Welch and co-founder and CCO Chris Archer have backgrounds that include having overseen huge franchises when they were at Activision like "Call of Duty," "Spider-Man" and "Guitar Hero." Archer said his studio designed "Offensive Combat" for a fast-growing segment of core gamers who want a fine-tuned, shooter game that can be played anywhere, anytime via their Web browser, and not limited by the need for a major software install or dedicated hardware. "Offensive Combat" is a shooter that blends elements from the most popular shooters out there like Microsoft's "Halo 4" and Activision's "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" into a free-to-play experience that's fully customizable. Players can choose from 30 game archetypes like modern soldiers, space marines and robots and engage in a variety of multiplayer modes across nine maps. The online game will expand with new content every two weeks. Players can purchase in-game items, including weapons, to further customize the experience. These micro-transactions will allow players to move through the progressive "grind" of leveling up and unlocking content, but Welch said the battlefield will remain even for all players. "There are millions of consumers around the world who play core games and want to play these types of free-to-play games," said Welch. "First-person shooters have dominated gaming since the early days of 'Doom,' 'Wolfenstein' and 'Quake.' When you look at the success of free-to-play games like Riot Games' 'League of Legends' and Wargaming's 'World of Tanks,' there's room for a first-person shooter like 'Offensive Combat.'" More than 251 million of Facebook's 1 billion-plus members currently play games every month. Even with droves of players leaving Zynga's games, there remain new audiences that haven't yet gravitated to the platform. "Gaming on Facebook is all about connecting with friends," said Welch. "FPS games are the most social of all the core gaming genres. FPS fans want to connect with their friends and clans and do it quickly. What better, simpler way to do that than Facebook where there are a billion gamers? The problem has been that the genre hasn't been represented yet." Michael Pachter, a video game analyst at Wedbush Securities, said the free-to-play business model is popular because it reaches the broadest audience, it's approachable and easy, and there's no barrier to entry. "You can make $100 million off a game that's free to play like Riot Games' 'League of Legends,' said Pachter. "Free-to-play takes away some of the risk." As much money as Activision and Microsoft have generated from billion-dollar shooters like 'Call of Duty,' 'Halo' and 'Gears of War,' Welch believes there's a much larger audience willing to jump into the genre without the requirement of a $60 disc. He also believes there's something to be learned from Zynga's failure to keep its gamers happy. "It's crucial to continually innovate and stay connected with your community," said Welch. "The lather-rinse-and-repeat methodology that Zynga used too many times gets stale fast with your user base and they degrade and move on. We saw that happen in the console space with games like 'Guitar Hero' and 'Wii Fit.' True innovation creates a sticky audience. Zynga games didn't attract mid-core to core gamers and they flooded back out to 'American Idol' or whatever other entertainment is popular today." Facebook has partnered with U4iA Games to develop new social mechanics that are being designed to build engaging gaming communities. These features will eventually debut with "Offensive Combat" before moving on to other Facebook games. In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, violent video games have come under fire in some quarters. Welch believes "Offensive Combat," which was designed as a mash-up of different constructs, offers a more irreverent and light-hearted approach to the genre than more realistic shooters. "I'm a parent with two children and I believe it's the responsibility of parents to monitor and decide what's appropriate for their situation and we take that very seriously," said Welch. "Facebook is for people 13+ so there's age gating for that platform. While the gameplay experience was designed for hardcore gamers, you can run around in a banana suit with futuristic plasma weapons."

With "Offensive Combat," Facebook moves into core gaming with its first first-person shooter . Traditionally, the site is associated with casual games like FarmVille . Game is free to play, with "micro-transactions" for in-game extras . Creators say it's age-appropriate for the site and more light-hearted than many shooters .

(CNN) -- Herman Cain, the surprise candidate of 2012, has been struggling to survive accusations of sexual harassment. Every day that the story continues and new accusations emerge, Cain's candidacy is at greater risk. Yet thus far his polls have remained steady, and the news cycle seems to be turning toward other issues. Cain has denied the accusations and pushed back against the accusers. Cain is far from the first presidential candidate to struggle with a scandal centered on sex. Sex scandals have a long tradition in American politics. In the presidential campaigns of 1824 and 1828, opponents accused Andrew Jackson of adultery, while in 1884 Republicans lambasted Grover Cleveland for his illegitimate child. Supporters of Cleveland's opponent, James Blaine, liked to chant "Ma, Ma, where's my pa?" whenever they had a chance. During the first seven decades of the 20th century, sex scandals played a diminished role on the campaign trail. The news media exhibited remarkable restraint, as reporters stayed within boundaries defining what kind of behavior was appropriate -- or relevant -- to report and what was not. The rules governing behavior at the workplace were also extraordinarily lax, and reporters, like other Americans, didn't expect men to meet a high standard in treating the women around them. Despite widespread knowledge of President John F. Kennedy's sexual escapades and Sen. Russell Long's alcoholism, reporters declined to write stories about their behavior. According to the legendary reporter Jack Germond, a politician who chased after women was gently characterized as a man who appreciated a well-turned ankle. But that changed in the 1970s. A new generation of reporters, inspired by the Watergate investigation, was eager to expose the next big scandal in Washington. In recent years, the proliferation of news outlets, ranging from cable television to the Internet, has created intense competition to report the most salacious stories. Public norms on sexuality have liberalized and the media have grown more comfortable reporting about sex. Moreover, liberals argue that the private behavior of public officials matters. New sexual harassment laws have changed the norms of what is considered acceptable at the workplace. Conservatives are more eager to highlight personal behavior as they hope to to make morality a legitimate issue in public debate. Sometimes sex scandals have brought down promising candidates. During the 1987 Democratic primaries for president, for example, the Miami Herald reported that Gary Hart, a former Colorado senator, was having an affair with a young model. Hart challenged the media to prove their allegations. Soon after, the National Enquirer obtained photographs of a model named Donna Rice sitting on Hart's lap on a yacht named Monkey Business. Once the pictures were published, Hart dropped out of the race. Yet often candidates have been able to survive these accusations. Sex scandals are not necessarily devastating to a candidacy. During Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, allegations that he had had an affair with Gennifer Flowers broke right before the crucial New Hampshire primary. Clinton effectively responded by appearing with his wife, Hillary, on CBS's "60 Minutes." He went on to win the presidency and earn high approval ratings. The future of Herman Cain remains unclear: Will he suffer the fate of Gary Hart or succeed as Bill Clinton did? There are several reasons that, at least initially, Cain has been able to survive the frenzy. The first is a certain numbness that Americans have to ongoing stories about the poor behavior of politicians. We live in a cynical age when Americans don't expect much from their leaders. Scandals can certainly destroy political futures, as was the case with Rep. Anthony Weiner or two-time presidential candidate John Edwards, but there is an equal chance that the public won't find a particular case all that shocking. (In the cases of Weiner and Edwards, their initial denials were proven wrong; in Cain's case, the truth of the accusations hasn't been established.) The second reason is that partisanship has become so intense these days that there is naturally going to be suspicion that charges such as these might come from political opponents. Cain has played into this belief by accusing his political opponents, ranging from Gov. Rick Perry's campaign to liberals, of being behind the charges. Cain also might survive this scandal because this story has emerged so long before any voting starts. The Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary are months away, and the opinions of voters won't be definitively known till then. Even if party leaders put pressure on Cain, they'll have limited effect, given that Cain is not part of the party establishment. He doesn't really care what the leaders of the GOP have to say. That's in fact the point of his campaign. In that sense, he is very much like Ross Perot in Republican clothes. None of this is to say that Herman Cain is safe. The fact is that if stories about his alleged misbehavior continue to emerge, and the substance of more of these accusations becomes public, the real power brokers in modern campaigns -- the fundraisers and campaign donors -- will make a decision for him. They will turn off the spigot of money that he would need to make his campaign real. This is the ultimate check on his future. Republicans are extremely anxious. They sense a real opportunity to win this election and don't have much stomach for picking someone who could implode in the general election come September 2012. Given his inexperience in the political realm, Cain is already a high-risk candidate. A few more accusations and his candidacy could come to an early end. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julian Zelizer.

Herman Cain's campaign has so far survived accusations of sexual harassment . Julian Zelizer says many factors affect whether a candidate can survive a scandal . Cain is helped by partisan atmosphere in American politics, Zelizer says . Zelizer: Ultimately the donors who fund campaign could bring it to an early end .

(CNN) -- A massive winter storm spanning 20 states dumped more than a foot of snow in some places Thursday and brought life to a standstill in parts of the central United States. About 60 million people -- 20% of the U.S. population -- were under winter weather warnings, watches and advisories in the 750,000 square miles affected. Statewide emergency declared . Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency. Snow, sleet and ice could wreak havoc, and parts of the state could see more than 10 inches of snow. Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Sly James also declared a state of emergency. There were 250 snow plows working to clear roads in the city, and residents were urged to limit travel. Kansas City International Airport shut down because of the weather, according to Joe McBride with the city's aviation department. The city picked up 7.6 inches of snow, a record daily snowfall, the National Weather Service said. CNN iReporter Joseph Kopel posted photos of empty shelves in St. Joseph, Missouri, on Wednesday as people stocked up for the blizzard. Authorities in Kansas had closed a 240-mile stretch of Interstate 70 west of Salina earlier in the day. Two dozen soldiers from the Kansas National Guard later searched the interstate and U.S. Highways 54 and 400 farther south for any stranded travelers. In Wichita, despite crews spreading salt and sand across roads for days, many roads remained slick. Side streets were worse, CNN affiliate KSN reported. Gov. Sam Brownback called for people to stay home. "If you don't have to travel, don't do it," the governor said. The storm started to wind down Thursday night in Wichita after leaving 14.2 inches of snow over two days -- the second highest storm total in the city's history, according to the National Weather Service. Topeka received 9.2 inches of snow. The University of Kansas closed two of its campuses -- in Lawrence and Overland Park, both near Kansas City -- through Friday because of the weather. Across the country, flights were canceled or delayed because of weather. St. Louis, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago's O'Hare, and Denver had the most cancellations and delays after Kansas City, according to FlightStats, which tracks air travel. United Airlines announced Thursday that certain affected travelers can change their itineraries without paying fees. Track winter weather across the U.S. Some drought relief expected . There is a silver lining for some areas facing the heavy snowfall. "Big chunks of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas" are facing exceptional drought, HLN meteorologist Bob Van Dillen said. "You squeeze out the water from the melting snow, and you're talking 1 to 2 inches of water for those dry regions." Wednesday, CNN iReporter Doug Simonton in Tulsa, Oklahoma, posted a photo of a car covered in snow and said numerous traffic accidents had been reported around town. A large system . The storm system is huge and carries with it a warmer, wetter Southern component. It will eventually stretch from the Dakotas to Houston, Myers said. While it will remain snowy in the north, the system was forecast to spawn torrential rains and tornadoes along the Gulf Coast and dump freezing rain over Arkansas and Missouri. Arizona golf tournament suspended because of snow . "There's going to be a monster ice storm over Springfield and Branson, Missouri. Think of an inch of ice coating everything," Myers said. "Power lines will be coming down. Trees will be coming down." In St. Louis, freezing rain is predicted to fall on top of a thin layer of snow, which will have "a significant impact on travel," the National Weather Service warned. North of where the most snow will fall, Chicago could receive as much as 6 inches, CNN's Sarah Dillingham said. The city is running 15 inches below its average snowfall for the season. Southern downpours . Severe thunderstorms moving in from the Gulf of Mexico are expected to bring 2 to 6 inches of rain to New Orleans and Montgomery, Alabama, according to CNN's weather center, before rolling up toward Atlanta. The torrential rains could lead to significant river flooding, as flood watches are still in effect from last week's heavy rains. Heavy winds, hail and tornadoes are possible, the National Weather Service said. Downpours are expected to continue into Friday. Desert dwellers stunned . On Wednesday, the winter storm system left a rare thin layer of snow across the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico and southern California as far south as the border with Mexico. "I've been here for over 10 years and I've never seen it snow like this," Kayla Avery of Tucson, Arizona, said in a CNN iReport, which came with a video of the snowfall. "There is more snow on the ground in Tucson today than I have seen in over 30 years living here," Carrie Tucker said in another iReport. Mona Jensen of Dolan Springs, Arizona, posted photos of her 8-acre property blanketed by snow. Katie June in Yucca Valley, California, shared a shot of a snow-covered cactus. "Some of the larger ones are having a hard time," she wrote. "But they all enjoy the drink!" Joan Dedmon in Tuscon, Arizona, also found snow on cacti and shared a picture of a snow-covered birdfeeder. She said it confused the hummingbirds who were trying to get a meal before dark. CNN's Steve Almasy, Mike Pearson and Pedram Javaheri contributed to this report.

NEW: Wichita receives 14.2 inches of snow over two days . NEW: Kansas crews search I-70 after shutting down a 240-mile stretch . NEW: Snow even reaches southern California and the Arizona desert .

(CNN)"We're racist, we're racist, and that's the way we like it," chanted a group of Chelsea football fans as they shoved a black man off a Paris Metro train. Again and again the black passenger attempted to board the waiting train, only to be pushed back onto the platform by a torrent of limbs and hateful words. The man went home to his wife and three children and, having lost his phone in the melee, was initially unaware the incident had sparked a global debate about racism that spilled far beyond the sports stadium. The ugly scene, caught on camera by a horrified onlooker, showed racism is very much alive and kicking -- and it's not just football's problem. "There's a strand of male culture you see in the UK, and to some extent other Anglo Saxon societies, prevalent among 20, 30 and even 40-year-olds, which is: you go abroad, you drink a fair amount, you sing songs and engage in banter, and pick on someone who is different to you," said Piara Powar, executive director of Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE). "There's this pervasive sexism and racism. The idea that 'anyone who isn't like us, we're going to sing about them and insult them and it's part of the lad's day out.'" It's a culture absent from women's football. "The fastest growing participation sport in the UK, and many countries around the world, is women's football," explained Lord Herman Ouseley of football equality group, Kick it Out. "And I have to tell you we don't get such incidents in women's football. Or such incidents in disabled people's football. But we get it in men's football. "It's part of that lad's culture and the stick-together mentality that goes with it. And it doesn't just have to be on the issue of race. It embodies sexism, homophobia and anti-Islam." Racism and football have a long relationship, says Powar, pointing to the strong sense of tribalism within the sport. "English football in particular is rooted in a white, working class community," he explained. "When the country started to experience mass migration from the colonies in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, then the racism that was prevalent on the streets and schools and workplaces, was being amplified inside football stadiums. "And then at some point racism in football stadiums was actually more prevalent than in the streets and schools -- it was more consistent, heard more often, and more virulent." Football's "dark days" of racial abuse in 1970s and 1980s are behind well behind us, he says. Though there is still some way to go in stamping it out completely. "Even 10 years ago, the chances of an ethnic minority hearing something racially offensive in the football stadium, was commonplace. "But now I think there's an acceptance that a line has been drawn, that it's not acceptable, and that we revere many black players. Chelsea fans themselves voted Didier Drogba, a black player, as being one of their all-time heroes." Strangely enough, the same Chelsea 'fan' who shoved the black passenger in Paris supports a team with some of the most talented black players in the league and which has just signed the talented Colombian winger Juan Cuadrado. In recent years football has suffered a spate of high-profile racial abuse cases, notably involving Luis Suarez, who is now at Barcelona and Chelsea captain John Terry. While Liverpool's Mario Balotelli was racially abused while playing in Italy's Serie A. Over the last decade, Europe's governing body UEFA have prosecuted over 120 incidents of racism -- sanctions included player suspensions, matches played behind closed doors, and fines. Back in Britain, the English Football Association created a 92-point Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Action Plan in 2012, including confidential hotlines for players to report discrimination, ethnic quotas for referees and coaches, and state-of-the-art cameras to catch racist abuse in the stands. Following the incident in Paris this week, Chelsea has now suspended five people from its home ground Stamford Bridge. Depending on the evidence, they may also be banned from the club for life. "In England, our stadiums are far safer, they're better stewarded, there are policing operations which are quite sophisticated," said Powar. "And actually some would argue that it's gone too far. Some would argue that those stadiums are quite sterile, that they lack the passion they once did." Away from the stadia and away from the Paris Metro another kind of prejudice is in action. Powar estimates that just 3% of those in professional coaching and management positions are from ethnic minorities. "The boardrooms are almost exclusively white and male -- and senior administrative positions are the same way," said Ouseley. "We're seeing some progress, but it's slow. At the start of this season there were no black managers -- now there are five, including one in the premier league." Queens Park Rangers boss Chris Ramsey is that one black manager in the English Premier League and he insisted blame for the incident in Paris shouldn't be left at football's door. "I don't believe they are Chelsea fans or fans of football," said Ramsey. "I believe they are acting in a manner which we all think is a thing of the past," he said. "Those views are intrinsic in everyday life. I've been saying for a long time these are social issues which manifest themselves in the football world." And as the incident in Paris showed, racism in football needn't be confined to the playing field.

English football fans make racist chants as they push black man off Paris train . Sparks global debate about racism in football and the ugly nature of 'lad culture' Chelsea bans five people from its stadium following the incident .

(CNN) -- It's a good thing that Barack Obama is only the president of the United States and leader of the free world, and that he doesn't have a really important job like television sportscaster. Because in that other role, as we learned a few months ago, a man is simply not allowed to publicly compliment a woman on her good looks without getting in big trouble. Just ask Brent Musburger. In January, after the BCS National Championship game, the ESPN commentator came under fire in the media and blogosphere. At issue: off-handed comments that Musburger made about University of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron's girlfriend, Katherine Webb. ESPN issued an apology, saying that the 73-year-old veteran sportscaster "went too far" in his commentary. In an interview with the New York Times, Michigan State University journalism professor Sue Carter called what Musburger said "extraordinarily inappropriate." On the sports news website, BleacherReport.com, Jessica Isner suggested that his remarks were, at the least, "weird and creepy." It went on and on. Opinion: Give Brent Musburger a break . So what did Musburger say back then that was so terrible? As the camera focused on Webb, a former Miss Alabama, in the stands, the sportscaster turned to his co-announcer Kirk Herbstreit, a former quarterback at Ohio State University, and said: "You quarterbacks, you get all the good-looking women. What a beautiful woman." The cad. Was this an overreaction? And did Musburger get a bum rap? Yes, and yes. But not many people said so at the time. Instead, the dominant narrative was that a public figure had succumbed to voyeurism and was essentially "hitting on" this young woman. Opinion: Obama comment sexist? I call it a compliment . By contrast, Obama isn't catching much criticism for a similar comment that he made Thursday during a swing through California. The wince-inducing remark may have been nothing more than innocent banter between old friends, as Obama supporters claimed. But it is also undeniably sexist. How do we know? Because the comment objectifies a professional woman, and it is not something that you're likely to hear said about a man with the same credentials. It all happened at a fundraising lunch Thursday in Atherton, California, as Obama was rattling off the qualities of California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who is often mentioned as a likely future gubernatorial candidate. Those of us who live in California already know that Harris is smart, tough and likable. Now, thanks to Obama, we know something else. "She's brilliant and she's dedicated, she's tough," Obama said in describing our state's chief law enforcement officer. "She also happens to be, by far, the best-looking attorney general in the country." Obama's 'best-looking' quip: Appropriate in the real world? The fact that the crowd responded with a mixture of chuckles and groans must have signaled to the president that he had stepped in it. "It's true," he told the crowd. "Come on." No, Mr. President, you come on. This is how you talk about a colleague, a fellow elected official, a fellow lawyer with the goods to compete head to head with any man in the country? All this talk about how Barack Obama is a different type of leader for a new century, one unencumbered by the prejudices and stereotypes that plagued earlier generations and one who symbolizes how far we've come. And this is what we get? "The West Wing" meets "Mad Men." So, when a reporter for the Fresno Bee asked Patty Bellasalma, president of the California chapter of National Organization for Women, about the president's comments, she couldn't hide her disgust. Not for the president. But for the reporter. "I wish (this call) was about something substantive," Bellasalma told the journalist. "I think that is my reaction, is that that seems to be the only time that the California National Organization for Women gets called isn't when full-scope pregnancy coverage is being cut from the budget or something other that's going to impact women in a detrimental way right here in this city in the state government. But we worry about whether the president thinks Kamala Harris is pretty. I guess my comment is no comment, because we're too busy trying to protect women and girls." Oh, brother. Talk about an overreaction. On Friday, according to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, Obama called Harris to apologize -- not for his comments, but for the "distraction" they created. The president, Carney said, did not want "in any way to diminish the attorney general's profession, accomplishments and her capabilities." He added that Obama "fully recognizes the challenges women continue to face in the workplace and that they should not be judged based on appearance." Harris' communications director, Gil Duran, said in a statement that the attorney general and Obama "have been friends for many years. They had a great conversation yesterday and she strongly supports him." Those are nice statements. But they don't end the controversy. The issue isn't just what Obama said but how folks are reacting to what he said. There is only one reason the president is skating on these remarks. It's because the people who normally complain about this stuff -- the folks who make up the grievance lobby -- are among his strongest supporters. This is an example of selective outrage and double standards. That part of the story isn't pretty. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette.

President Obama referred to Kamala Harris as the best-looking attorney general . Ruben Navarrette: The president's comment is inappropriate . He says the remark objectifies a professional woman, and is unlikely to be said about a man . Navarrette: Obama isn't getting much criticism, partly because there is selective outrage .

(CNN) -- Was it the end of the world at the summer box office? There certainly was plenty of destruction to go around. Not only were several cities destroyed, including San Francisco ("Godzilla") and Chicago ("Transformers: Age of Extinction"), there was also the kind of destruction Hollywood hates: that of their receipts. Summer ticket sales, as of the last week in August, were down 15% over summer 2013, according to The New York Times, quoting movie business tabulator Rentrak. For movies released in the May-August window, grosses were down a whopping 25% -- $3.67 billion this year vs. $4.85 billion last year, according to boxofficemojo.com. Nonetheless, with the exceptions of "Guardians of the Galaxy" and a handful of others, there was an "eh" feeling to much of what hit the multiplex between May and August of this year. CGI carnage, gross-out comedy, comic-book saviors: Haven't we seen this movie before? Consider this: 2014 was the first summer since 2001 in which there was no movie that topped $300 million domestically. Studios like to tout $200 million as a blockbuster benchmark, but $300 million is real high-flying territory: "The Avengers," the "Iron Man" films, "The Dark Knight," films with what they call "legs," that create return business and draw in some lukewarm moviegoers. (To be fair, "Guardians" may still get there.) As Forbes' Scott Mendelson notes, there were various reasons for the down summer, and not all of them were bad: Some planned films were rescheduled, and others were aimed as much at overseas markets as at the United States. (The mediocre "Amazing Spider-Man 2" barely cracked $200 million in the United States but earned another $500 million in international markets.) Still, the results provide a great deal of food for thought. Here are a few points to ponder: . 1. Don't reach for the stars. Tom Cruise ("Edge of Tomorrow"), Adam Sandler ("Blended") and Melissa McCarthy ("Tammy") couldn't carry their respective movies to blockbuster territory. Only Angelina Jolie ("Maleficent") succeeded, with Scarlett Johansson ("Lucy") getting an honorable mention. However, it might be worth it to keep an eye on Shailene Woodley, the up-and-coming light of "The Fault in Our Stars." Sure, the film was based on a beloved book, but the film's success caught many observers by surprise -- and Woodley was at the center of it all. With her previous turn in the equally successful "Divergent," she's coming on strong. 2. Blow it up good! As mentioned, destruction was high on Hollywood's list, especially when Michael Bay is involved. The Bay-directed "Transformers" stomped on the planet again, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (produced by Bay) did some damage and "Godzilla" visited San Francisco. But more than destruction, apocalypse was in the air: witness "Edge of Tomorrow," "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" and "The Purge: Anarchy." And we go to the movies to escape from real life? 3. Comedy was not pretty. Only two movies topped $100 million domestically among comedies this summer: "Neighbors," with the sneaky, shambling Seth Rogen, and "22 Jump Street." The latter was an interesting twist on the sequel, a follow-up that knew it was a follow-up and took every opportunity to make that the source of the comedy. (In going along for the ride, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube were excellent self-parodies.) But "Tammy" performed tepidly (though some may disagree), "A Million Ways to Die in the West" found one more way to go and "Sex Tape" was erased. You know what they say: Dying is easy, comedy is hard. 4. Look to the East. Who needs the USA? "Transformers" had a relatively mediocre turnout in America, grossing less than $250 million -- good enough to become the No. 2 film of the summer, but only No. 4 among the four "Transformers" films. On the other hand, overseas the film picked up $821 million -- including more than $300 million in China, becoming that country's highest-grossing film of all time. That was no accident: China is the second biggest film market in the world, and Hollywood is catering to it more and more. 5. Time is your friend. Perhaps the most talked-about film of the summer -- at least in markets where it has played -- is "Boyhood," Richard Linklater's ode to one child's growing up. Linklater took a risk in deciding to follow his protagonist, played by Ellar Coltrane, and his other actors for 12 years, trusting that a film shot over that time would come together. It worked beautifully, with a 99% critics' approval on RottenTomatoes.com and early Oscar talk. In the past, watching someone age in a film was a sociological curiosity: witness Michael Apted's "Up" films, which have revisited a group of students every seven years. Now that we're in the YouTube age, in which every part of our lives is put on video, it'll be interesting to see if Linklater's concept becomes more normalized.

No movie topped $300 million, but there were no "Lone Ranger"-level flops, either . Stars weren't big drivers to films; concepts were . Chinese market made "Transformers" a blockbuster .

(CNN) -- One year after the Syrian conflict began, the numbers are staggering: more than 8,000 killed, tens of thousands detained, and dozens of towns decimated, according to the United Nations. But beyond the statistics, the people of Syria find their tragic struggle often reduced to 45-second fragments on YouTube or static-filled Skype phone calls. The reason? The government's tight constraints on media access. Of the few journalists brave enough to defy the Syrian government's restrictions, at least five paid the ultimate price, including veteran war correspondent Marie Colvin and award-wining photographer Remi Ochlik. One year on, Syria still boiling . The constant danger means the media have been left to rely on official government accounts, as well as a network of opposition activists scattered across Syria and a passionate expatriate community. The opposition details what's happening on the ground through amateur videos, messages describing the latest carnage and eyewitness accounts offered over the phone or Internet. Yet while news organizations go to great lengths to verify such amateur reporting, it is no substitute for independent eyes and ears on the ground. In other conflicts, a handful of media personnel might capture the full-scale horror of violence. A reporter and perhaps his crew may record the moment -- for instance, a young man being shot and killed -- and then edit their content and wrap it into a television piece for air or for a newspaper or magazine story. Journalists missing in Syria . But when it comes to Syria, it seems everyone in the country is on the front lines, witnesses to tragedies large and small. On our Twitter accounts, on our Facebook pages, and in our e-mail inboxes, we are confronted regularly by depictions of mutilated corpses, wailing mothers and the pain of a people under siege by their own government. How will it end? The result is jarring: a world forced to watch as Syrian security forces appear to continually broaden their wrath, with international initiative after initiative faltering in their efforts to resolve the crisis. The uprising began in March 2011, when at least 15 children from the southern province of Daraa were reportedly tortured at the hands of state security. Their crime was defacing a school's walls with anti-regime graffiti, at a time soon after the longtime leaders of Tunisia and Egypt had fallen under the weight of popular revolutions. Many of the young boys and girls came home traumatized, their nails pulled out by Syrian security forces. One video showed a young boy in a red-striped shirt, his face bruised and full of fear. He introduced the world to a regime with seemingly no limits on what they would do, as well as defiant citizens who were willing to confront it. Perhaps no video captured the plight of Daraa's children more than a 2-minute, 22-second clip showing the mutilated corpse of 13-year old Hamza al-Khateeb. After being detained for just a few days by authorities, Al-Khateeb's body was bloated almost beyond recognition. For activists, YouTube a key weapon . More horror stories came out as the months passed by: soccer stadiums packed with detainees in Banyas, hundreds killed in the military assault of Hama during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, thousands fleeing shelling in the border of town of Jisr al-Shughur in hopes of reaching refugee camps in Turkey. With each incident, videos came showing nameless victims pleading, crying or falling silent. President Bashar al-Assad's regime, in statements and through official media, has routinely insisted that "armed terrorist groups" are to blame for the bloodshed. Its forces, they say, are trying to guarantee security even as they act to defend themselves. Leaked e-mails remove al-Assad's veil . Yet the opposition and a growing number of international governments and institutions, including the United Nations, say the government is the aggressor. More recently, and more regularly, they report that security forces have moved from targeting individuals to waging indiscriminate and widespread military assaults on opposition areas. Amidst this broader crackdown, the people of Baba Amr -- a neighborhood in the embattled city of Homs -- made history. They became the first citizens believed to have broadcast their own destruction, live via social media. As Syrian troops pummeled the 5-square-mile area, a small group of activists pointed a live stream camera over their rooftops. Yet many of those activist journalists, among others, have gone silent. For example, amateur photographers Basil Al Sayed and his cousin Rami Al Sayed once had relayed a steady stream of reports before they suddenly stopped. The reason why became evident when YouTube videos showed their bullet-ridden bodies. Many Syrian opposition members, however, said it's not death they fear most. "Those who are dead are in the mercy of God now. But it is those who are alive, who still suffer, that we are worried about," an activist told me as he described the death in detention of his friend Ghiyath Mattar, a peace activist who'd attended demonstrations with a rose in one hand and a Syrian flag in the other. So far, after taking steps like bolstering sanctions and withdrawing ambassadors, other nations haven't managed to end the suffering. Yet Syrians continue to point their camera phones at tanks every day in hopes of getting outsiders' attention, asking, "How many more people have to die before someone helps us?" Early on, a common rallying cry was, "People demand the fall of the regime." Today, as the blood continues to flow, that has been replaced on many Syrian streets with the more ominous chant, "Death and not humiliation."

Syria's government blames "armed terrorist groups" for ongoing violence . But Syrian opposition, and other nations, say the regime is the aggressor . Activists use videos and interviews to describe what's happening in Syria . Few journalists have gotten inside the country, and some have died .

(CNN) -- The baseball players posed for a team photo of sorts -- but the signs they held had nothing to do with home runs or striking out. Two of them toted a Venezuelan flag with "SOS" scrawled across the top. One knelt in front with a sign that said "Pray for Venezuela." Another held a banner that read, "Lejos pero no ausentes" (far away but not absent). The Detroit Tigers teammates snapped the photo last week in a locker room in Lakeland, Florida, their spring training base. A group of New York Mets posed for a similar shot this week, holding Venezuelan flags as they stood beside a baseball diamond in Port St. Lucie, Florida. They may be rivals on the field, but the players from both teams share something in common: concern about events unfolding in their homeland, more than 1,500 miles away. Weeks of massive street protests in Venezuela have left at least 13 people dead, more than 100 injured, and dozens detained after clashes between members of the opposition, backers of the government, law enforcement and armed groups. "We are really worried about what's going on there," said Wilmer Flores, a 22-year-old infielder for the Mets. "I have all my family there. All my friends are there." He hails from Valencia, Venezuela, where the death of a beauty queen who was shot in the head during protests made international headlines. He said he's warned his family members not to go outside as protests rage. "From here, supporting VENEZUELA," Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera -- who's from Maracay, Venezuela -- posted as he tweeted the photo with his teammates. "From here all united for Venezuela," Tigers infield coach Omar Vizquel wrote when he shared the photo. Baseball is also a national pastime in the South American nation. And statistics show that Venezuelans represent the second largest group of foreign players in Major League Baseball. The Mets have three Venezuelan players and a coach. On the Tigers' 40-man roster this year, 10 players are from Venezuela. And when the players speak out, people listen. The Tigers photo has been re-tweeted nearly 10,000 times since Cabrera shared it, and more than 16,000 times from Vizquel's account. Some praised the players for their courage. But not all the responses were positive. Some described them as hypocrites, slammed them for seeming to take sides or criticized them for not taking a firm enough stance. In the polarized world of Venezuelan politics, there are no referees who step in to break up a fight. "Now no one can have an opinion. If you support someone, others attack you, and vice versa. And if you are neutral, you are not Venezuelan," Cabrera wrote back in response. "What a sad reality." Some players' online posts have included the #SOSVenezuela tag used by members of the opposition to draw attention to Venezuela's crisis. Others have said they aren't taking a political stand -- just pushing for peace. The posts have drawn a response from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro himself. In televised remarks, he implied that players weren't expressing their true feelings. "Venezuelan Major League players are being pressured to appear in portraits that say SOS Venezuela," Maduro said. "The owners of the Major League teams have pressured our men." Vizquel didn't mince words when he fired back on Twitter. "The only pressure we have is winning games, hitting and catching," he wrote. "Sensibility and feelings are not pressured." The face of one Mets coach, Edgardo Alfonzo, normally lights up when he talks about his home country. But now, weighing the situation, he says he's overcome with sadness and feeling tense. "We never thought we were going to get where we are today. ... You feel so impotent not being able to do anything from here, just supporting our families and the Venezuelan people. And really, for all these people who have lost family members, it is so hard," he said. "Everyone is worried. It's like a ticking time bomb. Really, you don't want it to continue. You want it to stop, once and for all." It's not just baseball players and coaches speaking out about Venezuela. Miami Heat basketball player Chris Bosh tweeted a photo of his shoes during a game on Sunday, with "SOS Venezuela" written in white above the Nike swoosh. Bosh told Bleacher Report he'd been discussing the crisis with his wife, who's half Venezuelan. "Kind of brushing up on it in the past week," he said. "Crazy. Government kind of stopping everything. Inflation. Exports and imports have pretty much stopped. I know a couple of people that just came down from there, and work for me, and it's just bad. You go to the grocery store, and there's no groceries. No medicine." Many Venezuelan baseball players say they hope to use their popularity and the popularity of their sport to send a message of peace that goes beyond politics. They believe baseball is a sport that can bring people together, and they hope that their message is heard by the international community, as well as back at home. "We're trying to promote peace," Alfonzo said. "Because, to be an athlete, I think a lot of young people look up to us. That's the way we can help." There's only one thing Alfonzo says he wants for his country: peace. "Just pray for Venezuela," he said. "That's all we ask." CNN's Emily Smith contributed to this report.

Venezuelan MLB players say they're worried about events unfolding at home . Athletes share photos on social media expressing support for their country . Some use #SOSVenezuela, used by opposition to draw attention to the crisis .

(CNN) -- Violence and drug-trafficking have become such a major threat to Latin America that the presidents of Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and Panama will sit around a table Friday in Panama to discuss what they can do about it. Cartridges and weapons seized from gangsters and drug-traffickers at the Military Headquarter in Mexico City. Their summit comes at a particularly troubled time for these governments, especially Mexico, which tallied a record number of drug-related killings last year. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich characterized the battle in Mexico among drug cartels and with government authorities as a "civil war" on a news program this week. But Mexico is not alone. Colombia has been fighting drug cartels for decades. Panama has been a center of money-laundering for dug cartels and other organized crime groups for many years. And Guatemala has seen its share of slayings and bloodshed. "It's a recognition that there is a shared problem and that they can't solve that problem independent of each other," said Robert Pastor, a professor of international relations at American University in Washington who served as a national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s. Jennifer McCoy, the director of The Americas Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta, says it is "encouraging" that presidents Felipe Calderon of Mexico, Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, Alvaro Colom of Guatemala and Martin Torrijos of Panama not only recognize the problem but want to meet to see what they can do about it. "The issue of security is vital in these countries and in Latin America," McCoy said. It's not just a threat for Latin America, a recent report from the U.S. military says. The violence in Mexico and elsewhere south of the border could spill over to the United States, says the report, issued in November by the U.S. Joint Forces Command. "The growing assault by the drug cartels and their thugs on the Mexican government over the past several years reminds one that an unstable Mexico could represent a homeland security problem of immense proportions to the United States," says the report, "Joint Operating Environment 2008." That instability could threaten the United States' underbelly along the 2,000-mile border with Mexico. "Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone," the report says. Mexican Secretary of Governance Fernando Gomez Mont rejected that notion in an interview with CNN this week, saying it is "inadmissible" that the United States would have to intervene. Pastor, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994 to become U.S. ambassador to Panama, believes the United States should be more involved now. "The United States is a major part of the problem," he said. "The dollars are coming from the United States. The demand is coming from the United States. The arms are coming from the United States." Pastor pointed out that there are 7,600 gun shops in the United States within 100 miles of the Mexican border. "We ought to have a clear recognition that that we are part of their problem, and they can't solve it without us," he said. Panamanian Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis Navarro indicated at a news conference this week that other nations also need to be more involved. He didn't mention the United States but it was clear whom he was talking about. The summit leaders will ask nations that have high drug consumption to do their part to reduce that demand, the Spanish news agency EFE quoted Lewis as saying. Mexican President Calderon met with President-elect Barack Obama in Washington this week and security was a prime subject of their discussions. "Both countries share a long border," said Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue. "They are terribly worried about the violence from organized crime in Mexico and slipover into the U.S." Hakim met with Calderon at a private dinner hosted by the Mexican president Sunday night. After his meeting with Obama on Monday, Calderon stressed the level to which the two nations are intertwined when it comes to security. "The more secure Mexico is, the more secure the United States will be," the Mexican president said, first in Spanish and then in English, to make sure no one missed the point. Obama is likely receptive to that message, said Michael Shifter, a vice president at the Inter-American Dialogue. "I think Obama is going to understand that Mexico is very important to the United States," Shifter told CNN last week. "This isn't an issue that he has focused a lot of attention on up until now. But he's going to understand that if Mexico really deteriorates or if the violence spills over into the border states, this is a war that he really has to deal with." Drug-fueled violence reached record levels in Mexico last year, with around 5,400 slayings, more than double the 2,477 reported in 2007, Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said last month. The situation is so dire in Mexico that the Joint Forces Command report says, "In terms of worst-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico." The report goes on to say that the "Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police, and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state."

Presidents of Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama to meet Friday in Panama . They will discuss ways of countering growing violence and drug-trafficking . Drug-fueled violence reached record levels in Mexico last year, with 5,400 slayings . Instability caused by crime in Mexico could threaten U.S. which shares a border .

(CNN) -- Get four successful women together on a movie set and you'd think it's all claws, all the time. Some rumors would insinuate that "Sex and the City's" Kim Cattrall doesn't get along with her co-star Kristin Davis, while another would allege there were catfights on the set of the sequel, as the stars revealed in the June issue of Marie Claire magazine. Last week there was a similar tiff making headlines, although the spat seemed to be a bit one-sided. In an interview with Out magazine, pop star Christina Aguilera referred to fellow superstar Lady Gaga as a "newcomer" who was "fun to look at," but Aguilera posted a statement on her website claiming that there wasn't any malice behind those words. "It is very easy for comments to be taken out of context and create unnecessary drama -- especially between us women," Aguilera said in the statement. "So I would like to tell you all directly so my words cannot be misconstrued to sell someone else's story. ... I have absolutely nothing against Lady Gaga or any other female artist in this business." As Aguilera noted in her statement, this isn't the first time she's "been unfairly pitted against another female artist." If Aguilera or the "Sex and the City" stars really are estranged from other famous women, so be it -- but why no mention of their relationship with co-stars Chris Noth or John Corbett? For that matter, where are the stories about how the male actors got along on the set? "There are hardly ever any stories about male celebrities fighting," said celebrity blogger Vera Sweeney, who runs IAmNotObsessed.com. "Even when Shia LaBeouf got into that car accident while on a date with Isabel Lucas -- even though she was dating Adrian Grenier at the time -- nothing happened. Adrian said they weren't serious, and the story was dropped." Obviously, this doesn't mean that male celebrities are never pitted against one another in the media -- take a look at earlier beefs between Kid Rock and Tommy Lee, Eminem and Moby or Nas and Jay-Z. The difference, said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, is that those battles are often steeped with violent overtones, and they're treated with more severity than the disputes female celebrities are rumored to have. Or, Sweeney said, the "celebrity men in conflict" angle will be given a different spin. "Instead of there being a power struggle or an emotional issue, different work ethics will most likely be cited," she said. "For example, when Christian Bale and Johnny Depp filmed 'Public Enemy' it was said that both men wanted to stay in character even when they weren't shooting. So it was understood why they weren't friendly with one another in between takes -- because they were 'in character.' If two women did that, it would be pitched as a cover-up for a more deep[ly] rooted reason." The actresses themselves seem to accept it as just another part of an oft-dirty business. "The chemistry among the four of us is very strong, [but] ... the press has to put women in these boxes, rather than show them as the movie portrays them: working together and being powerful," Cattrall said in the Marie Claire interview. "Things just have to be explosive for no other reason than for people's imaginations." A likely reason for the media coverage, explained pop culture expert and "The Cult of Celebrity" author Cooper Lawrence, is because "it's much easier to believe that women don't like each other. It's one of the few bastions of sexism that's left in our culture, and we can't imagine that powerful, successful women could ever get along." It all boils down to the gender norms many of us are raised with, Thompson said. "One theory we can reject is that the women are fighting with each other more than the men are. ... Anyone who's been in a workplace knows that it's not an inherently gender-specific sort of thing," Thompson said. But "with the gender norms that we've all grown up with, men manifest their 'cattiness' differently than women; we're OK with the idea that women are emotional, and we expect them to be." But said Ian Drew, senior editor of celebrity magazine Us Weekly, you can't discount the reality of the entertainment industry -- and that's to sell albums and rack up box-office numbers. "Obviously, this is a competition," Drew said. "People need to be responsible for their own actions -- [Aguilera] did say those words, and she said those things for a reason. Lady Gaga, for example, never says anything negative about anybody." If these stars wouldn't send the media smoke signals with their words or actions, Drew said, the media wouldn't start yelling fire. "No one is a victim in the celebrity world," he added. "Very few of those rumors end up not being true." Regardless of whether they're true or not, Sweeney said she's willing to bet the stories of this starlet being angry at that one aren't likely to let up anytime soon. "The question isn't why are these stories about women catfights being created," she said. "Unfortunately, the question is why not? People enjoy the drama, and drama and divalike behavior sells."

There were rumors of rivalries on "Sex and the City 2" set; stars say they're untrue . Generally, such gossip is about women; male stars don't raise same issues, observers say . Author: Fair or not, "it's much easier to believe that women don't like each other" Us Weekly editor says, "No one is a victim in the celebrity world"

Washington (CNN) -- A divided Supreme Court has ruled the government has the power to criminalize "material support" of a foreign terrorist organization. The 6-3 decision Monday preserves a key provision of the 2001 Patriot Act, amid claims it threatens the free-speech rights of Americans who would assist non-violent activities of certain militant and terror groups. At issue was the portion of the federal law that allows prosecution of those who provide "any service, training, expert advice or assistance" to a foreign terrorist organization, as designated by the U.S. government. "Providing foreign terrorist groups with material support in any form," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts, "furthers terrorism by straining the United State's relationship with its allies and undermines cooperative efforts between nations to prevent terrorist attacks." Justice Stephen Breyer authored a powerful dissent, fearing the law could be interpreted too broadly by the government in the name of protecting Americans. "Precisely how does application of the statute to the protected activities help achieve that important security-related end," he asked. Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States, federal prosecutors have pursued "material support" cases against at least 125 individuals or organizations, winning convictions in about half of those cases. Nearly every domestic terrorism-related prosecution has included the charge as part of the indictment. Groups listed as "foreign terrorist organizations" by the State Department include al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah. A federal appeals court in San Francisco, California, struck down several parts of the legislation, finding them too vague to satisfy the Constitution. The government then asked the high court to intervene and uphold the law. The key plaintiff in the appeal is the Humanitarian Law Project, a Los Angeles, California-based non-profit that says its mission is to advocate "for the peaceful resolution of armed conflicts and for worldwide compliance with humanitarian law and human rights law." It sought interaction with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a group active in Turkey. Known as PKK, the party has been labeled a terror organization by the United States and the European Union. Its leaders have called for militancy to create a separate Kurdish state in the parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran where Kurds are a majority. In its appeal to the high court, the government noted that "since its inception, the organization has waged a violent insurgency that has claimed over 22,000 lives." Humanitarian Law Project claimed it wanted to advocate on behalf of the PKK before the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, and conduct other advisory sessions and public awareness campaigns. Breyer, in an unusual step, read a portion of his dissent from the bench. He said the majority wrongly read the law "to forbid the teaching of any subject where national security concerns conflict with the First Amendment. The Constitution does not allow all such conflicts to be decided in the government's favor." Breyer was supported by justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. The court's majority opinion was not a complete victory for the government and came with an important caveat. The activity in question can be banned only if "coordinated with, or controlled by foreign terrorist groups." The justices gave no specific guidance on how that distinction should be made. The court also said the law does not extend the ban on material support to domestic groups. "The government is wrong that the only thing actually at issue in this litigation is conduct," said Roberts. "Plaintiffs want to speak to [certain foreign designated groups] and whether they may do so under [the federal law] depends on what they say. If plaintiffs' speech to those groups imparts a 'specific skill' or communicates advice derived from 'specialized knowledge' -- for example, training on the use of international law or advice on petitioning the United Nations -- then it is barred. On the other hand, plaintiffs' speech is not barred if it imparts only general or unspecialized knowledge." Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan had argued the administration's case as solicitor general, back in February. That was before she was tapped by President Barack Obama. "Hezbollah builds bombs," she said of the Palestinian militancy group. "Hezbollah also builds homes. What Congress decided was when you help Hezbollah build homes, you are also helping Hezbollah build bombs. That's the entire theory behind this statute, and it's a reasonable theory." Ralph Fertig, a 79-year-old civil rights lawyer who founded Humanitarian Law Project 25 years ago, told CNN he feared being arrested if he continued his international outreach efforts with groups designated as terrorists. "My mission would be to work with these groups, to try and convince them to use peaceful means to resolve these ongoing conflicts," he said after the arguments. He filed the lawsuit against the government. There was no immediate reaction from his group or the government. But human rights groups criticized the ruling. "The Supreme Court has ruled that human rights advocates, providing training and assistance in the nonviolent resolution of disputes, can be prosecuted as terrorists," said David Cole of the Center for Constitutional Rights. "In the name of fighting terrorism, the court has said that the First Amendment permits Congress to make human rights advocacy and peacemaking a crime. That is wrong." The Patriot Act was passed six weeks after the 9/11 terrorism attacks. It included amending a previous anti-terror law to strengthen the "expert advice and assistance" provision, making it a crime punishable by a 10-to-15 year prison sentence. The case is Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (08-1498).

NEW: Applies only to activities coordinated or controlled by foreign terrorist groups . 6-3 ruling upholds provisions of the 2001 Patriot Act . Providing support in any form "furthers terrorism," chief justice writes . Dissenting justice says First Amendment should sometimes prevail .

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- An accident involving de-icing solution being sprayed on an Alaska Airlines plane in snow-covered Seattle sent seven people to a hospital Wednesday, airport and hospital officials said. Emergency vehicles gather around Alaska Airlines planes in Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday. The seven, who were crew members, were transported to Highline Medical Center for minor issues, such as eye irritation, dizziness and nausea, said Sea-Tac Airport spokesman Perry Cooper. Eighteen passengers were treated at the scene. There had been an initial report that two people were badly hurt, but Cooper said all of the injuries were minor. He said six of the crew members transported to the hospital were working and one was off duty. Caroline Boren, Alaska Airlines spokeswoman, confirmed the injury numbers and said the most extensive treatment given to the passengers was an eye wash. None of them requested further treatment or were transported to the hospital. Matt Crockett, assistant administrator at Highline Medical Center, confirmed the hospital was assessing seven people in its emergency room. He said six of them were in satisfactory condition and another was still being evaluated. The incident began when fumes from the de-icing application got into the cabin of Alaska Airlines Flight 528. Watch an ex-transportation official explain how the fumes seeped into the plane » . Alaska Airlines said the flight was getting ready for takeoff to Burbank, California, when passengers began to complain of eye irritation and strong fumes from the chemicals. Video footage showed several emergency vehicles around the plane on the snow-covered tarmac. The airline said the plane, a Boeing 737-800, was carrying 143 passengers and several crew members. Boren called the situation "very unusual" and said maintenance crew had been working on the plane. Cooper said the airline was bringing in another aircraft to transport the passengers to their destination. Seattle has been blanketed with nearly 9 inches of snow this week, and forecasters predicted snow mixed with rain Wednesday, with an accumulation of about a half inch of new snow through Thursday. One passenger, Joe Dial of Seattle, told CNN affiliate KIRO-TV that passengers were exposed to the de-icer fumes for 45 minutes before they were able to leave the plane. The jetliner had pulled away from the gate Wednesday morning, but then had to return for the de-icing process, Dial told KIRO. Meanwhile in Moline, Illinois, an AirTran Airways jet skidded off the runway at Quad City International Airport, CNN affiliate WQAD-TV reported. Witnesses said passengers were being evacuated to buses, and there appeared to be no injuries, according to WQAD. The airport was closed to all traffic after the accident, the station said. At airports elsewhere across the U.S., weather was forcing significant delays as travelers tried to reach their destinations by Christmas. Flights bound for Newark-Liberty International Airport in New Jersey faced delays averaging three hours. Flights into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in Illinois, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and San Francisco International Airport in California were all subject to delays averaging an hour or more, according to the FAA. Travelers at O'Hare were hoping Wednesday went better than the day before as thousands were stranded in the nation's second-busiest airport overnight when hundreds of flights were canceled. "It is ruining my holiday," one stranded passenger, Keith Bouchard, told CNN affiliate WLS-TV. "I am not going to have a holiday mood till I get home," stranded passenger Ken Estes told WLS. O'Hare's trouble extended to South Florida, where Laura Weichhand and Rachel Lewis got stuck at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when their flight to Chicago was canceled. "If we want to be home for Christmas ... our only option is we're going to drive 26 hours to be home for Christmas," Lewis told CNN affiliate WPLG-TV. The Chicago area was expected to get 1 inch to 3 inches of new snow Wednesday. At Colorado's Denver International Airport, lost luggage was a huge problem. Thousands of pieces of unclaimed baggage were in the airport's arrivals area, CNN affiliate KMGH-TV reported. Deanna Nokes, who was stranded in Denver on her way to Portland, Oregon, told KGMH her bags were nowhere in sight. "They don't even know where my bag is," she told the station. "It still could be in Vegas, or Phoenix, or Portland." Airports in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, were hit hardest by weather delays earlier in the week, with hundreds of flight cancellations Sunday through Tuesday. The two Northwest airports were reporting just a few delays Wednesday, but a new storm was rolling in from the Pacific Ocean, bringing snow and rain, the National Weather Service said. "It will not be as strong as this past weekend's storm," said weather service meteorologist Kirby Cook in Seattle. But that may be of little consolation to thousands of travelers stranded at Northwest airports because of cancellations earlier in the week. Alaska Airlines, the area's major carrier, said fully booked holiday flights left it with few options to accommodate the weather weary, CNN affiliate KHQ-TV in Spokane, Washington, reported. Some in Spokane turned to Craigslist.com to try to get home for Christmas. The Web site had more than 30 posts from people looking to get to or out of Spokane, CNN affiliate KXLY-TV reported. "I know Craigslist has a rideshare community so I thought I'd try, and so far not so good," Priscilla Davis of Federal Way, Washington, told KXLY.

NEW: 18 passengers treated at scene after exposure to de-icing fluid . Fumes send seven Alaska Airlines crew members to the hospital . AirTran jetliner skids off runway in Moline, Illinois, TV station reports . Weather delays Christmas Eve flights across country .

(CNN) -- As investigators in Georgia looked into the death of a 22-month-old boy left seven hours in a sweltering SUV, they seized computers from the father's office, a source with knowledge of the investigation told HLN's Nancy Grace. The officers found something startling: an online search for information about how long it takes animals to die in hot cars, the source said. It's unknown when the Internet search was conducted and whether the father did the searching. Police have declined comment when asked about the computer search. The father, Justin Ross Harris, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and second-degree child cruelty. He sits in jail without bond, with an appearance before a judge set for next Thursday. Police in Cobb County, just outside Atlanta, have been tight-lipped and haven't said whether what they found on the computer is one of the reasons they arrested Harris. Father won't attend son's funeral . The funeral for Cooper Harris will be held Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Justin Harris, 33, won't be allowed out of the Cobb County Jail to attend, sheriff's office spokeswoman Nancy Bodiford said. The child's mother wanted to obtain photos of her son from the seized computers for use at the funeral but Cobb County police turned down her request, said Maddox Kilgore, the attorney for Harris. Police spokesman Michael Bowman told CNN, "If we have evidence, we will not be releasing that due to chain of custody issues." Bowman would not confirm what, if any, evidence they had in their possession. A charity fund at Harris's employer, The Home Depot, will pay for the funeral, company spokeswoman Catherine Woodling told CNN. Harris, who worked as a web designer, has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, she said. The funding of the funeral from the Home Depot charity, the Homer Fund, is a "standard approach," she said. In an obituary for Cooper appearing in the Tuscaloosa News, the family asks that in lieu of flowers donations should be made to the Homer Fund. 'What have I done?' Initially, police described the June 18 death of the toddler as the result of tragic absent-mindedness. They said the dad had apparently forgotten the boy was in the back seat of his Hyundai Tucson; he didn't remember until he was done with his workday, drove a couple of miles and pulled into a shopping center parking lot. But suspicions grew as police investigated. "The chain of events that occurred in this case does not point toward simple negligence, and evidence will be presented to support this allegation," said Cobb County Police Chief John House. A criminal warrant released Wednesday described the events that led to Cooper's death. A timeline of events . On the day Cooper died, Harris stopped for breakfast at a fast-food restaurant and afterward strapped his son into a rear-facing child restraint seat on his SUV's back seat, police said. He drove to his workplace, a Home Depot corporate office, about a half-mile away. He works as a Web designer there. Usually, he would take his son to an on-site day care. But that day, police said, Harris left him in the car seat. During his lunch break, he returned to his car, opening the driver's side door to put something inside, police said. After work, around 4:16 p.m., the 33-year-old father got in his car and drove away. A few miles away, he stopped the car at a shopping center and called for help. When it became clear Cooper was dead, Harris was so inconsolable police had to restrain him. "What have I done?" he wailed as he tried to resuscitate the boy. A wave of sympathy . Each year, dozens of children die from heat strokes in cars, according to KidsandCars.org. More than 40 died last year. The organization says its tally is likely incomplete and much lower than the real toll. The charging of Harris triggered a wave of sympathy and a vigorous debate over whether the heartbroken father should be punished. Two change.org petitions urging authorities to release Harris were started and then shut down this week. One petition posted this note: "I think that based on the recent developments this petition is no longer relevant. I still pray that this was truly an accident. If that is the case, the DA now knows that the community does not want Justin prosecuted on murder charges." Another, set up at YouCaring.com, has raised more than $22,000 for the Harris family. "Please don't listen to the media. It just upsets me to watch it," wrote Heather McCullar, who set it up. "Please don't listen to the media. The family will speak when they can." Contacted by CNN via e-mail, she wrote back, "No one is allowed to comment right now." "The manner of death is homicide" As Harris sits in jail, his wife, Leanna, would not discuss the case with the media. The Cobb County medical examiner's office found the child's cause of death "consistent with hyperthermia and the investigative information suggests the manner of death is homicide," according to a Cobb County Department of Public Safety statement issued Wednesday. Temperatures hit 92 degrees Fahrenheit on the day of his death. The medical examiner's office is waiting for toxicology test results before making an official ruling as to the cause and manner of the toddler's death. Read the criminal warrant (PDF) CNN's Victor Blackwell, Devon M. Sayers, MaryLynn Ryan and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

NEW: Funeral for Cooper Harris will be Saturday in Alabama; father can't attend . Source says police seized computers from father's office after startling Web discovery . It's unclear who conducted online searches on animal deaths in hot cars, source says . The boy was left in a hot car, strapped to his seat in suburban Atlanta last week .

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama signed legislation Thursday evening extending several key provisions of the Patriot Act shortly before they were set to expire at midnight. The provisions -- passed after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack -- deal with roving wiretaps, the tracking of alleged "lone wolf" terrorists, and the ability of law enforcement officials to obtain records they deem relevant to an investigation after securing an order from a federal court. The bill passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate earlier in the day. Obama, currently on a trip to Europe, directed the use of an autopen -- a signature reproduction device -- to sign the measure, according to White House spokesman Nick Shapiro. The House was forced to briefly delay the start of its Memorial Day recess to vote on the measure. A protracted dispute over the legislation in the Senate, fueled by conservative newcomer Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, muddied voting schedules. Paul reached a deal with Senate leaders to allow votes on whether to table two of his amendments. Both amendments failed, and the subsequent Senate vote on the measure to extend the Patriot Act provisions for four years passed easily on a 72-23 vote. The 250-153 House vote was tighter, with lawmakers on the right and left opposing an extension for various reasons. For example, some members of Congress are concerned about the law's impact on civil liberties, while others support the law but think it should be made permanent. One of the three provisions, Section 206 of the Patriot Act, provides for roving wiretap surveillance of targets who try to thwart Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) surveillance. Without such roving wiretap authority, investigators would be forced to seek a new court order each time they need to change the location, phone or computer that needs to be monitored. Another provision, Section 215 of the Patriot Act, allows the FBI to apply to the FISA court to issue orders granting the government access to any tangible items in foreign intelligence, international terrorism and clandestine intelligence cases. The third provision, Section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Prevention Act of 2004, closes a loophole that could allow individual terrorists not affiliated with specific organizations to slip through the cracks of FISA surveillance. Law enforcement officials refer to it as the "lone wolf" provision. Legislators opposed to the extensions claim that the provisions -- particularly related to wiretapping -- are intrusive and unconstitutional. Supporters argue that they are a critical component of U.S. anti-terror operations. Paul, a favorite of the Tea Party movement, engaged in a bitter showdown Wednesday with Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nevada, who sought to limit the number of amendments that Paul could offer. Then on Thursday, Paul complained that it was Senate Republican leaders now holding up consideration of his amendments. In a rare public rebuke of his own party's leadership, Paul said he was "disappointed" by their actions and urged people to contact GOP leadership offices in protest. "I've been working for two long days filibustering the Patriot Act in hopes that we can have a constitutional debate over certain provisions of it and we can try to reform it to take away some of the encroachments on our freedoms," Paul said. "Unfortunately, what we're finding now is that the Democrats have agreed to allow me to have amendments, but my own party is refusing to allow me to debate or present my amendments." In particular, Paul sought to propose an amendment preventing warrantless access to some gun records. Republican leaders don't want a vote on his amendment because they are conflicted by it, Paul said. They don't want to vote to weaken the Patriot Act by making it more difficult for law enforcement to obtain any information -- including gun records -- related to a terrorism investigation, he said, but they also don't want to take a vote that could be viewed negatively by gun rights groups. One Senate Republican leader, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, rejected Paul's analysis but refused to explain why or even if GOP leaders were blocking Paul's amendment. After reaching the deal to debate two of his amendments, Paul said on the Senate floor that his motivation was to protect personal liberties rather than to harm the Patriot Act or undermine security in any way. "It's very important that we are always vigilant, that we are eternally vigilant about the powers of government," Paul said in arguing for tighter restrictions on the ability of federal investigators to access some gun ownership records. He went on to complain in general about what he characterized as a federal overreaction to the 9/11 attacks that reduced individual liberty in the name of security. For example, he said, airline travelers are all considered possible terrorists and screened for security reasons; he described such a strategy as a "shotgun" approach. "Are we so afraid that we're giving up all of our liberty for security?" Paul asked, calling for tighter restrictions on what the government can investigate without a search warrant. However, fellow conservative Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Georgia, said Paul's amendment to end warrantless access to gun records would hinder the government's ability to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States. "I don't understand why we would take this tool away from national security investigators," Chambliss said, adding that there have been "no reports that the government has ever used these provisions to violate anyone's Second Amendment rights." CNN's Deirdre Walsh, Ted Barrett and Dana Bash contributed to this story.

Three key Patriot Act provisions were to expire at midnight Thursday . President Obama directs the use of an autopen to sign the measure . The House and Senate pass the measure to extend the provisions for four years . The Senate vote is delayed by a dispute fueled by newcomer Rand Paul .

(CNN) -- Fall TV can be so hit ... or miss. And like it or not, it doesn't take long for both viewers and networks to make the call. There have already been some surprise hits such as "Sleepy Hollow" as well as some casualties: Both ABC's "Lucky 7" and CBS' "We Are Men" were canceled after only two episodes, and there are surely more shows to follow. UPDATE: Since this story was first published, there have been some developments. According to Deadline, CBS has ordered full seasons of "The Crazy Ones," "The Millers," and "Mom." Meanwhile NBC has canceled "Ironside" and "Welcome to the Family," The Wrap reported. Let's take a look at how some of the network shows are faring: . Hits . • "Sleepy Hollow" (Fox) -- This is one hit few saw coming. Fans appear to love it, and USA Today called it the "best new show." • "The Blacklist" (NBC) -- James Spader is killing the game as a master criminal in this new drama. The show might also be benefiting from its lead-in, "The Voice." Either way, people are watching. • "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (ABC) -- This widely anticipated Joss Whedon production had a huge premiere but has slowed just a tad in recent weeks. It's still big though, especially with the DVR set. • "The Goldbergs" (ABC) -- So far, so good. Ratings have been decent, and this comedy might just swing a second season. According to Deadline, more scripts have already been ordered. • "The Crazy Ones" (CBS) -- Mork and Buffy make a killer ratings combo, it seems. This sitcom starring Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Geller appears to be pretty solid. The Salt Lake Tribune says it looks like a winner. A full season has been ordered. • "The Millers" (CBS) -- Lucky show. Its lead-in is the ratings juggernaut "The Big Bang Theory," so, yeah, it's doing well. Like "The Crazy Ones," CBS was pleased enough to order a full season. • "The Originals" (CW) -- The "Vampire Diaries" spinoff is getting respectable ratings and has had additional scripts ordered. CNN's Fall Entertainment Guide . Misses . • "The Michael J. Fox Show" and "Sean Saves the World" (NBC) -- These two are grouped together because they have much in common: the return of two beloved actors, Michael J. Fox and Sean Hayes, and the fact that both, surprisingly, appear to be struggling. Variety listed them on their "10 Coldest TV Shows of the Fall." • "Hostages" (CBS) -- This one does not have the ratings tied up. Don't look for it to make a second season. "Betrayal" (ABC) -- Proof that not every show built around a mistress will work. According to TV Guide, ratings are down, and some critics wonder if it will be the next series to be canceled. • "Back in the Game" (ABC) -- Not every movie actor's foray into television is going so well. We are going to go ahead and list this one starring James Caan as "dead show walking." • "Welcome to the Family" (NBC) -- If you didn't get to know the family it's too late, as NBC has announced its cancellation. • "Mom" (Fox) -- All the elements are there. The comedy stars Anna Faris and Allison Janney and was created by Chuck Lorre, the mind behind hits such as "Two and a Half Men." So why is it not working? Still, CBS has ordered a full season. • "Ironside"(NBC) -- The reboot of this classic series with Blair Underwood starring as a paraplegic was called the "worst new drama" by one critic. Viewers seem to agree. NBC recently decided to cancel the show. So-So . • "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (Fox) -- This one feels very "Parks and Recreation." It's a critical darling, but ratings have not been overwhelming. We are rooting for you, Andy Samberg. • "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" (ABC) -- This one has us a little worried. The big budget fairytale series occupies the Thursday 8 p.m. slot, which puts it opposite CBS' popular "The Big Bang Theory" and NBC's fan favorite "Parks and Recreation." That time slot could spell doom. • "Super Fun Night" (ABC) -- It should have been a surefire hit, coming after "Modern Family." And while lots of viewers tried it out initially, declining ratings in week two indicate they weren't too impressed. No bueno for star and creator Rebel Wilson. • "The Tomorrow People" (CW) -- The paranormal series is hanging on ... for now. • "Trophy Wife" (ABC) -- Critics seem to love it, but ratings have not been overwhelming. ABC has said the show recently pulled in 1.3 million more viewers than Fox's "The Mindy Project" (2.8 million), and the network has ordered more scripts. That's good, as it probably needs more time. • "Dads" (Fox) -- This live-action Seth MacFarlane comedy has been called racist and sexist, but the controversy has not stopped the network from ordering more scripts. Tell us what your favorite -- and least favorite -- shows have been so far?

"Sleepy Hollow" and "The Blacklist" are among the season's hits . Favorites Michael J. Fox and Sean Hayes are struggling with new shows . Two shows have already been canceled -- "Lucky 7" and "We Are Men"

(CNN) -- My dad was an avid sports fan and a great athlete in his day. We used to watch basketball and football games together, and I know some of his proudest moments as a father were when I wore my sports uniforms in high school and college. He was a man's man — a hard drinking, foul-mouthed veteran of the Korean War who came on to every voluptuous nurse who crossed his path. He passed away about this time last year. I think about him often, and more during March Madness. I thought about him yesterday as I read about Jason Collins coming out as the first openly gay player in NBA history. I wondered, "If my dad were reading this, what would he say?" And, clear as day, I heard his voice. "Yeah, but can the dude play?" It made me laugh because isn't it just that simple? Can he play? Can he do his job? At the same time that Jason Collins' announcement has caused a stir, there also has been noteworthy non-reaction among many. "Is this really still news?" we ask. The answer is yes. It is news because it's never happened before. Pro sports, especially the ones where athletes get paid millions upon millions of dollars, are bastion of masculinity. Manhood, athleticism and heterosexuality are all woven together in our cultural paradigm. It's still news because the stereotype of gay men as being effete, weak, uncoordinated (except where it comes to Lady Gaga impersonations) and otherwise "girly" is still so strong. In NBA, Collins' defense matters more than sexual orientation . It shouldn't be. Gay comes in all shapes, sizes, strengths and personalities. Just like straight does. It shouldn't be news that— guess what — some gay people don't fit your stereotype. But it is. It shouldn't be news for that reason, but I'm grateful that it is news for an entirely different reason. Jason's coming out is a very, very public "it gets better" message to all the LGBTQ youth coming up, and out, right now. According to the Trevor Project, an organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth, suicide is the third leading cause of death for 10- to 24-year-olds, and its the second leading cause of death on college campuses. Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers. This is why an openly gay NBA player should be news, because it busts stereotypes, normalizes homosexuality and gives kids of all orientations a positive role model of self-love and professional excellence. Until there are no more hate crimes, no more vicious bullying and ugly slurs, whenever a person comes out — whether that person is a celebrity or a "nobody" — it should be celebrated like the triumph of courage it is. That is why it should be news. Jason Collins is tremendously brave and deserves to be celebrated as such. All that said, we aback to the question my dad would have asked. "Yeah, but can the dude play?" Yes, he can play. He's an aggressive, big man who holds his space on the court. At 34, he's probably aging out of the sport, but he's played consistently and well over the years and deserves to be remembered for what he has done on the court, not what he did while off. Opinion: Here's to Collins -- and the NBA . I applaud his career and his bravery, and I look forward to the day that sexual orientation is a non-issue. We are all so much more than our sexuality. It is vital to the situations in which it's important — namely, in looking for a mate — but it has nothing to do with job performance, whether your job is as a secretary or a professional basketball player. Our sexuality is just one of a thousand pieces of our identity, not the sole determining factor. Jason Collins is gay. That's not all he is, and it would be nice if we could keep this one piece of identity in context with the whole. Finally, it's nice to see institutionalized homophobia crumbling. First it was the military, with the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. For decades, the argument had been that having openly gay people in the military would impair unit cohesion. Setting aside all the flawed assumptions that undergird those fears, you know what has happened to unit cohesion since the fall of don't ask, don't tell? It's stayed the same or gotten slightly better. This is probably because it's easier for people to bond when they're not forbidden from being themselves. First, it was the military, now it's pro sports being forced to realize that there is no "us" and "them" when it comes to sexuality. We are all on the same team. I'll bet that Jason Collins will be the first in a string of professional athletes to openly acknowledge their homosexuality. You can also think of him as the next in a chain of civil rights pioneers. And I'll bet you'll start seeing them play a bit better. We're all at our best when we don't have to hide who we are, when we can bring it all to the court. I'm proud to see Jason come out and encouraged to see the overwhelmingly positive reaction he's received. And yet, I can't wait for the day we greet it with "so what?" and a yawn. I think my dad would agree. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Donna Brazile.

Donna Brazile says her sports-fan dad would have been unconcerned about sexuality . He'd have said, "Yeah, but can the dude play?" Competence not same as sexuality, she says . She says orientation should be a yawn in a just world, but Collins' coming out hugely important . Brazile: Homophobia crumbling. First with don't ask, don't tell repeal, now in sports .

(CNN) -- E. Lynn Harris, the author who introduced millions of readers to the "invisible life" of black gay men, was a literary pioneer whose generosity was as huge as his courage, friends said Friday. E. Lynn Harris touched fans with his courage and his kindness, friends say. Harris, 54, died Thursday night while on a business trip to Los Angeles, California, said Laura Gilmore, his publicist. Harris wrote a series of novels that exposed readers to characters rarely depicted in literature: black, affluent gay men who were masculine, complex and, sometimes, tormented. Keith Boykin, an author and friend, said Harris encouraged the black community to talk openly about homosexuality. "We have a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy in the black community," Boykin said. "E. Lynn Harris encouraged people to ask and to tell." How Harris broke ground . In books like "Invisible Life," "A Love of My Own," and his New York Times best-selling memoir, "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted," Harris virtually invented a new genre: books that depicted black gay men living double lives. Though Harris wrote primarily about black gay men, some of his biggest fans were black women. His books became staples in black beauty salons, bookstores and book clubs. "It was hard to go on a subway in places in New York or D.C. and not see some black woman reading an E. Lynn Harris novel," Boykin said. Harris was an unlikely literary pioneer. He was a former IBM executive who decided to write about his life. He started off in 1991 selling books from the trunk of his car to African-American beauty salons and bookstores. He eventually became one of the nation's most popular writers with an estimated 4 million of his books in print. Tina McElroy Ansa, author of "Taking After Mudear," met Harris at the beginning of his literary career when he was selling his first book "Invisible Life." She said they were both so poor they only had enough money to buy each other's book. Ansa said she took Harris' "Invisible Life" home and was stunned by the time she reached page 20. She came across a scene where Harris depicted two black men playing in the snow with one another. She immediately dropped the book, called Harris and told him she had never read such a scene before. "I had never seen homosexual love in African-American men portrayed that way," she says. "It was playful, loving, and it wasn't hidden." Years later, when Harris became successful, he thanked Ansa for her early encouragement. "He gave me a string of pearls," Ansa said. In 2000, Harris told the magazine Entertainment Weekly how important "Invisible Life" was for him. ''When I wrote "Invisible Life," it had to be the first book out of me -- it helped me to deal with my own sexuality,'' Harris said. "'For me, my 20s and early 30s were spent just hiding and running, because there was no one to tell me that my life had value and the way I felt was okay.'' Standing room only at his book events . "It's heartbreaking; he had such a generous spirit," said Tananarive Due, author of "Blood Colony." "When I was just starting out, he flew me to an event out of his own pocket and put me up just because he thought more people should know my work," Due said. Harris was as generous with his fans as he was with his friends, some said. They describe an author who held dinner parties for aspiring writers at his home, loved meeting and hugging fans at book readings, and never seemed to let his fame change him. "You could get trampled at an E. Lynn Harris reading," Ansa said. "People loved him." Due said Harris would answer up to 200 e-mails from his fans each day. She said Harris had been a cheerleader in college "and a spirit of joy followed him through his life." "He genuinely loved being around people and remembered names," Due said. "I remember seeing him at an event in Florida, and one woman in the crowd raised her hand and he said, 'Oh, Mary, you were here for my hardcover book signing.'" Nonetheless, Harris had his share of personal pain. He was born in Flint, Michigan, and grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas. In his 2003 memoir, he wrote about enduring abuse by his stepfather and an attempted suicide in 1990. And he had critics. Some said Harris was a mediocre writer who stumbled on a winning literary formula. Boykin says Harris was stung by some of the criticism. "He always said 'I'm not a James Baldwin,'" Boykin said, referring to the openly gay black author from the 1960s. "He was writing accessible literature for the masses." Boykin said Harris received most of his criticism not from outraged straight critics, but people within the black community. "He was hurt by some of the criticism from some black gay men who felt he wasn't portraying them accurately and others who thought he was telling too much," Boykin said. In a 2003 Detroit Free Press interview, Harris said he resisted becoming an advocate for gay rights. "It's such a small part of who I am, " he said. "It's what I do when I'm with my partner that puts this label on me. Most of my friends are straight. I tend to have a regular life, if you will." Due said there has traditionally been a lot of pain associated with homosexuality in the black community. Harris took a little of that pain away with his life and his books. "He really helped let the air in," Due said. "He helped us all breathe a little better."

Pioneering author broke taboos in the black community . Harris created a new genre in black literature . Private struggles led to literary success . Author: 'He helped us all breathe a little better"

(CNN) -- "Battlestar Galactica," the TV series that has held up a mirror to post-9/11 politics and paranoia for the past four seasons, comes to an end Friday. "Battlestar Galactica" drew consistent praise from the critics, but never attracted huge audiences. The show's legions of fans may be in mourning, but executive producer David Eick finds the looming finale bittersweet. "It's a combination of deep sadness and a little bit of relief," he told CNN by phone from Los Angeles. Eick and his producing partner Ronald D. Moore revived -- or, as they like to say, "reimagined" -- a campy late-1970s space opera about a ragtag group of survivors from an attack that wiped out most of humanity, making it a gritty, tense, and morally ambiguous drama. Echoes of the traumas that shaped contemporary America are inescapable, from a shot in opening credits that looks like Manhattan before the attacks of September 11, 2001, to questions about curtailing civil liberties in wartime. Eick says the show is a reflection of its times. The show "went into development very shortly after the attacks -- December of 2001. Not only were we post-9/11, but the wounds were so extremely fresh, there was still a great deal of shock," he said. Some of the imagery and themes of the show derived directly from the attacks, he said, such as a "wall of grief" where people place pictures of dead comrades. The show's central conflict has a religious dimension: The show's villains, the mechanical yet human-looking Cylons, believe in one god; the humans believe in many. "The antagonists are motivated by a belief that they are operating with the blessing, the permission of an all-powerful god. To the extent that religion and spiritual beliefs were chief motivations for the antagonists, that had resonance with al Qaeda," Eick said. But, he said, the writers fought to keep the show from becoming morally simplistic. "Sci-fi has always been a safe haven because we're not talking about al Qaeda, we're talking about the Cylons," he said. "We went to great lengths to try to see things from the opponents' point of view, to make the audience ask if they are rooting for the right side," he said. In fact, the Cylons become increasingly complicated characters as the series goes on, ultimately warring among themselves -- as do the humans. "The intention of 'Battlestar Galactica' was to present flawed heroes, who fought among themselves as much as the enemy," Eick said. "We are drawn to heroes who succeed in spite of themselves." "Growing discontent with the [Bush] administration allowed us to deepen many of those flaws in those characters," he said, even as he denied the show was designed to reflect the headlines. "Rarely do I recall saying: 'Let's do Abu Ghraib,' " said Eick, referring to the notorious prison in Iraq. The series does include an interrogation episode with a clear reference to waterboarding. The show drew consistent praise from the critics, but never attracted huge audiences from its home on the Sci-Fi channel, a cable network. Nielsen figures suggest the miniseries that launched the show drew about 4 million viewers, but audiences dipped to about half that in the third season before rebounding slightly as the fourth and final season began last year. Eick said he did not watch the original "Battlestar Galactica" series, which ran from 1978 to 1980 -- another gloomy era in America. But he knew he did not want his protagonist to be like the hero of that show, even if they shared the same name. "In the original incarnation, the main character of Adama was the picture of perfection, a military genius and a family man and a diplomat and a great orator, and and and... We were in an age where it didn't seem plausible that one person could have all the answers," he said. "The world didn't need another moralizing space opera," he said, drawing a specific contrast with the much more successful "Star Trek" franchise, or, as he called it "escapist 'Star Trek'-ian action-adventure." "The virtue of 'Star Trek' is that is does present a problem -- a moral crisis that its main characters ultimately solve or answer in a way that is intended to be a model for the audience," Eick said. "They come away feeling better about themselves." That has never been "Battlestar Galactica's" intention, he said. "To the show's good fortune, the audience was in need of a vehicle for its angst and its paranoia," said Eick, who said that as a viewer, he "was much more seduced" by darker stories that "felt like a reflection of reality." The walls of his home, he said, are adorned with posters from just such dark films: "Jaws," "Taxi Driver," "The Exorcist," "Lenny" and "Manhattan." (He also likes the lighter fare of "The Blues Brothers." ) "For some people, there's something very cathartic about watching nihilistic drama," he said. "There is a relief associated with it. "We often hear that what audiences want in troubled times is escapism and comfort food. I think it's the opposite. They want a way to feel their reality reflected back at them."

Show featured group of survivors from an attack that wiped out most of humanity . It went into development shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks . Executive producer: Some of the themes of the show derived directly from the attacks . Original "Battlestar Galactica" series ran from 1978 to 1980 .

(CNN) -- Doing your holiday shopping online is generally preferable to braving the season's frantic mall crowds, slow moving checkout lines and tiresome holiday background music. But don't get too relaxed. There are still some security precautions everyone should take before sharing payment information online. Increasingly, people are using their smartphones and tablets for online shopping. There was a 190% in mobile purchases this year on Cyber Monday, and 193% jump on Black Friday, according to mobile payments company PayPal. The shift to mobile presents its own unique security challenges, including malware apps and text phishing scams. Here are online shopping security tips to keep in mind all year round, on all your devices. Check for "HTTPS" Not all webpages are equally secure. Before entering any personal or payment information, make sure to look up at your browser bar. The URL should start with HTTPS, not HTTP. That one letter on the end, S, is the difference between a secure site and an unsecured site. Bing takes on Google in fight for holiday shoppers . A secondary thing to look for is the small lock icon in your address bar. This lock indicates that you have an SSL (secure sockets layer) connection. The icon is standard for most popular browsers, including Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari and Firefox. On mobile devices, the address bar is tinier and easier to overlook. Do a little pinch-and-zoom to locate the S before sharing your payment information. Watch your WiFi . Shopping from mobile devices means an increased chance you'll be on an unfamiliar WiFi network. "Only window shop on public WiFi," recommends Derek Halliday, lead security product manager at Lookout, a mobile security company. Holiday shoppers share tips for buying American . Avoid entering your credit card number or other private information when you're on an unsecured, public WiFi connection where people could snoop. Wait until you are back at home or work. Vet the vendors and apps . The Internet is packed with stores, some reputable and others downright shady. While bargain hunting, it can be tempting to make your purchase from the site offering the lowest price, but take a moment to research any vendors you're not familiar with. "If something seems to good to be true, it probably is," says Claudia Lombana, a PayPal shopping specialist. Before you hand over your payment information, do a quick search for reviews of the vendor. Calculate the total cost of an item, including shipping and tax, when determining the lowest price. The same tips apply when you're using a mobile app. Only download apps for your smartphones and tablets through official stores, like the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android. The occasional unsavory app has been known to slip through these proper channels. Always check the reviews in the app stores to see what other users have to say. If there are bunch of one star reviews or warnings, don't download the software. Another option is to download a mobile security app to scan new software and links. Beware of phishing, SMiShing and other scams . By now most people know to keep an eye out for phishing scams -- e-mails disguised as legitimate companies or organizations that ask for payment or password information. But every now and then, one comes along that looks incredibly convincing. To be safe, copy and paste all links into a fresh browser window instead of clicking on the hyperlink, check the originating email address and when in doubt, contact the company to verify the e-mail. SMiShing (a lovely portmanteau of "SMS" and "Phishing") has taken off recently, catching people off-guard who don't expect to receive this type of spam as a text message. Earlier this year, scammers sent texts telling people they had won a $1,000 gift card from Walmart. The texts linked to a page that asked for credit card information to cover the cost of shipping the prize. As a general rule, legitimate companies will never ask for your private information over email or text message, including payment information, usernames, passwords, mother's maiden name or social security number. Password protect mobile devices . This was the number one mobile tip from the experts we talked to: turn on the passcode on your phone or tablet. It's an easy and important precaution, but only 54% of Americans do it. Yes, it will take a few more seconds to access your email or open an app, but smartphones often contain more valuable information than what's in your wallet. "Many shopping apps archive your credit card information after your make a first purchase, and many apps don't require that you enter your password every time you use it," explained Halliday. If your phone or tablet is lost or stolen, anyone can access the wealth of data you have stored on your device. Even if individual apps require passwords, someone can use your email and phone number to try and reset them. Update often . Many operating system and application updates address security issues, plugging holes and fixing errors that could be exploited by hackers. On your computer, update the operating system when prompted, and make sure you're running the latest version of your browser. For mobile devices, the routine is easier because the apps come through a central app store. You can see exactly what mobile apps need updating at a glance. Use a credit card instead of a debit card . Credit cards are a more secure online payment option than your debit card. The majority of credit cards offer purchase protection in case your card number is stolen, or if you make a payment at an online store that delivers a bad product, or no product at all. We know you're very busy this time of year, but also take an extra moment to comb over your statements. Should any of these security precautions fail, you'll want to catch suspicious charges as soon as possible.

Check your address bar for "https" before entering payment information . When shopping from mobile devices, use trusted apps and WiFi networks . Always turn on the passcode protection for your mobile devices . If an online deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is .

(CNN) -- Chris Stevens knew what he was getting into. He knew, longtime friend Daniel Seidemann said, that Libya was a place of great promise, but also one of great peril. "When he went to Libya, he had no illusions about where he was going," Seidemann said. "He has probably done more than anybody on the planet to help the Libyan people, and he know going in that this was not going to protect him." U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens died Tuesday in an assault on the American Consulate in Benghazi, the very city where he had arrived aboard a cargo ship in the spring of 2011 to help build ties between the upstart rebellion and the rebels. Ex-SEALs, online gaming maven among Benghazi dead . "He risked his life to stop a tyrant, then gave his life trying to help build a better Libya," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday. "The world needs more Chris Stevenses," Clinton said. Stevens graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1982, then took a pause in his studies to join the Peace Corps, according to his State Department biography. "Growing up in California, I didn't know much about the Arab world," he said in a State Department video prepared to introduce him to the Libyan people after his appointment as ambassador in May. "I worked as an English teacher in a town in the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco for two years, and quickly grew to love this part of the world," he said. Slain ambassador warned in '08 about extremists near Benghazi . After returning to the United States, he attended the University of California's Hastings College of Law, graduating in 1989, according to his biography. He worked as an international trade lawyer in Washington before joining the Foreign Service, the career diplomatic corps, in 1991, according to the State Department biography. He spent most of his career in the Middle East and North Africa, including postings to Israel, Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia, in addition to serving as the deputy chief of the U.S. mission to Libya from 2007 to 2009, during the rule of Moammar Gadhafi, according to the State Department. Pro-al Qaeda group seen behind deadly Benghazi attack . "He joined the Foreign Service, learned languages, won friends for America in distant places and made other people's hopes his own," Clinton said. It was during Stevens' time as the political section chief in Jerusalem that Seidemann got to know the man dubbed "the senator" for his unflappable character and unrelenting empathy. "He was the best of the best," Seidemann said. "If there's American nobility, he's it." Stevens' stepfather, Robert Commanday, remembered the diplomat as a "beautifully even-tempered person." "In the 36 years that I was privileged to be his stepfather, I never saw him lose his temper once," Commanday told CNN's "The Situation Room." "And he was calm and easy and people loved him not only for that but because he didn't impose his ideas on them and he was interested in the persons he was talking to." Commanday said his family was "shattered" by the news of his death. Seidemann, who focuses on Israel-Palestinian relations, got to know Stevens through work, but they quickly grew to be friends. Six things to know about the attack . "He was extremely warm, friendly, open," Seidemann said. After returning to Washington to work for a time, Stevens went back to Libya to help try to rebuild U.S. relations with Moammar Gadhafi's regime. Then, in 2011, as Libyans began to take up arms against the dictator, Clinton tapped him for another role. "In the early days of the Libyan revolution, I asked Chris to be our envoy to the rebel opposition," Clinton said. "He arrived on a cargo ship in the port of Benghazi and began building our relationships with Libya's revolutionaries." "He was seen as a popular, personable and hands-on diplomat among State Department staffers who knew him," said Elise Labott, a CNN foreign affairs reporter who knew Stevens. "He wasn't a pinstripe diplomat. He wanted to get his hands dirty, dig in," she said. Commanday conveyed a similar impression, saying Stevens was "very happy" to get the post. "He wasn't looking for a ... cushy ambassador's spot," he said. "He loved the Libyan people and was passionate about helping." Stevens was well-regarded among Libyans, said Fouad Ajami, an expert on Islamic politics. Libya suffering 'fragile' security . "The sadness of it is that Ambassador Stevens worked long and hard for the liberation of the Libyan people from the tyranny of Moammar Gadhafi," he said. Stevens frequently spoke of an infectious enthusiasm for the country that made him "the only person, in the eyes of the State Department," for the Libya post, Labott said. The ambassador understood Libya and its dangers, but also saw great promise, said CNN's Zain Verjee, who also knew Stevens well. "Chris was passionate about Libya," she said. "He cared about the people and saw hope in its future. He told me he knew the dangers but was committed to democracy and diplomacy above all." Ambassador's killing shines light on Muslim sensitivities around Prophet Mohammed .

NEW: Chris Stevens was a "beautifully even-tempered person," his stepfather says . Diplomat was "best of the best," longtime friend says . He was a hands-on diplomat, CNN reporter says . Stevens died in an attack at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday .

(CNN) -- A series of cities are in the grip of soaring temperatures this weekend. From Phoenix, to Las Vegas, to Death Valley in California, which set a world-record high a century ago. Death Valley was the hottest spot Saturday, reaching 127 degrees, and Arizona and Nevada continued in a record-setting heat wave that is forecast to last through Tuesday. The heat may have led to the death of a man in his 80s in Las Vegas, where the temperature Saturday hit 115 degrees, tying a record set in 1994, the National Weather Service said. Paramedics found the man dead in his home, which did not have air conditioning, said Las Vegas Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski. He died of cardiac arrest and the heat may have contributed to his death, although the coroner will make the final determination, he said. The heatwave comes just a couple weeks before the 100th anniversary of what the National Weather Service calls the "highest reliably recorded air temperature on Earth" -- 134 degrees on July 10, 1913, in Death Valley's Greenland Ranch. At Furnace Creek, the heat will stay on full blast through Tuesday, at least. At night, the mercury will drop to a relatively cool 96 degrees. "We have more work than we can handle," said Max Ghaly of Cathedral City Air Conditioning and Heating in Palm Springs, California. "We're running all over the place trying to do what we can." The only time the technicians can have some cold air, Ghaly told CNN, is when they're driving. Fun aside, the heat wave scorching the Southwest is dangerous, as 170 concertgoers found out Friday evening in Las Vegas, according to the fire department. Ambulances plucked them out of 110-degree heat in an open-air music venue and drove them to a shady spot, where they could sit down and drink water. Another 30 people were treated for heat ailments in local hospitals. Heat hurts your insides too . "I'm not worried as much about the people who have lived here a while," said Sgt. Troy Stirling, police spokesman in the Lake Havasu, Arizona, near the California state line. "It's more the tourists coming into the area, even from Southern California, who aren't used to this kind of heat." A man driving from northern Nevada to southern Arizona stopped at a Las Vegas highway exit Saturday after his car's air conditioning unit broke and he drove for several hours without it, Szymanski said. He stopped at the exit to call 911, and when paramedics arrived, they found the man suffering from heat stroke. Civic and emergency officials throughout the Southwest say that if there was ever a time to worry, this would be it. The reason isn't just the oppressive heat that is plaguing the region: It's the fact it is expected to hang around, and possibly even get worse, over the next few days. Extended heat warnings . The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for large parts of California, Nevada and Arizona, and a heat advisory for other parts of Nevada. Many of the excessive heat warnings extend through Tuesday night. Starting Wednesday, temperatures will drop by a couple of degrees, moving closer to normal temperatures. "It'll still be hot, but not as intense as we're seeing now," said Chris Stachelski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. Forecasters say temperatures through the weekend could rival a 2005 heat wave that killed 17 people in the Las Vegas area. The culprit is a high pressure dome that's blocking cooler air coming down from the Pacific Northwest, CNN meteorologist Indra Petersons said. That system won't begin to break up until early next week, she said. As a result, Phoenix residents saw a high of 119 degrees on Saturday -- setting a new record for the day. Temperatures should max out at 113 in the coming days in Palm Springs, California. It's not like sunset will provide much respite, as temperatures may not drop below 90 degrees in many places, even in the middle of the night. Some heat wave advice . "The No. 1 thing is to absolutely know your limitations and to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water," Stachelski advises those coping with the high temperatures. He recommends limiting time outdoors. For those who have to do any strenuous activity outside, he advises doing it in the early morning, evening or simply putting it off until the end of the week when the temperatures are lower. Such high temperatures can put people at risk for heat exhaustion or heat stroke, which can be fatal. The elderly, infants, children and people with chronic medical conditions are the most prone to heat stress. Heat exhaustion is the body's response to an excessive loss of water and salt, usually through excessive sweating, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include extreme weakness or fatigue, dizziness, nausea and fast and shallow breathing. Heat stroke is even more serious and happens when the body becomes unable to cool down, the CDC says. It can cause death or permanent disability if untreated. Heat stroke symptoms include hallucinations, chills, confusion and dizziness, along with slurred speech. To protect against heat stress, the CDC advises spending time in air-conditioned places, staying informed of heat warning and drinking lots of fluids. CNN's Joe Sutton, Michael Martinez and Michael Pearson contributed to this report.

NEW: The heat may have contributed to the death of a Las Vegas man . 134 was "highest reliably recorded air temperature on Earth" on July 10, 1913 . Excessive heat warnings extend from northern California to Arizona and beyond . The temperature reaches 127 in Death Valley on Saturday .

Washington (CNN) -- Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a key portion of the landmark Voting Rights Act, activists and those in states with a history of disenfranchisement at the polls are pinning their hopes on congressional action. But those hopes may be long deferred. A member of Congress who shed blood during the long march to civil rights told a Senate committee on Wednesday that he believes the Voting Rights Act "is needed now more than ever." "The burden cannot be on those citizens whose rights were, or will be, violated. It is the duty of Congress to restore the life and soul to the Voting Rights Act," said veteran congressman John Lewis. "The day of the Supreme Court decision broke my heart. It made me want to cry," the Georgia Democrat told the Senate Judiciary Committee. He spoke of facing beatings while marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, for the right to vote and his pride in receiving a pen used by President Lyndon Johnson to sign the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law. The testimony came during a week in which both Attorney General Eric Holder and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told African-American audiences that the right to vote must be safeguarded and urged congressional action in timely revision of the law. President Barack Obama has expressed that he, too, is "deeply disappointed" in the ruling and wrote in a statement he was "calling on Congress to pass legislation to ensure every American has equal access to the polls." Skepticism Congress can address voting rights ruling . But despite the heartfelt speeches, the reality is that there is little political incentive for many in Congress to act, political and legal experts say. "House Republicans don't really have any interest in changing what the Supreme Court decided and many of the states the House Republicans come from are taking advantage of this and moving forward with voting restrictions," said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University historian and CNN contributor. Last month, the high court effectively invalidated a key provision of the act that gives the federal government oversight of states and localities with a history of voter discrimination. The ruling said Congress must re-determine how places are put on the list using updated data—something Chief Justice John Roberts suggested Congress should have addressed when it reauthorized the law in 2006. "Congress could have updated the coverage formula at that time, but did not do so," Roberts wrote in the 5-4 majority opinion. "Its failure leaves us today with no choice but to declare Section 4 unconstitutional. The formula in that section can no longer be used as a basis for subjecting jurisdictions to preclearance." 'Outrageous' or overdue?: Court strikes down part of historic voting rights law . Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, several states with a history of voter discrimination that had previously been required to "pre-clear" any changes to their voting laws and district lines with federal authorities, pressed forward with controversial voter identification laws. Texas swiftly moved ahead with a hotly debated law requiring photo identification to vote and the state's attorney general also expressed confidence that new redistricting maps passed by the Republican-controlled legislature would soon be implemented. The Justice Department had blocked the state's redistricting efforts, citing them as potentially racially discriminatory. The ripple effects are being felt elsewhere as many of the 15 states — most of them in the South — that had required federal preclearance before changing voting practices began enacting new laws. In Mississippi and Alabama, that has meant proceeding with plans to require voters to present a photo ID before casting a ballot during the 2014 midterm elections. North Carolina elections officials have said they are eagerly eyeing putting in place similar laws just in time for the 2016 presidential election. Florida can set early voting times and days as it sees fit, a practice which drew criticism from some voting rights advocacy groups during the last general election amid accusations that the Republican governor and legislature were trying to disenfranchise minority voters in the swing state. And in Georgia, Republican-redrawn district lines that irk Democrats could be set. Further, Lewis and Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner, his Republican ally in the fight to recraft the Voting Rights Act, will go before a House Judiciary subcommittee on Thursday chaired by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Arizona, one of the 33 Republicans who voted against the law's 2006 reauthorization. To be sure, "there are other provisions of the law that can protect voters," said Myrna Pérez, deputy director at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice. There are still legal avenues to address discriminatory voting practices should they arise, she said. Advocates for a congressional solution say lawmakers could pass a new formula for determining which places need extra oversight of their voting laws. And political experts point out that should a trend of disenfranchisement occur during the next several election cycles, it could provide congressional motivation to revisit the law in a substantive way. Goodlatte unsure if Congress will take up Voting Rights Act . But House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, recently said that he doesn't know whether Congress will work to change the law so that it's considered constitutional by the justices. "We will look at what the Supreme Court was talking about in terms of old data," Goodlatte said on CNN's "State of the Union." "We'll look at what new data is available and we will make sure that people's freedom to vote in elections in this country is protected." CNN's Ashley Killough and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.

Supreme Court struck down a key part of Voting Rights Act; left it to Congress to address gap . There's little political incentive for a Republican-controlled House to change law . Many Southern states moving forward with voting laws some see as onerous for minorities . Experts say it may take a trend in discrimination in major elections to urge Congress to act .

(CNN) -- This year in TV was all about having what you wanted when you wanted it. Some TV viewers binged on hours upon hours of shows, while others were simply more selective with what they viewed. Whether it was content saved on a DVR or streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, viewers spent plenty of time growing fat on the lamb that was this year in TV. With so much technology, viewers almost didn't need to actually sit in front of a TV in order to enjoy TV in 2013. "Television is becoming ever less about the box in the corner of the room, and ever more about the content it gives you access to," according to 33 Digital & Hotwire's Digital Trends Report 2013. Such indulgence meant 2013 was also the year that Netflix became a source for major networks to contend with. Don't believe that? Check the awards shows. Netflix has garnered six Golden Globe nominations, placing them ahead of broadcast television networks CBS, NBC (which each had five nominations) and ABC (which had four). Netflix's "House of Cards" starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright snagged the most with four nominations, while their other hit series "Orange is the New Black" and the revived "Arrested Development" each received one nomination. Netflix also made history in September by winning three Emmys. Not bad for a company that only a few years ago was competing with the now defunct Blockbuster in getting DVDs into the hands of customers. While streaming and DVRing shows is not new, the take off of the original content really came into its own in 2013. Charlotte Koh, head of content development for Hulu Originals, said she sees it as a natural progression as consumers become more comfortable "living online." "What's been great for all the online, on-demand distributors of content is that people really start to think about a place where we have first-window content that hasn't been anywhere else," Koh said. "I think it's a great virtuous circle that makes people more curious about 'Hey, I can discover things that I like here in this world that isn't necessarily available for me through traditional networks.'" Hulu's most successful first-run series, "Misfits," returned this fall for its fifth and final season, and the company announced its first co-production with Lionsgate, "Deadbeat," a supernatural comedy starring Cat Deeley and Tyler Labine, as well as second seasons of the animated series "The Awesomes" from "Saturday Night Live" star Seth Myers and the western procedural comedy "Quick Draw." Koh, whose company partners with network TV to stream their series, said on-demand companies like hers help "raise consumer awareness about shows that may need a little more time to gain a big audience." "Then that audience goes and finds that show on the network because they want to watch it live when an episode comes on," she said. "Or they use us occasionally when they want to play catch up." Amazon is also throwing its hat into the original content ring. In May the company announced that it would be creating five shows based on response from 14 pilots it posted online. "Annebots," "Alpha House," "Betas," "Creative Galaxy" and "Tumbleleaf" have all gotten the green light. With so much available content, viewers now no longer have to patiently wait for a new TV series to gain traction. They can instead catch up on a show that is already popular or indulge in original programming from aggregators. CNN Money recently reported that the concept of "binge watching" may be changing. A Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Netflix found that those responding considered binge watching to be "watching a handful of episodes (between 2-6 episodes) of the same TV show in one sitting." Respondents also said they found binge watching an enjoyable activity. That is not at all to suggest that broadcast and cable are dead. To the contrary, 2013 found fans losing it over the series finale of AMC's "Breaking Bad," enraptured by "Game of Thrones'" "Red Wedding" episode and fully embracing new shows like NBC's "The Blacklist" and Fox's "Sleepy Hollow." Staff writers at The Atlantic recently selected their favorite episodes of 2013 and they were as varied as episode seven of "Arrested Development" on Netflix to the "You've Got Sext" episode of Fox's "The Mindy Project." On the cable side, original programming including A&E's reality show "Duck Dynasty" and the History Channel's miniseries "The Bible" scored big ratings. In October, the Nielsens released its first ever "Twitter ratings," which measures the amount of tweets about a show and the size of the audience that views them. For the week of September 23, "Breaking Bad" ranked No. 1 with 9.3 million unique users seeing tweets specific to that show. The increased focus on social and TV also grew in 2013, with Twitter announcing in November that it had updated its apps to allow for better organization of trending TV shows. That means it's now easier for "Scandal" fans to find each other and for viewers to "hate tweet" the live production of NBC's "The Sound of Music," which they did in droves. Audiences definitely know what they want and Hulu's Koh said she see the challenge in both attracting and keeping viewers who are now completely used to having the power of on-demand. "One of the things we work very hard at is being the perfect matchmaker between audience and show," she said. "We work on what's the right strategy to reach those in the market place and break through all of the noise. What TV did you enjoy in 2013? CNN's Todd Leopold contributed to this story .

This year was all about on-demand programming . Netflix scored big with original programming . Twitter released its first "TV ratings"

(CNN) -- The deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan ordered troops Friday to treat the corpses of slain insurgents and civilians with "appropriate dignity and respect." The order follows a video that appears to show four U.S. Marines urinating on bodies, images that sparked swift condemnation from the United States and Afghanistan at a particularly crucial period in the U.S.-led war. "We must treat the living and the dead with dignity and respect," Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti said in the directive, which was published Friday on the website of the NATO-led force in Afghanistan. He said troops must follow the rules of armed conflict and "act honorably at all times." "In order to prevail, for the good of the coalition nations and the Afghan people, we can do no less." The video surfaced as the United States and the Taliban have taken tentative steps toward peace negotiations and as the U.S. and its allies plan to withdraw troops by the end of 2014. The general's directive instructed officers to ensure subordinates know that they are obligated to report any allegations of misconduct involving corpses. He promised swift investigations and "appropriate actions" against offenders. The directive notes that "defiling, desecrating, mocking, photographing or filming for personal use insurgent dead constitutes a grave breach" of the armed-conflict laws. It also violates "basic standards of human decency, and can cause serious damage to relations with the Afghan government." The directive is dated Thursday, one day after a video surfaced online showing four men equipped with what a Marine official described as sniper gear urinating on what appeared to be the bodies of three men on the ground. One of the men says, "Have a great day, buddy." A voice asks, "You got it on the video?" to which another voice responds, "Yeah." Another jokes, "Golden, like a shower." It was not clear who shot or posted the 39-second video or where, though a U.S. official said it was a "reasonable conclusion" it was filmed in Afghanistan. Commanders have identified the four Marines who appear in the video, but those names have not yet been made public, said spokeswoman Maryann Cummings of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). NCIS has talked to the Marines and all four are currently in the United States, she said. Investigators are still tracking down information on the person or people who created and posted the video. The NCIS investigation, which was opened Wednesday, will report to Lt. Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command. A separate administrative probe also will report to him. The investigations are being structured to allow for possible courts martial of the Marines involved, as well as a broader administrative probe into issues surrounding the event, according to a Marine Corps official. Those issues include whether commanders of the unit involved were aware of misconduct and whether a breakdown in discipline had occurred, the official said. The Marine Corps confirmed Waldhauser's appointment in a statement, in which it also said it was confident "an expeditious, full and fair investigation will be conducted, and appropriate action will be taken in response to this incident." While the identities of the people on the video haven't been released, the leadership of the 3rd Battalion 2nd Marine Regiment "is confident those are their Marines," according to a Marine official with direct knowledge of the initial investigation. The official, based in Afghanistan, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The unit, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, deployed in February or March and returned in September or October. While in Afghanistan, the unit was based primarily in Helmand province. Officials in the United States and Afghanistan expressed shock and outrage over the video. "I have seen the footage, and I find the behavior depicted in it utterly deplorable," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement. "I condemn it in the strongest possible terms." Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos said that the behavior is "wholly inconsistent with the high standards of conduct and warrior ethos that we have demonstrated throughout our history." President Barack Obama knows about the video, said White House spokesman Jay Carney. He said he didn't know whether Obama had viewed it. "What it apparently depicts is deplorable, reprehensible and unacceptable," Carney said. Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on the U.S. government to investigate and hand down the harshest punishment possible. "This act by American soldiers is simply inhuman and condemnable in the strongest possible terms," the statement from Karzai's office said. A Taliban spokesman called the video "barbaric." "This inhuman act reveals their real face to the world," spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said via text message Thursday. The video surfaces at a critical time for relations among the United States, the Afghan government and the Taliban. Last year, the United States outlined its plan to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, beginning by pulling out 33,000 "surge" troops who had been deployed to help quell the violence by the end of 2012. The remaining 68,000 troops would be withdrawn by the end of 2014. Meanwhile, the Taliban tentatively agreed in recent weeks to open an office in Qatar's capital city of Doha, a decision widely seen as an overture aimed at establishing an outside forum for political talks with NATO-led forces and the current Afghan administration, among others. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, Masoud Popalzai, Barbara Starr and Tom Cohen contributed to this story.

NEW: Investigators have talked to the four Marines in the urination video . NEW: They are currently in the United States . The Marine Corps promises an "expeditious, full and fair investigation" A general reminds troops to treat dead with "appropriate dignity and respect"

LONDON, England (CNN) -- It was Anabella De León's frail 86-year-old mother who answered the door when the men came knocking. "They told her, 'say to Anabella that we are going to kill her very soon,'" De León told CNN. The visit left her mother crying, anxious and shocked. Congresswoman Anabella de Leon with her husband in London for a performance of "Seven" by Vital Voices. That was four months ago. No attempt on her life has been made, De León said, but she still looks over her shoulder, takes alternative routes in her car, constantly checking that she's not being followed. Anabella De León is not well known outside Guatemala. Within the Central American country though, she has made headlines as an outspoken critic of corruption. She's serving her fourth term in Congress as a member of the Patriotic Party, which last weekend elected her to one of its top posts of Third National Secretary. The death threats are not new. Since 2002, she's been protected by at least one security guard on request from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Her 26-year-old son is also shadowed by a security guard; a precautionary move in response to earlier threats connected to De León's anti-corruption efforts. "The fight against corruption doesn't give you friends," she said. "[It] gives you enemies, important and dangerous enemies," she told CNN during a recent trip to London for a performance of the play "Seven," which profiles De León and six other international female leaders. Read more about "Seven." After 22 years of speaking out against corruption, first as a lawyer and then as a congresswoman, De León says she remains fearful given the legacy of violence and instability in Guatemala. De León noted that the country had recently been shaken by one killing in particular. On May 10, a high-profile lawyer was shot dead while cycling in Guatemala City. Rodrigo Rosenberg's killing might not have made headlines had he not recorded a video message just four days earlier. "If you are watching this message," Rosenberg said on the video, "it is because I was assassinated by President Álvaro Colom, with help from Gustavo Alejos," his private secretary. In the video, the lawyer predicted he would be targeted for speaking out about the killings of his client, a prominent businessman and his daughter. Rosenberg claimed they were killed because they had refused to participate in acts of corruption. President Colom has vehemently denied the claims. "We categorically reject the accusations that pretend to tie the president, first lady and private secretary as those responsible for this assassination," Colom said in a national address in May. Colom's Foreign Minister blamed Rosenberg's death on members of organized crime who he says are seeking to destabilize the country. The case sparked street protests both for and against the president. The government has promised a full and fair investigation into the killing and has received the support of the Organization of American States (OAS). The inquiry is being led by the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a United Nations-backed body established in 2007 to battle corruption in the country. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is assisting. De León sees the killing and the political scandal as a reminder of the enormity of the problems plaguing Guatemala. The country has been struggling to recover from a bloody 36-year civil war which ended in 1996. According to the United Nations, Guatemala has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with many killed by street gangs or in robberies. Almost 2,000 violent deaths were recorded in the first four months of this year and the Office of Human Rights warns 2009 is on track to become the most violent year in the country's recent history. Offenders know there's little chance of being caught. The U.N. says only two percent of crimes are ever solved. Meanwhile, the gap between rich and poor is more like a chasm and social services are suffering as a result of one of the lowest rates of tax collection in the world. President Álvaro Colom and his party, the National Union of Hope, came to power last year with a promise to crack down on corruption, crime, poverty and impunity. Kevin Casas-Zamora, senior fellow in Foreign Policy and the Latin American Initiative at the Brookings Institution told CNN similar promises have been made by previous governments, but they have tried and failed to bring change. "Business interests are very cohesive and very powerful in Guatemala, then you have organized crime which is a new and powerful actor," said Casas-Zamora, who recently served as Vice President of Costa Rica. "Those actors have no intention whatsoever of letting the State become effective in fighting against corruption and organized crime. It's been proven time after time that [the government] has been blocked," Casas-Zamora said. De León says regardless of the political outcome of the murder allegations, the scandal may have prompted a subtle and potentially powerful change among Guatemala's population. She believes recent street protests demanding justice for Rodrigo Rosenberg's death are a sign that people are ready for change. "People in Guatemala are tired, tired of injustice, tired of corruption, tired of abuses, of violations," she said. "Guatemala needs to change. But for change, you need not one voice, not two voices, not 20 voices. Fifty-thousand people in the last demonstration are proof that everybody's tired."

Congresswoman Anabella De León tells CNN of her fight against corruption . De Leon: "People in Guatemala are tired, tired of injustice... abuses" Guatemala gripped by political crisis after murder of a high-profile lawyer . President Álvaro Colom denies allegations of involvement in the murder .

Atlanta (CNN) -- Cars skidded around me, left and right. An 18-wheeler spun its tires and started smoking. Drivers of other big rigs slammed their accelerators to the floor, trying to get their loads moving across the snow and ice that paralyzed Atlanta Tuesday. I was surrounded by all this, hoping my mini-SUV wouldn't lose control -- and that none of the other vehicles slithering around in this whirlwind would slam into me. I have a wife and four kids to get home to. She and my two older children are recovering from the flu. There were no rooms available in the hotels by CNN downtown, so I left at about 3 p.m. Tuesday for the 23-mile ride to my house in Marietta, a suburb north of the city. It usually takes half an hour. After nine hours, I was only halfway home. So I stopped, waiting for the traffic to ease. When noon Wednesday came -- 21 hours after my journey began -- it became clear that "home" was more a wish than a realistic goal. I turned around and made my way back to the CNN Center, where I will wait out the rest of this mess. I've never experienced anything like this, anywhere in the world. Stretches of Interstate 75 looked like a vehicle graveyard. People abandoned their cars -- in some cases on the shoulder, but in others right in the middle of the highway. Some couldn't move in the snow and ice. Others ran out of gas. And some drivers just gave up -- at a certain point, when you're that exhausted, staying behind the wheel is too dangerous. Sure, it was boring to be stuck in your car barely moving all that time, but you weren't bored -- because you had to be alert the whole time, for your own safety and that of everyone around you. The snowstorm was a great equalizer. It didn't matter if you had a late model Mustang or a beater van or a Brinks armored car. Your wheels were still spinning fruitlessly on the ice, along with everybody else. Stranded drivers tell their stories . The unexpected voices of commuters talking and walking between cars added to the eeriness. There were also signs of people assisting each other. Good Samaritans helped walkers back up after a fall on the ice. Others helped push cars whose tires squealed with effort to grip the road. On the other hand, there were drivers who wouldn't lift a finger to aid anyone if it meant giving up an inch. At one particularly gridlocked stretch, many people left their cars and walked to a nearby CVS for supplies. You were suddenly in the "in" crowd if you held your plastic shopping bag and its treasures like a designer handbag while trying not to bust your ass on the ice. I found myself looking hungrily at those bags, craving anything to eat. I was exhausted. I had been at work since 6 a.m. I decided to get off at the next exit, Northside Parkway. I thought that was a smart call. But it turned out to be a big mistake. There was even more ice! Here, people were spinning all over the place. I was convinced I would be next. Then, the car next to me couldn't move. Its tires were spinning. So suddenly, a tiny gap opened for me to move. I decided to take that as a sign. I inched my way across the road and into the parking lot of a Taco Bell, which was open overnight. Thankfully, there were still parking spots left. My 2-year-old had played with my wallet a couple of days ago, and now I can't find my ATM card. Coincidence? Perhaps. Anyway, I had exactly $5. So I asked what was the most food I could get for that. They gave me some kind of combo -- a taco, burrito, and quesadilla. And a fruit punch. I had to get some shut-eye. Benefit to having a messy car: Rummaging through the trunk, I found some clothes which I managed to fashion into a pillow. So I headed back to my car, turned on the heat full blast and, when it was warm enough, turned off the car and fell asleep. I woke up when it got too cold and repeated the process a few times through the night. Fortunately, my wife had filled up the car just the day before. That made all the difference. At around 4:30 Wednesday morning, the streets were still filled with stopped cars. And Taco Bell was still filled with people. I walked inside to use the restroom. There were children inside, which broke my heart a bit. One was a toddler. When I walked back outside, I saw a father cradling his infant in the driver's seat. Minutes later, the lights in the parking lot went out and the restaurant closed up, so everyone had to leave. I fantasized that when the sun came up the traffic would be moving. Ha! As the sun rose, the first thing I could see was its reflection -- on a seemingly endless line of stationary cars in the road. A woman in another car near mine told me there was a Caribou Coffee open around the corner. That news came as a relief. It made my day. I spent a chunk of my morning there. Even though the store had just a limited amount of food, the longest line was not for the cashier, but for the bathrooms. I saw an employee enter those bathrooms more than once with a plunger. My thoughts are with everyone who braved the traffic and suffered through the entire night and the morning, and with those who helped them. The stories I'm hearing from my neighborhood are all about abandoned cars and inaccessible roads. So tonight, I will make a different choice-- I will lay my head down on a cot in my office and watch videos of my kids playing in the snow. Atlanta mayor: Early city exodus crippled traffic .

NEW: Stranded CNN journalist retreats, goes back to work . Big-rig trucks and cars are stuck all over roadways in Atlanta . The country's ninth-largest city is essentially shut down after the storm .

Phuket, Thailand (CNN) -- When Southeast Asia was rocked by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2004, Susanne Janson was glued to her television in Stockholm, Sweden. Her two daughters -- 14-year-old Eleonor and 12-year-old Josefin -- were vacationing in Thailand at the time with her ex-husband and his new family, and she hadn't heard any news of their whereabouts because phone lines were unreliable. With such a lack of information, it didn't take long for Janson and her partner, Hans Forssell, to hop on a plane. "I was so sure that when we arrived in Thailand, I would have a (text) message telling me that I could come back home because we missed each other in the air," Janson recalls. "Unfortunately, I didn't have that message." When Janson and Forssell arrived in Khao Lak, the city her daughters were staying in, they learned that it had been one of Thailand's hardest-hit areas. "There was nothing left ... everything had disappeared," Janson said. Eventually, she had to face a tragic reality: that her daughters had perished along with their father and three other members of his family. "When I realized I wouldn't bring them back home alive, I wanted to die," said Janson, 47. Grief-stricken, and with no interest in returning to her advertising career, Janson was lost. But she frequently remembered the support and grace offered to her by the Thai people in their time of mutual crisis. So when she read that a Thai-Swedish couple she'd met were building an orphanage in Phuket for children who'd lost their families in the tsunami, she decided she wanted to help. "I felt a connection with the Thai people," Janson said. "They had suffered so much more than I suffered. Here, you had people that lost children, homes, everything, and they were strong. So I think that affected me, and their kindness to me was such that I wanted to give something back." In March 2005, Janson and Forssell returned to Thailand as volunteers at the orphanage, and in 2006 they made their stay permanent. They sold their Swedish apartment and became the managers of Barnhem Muang Mai, a care home that has helped more than 100 children to date. For the first year, the facility cared for children and families directly affected by the tsunami. But as relatives reconnected after the tragedy, the original beneficiaries moved on and Barnhem's mission evolved. Although Barnhem means "orphanage" in Swedish, Janson says Barnhem is no longer an orphanage in the traditional sense. "It's a home for children and ... families actually in need," she said. "We don't just help children. If we can help a child ... by helping mother or grandmother and keep them together, that's even better than just (helping) the child." All of the children at Barnhem come from dire poverty, and they've often endured abuse, crime or neglect. While most have no one else to care for them, some do. And whenever possible, Janson works to keep families together. Barnhem currently houses 24 children, one mother and one grandmother, providing daily ongoing care. "Love is the first thing they need," she said. "Second (is) food ... but then it's school and education." Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2011 CNN Heroes . Janson and Forssell have learned to speak Thai fairly well, and with the help of their Thai co-manager, nicknamed Wow, they strive to give the children a real home with all of the love, household chores and homework that come with it. "We want to be as close to a family as possible," Janson said. "Of course, we can't do it all the way, as we are a very big family. ... (But) when something is good, we are happy together. If something bad happens, we cry together. That's the most important if you work with children. Not so much head, but a lot of heart." Education is also an important part of the Barnhem home, which is funded by charities, foundations and private individual donations. Janson ensures that a teacher visits after school to tutor youngsters who need extra support. "We can't decide what they should do with their lives," she said. "But by helping them with education, we hope that we can help them have a choice." In June, Barnhem achieved an important milestone. Fame, a teenage boy who's lived at the home since 2006, started college. After he passed his entrance exam, Janson found a Swedish family to sponsor his studies. She is excited about what it means for his future and that of the other children in her care. "We hope we can help the other kids understand that they actually can change their lives," she said. While Janson has made a new life and family for herself in Thailand, her daughters -- whose remains eventually were found in Khao Lak -- are never far from her mind. "I think I feel closer to them here than I do in Sweden. I don't know why," she said. "I think of them every day. ... "My daughters loved their life. And I wanted to show them that I would survive this. And if (I) could help my new children to love their lives, at least one good thing came out of this." Want to get involved? Check out Barnhem Muang Mai's website at www.barnhem.org and see how to help.

Susanne Janson manages a home in Thailand that cares for poor children in need . Janson's two young daughters perished in the 2004 tsunami that ravaged nine Asian countries . Since moving to Thailand, Janson has helped raise more than 100 children . Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2011 CNN Heroes .

Washington (CNN) -- A day after Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer rankled the administration of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with allegations that his office withheld Superstorm Sandy relief funding over her refusal to push through a redevelopment project, Zimmer now says the threat was "a direct message from the governor." "It's stunning. It's outrageous. But it's true," Zimmer told CNN's Candy Crowley in an interview Sunday morning. Later in the day, she released a statement saying that she had met with the U.S. Attorney's Office for several hours at its request and provided the office with her journal and other documents. "As they pursue this investigation, I will provide any requested information and testify under oath about the facts of what happened when the Lieutenant Governor came to Hoboken and told me that Sandy aid would be contingent on moving forward with a private development project," she said. Zimmer appeared on MSNBC on Saturday to level charges that members of Christie's administration pressured her to approve a redevelopment project sought by The Rockefeller Group, a real estate developer with ties to the governor's office. Zimmer said Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno made the threat on behalf of Christie at a May 13 event they both attended in Hoboken. Later recording the conversation in a journal entry she shared with CNN, Zimmer recalled the lieutenant governor warned her she had "to move forward with the Rockefeller project" and labeled the demand "a direct message from the governor." "She came and made a direct threat to me," Zimmer said of her conversation with Guadagno. In light of Zimmer's new claims, a spokesman for the Governor's office, Colin Reed, stuck by his initial dismissal of the MSNBC report Saturday, saying the mayor's allegations are nothing more than "partisan politics." "Mayor Zimmer's categorization about her conversation in Hoboken is categorically false," Reed told CNN. The Hoboken mayor refuted that characterization. "I haven't been a part of the Democratic machine," Zimmer said, citing her frequent praise of Christie and what she describes as a solid working relationship between the two executives. "I did have a really good relationship (with the governor), so I couldn't believe they were doing this." "This is wrong. This is not fair to Hoboken," Zimmer added. Of her conversation with Guadagno, Zimmer told Crowley she sensed the lieutenant governor felt remorseful for relaying the message that no funds would be given to the city until The Rockefeller Group's project was approved. "She felt almost guilty about saying it," Zimmer said. "She knows it's wrong," Steadfastly clinging to her account, Zimmer predicted that if the matter ultimately gets folded into the ongoing investigation of the George Washington Bridge controversy, Guadagno would confirm her story. "If she's asked to testify under oath, I think we're going to see the truth come out because I will she be truthful under oath," Zimmer said. Zimmer's claims center around a property owned by The Rockefeller Group, which had its plan for "redevelopment" of a three-block area of Hoboken rejected by the city's planning board. Instead, the panel voted to classify the area owned by the company as available for "rehabilitation." The "redevelopment" tax incentives offered a much more lucrative deal for the development company. In an e-mail to Zimmer, Lori Grifa, counsel for The Rockefeller Group, lobbied on behalf of the company, asking to speak directly with the mayor regarding the property. Grifa was previously commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for the Christie administration. Asked by Crowley on Sunday why she had not come forward sooner, Zimmer said she was afraid her story -- accusing an overwhelmingly popular governor of the same kind of political corruption he once targeted as a U.S. attorney -- would have been ignored. In a June Quinnipiac University poll, New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved of Christie's job performance, 69% to 27%. He won re-election in November by a crushing margin over Democratic challenger Barbara Buono. "I didn't think anyone would believe me," Zimmer said Sunday. "I probably should have come forward sooner, but I really didn't think anyone would believe me." Zimmer was unequivocal in her allegations the Christie administration continues to hold relief funds hostage until she approves the redevelopment project. Hoboken was one of the cities hit hardest by the 2012 hurricane, which ravaged the eastern seaboard, destroying an estimated $100 million worth of property. In its response to Zimmer's charges, Christie's office pointed to nearly $70 million in federal aid that was approved to help Hoboken in its recovery from the still-visible impact of Superstorm Sandy and said more funds are set to be earmarked for the city once the White House approves the next round of funding for the state. Zimmer described this claim as a half-truth, telling Crowley that the $70 million Trenton says the city received is from the federal flood insurance program, not from the pool of cash Congress approved specifically to help New Jersey recover from the storm. Christie took some members of his own party to task when they threatened to deny the state the funds in the name of fiscal responsibility. The Hoboken mayor said the governor's response, thus far, to her claims has danced around the central issue at stake. "They did not respond to the No. 1 question: Are they linking Hoboken funding to the Rockefeller project?" Zimmer said. "The fact is, they are." CNN's Shimon Prokupecz contributed to this report.

Hoboken mayor says threat delivered by lieutenant governor came from Christie . She meets with the U.S. Attorney's Office at its request . Christie team denies funds were held hostage for backing of redevelopment project .

(CNN) -- A nonprofit group founder became the third person to accuse San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of sexual harassment, telling CNN Wednesday that he tried to kiss her at least four times during a business meeting at a restaurant when he was a congressman. Filner couldn't be immediately reached for comment. He has recently responded to other accusations of sexual harassment in recent weeks by asserting he will eventually be vindicated, but he acknowledged he needs "help" and has been "clearly doing something wrong." Morgan Rose met with Filner in April 2009 at a Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery across the street from Filner's congressional office in Chula Vista, California, she told CNN. Rose was lobbying the congressman about her organization, America's Angel Campaign, a group devoted to working with domestic violence in military and other families, she said. Why we act on stupid impulses . Filner allegedly looked her up and down, stared into her eyes and said, "Your eyes have bewitched me," Rose said. Filner allegedly then made a remark along the lines of, according to Rose's paraphrasing, "You'll have to excuse me for what's about to happen. It's your fault," Rose said. Filner then moved to her side of the booth, sat beside her, pinned her to the wall, and put his arm around her, Rose alleged. Rose avoided the advances, and Filner was suddenly interrupted by his ringing cell phone, Rose charged. Filner got up from the booth, gathered his materials and left the restaurant, Rose said. Rose spoke of the incident to her closest friends and didn't pursue the matter because she feared her nonprofit might somehow suffer, she told CNN. But when Rose heard of similar accusations against Filner in recent weeks, she called a victim's hotline at the sheriff's department and spoke with a captain. A spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department couldn't comment on any victim's call to the hotline, which the agency set up on Friday in the wake of the accusations against the mayor. Spokeswoman Jan Caldwell did acknowledge that investigators have received calls into the tip line. Rose is now working as a San Diego school psychologist, she said. She is also still executive director of the nonprofit. On Tuesday, political consultant Laura Fink accused Filner of patting her "posterior" while at a fund-raising event in 2005 when she working as the deputy manager of Filner's congressional campaign. On Wednesday, Fink told CNN that Filner should resign. The alleged sexual harassment occurred during a fund-raising dinner, and Fink guided Filner from table to table. One guest told Filner that Fink "had worked her tokus off," Fink said. "The congressman told me to turn around and patted me on the bum and said, 'Nope, it's still there' and laughed," Fink told CNN. Fink wrote to Filner's chief of staff and demanded that Filner apologize, she said. Filner responded, and "he mumbled an apology" and added something "I just did not understand," Fink said. Fink said she didn't go public with the incident at the time because she was trying to build her political career. But she said she now feels emboldened to tell her story after Filner's former spokeswoman, Irene McCormack Jackson, sued him for sexual harassment Monday. Jackson said Filner subjected her and other women to "crude and disgusting" comments and inappropriate touching. She said she resigned as Filner's communications director in June after deciding the mayor would not change his behavior. Filner has been battling allegations of sexual harassment for several weeks, but none of the women leveling those claims came forward before Jackson filed her suit in state court. Her lawyer, Gloria Allred, called on Filner to resign, telling reporters, "Apologies alone will not take care of this injustice." In a statement issued Monday evening, Filner said he was "saddened" by the accusations, but "I remain committed to the people of San Diego and the work that needs to be done." "Once due process is allowed to unfold, I am certain there will be a better understanding of this situation," he said, adding, "I humbly ask that through this vicious storm of controversy, people take a moment and temper their rush to judgment." Filner said last week that he believes he will be vindicated by "a full presentation of the facts." But he has also acknowledged, "I need help," and added, "I'm clearly doing something wrong." "I am embarrassed to admit that I have failed to fully respect the women who work for me and with me, and that at times I have intimidated them," Filner said in a statement earlier this month. "It's a good thing that behavior that would have been tolerated in the past is being called out in this generation for what it is: inappropriate and wrong." Filner, 70, served five terms in Congress before being elected mayor in 2012. He has said he will not resign. Jackson said she decided to resign after Filner's deputy chief of staff resigned in June. Filner "refused to listen to someone he had known for 35 years, and who told him explicitly, during a senior staff meeting, that his behavior with women was terrible and possibly illegal." Filner "laughed it off," she said. She said Filner challenged her to provide one example of improper behavior; when she brought up his comments about wearing underwear, "he had no comeback," she said. Read more: Has the road to political redemption gotten shorter? CNN's Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

A woman accuses San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of trying to kiss her four times . The incident occurred in a restaurant in 2009 when Filner was a congressman . At the time, Morgan Rose was running a nonprofit working with domestic violence . Filner couldn't be immediately reached for comment .

(CNN) -- Australian researchers released an audio recording Wednesday of an underwater sound that they say could possibly be related to the final moments of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. It's a long shot, but researchers at Curtin University near Perth, Australia, have been studying records from underwater listening devices, including those meant to monitor for signs of underwater nuclear explosions, in an effort to help find the missing plane. "One signal has been detected on several receivers that could be related to the crash," said Alec Duncan with the university's Centre for Marine Science and Technology (CMST). Researchers have been analyzing the very low frequency sound for weeks to see if it was "the impact of the aircraft on the water or the implosion of parts of the aircraft as it sank," Duncan said. "But (the source of the noise) is just as likely to be a natural event." Low frequency signals can travel thousands of miles through water under favorable circumstances, at about 1 mile per second, Duncan said. But "at the moment (the sound) appears to be inconsistent with other data about the aircraft position," he said. That's because researchers at Curtin University believe the sound came from an area thousands of miles to the northwest of the current search area in the southern Indian Ocean. And even then, they haven't been able to pinpoint the source. Duncan says his team has calculated an "uncertainty box" for the signal's origin. It's area that stretches some 2,485 miles in length from southeast to northwest across the Indian Ocean, and spans some 124 to 186 miles in width at its widest point. The center of the long, narrow box is south of the tip of India, as shown in a map released Wednesday. The university on Wednesday released an audio clip captured by one of the listening devices, off of Perth. Duncan says his team has sped up the recording 10 times to make it audible to the human ear. It also shared charts of acoustic signal plots showing what various devices detected. Searching in the right place? The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight continues to focus along an arc hundreds of kilometers long, the area where investigators believe the Boeing 777 ran out of fuel, about 1,000 miles off the coast of Western Australia. Martin Dolan, the chief commissioner with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), the organization leading the search into MH370 at the request of Malaysia, says an international team of experts continues to review the analysis of Inmarsat satellite data and aircraft performance. In a television exclusive, Dolan told CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" he remains confident the final resting place of MH370 is somewhere along that arc, the so-called "partial handshake" with the satellite: . "We've seen all the data. We've seen all the calculations. We are reviewing the calculations and are also developing our own model to cross check and verify that information," Dolan told Burnett. When asked last week about the underwater sound being analyzed by the team at Curtin University, along with Geoscience Australia, a government agency, Dolan was skeptical. "We think that those detections may have been interesting from the point of view of the direction they came, but other characteristics make it unlikely that they are associated with MH370," he said. The ATSB first referenced these signals in a document posted on its website on May 26. Listening below the surface . As was the case with the Inmarsat satellite -- a communications satellite whose data was analyzed by Malaysia Airlines MH370 investigators as a navigational aide -- the analysis of the underwater signals involves the use of technology for a different purpose than its original intent. One of the devices, operated by Curtin University and located some 12 miles off Perth, is designed to listen to whales and other marine life. The other is for signs of underwater nuclear explosions, one of 11 operated worldwide by the U.N.-chartered Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) as part of the International Monitoring System. Early in the search for Malaysia Flight 370, the United Nations reported it had not detected any explosions or plane crashes on land or water from its sensors around the globe. But the recent efforts involve pairing CTBTO data with other sources to see what can be gleaned, officials said. "One can always be hopeful," said Mark Prior, a seismic acoustic analyst with the CTBTO. The CTBTO's hydro-acoustic stations detect low frequency sound in the 0-100 Hz range, and can't detect black box "pings" in the 30-40 kHz range, officials said. "It's possible (to detect a plane crash), but the circumstances that would allow it would have to be very particular," said Prior. Prior said some of those circumstances might include a sloping sea bed. Another possible scenario: the origin of the sound would need to be near the listening device. The CTBTO's system near Cape Leeuwin, the southwestern-most point of Australia, regularly captures signals of ice breaking noise from Antarctica and seismic activity from Indonesia, he said. "There are other scenarios that would allow (the hydrophones to detect a crash). But it's not certain if there was an impact we would detect it," Prior said. Attempts were made following the 2009 crash of Air France 447 in the southern Atlantic Ocean to see if underwater listening devices had detected the plane's impact. No data could be found. Years later, after the plane was located, CTBTO again checked its data, and still was not able to identify signals related to the crash.

An Australian university releases an audio clip and other information . Researchers have studied records from underwater listening devices . A sound that was picked up is not near the current search area for MH370 . The academics say it could be related to the missing plane, or just a natural event .

(CNN) -- America is heading toward an energy cliff in the next 20 years, and the impacts could be much worse than those of the recent recession. Simply put, we cannot keep out of economic downturn without a readily available supply of clean and abundant energy -- from sources that are affordable, scalable to meet long-term demand and that do not compound the problem of global climate change. CNN Films' documentary "Pandora's Promise" correctly suggests that nuclear power is the safest, most stable and most secure option for achieving that goal. The U.S. nuclear fleet is robust, but even with license extensions, plants soon will reach the end of their design life. And an aging fleet of coal-fired power plants has numerous challenges with environmental compliance. Combined, these two sources represent approximately 60% of this nation's electricity supply. The U.S. Department of Energy forecasts that somewhere between 35 to 60 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants, or one-fifth of the U.S. energy supply, will be shut down by 2018 because of today's lower gas prices and rigorous enforcement of clean air standards. Electricity use at the same time is expected to grow by nearly 30% through the year 2040. Energy-efficient products have helped to reduce consumption, but they have been outpaced by new demand from other energy-consuming lifestyle choices. As "Pandora's" director Robert Stone rightly points out about the weakness of renewables, carbon sources of generation are needed to supply the intermittent electricity capacity when the sun isn't shining or when the wind isn't blowing. Nuclear power has been proven to be the safest form of energy since the first reactor went online in the U.S. more than 50 years ago. What's more, the new plants being built today by Westinghouse feature advanced technology and design that take safety to new levels and are being built around the world. For more than 35 years, the nuclear industry has provided over 20% of the electricity that powers the U.S. economy, creating jobs and fueling economic growth. Many thought the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island would mean the end of the nuclear industry. In fact, the industry, with the oversight of government regulators, learned a great deal from that event and over the next decade reinvented itself. In the years that followed, the U.S. nuclear fleet and its suppliers developed, embraced and set the highest standards of nuclear plant safety in the world. Improvements in technology, design, plant maintenance, and operations enabled the nuclear industry to do more than survive -- it actually grew. Existing nuclear plants improved safety and were uprated, adding the equivalent of many new reactors without actually building a new one. Today the U.S. nuclear industry consists of about 200,000 highly trained employees and is the world's leading exporter of advanced nuclear technology. While the building of new nuclear power reactors in the U.S. was slowed, the world increased its nuclear fleet to more than 430 reactors. Even today more than 70 new reactors are in some phase of project development and construction globally. In 2010, two forward-thinking utilities in the southeastern U.S. made an investment in the future to protect stable pricing and hedge against pending environmental regulations that penalize carbon emissions. They committed to building four new Westinghouse advanced-generation nuclear power plants -- the first in the U.S. in 30 years. The utilities understood that a balanced fuel portfolio creates stability, predictable costs, and hedges price and supply volatility in the natural gas market. For most of the last three decades, nuclear generating costs have been lower than those for natural gas or coal. Today we are realizing the benefits of low-priced natural gas, but history tells us that over time and increased use, price volatility will return. It is important to remember that large-scale energy infrastructure investments typically have a life span of 60 years or more. Investors trade off between higher construction costs and the long-term price and supply security of nuclear versus a lower construction cost and high exposure to long-term supply and price volatility. In my lifetime, I have been assured at least twice of a new 100-year supply of natural gas, only to have those hopes dashed as increasing demand repeatedly burst the natural gas bubble. In the U.S., concern over high natural gas prices, global natural gas shortages and potential carbon taxes gave rise to the so-called "nuclear renaissance" of just a few short years ago. But the financial crisis and economic downturn that followed reduced the number of planned new nuclear plants from 25 to just five that actually started construction. Related story: "Nuclear renaissance" Others have extended planned starts due to economic conditions. In addition to the eight new units Westinghouse currently has under construction around the world, we have another 30 units that will begin construction within the next 10 years. Our new advanced nuclear power capacity will help fuel global industrialization without long-term environmental impacts. And these new plants are designed with features that can withstand the kind of natural disaster that happened in Japan. One thing is certain -- we need the power that these new nuclear plants can provide in order to meet the expected shortfall that will occur in the years ahead. The industry and government policymakers alike recognize that nuclear energy must be part of any national energy policy and is the most certain environmental solution to keep us from going off the energy cliff without taking away our clean air. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Danny Roderick.

Coming "energy cliff" could be worse than recession, says Westinghouse's Danny Roderick . U.S. estimates coal plants that produce 20% of the nation's energy supply will close by 2018 . Meanwhile electricity use will grow by nearly 30% by 2040, author says . Nuclear power is the best solution, without taking away our clean air, says Roderick .

New York (CNN) -- As the Occupy Wall Street movement grew and touched even more U.S. cities Saturday, the mayor of the city where it began blasted many involved and claimed they were targeting the nation's financial sector and "trying to destroy the jobs of working people" in New York City. The protest effort continued into its 22nd day in New York on Saturday. Yet its spread well beyond that city, with its anti-corporation, anti-government message echoing in many places this weekend -- from Cleveland to Las Vegas, from Washington to Prescott, Arizona. Open Story: See iReports from the protests. Yet this growing fervor has been met, in some cases, by vocal commentary. That includes New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who in a WOR radio appearance Friday said that city's labor unions -- many of whom swelled demonstrator ranks earlier this week -- depend on salaries that "come from the taxes paid by the people they're trying to vilify." The mayor did describe the city's unemployment rate as "unacceptably high," and acknowledged that "a lot of people are disaffected." "Some are legit, some aren't," Bloomberg said, describing the concerns of the demonstrators in Lower Manhattan. His comments coincided with the city's announcement that 700 education workers will be laid off in an effort to close a budget gap. They also follow recently released census data that shows New York's poverty level has increased to 20.1%, the highest in more than a decade. The remarks drew criticism from Tyler Combelic, a spokesman for Occupy Wall Street, who claimed Bloomberg "hasn't really represented all of New Yorkers." "The fact is there are thousands and thousands of us out on the streets, and he's not really recognizing that we're a movement," Combelic told CNN on Saturday. "We should be heard by New York politicians." On Saturday, New York protesters set up a second base at Washington Square Park. The park in Greenwich Village is about two miles north of Zuccotti Park, a private park that's been considered the main rallying point for the largely leaderless movement in the city. A rally was held in Washington Square, followed by a now-customary people's assembly to discuss the movement and an art show Saturday evening. Demonstrators won't stay overnight at Washington Square Park, unlike Zuccotti, because it is a municipal park with a midnight curfew. As of 9 p.m., the New York Police Department did not report any related arrests. The ambiguously defined movement against corporate greed and other social ills has spread to more than a dozen cities, spurred lately by support from unions and other groups. "Social and economic inequalities are the tipping point, and people are hungry for getting involved and trying to do something to change it," Jim Nichols, who has been involved in Occupy Atlanta protests, told CNN on Saturday. "It's almost like, I want the American dream back." Even before Bloomberg's comments Saturday, the effort was stirring a growing number of strong reactions from public figures. President Barack Obama, even as he defended the need for a vibrant financial sector, acknowledged that the protesters "are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works." The No. 2 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, Eric Cantor, meanwhile, slammed what he called the "growing mobs" who he claimed were "pitting ... Americans against Americans." On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel backed the demonstrators -- whom he has been visiting regularly over the past three weeks -- for venting their frustrations and exercising their constitutional rights. "Their dreams are being shattered," Rangel told CNN's Don Lemon. "They may be an inconvenience to a whole lot of people in that area, but people are going to sleep at night with an economic nightmare." The New York Democrat urged "more spiritual leaders" to join a movement he claimed championed the poor and disadvantaged, saying "there's no moral reason why they have to wait for something to catch on." He also dismissed criticism that the demonstrators don't have a coherent purpose, saying despite their varied issues and lack of organization, their sentiments are raw and real. "They don't have to know what the solution is," he said. "There's one thing they know is (there's) something wrong when so many people are out of work, and we find the disparity with the very rich. ... Something is wrong." Combelic, the New York spokesman, said the movement chiefly is trying to showcase "active democracy and (show that) everyone has a voice in government." He said the protests -- which have been associated with progressive causes -- are "a rebuke of government, that includes the left and the right." "We're trying to broaden the discussion base. ... We're trying to represent 99% of the country that's felt disenfranchised over the past five years because of the recession," Combelic said. "(Politicians) have not come together, they've not compromised on anything, and there's a reason why there's (low) congressional approval in this country." The demonstrations have been largely peaceful. But in New York, some have been marred by scuffles with police. Last Saturday, police made hundreds of arrests as demonstrators marched without a permit toward the Brooklyn Bridge, blocking city traffic for hours. A week earlier, authorities detained dozens of protesters as they marched, also without a permit, through Manhattan's financial district toward Union Square. CNN's Susan Candiotti and Ross Levitt contributed to this report.

NEW: The NYPD reports no protest-related arrests on Saturday . New York's mayor says some protester concerns "are legit, some aren't" Bloomberg says protests that target banks are also targeting critical tax revenue . A protest spokesman says Bloomberg "hasn't represented all of New Yorkers"

CNN -- When Maria Rubeo closed her arm, she felt something "very big -- like a lemon." Although Hispanic women have a lower incidence rate for breast cancer, they often get the diagnosis at later stages. Her doctor said the lump in her breast was nothing, so Rubeo, who didn't have health insurance, didn't seek a second opinion. With two jobs and two kids, she was busy and didn't go to the doctor's office for another year. During her next visit, with a different doctor, Rubeo learned she had breast cancer -- and the tumor had been there for a while. Her story may not be particularly rare. Research suggests that breast cancer may be harder to treat in Hispanic women because they wait longer to receive care. Women in the fastest-growing minority group in the United States face issues such as language and cultural barriers, lifestyle choices and lack of insurance that could affect their health and medical care, according to research released Wednesday at the Science of Cancer Health Disparities Conference. Like Rubeo, about half of women in a study of 230 Mexican-American breast cancer patients in Arizona and Texas noticed changes in their breasts, but waited more than a month to seek medical attention, according to research presented at the conference hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research. "We asked what the reasons were," said Rachel Zenuk, a graduate student at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, who spoke about the study. "A third cited they didn't have insurance or were unable to afford medical care. Or they thought it was not important to report the medical finding to a professional." Other factors included fear of the results and difficulty scheduling an appointment, she said. More than a decade after her mastectomy, Rubeo urges Hispanic women in the San Francisco, California, Bay area not to wait after seeing changes in their breasts. "I explain: Take time for you to see the doctor," she said. "[Some women] don't have insurance, don't speak English, it's very difficult." Hispanics are the largest U.S. minority group, constituting 14 percent of the nation's total population. While Hispanic women have a lower incidence rate for breast cancer than whites, blacks and Asians, they have a less favorable prognosis because of delayed treatment. "They're not getting more breast cancer than other women, but they're less likely to survive as long," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, a member of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's National Health Advisory Council and chairwoman of the Komen Foundation National Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council. "The reason is they're diagnosed at a later stage of the cancer." "We're seeing them at later stages, so the cancer is more advanced. Their five-year survival rates are lower than non-Hispanic whites," Ramirez said. Data also showed that about two-thirds of breast cancer cases in the 230 Mexican-American women were found through self-detection, which suggests that the women were not receiving routine mammogram or exams. Rubeo said that when she first noticed the lump, she "had no time for me to take care of myself. Only work, work, running, no time to eat. Sometimes you forget yourself, so there's time for everybody and not enough for yourself." At the Latina Breast Cancer Agency in San Francisco, she tells other women how she didn't take care of herself while working two jobs, 16 hours a day. "I explain to the ladies my experience. Sometimes they cry and say it's true," Rubeo said. She now runs support groups for breast cancer patients, talking about health screenings, accompanying women to the hospital and helping them with paperwork. Aside from the pressures of being a busy, working mother, there are language and cultural barriers for Latina women. "For women we work with, our focus is breast health," said Olivia Fé, founder and executive director of the Latina Breast Cancer Agency. "Within Latino culture, within family, the husband doesn't want the wife to see a male doctor. ... That is a big deal." The group partnered with public hospitals in San Francisco and San Mateo counties and made sure the medical staff who work with Hispanic breast cancer patients are female and speak Spanish. Hispanic women don't take advantage of the free breast health screenings, because there's a lack of awareness, Fé said. Many women speak only Spanish, so prevention messages in English don't get through. Research showed that the women with more education and exposure to English-language media, such as television and radio, were more likely to have had a mammogram. Ramirez said there are now public service announcements in Spanish that target Hispanic women of all ages, so the younger ones will know the importance of family history and the older ones will become informed about the importance of mammograms. The Komen Foundation funds local efforts to increase enrollment of Hispanic women in clinical trials, provide medical interpretive and transportation services, and have Spanish peer support for 24-hour breast cancer hotlines. Lifestyle choices have an important role in breast cancer development, said Esther John, a research scientist and epidemiologist at the Northern California Cancer Center. One study that examined 2,533 Hispanic women found that the women born in foreign countries had 50 percent less risk of developing breast cancer than women born in the United States. This San Francisco Bay Area Breast Cancer Study compared the known breast cancer risks such as obesity, use of hormones, alcohol consumption, fat intake and lack of physical activity between the two groups and found women born in the United States had greater risk. "The pattern suggests that when Hispanic women move to the U.S., there are important changes from the traditional lifestyle to the Americanized lifestyle," John said. "There are lifestyle factors that increase risks of breast cancer."

Hispanic women learn of breast cancer at later stages, research shows . Language, cultural barriers and lack of insurance may impede medical care . Other factors include fear of results and difficulty scheduling an appointment .

(CNN) -- High in the hills between Ramallah and Nablus in the West Bank sits a huge construction site its developers hope will transform the lives of Palestinians for generations to come. Rawabi is the first planned city of its kind and is not short on ambition. The renderings for the $1 billion development show many shiny amenities that might seem out of place in an area that has a per capita income of $1,610. The vision for the project that began construction in January 2010 includes homes for 40,000 residents, a park, a 20,000-seat amphitheater, a convention center and a theater. Bashar Masri, the Nablus-born, American-educated entrepreneur behind the project, is going well beyond the traditional call of duty for a private developer. He is negotiating with international companies to ensure there are jobs ready for the city's inhabitants, and is even building the waste water treatment plants, the water reservoirs and three public schools. "We were shocked when we realized we'd have to build the schools," he says. "That is something I didn't plan for. We appealed to the Palestinian government to come in and assist us with at least that, but unfortunately, they're broke and have other priorities." Read more: Demand for British butlers in the Middle East . Masri's investment is both emotional and financial. For him, Rawabi is not just a housing development but an economic lifeline for the people in the Palestinian territory. The project, which employs 5,000 Palestinians, is already the West Bank's single biggest private sector employer. When the first tenants move in, ideally in January, he hopes the city will provide a further 1,500 jobs. "If you created 10 projects like this, you'd create a huge difference in the Palestinian economy," he says. The project is also his grassroots attempt at nation-building. A strong Palestinian economy, he argues, could one day be the answer to a fully independent Palestine. According to Mark Regev, the spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the project has support on both sides of the green line. "It's not a zero-sum game," he says. "If the Palestinians have a better economy and a healthier political system, and life is better for Palestine, then life is better for us as well. It's crucial that you augment the peace process with tangible economic steps, and Rawabi is definitely a tangible step that we support." While Masri acknowledges that Rawabi does not represent the answer to all the problems facing a peace settlement, saying he "didn't design it thinking Israel and Palestine would kiss and be happy," he does harbor hopes that economic development will play a favorable role. "In signing a peace agreement, there are concessions to be made, and if people are happy with their lives, they will be more supportive of making those concessions and getting their leaders to sign the dotted line," he says. Read more: Tiny museum more "liked" than the Louvre . However, some experts are less optimistic. "Even if it got constructed and filled to capacity and became a thriving city, it will not change the underlying geo-political realities where Palestine is divided between two different governments, or address the settlements, which remain the biggest hurdle," says Kamran Bokhari, the vice president of Middle Eastern and South Asian affairs for Stratfor, a global intelligence company. Bokhari also questions whether the Palestinian economy is strong enough to fill the units, the first 700 of which went on sale last month. Though more affordable than other West Bank properties, at $60,000 to $170,000, their price tag is aimed at the middle class. "The Palestinian economy is in shambles. It does not have too many indigenous sources of revenue," Bokhari says. Masri, however, says he's already sold 90% of the listed units. "We're selling units as fast as we can process them right now, which is a great problem to have." Read more: Stunning photos of Dubai from above the clouds . One feature that makes the apartments both popular and difficult to process is the financing options available. The West Bank doesn't have a traditional mortgage system in place; often, accommodation is paid for up front, in cash. In 2010, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the International Finance Corporation set up a $500 million mortgage fund that has revolutionized the Palestinian property market. "I'd say 99% of buyers at Rawabi wouldn't be able to afford it without financing," says Masri. "It's a process you're used to in the U.S., but it's new to us, and takes four to five hours to go through an application." However there remains the worry that buying -- let alone developing -- a property in the West Bank is a risky investment. "Let's say some sort of strike begins in the West Bank, or there's spillover from Syria and Israeli authorities have to crack down. This kind of project will obviously be vulnerable," says Bokhari. "The people funding this project will hit the brakes." Masri acknowledges that Rawabi would be in trouble under such an occurrence, though it is not something that seems to cause him much distress. "A little downtrend in politics will hurt Rawabi, but never destroy Rawabi," he says. "It may delay it another year, or two, or five, but it will never kill the idea."

Rawabi is the largest privately-funded development project in Palestinian history . The finished project will include homes for 40,000 residents, a convention center and three schools . Its construction provides 5,000 jobs, and there are hopes it will provide more after tenants move in . The project could lift the economy, but some say it won't change the region's geo-political instability .

Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- Anders Behring Breivik, who admits killing 77 people in Norway last summer, was trying to kill the prime minister and other government ministers by bombing a building in Oslo, he testified Thursday. The blast killed eight people, but Breivik said he considered it a failure because the building did not collapse. Breivik is on trial on charges of voluntary homicide and committing acts of terror in the July 22 attacks. He admits carrying out the Oslo bombing and then shooting 69 people dead on nearby Utoya Island. He boasts of being an ultranationalist who killed his victims to fight multiculturalism in Norway. He decided to carry out a gun attack on a Labour Party youth camp on the island of Utoya after his initial plan to target a journalists' conference did not work out, he said. He also hoped to kill former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland and decapitate her with a knife or bayonet, he said. He planned to film the murder on his iPhone and upload the video to the Internet, he said. He concentrated on killing people over the age of 18 on the island, he said, because he thought the killings of younger people would be harshly criticized. Many of the victims were younger than 18, but he said he did not regret what he did. "I would do it again," he said. His attorney, Geir Lippestad, warned in a news conference after the session that Friday -- when testimony will focus on how Breivik carried out the killings on Utoya -- "is going to be the toughest day." There was utter silence in the court Thursday as Breivik testified, marked only by the sound of crying from some members of the public. He used the video game "Modern Warfare 2" as training for his shooting spree, he testified. Players of the game, one of the "Call of Duty" series, work together as soldiers to shoot opponents. Breivik also went through a period of playing the online fantasy game "World of Warcraft" up to 16 hours a day, he testified. He initially planned to carry out three bomb attacks followed by a "gun-based action," he told the court, but eventually was only able to make enough explosives for one car bomb. Asked about his intended bombing targets, Breivik said: "The first two were clear: the government quarter and the Labour Party headquarters. The third, I was not sure." He said he at first had reservations about hitting the Labour Party headquarters because of the civilians and innocent people in offices around the building. "But then I thought: There are not many better targets in Norway," he said. Breivik said he had also considered bombing the Royal Palace -- but without harming the royal family -- City Hall and Aftenposten, a national newspaper. Breivik joked about the psychiatrists who have labeled him insane and shrugged off a question about how he thinks victims' relatives feel when they see him smile in court. "I think they react in a natural way," he said. As the hearing concluded, prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh asked Breivik: "How is your empathy?" Breivik did not answer but asked to have the question put to him again Friday, saying it was important. Lippestad is also expected to tell the court Friday about what were the sources for Breivik's information. His client did not raise his fist in salute when he entered the court Thursday, respecting a request from the families of his victims. The relatives were upset that he had been making the gesture each morning, Lippestad said Wednesday. Breivik said in court Wednesday that he should either get the death penalty or be acquitted, ridiculing the idea that he would be sent to prison or a mental hospital for his actions. Norway does not have the death penalty. The trial is expected to last up to 10 weeks. Breivik boasted Tuesday that he had carried out "the most sophisticated and spectacular political attack in Europe since World War II" when he went on his gun-and-bomb rampage. He planned his killings as a suicide attack, he said. "I didn't expect to survive that day," he said Tuesday. Breivik testified Tuesday and Wednesday after declaring Monday that he had carried out the massacre but was not guilty because the killings had been necessary. Lippestad said it was important to his client that people see him as sane. "He thinks that it won't have any effect if he is considered insane," Lippestad said. Experts have given different opinions about Breivik's sanity, which will be a factor in determining what punishment he receives if convicted. Sentencing options could include imprisonment or confining him to a mental facility. His testimony is not being broadcast due to a court ruling. Most of the victims' relatives did not want Breivik's remarks televised, and presiding Judge Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen rejected Breivik's claim that airing it was a human right. Court papers indicated the five judges hearing the case did not want the trial to become a platform for Breivik to air his political views, or for them to distract from the legal issues involved. Breivik has said his rampage was meant to save Norway from being taken over by multicultural forces and to prevent ethnic cleansing of Norwegians. In a 1,500-page manifesto attributed to him, Breivik railed against Muslim immigration and European liberalism -- including the ruling Labour Party, which he said was allowing the "Islamification of Europe." Journalist Olav Mellingsaeter contributed to this report.

NEW: Lawyer: Testimony about the killings of dozens of teenagers "will be toughest day" Anders Behring Breivik says he also wanted to decapitate an ex-prime minister . He considers bombing that killed eight a failure because the targeted building did not fall . He admits killing 77 people in a gun-and-bomb rampage, calling it "necessary"

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Fireworks, athletes and pageantry on a scale never before seen in the Olympics opened the Summer Games in Beijing on Friday as the Asian nation kicked off the biggest and most scrutinized Games in history. Fans celebrate the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, on Friday. Chinese President Hu Jintao declared the Olympics officially open, retired Chinese gymnastics champion Li Ning was carried through the air to light the Olympic cauldron, and pyrotechnics exploded throughout Beijing as the crowd of 91,000 at National Stadium cheered wildly. It was a stunning display from the nation of 1.3 billion people. Some media observers believe that the Opening Ceremony may be the most-watched television event in history. IOC President Jacques Rogge spoke of China's long-held ambition to host the Olympics. "Tonight, that dream comes true," he said. Rogge mentioned the Sichuan earthquake, saying the world was moved "by the great courage and solidarity of the Chinese people." Emotion was high, as Friday's Opening Ceremony not only officially started the Summer Games but was a symbolic expression of a nation seeking its place as a global superpower. Watch the excitement in Beijing as the ceremony begins » . The ceremony began at 8 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET) on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008 -- in a country where eight is the luckiest number. The opening was an artistic mix of performance and light depicting China's 5,000 years of history. Fireworks shot off across the Chinese capital as thousands of drummers, acrobats, martial artists and dancers performed under a light display at the National Stadium. Children representing each of the 56 ethnic groups in China marched out into the stadium, called the "Bird's Nest" because of its notable appearance. Dancers merged with objects that depicted China's ancient Silk Road, its Great Wall and ancient imperial past. Acrobats swirled around a giant sphere, depicting China's ambitions in space. Watch why the Olympics mean so much for the Chinese » . Delegations from Afghanistan, Taiwan, North Korea and the United States were welcomed by huge cheers. But the loudest roars were saved for the Chinese participants. Waves of emotion greeted China's delegation as it entered National Stadium, led by flag bearer and basketball superstar Yao Ming. U.S. President Bush was joined by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and more than 100 heads of state, heads of government and sovereigns expected to attend, the International Olympic Committee said. The joy in Beijing was countered by grave news in Europe. As the Opening Ceremony was under way, Georgia's president said that his country was under attack by Russian tanks and warplanes. While in Beijing, Bush and Putin met to discuss the conflict. Earlier Friday, the anticipation over the Beijing Olympics was unmistakable in China's capital city. Thousands were on hand early at Beijing's Tiananmen Square to witness the traditional flag-raising ceremony by soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Blog: Anticipation was at fever pitch . This version of the Olympics brings with it controversy, discord that began in 2001 when the 2008 Games were awarded to Beijing. Criticism over China's policies on human rights for its citizens, its policies in Tibet and the persistent pollution across the country have been the focus of much international scrutiny and media attention. Watch protests in Germany over China's Tibet policies » . For some world leaders, the decision to attend was a tough call. French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to boycott the Games because of human rights abuses in Tibet but later changed his mind. "It's inevitable that people from different countries may not see eye to eye," Hu said recently, "so we should try to expand our common ground on the basis of mutual respect." Political leaders do not attend Olympic opening ceremonies as a matter of protocol -- Bush is the first American president to attend them outside the United States -- but China seemed determined to have as many there as possible. "They want those leaders to confirm the fact that China has returned to great power, prominence in the world," said David Zweig, a political analyst at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. "They really want to say to the people of China that we, the Communist party of China, have done a great job." Watch why China has invested so much in the Olympics » . As for the Games, an estimated 10,000 athletes from 205 countries will compete in 28 events for about 300 gold medals. The first medals will be awarded Saturday, and China hoped to claim the first gold of the Games. See a timeline of moments to watch for » . The Olympics will offer plenty of drama. China has put a priority on finishing first in the overall medal standings. Government officials have said they expect nothing less than a repeat gold medal from 110-meter hurdler Liu Xiang. Watch how pressure is building for the athletes » . On Sunday, swimming competition begins, along with U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps' quest to win eight gold medals, more than any individual in a single Games. Even if he fails, Phelps could become the all-time leader in gold medals. Also Sunday, an early showdown in basketball as the U.S. basketball team led by stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James faces host China and Yao Ming. Watch an exclusive CNN interview with Yao » . CNN's Kevin Drew and Emily Chang contributed to this story.

Olympics Opening is under way, marking beginning of Summer Games . 2008 summer Olympics is most expensive on record . Anticipation building grows who will light Olympic cauldron . More than 10,000 athletes to compete for about 300 gold medals .

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In comments that were broadcast over the weekend, Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele called Rush Limbaugh's rhetoric "incendiary" and "ugly" and insisted that he is in charge of the GOP. "Rush will say what Rush has to say; we'll do what we have to do," RNC Chairman Michael Steele has said. On Monday, however, after a blistering response from the conservative talk-radio kingpin, Steele told the online journal Politico that he "was maybe a little bit inarticulate." "There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership," Steele said. He added, "There are those out there who want to look at what he's saying as incendiary and divisive and ugly. That's what I was trying to say. It didn't come out that way." Steele's original remarks came from an interview on CNN's "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News." The interview was recorded Thursday. It aired Saturday. The comments came as Democrats, including White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, have tried to paint Limbaugh -- who has said he wants to see the Obama administration "fail" -- as the effective head of the opposition party. Steele rejected the idea, insisting "I'm the de facto leader of the Republican Party." "Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh's whole thing is entertainment," Steele told CNN. "Yes, it is incendiary. Yes, it is ugly." iReport.com: Limbaugh and Steele show divisions in GOP . Limbaugh fired back on his radio show Monday, saying the Republican chairman appears to be supporting President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He said Steele appears "obsessed with seeing to it President Obama succeeds." "I frankly am stunned that the chairman of the Republican National Committee endorses such an agenda," Limbaugh said. "I have to conclude that he does, because he attacks me for wanting it to fail." But Monday night Steele told Politico he didn't intend to go after Limbaugh. "My intent was not to go after Rush -- I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh," Steele told Politico in a telephone interview. "I was maybe a little bit inarticulate ... There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership." Watch CNN's Roland Martin and panel discuss the situation » . Steele told Politico he tried to call Limbaugh after the show on Monday and said he hoped he would be able to talk to the radio host soon. "I went back at that tape and I realized words that I said weren't what I was thinking," Steele told Politico. "I'm not going to engage these guys and sit back and provide them the popcorn for a fight between me and Rush Limbaugh." And in a written statement issued to CNN, Steele said, "To the extent that my remarks helped the Democrats in Washington to take the focus, even for one minute, off of their irresponsible expansion of government, I truly apologize." "I respect Rush Limbaugh, he is a national conservative leader, and in no way do I want to diminish his voice," Steele said. "I'm sure that he and I will agree most of the time, but will probably disagree some as well, which is fine." Steele's Democratic counterpart, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, said he was "briefly encouraged" by Steele's "courageous" remarks. "However, Chairman Steele's reversal this evening and his apology to Limbaugh proves the unfortunate point that Limbaugh is the leading force behind the Republican Party, its politics and its obstruction of President Obama's agenda in Washington," Kaine said in a written statement. Watch Steele, Hughley talk politics » . Limbaugh brought a cheering crowd to its feet several times as he called on fellow conservatives to take back the country. He used his self-described "first national address," which ran more than an hour longer than his allotted 20 minutes, to accuse President Obama of inspiring fear in Americans in order to push a liberal agenda of "big government." Limbaugh also addressed comments he made earlier this year in which he said he hoped Obama failed. "What is so strange about being honest and saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and re-form this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?" he said. But a top Republican in Congress disagreed. "I don't think anyone wants anything to fail right now," House Republican Whip Eric Cantor said on ABC's "This Week." "We have such challenges. What we need to do is we need to put forth solutions to the problems that real families are facing today." RNC spokesman Alex Conant on Monday did not directly address Steele's comments about Limbaugh but pointed out the back-and-forth between the White House and the conservative radio host. "Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats know they lose an argument with the Republican Party on substance, so they are building straw men to attack and distract," he said. "The feud between radio host Rush and Rahm makes great political theater, but it is a sideshow to the important work going on in Washington. "RNC Chairman Michael Steele and elected Republicans are focused on fighting for reform and winning elections. The Democrats' problem is that the American people are growing skeptical of the massive government spending being pushed by congressional leaders like [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi," Conant said.

NEW: Kaine says Steele's apology shows Limbaugh is leading GOP force . Steele earlier said he, not Limbaugh, is "the de facto leader of the Republican Party" Limbaugh's focus is entertainment, he said. "Yes, it is incendiary. Yes, it is ugly" Limbaugh backs earlier comments in which he said he hoped president failed .

(CNN) -- The weekend before Christmas, Mother Nature is gifting -- or, rather, clobbering -- the United States with a little bit of everything. Ice storms, snow, flooding, thunderstorms, tornadoes and record-setting warmth are all in store, and with this maddening mix comes a massive headache for more than 94 million expected holiday travelers. Unless you're on the West Coast, odds are the weather outside is frightful and complex. To make sense of it all, let us take you on a national tour. Southeast: Thunderstorms, tornadoes and torrential downpours . While ice storms and snow wreak havoc in parts of the country, the bigger story that's brewing is about rain and a severe storm event, says CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray. Harsh weather continued Saturday evening, with a risk of thunderstorms in Louisiana, Mississippi, parts of Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee. Isolated storms that form ahead of these bigger storms could become supercells, which means the possibility of tornadoes. One tornado hit Friday night in Mississippi. By midday Saturday, there were two tornado watches in effect. Saturday night, the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi, said damage in that area -- four semi trucks overturned, five houses heavily damaged and 15 others with minor damage -- was likely due to a tornado. Saturday night, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reported one death in Coahoma County, along the Mississippi River. There were no further details. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning late Saturday afternoon just west of Memphis, Tennessee, and there were reports of some semi trucks overturned on Interstate 40 in that area, according to CNN affiliate WREG. In Hughes, Arkansas, the St. Francis County sheriff told WREG a possible tornado touched down in that area. A spokesperson for the Arkansas Emergency Management Agency tells CNN the storm destroyed two homes and damaged three others. Three people were hurt in the storm, one of with serious injuries. Heavy rain, damaging winds and lightning were forecast to continue Saturday night into Sunday morning. These storms will spread, bringing downpours to Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and up the East Coast on Sunday. Some of the highest rain totals for Saturday occurred in Junction, Illinois, where six inches were reported, and Trumann, Arkansas, where residents had seven inches of rain by late Saturday evening. The main trigger for the severe weather is the above-average temperatures farther north. Midwest: A flood of wet worry . The warm air in this system means heavy rains across the majority of the Midwest and fears of flooding in the Ohio River Valley. Flash flood warnings and watches and flood advisories are in effect from Ohio up to eastern New York, all the way down through Indiana, parts of Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas. Anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of rain could fall in some of those areas. On Saturday evening, some low-lying areas of Shelby County, Indiana. were evacuated as the rain continued to fall in central Indiana. Where temperatures are lower, snow will come down across Iowa, Wisconsin and into northwest Michigan. Some areas will see up to 8-10 inches of snow, others around 4-7 inches. And an ice storm is predicted in southeast Michigan. Central Plains: Slammed with ice and snow . Power outages, falling tree limbs -- if not trees -- and treacherous roads are in the forecast for a large part of Oklahoma. An ice warning has been issued for the northern and central parts of the state, including Oklahoma City. Residents there are being encouraged to hunker down at home, CNN affiliate KFOR reports. They're even being warned not to park their cars beneath trees. In Kansas and southeast Nebraska, snowfalls will total 3-6 inches. And those cold temps will keep folks shivering. CNN's Nick Valencia has been bundled up outside Kansas City International Airport in Missouri. "Just a few days ago people were outside in T-shirts and shorts grilling. Now this," he said. And while the roads are of serious concern, he said diehard Kansas City Chiefs fans are also worrying about Sunday's NFL game. So far there have been no flight cancellations or delays at that airport, Valencia said. But Whitney Eichinger of Southwest Airlines told him the company is looking out for the safety of travelers. "We are allowing customers to rebook their trip with no penalty through tomorrow," she said. "That has more to do with traveling to the airport, not flight cancellations." The highest snow total of the day was in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, where 12.5 inches had fallen by late Saturday evening. Mid-Atlantic/Northeast: Weirdly warm . If there is one present being handed out on this first day of winter, it is the well-above-average temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic, with record highs up to the 70s anticipated. By Sunday, that warm weather will grace the Northeast, sending temperatures into the 60s. Already, in Boston Saturday, the temperature is in the mid-50s. Farther north, however, the situation is less cozy. In Maine and across New Hampshire, Vermont and into New York, winter weather -- including ice storm warnings and freezing rain -- are in effect. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a winter ice emergency and activated the state's emergency operations center. The National Weather Service in Buffalo issued a winter storm watch for five counties in upstate New York and winter storm warnings for two others. The NWS in Buffalo said up to an inch of ice accumulation is expected, and areas near the St. Lawrence and Black rivers could see even more. CNN's Jennifer Gray, Nick Valencia, Todd Borek and Matt Daniel contributed to this report.

NEW: One death reported in Mississippi, agency says . Damage in Jackson, Mississippi, likely caused by a tornado, National Weather Service says . New York governor declares winter ice emergency . Possible tornado injures three, damages homes in Arkansas .

(CNN) -- In a presidential campaign laden with historic twists, the biggest shock may be yet to come: With three weeks to go, the first of two remaining debates tonight, and most Americans yet to cast their ballots, the final surprise may be that there are no surprises left. This campaign for president may be over. There is a good chance that the Denver debate was the watershed that carries this election to its conclusion. If so, Barack Obama has only himself to blame. Yes, the polls show a very close race, but the momentum has belonged to Romney since his superior showing in the first debate. Long ago, Team Obama displayed a heartbreaking lack of faith in its candidate and his prospects. Abandon hope, all ye who campaign here; they never tried to get Barack Obama re-elected president. Constrained by the paucity of their achievements and the poverty of their ideas, perhaps they felt they had no choice: We can't win, they concluded, but maybe we can stop the other guy from beating us. Obama's thin campaign only tried to stop his opponent from winning. Get instant updates on the second presidential debate on CNN's live blog . Until this last month, the president's "This is a one-man race" marketing philosophy was working -- but only with the assistance of an opponent who ran as if his shoes were tied together. Mitt Romney had allowed Obama to paint him as an unacceptable alternative. He also helped the president with 47% of the brushstrokes. Team Romney's inability to introduce their candidate as a good and decent man has frustrated Romney's core supporters, who've longed to hear more about their man's munificence and compassion. Romney's campaign seemed equally unable to acquaint voters with the transformational business leader who, as Ann Romney describes, has routinely done things others thought "impossible." All that changed two weeks ago in the pure Denver air. What millions of dollars of ads had not been able to do, Mitt Romney did for himself. The Romney who showed up in the first debate did not, as Obama had led voters to expect, have horns and tail. Instead, he was the most unexpected candidate of all: a reasonable alternative to good-hearted but flailing president. In debate one, Romney even admitted he was having fun, an emotion we were not led to think he was programmed to express. iReport: Share your questions for moderator Candy Crowley . In the presence of an acceptable Republican replacement, the only theory of the president's campaign, that voters had no choice but Obama, began to break down. Voters began to suspect there was no alternative, not to Obama, but to Romney. Suddenly, Barack Obama was the man who wasn't there. If the 2008 election was about hope and change, the 2012 contest has always about strength and certainty. In these turbulent and uncertain times, the most unacceptable quality in a leader is weakness. In one flashing moment in a primary debate, Tim Pawlenty refused to say to Romney's face what he had said absent his presence, that Romney had created "Obomneycare." Without hesitation, voters neutered Pawlenty. General election voters may have seen similar weakness in Obama, as he sleepwalked with unmasked indifference through his greatest political challenge. If our president wasn't equal to the defining moment of his own re-election, how can we trust him to rise to the test of fixing the economy? Now, with only three weeks to go, Obama's campaign marinades in its powerlessness. Doubts metastasize as the administration moans that no one asked the president to protect our Libyan ambassador, as if it had not been his responsibility. He's started losing female voters, treating women as no more than a constituency of sexual organs and then hiding behind his secretary of state's skirt. He pretends to protect women, Hispanics, seniors, when he cannot protect himself. Obama, Romney face big hurdle in town-hall format: Unpredictability . Debates are the most primitive moments in our democracy. In these primal contests, we test those who would lead our country. We send our gladiators into the coliseum to see if they have the authority to command an unexpected moment, satisfying our blood thirst for strong leadership. There is no bigger test. Tonight we should expect a solid performance from both men. Romney has been doing "Ask Mitt Anything" Town Halls for five years. On the stump these days, he connects with ease, telling stories of the people he's met, moved by their hopes and suffering. His growth is evidence that our campaign process is not only built to pick presidents but to shape them. Obama is gifted in the town-hall debate format, too. His performance against John McCain was stately; but one debate alone is probably not enough to rebuild what he has destroyed, the image of constancy and strength. Five things to watch for in Tuesday's debate . It takes only a moment to reveal feebleness. It requires many to reestablish certainty. One good debate tonight will help re-energize Obama's base but not our country's confidence in him. Whether victory belongs to Romney or Obama, we do not know but this cake may be baked: The Denver debate may have eradicated the opportunity for both candidates to change the outcome of this election. Mitt Romney may have already won this election: Even if the president has a strong performance tonight, he failed us on the economy, failed us in Libya, failed us in Denver. How can we trust that Barack Obama won't fail us again? The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Alex Castellanos.

Alex Castellanos: What if there are no more surprises in the presidential campaign? He says the momentum since the first debate has been all in favor of Romney . It may be too late for Obama to make up for his debate weakness, Castellanos says . Castellanos: Both candidates have shown they can handle town hall format .

(CNN) -- A school board district member in Arkansas who came under fire for an anti-gay post on a social networking site regrets the comments and will resign his seat, he told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Thursday. "I'm sorry I've hurt people with my comments," Clint McCance, vice-president of the Midland School District in Pleasant Plains, Arkansas said. "I'm sorry I made those ignorant comments and hurt people on a broad spectrum." McCance wrote on his personal Facebook page that he wanted gay people to commit suicide, according to The Advocate, a newspaper focusing on gay news. McCance used the terms "queer" and "fag" repeatedly, promised to disown his own children if they are gay and stated that he enjoys "the fact that [gay people] give each other AIDS and die." On Thursday, he disowned the comments. "I would never support suicide for any kids," he said. "I don't support bullying of any kids." "I'd like to extend apologies to those families that have lost children, for all those children who feel that suicide is the only way out, especially for the five families who have already lost children," he said, referring to a rash of recent suicides by gay teens. "I brought more hurt on them... they didn't deserve that and I do feel genuinely bad for them." Though he disapproves of homosexuality, McCance said that "I give everyone a chance and try to love everyone." McCance said that he has received an outpouring of criticism over his comments, including "thousands of phone calls, hate mails, people threatening to kill my family and me." He said he has sent his wife and two kids out of the state because of fears for their safety and that he is installing a security system at his home. "I'm reaping what I've sown," he told CNN. "I've had a lot of hate speech thrown at me and my family on every level." He said he would resign from the school board to spare the district the bad press and distractions of dealing with the fallout from his comments. "If they decide after five or ten years to vote me back in, then I'll run again," he said. McCance's comments had drawn criticism from education officials in his district and at the state level. "I strongly condemn the statements that appeared on Mr. Clint McCance's Facebook page," Tom Kimbrell, Arkansas commissioner of education, said in a statement Wednesday. "... The statements attributed to Mr. McCance constitute a significant departure from statements we expect from our school leaders. The divisiveness and disruption of these comments cause me to seriously question the ability of Mr. McCance to remain as an effective member of the Midland School Board." McCance was re-elected for a four-year term in September. He was initially elected to the leadership of the school district in 2007 for a three-year term. The terms are now four years long. The Midland School District had also denounced the posting. "The district strives to foster an environment that discourages all forms of bullying," it said in a statement this week, "and an environment that encourages a safe and productive educational climate [for] all of our students. The district is very diligent in pursuing and addressing bullying of any variety on our campuses." The state Department of Education had said it was "dismayed to see that a school board official would post something of this insensitive nature on a public forum like Facebook." Because McCance's Facebook page is not accessible publicly, the Advocate said it learned about the posts after being provided with a screen shot. The posts were made, according to The Advocate, in response to a bullying awareness campaign sponsored by GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The "Spirit Day" campaign aimed to foster recognition of bullying directed at gays and the effects it can have on young people through a series of events held on October 20. One aspect of the campaign encouraged people to wear purple to honor those who had committed suicide after experiencing anti-gay bullying, and to show solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth who face the same pressures. According to the screen grab obtained by The Advocate, McCance wrote the following about the event: "Seriously they want me to wear purple because five queers committed suicide. The only way im wearin it for them is if they all commit suicide. I cant believe the people of this world have gotten this stupid. We are honoring the fact that they sinned and killed therselves because of their sin." (sic) The post spurred a Facebook page encouraging the Midland School District to fire McCance. More than 60,000 people had "liked" the page as of Thursday evening. However, not everyone disagreed with McCance's comments, which he had defended on his page by citing his religious beliefs. Gays and lesbians are "thinking they're all right, and [God is] going to let them think that and go to hell for believing what they're doing is right," pastor Harry Craig, of Pleasant Plains Full Gospel Church, told CNN Little Rock affiliate KARK. On Tuesday, the federal government warned that bullying and harassment in schools often includes violations of federally protected civil rights. Officials warned that school administrators who fail to properly deal with harassment risk being cited for civil rights violations. In extreme cases, such violations could lead to cuts in federal funding. A group of protesters had traveled Thursday to Pleasant Plains, where they held a demonstration to call for McCance's resignation. Watch Anderson Cooper . 360° weeknights 8pm ET. For the latest from AC360° click here.

NEW: Clint McCance says his wife and children have left state over safety concerns . Clint McCance apologies for remarks, calls them "ignorant" "I would never support suicide for any kids," he says after advocating suicide for homosexuals .

(CNN) -- Tired of freezing cold temperatures and ready to complain about a few more months of scarves and gloves? Instead of fighting the brutal winter weather, embrace all the snow and ice with the cozy buffer of a luxurious resort. There's lots of winter fun to be had, whether it's skiing, snowboarding, skating, snowball fights or enjoying a hot tub or book by the fireplace while your loved ones frolic in the snow. Here are some spots that are steaming hot during the cool winter weather. Stein Eriksen Lodge, Park City, Utah . Park City knows how to make the most of winter, whether it's skating lessons at Utah Olympic Park or great movies during the Sundance Film Festival. Why not experience it all like a celebrity by staying at a five-star resort with ski-in/ski-out access to Deer Valley Resort? Stein Eriksen Lodge also offers spa services that can soothe the aches from a day of skiing. Packages may include lift tickets at Deer Valley or a "kids stay/ski free" promotion. Daily winter room rates start at $500. L'Apogee Courchevel, France . Park City's sister city in France, Courchevel, has just celebrated the opening of the newest five-star addition to the area. L'Apogee Courchevel opened its doors on December 11 in the post-World War II town, which is part of the Les Trois Vallées. The Three Valleys region, one of the largest ski areas in the world, is known for its excellent ski-lift system. The hotel offers ski-in, ski-out access from its location at the foot of the slopes, and there's a spa and kids club for the family. Daily room rates start at $1,198 US for a double room. It includes breakfast and either lunch or dinner, Courchevel airport pickup, WiFi and in-room bar soft drinks. 8 elegant U.S. mansion hotels . The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, California . Combine elegance with the convenience of ski-in/ski-out access to the slopes at the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe. The resort's staff will help you with your boots and set up your skis and poles on the slopes. And when you've had enough skiing, take the intermountain gondola down to the village of Northstar, where the family can glide across the 9,000-square foot ice skating rink. Back at the hotel, sample treatments at the 17,000-square-foot spa or venture out to the outdoor fire pit to meet the hotel's "marshmologist" and create your own marshmallow masterpiece. Winter room rates start at $399 per night, double occupancy. Little Nell, Aspen, Colorado . Little Nell doesn't just offer ski-in/ski-out access to Aspen Mountain, heli-skiing, dog sledding and snowmobile trips. It also has a ski concierge on the slopes for its guests, and offerings include boot warming service and sun and lip protection. There's a spa for the humans and amenities for the pets, including dog beds and dog walking and sitting upon request. And fine dining at the hotel restaurant draws visitors from around the country. Daily winter room rates start at $940. The Alpina Gstaad, Switzerland . Hate to get lost in the shuffle at the larger luxury resorts? That won't happen at the Alpina Gstaad, which has only 56 rooms, each with its own private balcony or terrace. Opened in December 2012, the Alpina is an elegant boutique hotel in a town known for its elegance. For a departure from rich Swiss cuisine, have dinner at MEGU, the hotel's Japanese restaurant. The hotel also offers treatments at its Six Senses spa and a Cuban cigar room. Daily weekend room rates start at 1,350 Swiss Francs (about US $1,480). That includes breakfast, a 100 Swiss Francs credit per person for food and beverage, parking, service charges, taxes and VAT. 50 states, 50 spots for 2014 . The Vale Niseko, Japan . After the long flight to Tokyo, a short domestic flight and a two- to three-hour drive from New Chitose Airport outside Sapporo, why not rest in very high style in the penthouse at this exclusive Japanese ski resort? The resort is literally on the slopes, and the penthouse offers the most spectacular views of hundreds of acres of powder and its own private onsens (Japanese hot springs). Daily winter penthouse rates start at about $2,700 US. Bighorn at Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada . For a true fantasy escape, rent your own private chalet at the base of Revelstoke Mountain Resort in the heart of Canada's heli-skiing territory, where you'll have your own heli-pad for the week. You and up to 15 of your favorite people can spend seven nights in this eight-suite chalet, which also includes a ski room to suit up, spa, outdoor hot tub, movie room and dedicated chef. Chalet rates start at $50,000 Canadian (about $46,000 US) per week with most meals and selected drinks (wines, beer, spirits and soft drinks) included. Private heli-skiing must be booked at an additional cost of at least $1,600 (Canadian) per person per day.

A relative newcomer to Gstaad offers a Cuban cigar room . An Aspen hotel has ski boot warming and dog sitting services . The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe has its own marshmallow expert .

(CNN) -- The nightmare began around 12:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Mike Hermanstorfer stood next to his wife's hospital bed, stricken. He touched her arm. The skin was cold, ashen. Tracy Hermanstorfer's heart had stopped. "I opened my hand and her arm just fell out of mine," said Hermanstorfer. "She was already gone." Moments later, the staff at Memorial Health System in Colorado Springs, Colorado, sounded a Code Blue -- resuscitation needed for cardiac arrest. They would have to act fast: Tracy Hermanstorfer, 33, was also in labor. Her baby was perilously close to death. But this was a perplexing case. Before her heart stopped beating, Tracy Hermanstorfer was, by all accounts, completely healthy. Doctors still have few clues about what caused her cardiac arrest. "The risk of a woman dying in the course of trying to carry a pregnancy is an incredibly rare event," said Dr. Michael Greene, director of obstetrics at Massachusetts General Hospital, who was not involved with Hermanstorfer's case. "The number of things that can cause this in an otherwise healthy woman is a very short list." Greene says that only around eight in 100,000 women die during childbirth in the United States. Dr. Stephanie Martin was 100 yards away when the Code Blue sounded. She ran to the delivery room where Mike Hermanstorfer stood next to what he thought was his dead wife. "My first thought was that I can't allow this father to lose both his wife and his child, especially on Christmas Eve," said Martin, director of maternal-fetal medicine at Memorial Health System. Watch the Hermanstorfers on AC 360 . It was a situation she had witnessed only nine or 10 times during her career. Based on experience, Martin had ideas about what might have caused Hermanstorfer's cardiac arrest, but nothing was certain. She could rule out things like pre-existing heart problems -- they are rare for someone healthy, young, and with no family history. Hermanstorfer had not experienced excessive blood loss or other major trauma, also common reasons for cardiac problems during childbirth. Watch Dr. Gupta explain what may have happenend . Hermanstorfer could have an amniotic fluid embolism, a condition in which the fluid suspending the baby in utero leaks into the mother's bloodstream. It could also be pulmonary embolism, in which a blood clot in the leg breaks off and lodges in lung tissue. Both conditions cause blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels in the blood to plummet -- precisely what was happening to Tracy Hermanstorfer. At 12:40 p.m., staff attempted to resuscitate Hermanstorfer using a rapid-fire sequence of chest compressions. She was unresponsive. Four minutes later, fearing for the baby's life, they performed an emergency Caesarean section. "We call it a four-minute rule," said Martin. "I knew that if Tracy was not resuscitated by four to five minutes after her heart stopped, [the baby's] chances for brain injury began to increase dramatically." But Martin says that if a baby is removed from its mother within five minutes of a witnessed cardiac arrest, the baby will survive 95 percent of the time. At 12:46 p.m., Mike and Tracy's baby boy, Coltyn, was born via C-section, limp, but with a faint pulse. Moments after her son was born, Tracy took a timid sip of breath for the first time in several minutes. Her pulse was barely perceptible, but it was there. Almost as suddenly as she had "died," she was alive again. "We all stopped and took a breath," said Martin. "We had to make sure she wasn't going to re-arrest." Tracy was stable. Doctors quickly wheeled her out to an operating room to finish her Caesarean and put her on a ventilator to help her breathe. Hospital staff continued their resuscitation of baby Coltyn. In a few minutes his skin was flushed; he gasped for air and let out a loud wail. "I thought he was dead until he gasped for air," said Mike Hermanstorfer. "When he let that cry out, that's when the whole world stops. Most parents can't stand the sound of a crying baby, but I'll tell you from experience that's one of the best sounds you could ever hear." No sooner had Hermanstorfer absorbed that his son was alive than doctors delivered the news that Tracy was breathing on her own. In a span of minutes, Mike Hermanstorfer went from the despair of losing two people to the elation of having them back. He says he remains stunned, but grateful. "It has changed my life," he said. "You don't take anything for granted." Tracy Hermanstorfer still feels a tingle of fear when she thinks about what happened to her. "It's scary to know you went into the hospital perfectly healthy and then almost not come out of the hospital at all," she said. But almost two weeks removed from near-death, there is little time to think about that. The Hermanstorfers want to relish life, with the rest of their family -- sons Austin, 11, and Cannon, 3. Tracy will undergo more tests in the coming weeks, but doctors still have no idea what happened to her heart on Christmas Eve.

Mother Tracy Hermanstorfer's heart suddenly stops as she is in labor on Christmas Eve . Doctors battle to revive her, do C-section to deliver baby Coltyn, limp with faint pulse . Both are revived; Tracy's husband Mike goes from grief to joy in minutes . Tests being done to determine why healthy mom suffered cardiac arrest .

(CNN) -- Best known for quirky rom-coms like "Say Anything," "High Fidelity" and "Grosse Pointe Blank," John Cusack returns this weekend in a gothic murder mystery entitled "The Raven." Cusack plays author Edgar Allan Poe. But instead of treating the story like your standard biopic, the author finds himself at the center of a serial killer investigation, where the killer is using Poe's work for inspiration. In a rare instance in which a film portrays a writer as an actual hero, the downtrodden Poe becomes integral in solving the case, with Cusack portraying the famed writer in a very serious and dark manner. CNN recently spoke with Cusack about channeling Poe and the mash-up styles "The Raven" uses as inspiration. CNN: Edgar Allan Poe is quite insane at times. Do you relate to him at all? John Cusack: It's funny, we were talking to people and somebody says that Poe reminded them of Kurt Cobain. Everybody has some tangential relationship to [Poe]. He represents this singularity and a defiance, intellectually so rebellious, and so tragic and sad. He's almost like an archetype of a young shadow ... he's the Godfather of Goth. The reason he's so famous and stands the test of time ... he led an eccentric life, and a really sad life; tormented, but he represents some sort of collective sorrow. Poetic, luminous quality. Anybody who wants to be an artist in any way, an actor or a writer, in trying to express the world in some way, Poe is the blasted soul, the perpetual orphan out there who houses all of those feelings. He's become that. I think that's what he represents in the collective way. CNN: You mentioned Cobain -- both died and their work has lived on, assimilating in different ways into the collective consciousness. Cusack: Yeah, I can see [Poe's] writing influencing Hunter Thompson, who I knew and was a friend. His influences are all over: From literary, music, fashion, everything with this writing about the space between life and death, between being awake and dreaming. When he was 20 years old, he said "I could not love, except where death was mingling his with beauty's bated breath." So he's always juxtaposing almost idolatry -- the eternal feminine and the harshness of the world. He's always caught in that space. CNN: And although he was published, he was poor mainly because copyright isn't what it is today in terms of royalties and paying artists. Cusack: There was no copyright at all, so he got paid $6 for "The Raven" and then it went all over the world. He was one of the first persons to try and make a living as a writer. It was almost impossible. Writing for pennies per word. He was really destitute and struggling. At one point he was eating dandelion salads. CNN: "The Raven" itself is very dark and gruesome at times. Cusack: Well, we always went back to the source material. We thought the construct was very Poe-like, where Poe becomes a part of one of his stories and swept up in one of his genres. I thought that conceit was very smart; you have to have Poe deconstruct his own stories to find the killer. So, not only do you get to use all the attitudes about his own work, but you also have the other thing, "Am I going insane?" bit. The dance with the abyss, the madness, the mental illness. You have all those things and try to do a story that is fiction that tries to get you inside the head of Poe. It allows for more scope than I think a biopic would. CNN: It's a very meta-treatment of his life and work. Cusack: It's one of these weird things, if you go into it thinking this is "The King's Speech" or a "Masterpiece Theater" version of a really depressed guy ... if you do the research, he was very brutal and mercurial in his moods. He wasn't this inward looking sorrow master. If you understand his writing, he was an esoteric poet on a master level, but also writing pulp for Saturday afternoon thrillers. Someone said, "Why hasn't the story of Poe been done?" I don't think anyone's figured out how to get the breadth of him. This was a way to get into him, his stories and mix it with some fantasies. You're right in when you describe it as a meta-treatment. That is what we were going for. People need to understand what they're seeing or looking at is the film that we intended to make. It does need a little bit of context; you need to have read Poe a little bit more than English class to get what we were going for. CNN: Poe was alive when horses were the main source of travel. Do you feel comfortable acting while riding on horses? Cusack: Yeah, yeah, I don't mind doing that stuff. I love it all. I'm good with horses. CNN: How would you classify "The Raven"? Cusack: I think it's a mash-up of a few things: Horror, thriller, a bit fantasy, but it's also a character study and a look at the creative process. Styles and genres that Poe made. There's a tendency to put things in these boxes, but I think Poe was doing a lot of things. He created a lot of these genres.

John Cusack plays author Edgar Allan Poe in "The Raven" Poe is at center of a murder investigation, where the killer gets inspiration from Poe's work . Cusack: "A story that is fiction that tries to get you inside the head of Poe"

(CNN) -- A small group of observers resumed the United Nations' mission to monitor a truce in Syria that was tenuous from the start and showed signs Wednesday of unraveling as opposition activists again reported widespread violence. In what appeared to be a pattern of retaliation, security forces were accused of attacking a number of hot spots, including the cities of Hama and Douma, after U.N. monitors had left the areas. Security forces have also reportedly targeted residents who have spoken to the monitors, according to Ahmad Fawzi, spokesman for special envoy Kofi Annan. Fawzi told the U.N. Security Council that people have been harassed and even killed for speaking with the monitors. One activist in Douma urged the monitors to return to the besieged city to see what was unfolding in the wake of their departure. "The security forces have continued their siege on Douma for the second day today," said Mohammed, identified only by his first name for safety reasons. "We desperately call on the international monitors to return to Douma to see the other face of the regime," he said. In remarks to the Security Council on Tuesday, Annan criticized reports of actions forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. "I am particularly alarmed by reports that government troops entered Hama (Monday) after observers departed, firing automatic weapons and killing a significant number of people," Annan said. "If confirmed, this is totally unacceptable and reprehensible." Violence erupted again nationwide Wednesday. At least 100 people were killed, including 70 in Hama, 16 of whom were children, said the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria. The reported violence in the southern city of Hama occurred two days after a visit to the city by U.N. observers. An activist in Hama told CNN that at least 56 people were killed in the shelling of the city's Masha Tayar neighborhood on Wednesday. The activist said that the Syrian military began shelling the neighborhood at noon (5 a.m. ET), causing a number of houses to collapse, killing those inside. The LCC said residents were still pulling bodies from the rubble late in the evening. CNN cannot independently verify reports of violence and deaths within Syria, as the government has restricted access by international media. A handful of U.N. observers have in recent days toured restive cities and towns after Annan, the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy, brokered a six-point peace plan with al-Assad. Annan said Syria's foreign minister told him that heavy weapons and troops had been withdrawn from population centers and that military operations had ended, key elements of the peace plan. Annan described the communication as "encouraging," but added, "the only promises that count are the promises that are kept." U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, told CNN that he had little hope for success for the United Nations mission in Syria. "How atrocious is it that the government allows these monitors in, people have the courage to come out and express their grievances and then they slaughter people," he said. "If it wasn't so serious, it would be a bad joke." The ongoing carnage, say opposition activists, is proof that al-Assad does not intend to keep his promises. At least 38 people were killed across the country Tuesday, the LCC said. The Red Cross said Mohammed al-Khadraa, a Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteer, was killed and three others were injured in Douma on Tuesday evening. Al-Khadraa was shot and killed in a vehicle clearly marked with the Red Crescent emblem, the agency said. The U.N. Security Council recently authorized sending up to 300 monitors to Syria for 90 days. They are tasked with observing a cease-fire that was supposed to have begun April 12. By next Monday, 30 observers are expected to be on the ground, with that number swelling to 100 by month's end. But as of Wednesday, only 13 were in Syria. One problem is that Damascus is unwilling to allow monitors from any of the 60-plus nations that are part of the "Friends of Syria," a group that aims to find a solution to the crisis. The group, which includes the United States, France and Britain, met this month and recognized the opposition Syrian National Council as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Analysis: U.N. mission does nothing to change endgame in Syria . Nationalities aside, some question whether the observers will be able to get an objective, comprehensive view of the situation. "They are all the time watched by the security forces of the regime," said one opposition activist, who is not being identified for safety reasons. The observers are also tasked with implementing the peace plan, which calls for the government and the opposition to end the bloodshed, provide access to the population for humanitarian groups, release detainees and start a political dialogue. The crisis began in March 2011, when the government started cracking down on peaceful protesters calling for the ouster of al- Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for 42 years. The United Nations estimates at least 9,000 people have since died, while activist groups put the death toll at more than 11,000. CNN's Yousuf Basil, Amir Ahmed, Holly Yan, Moni Basu, Joe Vaccarello, Jill Dougherty and Elizabeth Joseph contributed to this report.

NEW: Shelling in Hama causes a number of buildings to collapse, witness says . They say fresh violence erupts in Douma and Hama after U.N. observers leave . Syria is not accepting monitors from Friends of Syria nations, a U.N. official says . Hillary Clinton: It is "absolutely deplorable" if the regime is killing those who spoke to monitors .

(CNN) -- As Republicans wrestle with how to oppose President Barack Obama, what to do about Obamacare and how to compare the value of fights based on principle versus fights based on clever calculation, there may be some lessons from one of the darkest periods of Republican history. Watergate was a slow-motion disaster for the Republican Party. Richard Nixon, who had just won one of the largest majorities in American history in 1972, was slowly being exposed and driven from power. At the same time, it was discovered that Vice President Spiro Agnew was illegally taking bribes. He was forced to resign. That resignation led to the first vice presidential appointment, that of the House Republican leader, Rep. Gerald Ford. Then Nixon resigned, leading to the second vice presidential appointment, former Gov. Nelson Rockefeller of New York. That appealed to liberals but enraged conservatives. President Ford then pardoned Nixon, leading to a further firestorm of outrage. The Republicans were badly defeated in the 1974 congressional elections. The election of President Jimmy Carter finished the defeat of the Republican Party. Republicans were shattered by their sudden collapse after the enormous 1972 victory. Republican leaders in Congress were shaken by the defeat of so many of their friends, many after two decades or more in office. In many ways, America was a one-party system by January 1977, and the Democrats seemed totally dominant. Opinion: The Republican implosion . The Democratic Party housed liberals and conservatives, agrarians and urban intellectuals, men, women, young, old, blacks, whites, all creeds, dominated all regions and ruled all debate in America. The Republican Party housed a small group of exhausted defeatists. By January 1977, only 11% of citizens younger than 30 identified with the Republican Party. The party had been on fumes for years, ever since the Great Depression and only challenged the Democrats for national authority when they screwed up, as in 1946 and 1968, or when Republicans nominated an overwhelmingly popular figure, such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1952. And with the election of Carter, a smart, moderate Democrat from the South, the prospect for Democratic rule for another generation seemed bright. The party of Andrew Jackson had smothering control of the House, a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and in the South, there were states such as Mississippi that had almost no elected Republican officeholders. The only state in the country that had GOP control of the legislature and the governor's mansion was Kansas. The other 49 states had partial or complete Democratic control. The old ways of accommodating the establishment by the GOP of the 1930s, '40s, '50s and '60s would no longer work. Something else had to be tried. To conservatives such as Reagan, accommodation was tantamount to capitulation and they asked themselves, "If we surrender on everything, what is the purpose of having a Republican Party?" For several years, the U.S. government had been making plans to yield control and ownership of the Panama Canal to Omar Torrijos, the dictator of the Panama. All of the establishment was going along with it, from Lyndon Johnson to Nixon to Ford, Henry Kissinger and by 1977, Carter. Nearly all the editorialists supported the "giveaway" of the canal at the height of the Cold War. Control of the canal was vital to American military interests, especially with Soviet control of Cuba and designs on Central America. Opinion: Hilary Clinton, RNC and freedom of the press . Into this void stepped former California Gov. Ronald Reagan, who launched a national campaign to oppose the giveaway. He gave speeches, stumped across the country and testified before Congress. A "New Right" rose up and organized a "Panama Canal Truth Squad" led by Richard Viguerie, Phyllis Schlafly and Paul Weyrich, among others. Petitions were circulated at the grassroots and delivered to Capitol Hill. In speech after speech, Reagan thundered, "We built it! We paid for it! It is ours! And we are going to keep it!" Polling had shown American support for the two Panama Canal treaties, but by 1978, the American people had switched and agreed with Reagan and the conservatives -- and not Carter. In the end, the treaties to declare the canal a neutral zone and eventually surrender it to Panama passed by the barest of margins, only by one and two votes more than the two thirds required in the Senate. The war had been lost but the battle was worth it. Principles had been established and arguments made. It led to Republican victories in the off year elections of 1978 and launched Reagan's third campaign for the White House. Years later, Carter himself acknowledged the potency of the canal issue in the election of 1980, which not only saw the rise of Reagan, but the loss of scores more Democrats who had voted for the treaties. Reagan used to joke that without his principles, without his conservatism, he would have been just another former actor. He knew standing one's ground when one was right was enlightening and empowering. It is a lesson from history that applies today. Fighting for principles and losing is always better than surrendering and in so doing, abandoning one's reason for being. Reagan had called in February 1975 for "bold colors, no pale pastels." Opposing the Panama Canal Treaties turned out to be bold colors indeed. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the authors.

Craig Shirley, Newt Gingrich: Republicans were devastated by Watergate scandal . They say the party lost most of its clout, had to rebuild from the ground up . Republicans rallied around effort to stop the handover of the Panama Canal . Authors: They lost the canal battle but built a party that competed -- and won .

(CNN) -- Tanya Gray, 28, works at a preschool in Florence, where she has lived for the last two years. She first moved to the city seven years ago from her home in Luxemburg, when she and a friend decided to travel to Italy's cultural capital to enroll as students. "Once you have seen the Duomo and some of the old buildings you can't really compare it to anywhere else." While there she fell in love, and over the following years she was either in the city or planning her next trip there. CNN: Hi Tanya. What were your initial impressions on coming to Florence? Tanya: It's a very beautiful city, it's very young and there are always things to do: there's always a party; there's always something going on. And that was very different from Luxemburg for me -- Luxemburg is a very small place and there's not much going on, but in Florence there is so much energy. I was expecting something a lot more like Rome, a lot bigger. Florence is one of those places that is not too big, but it's still a city, so wherever you go you meet different people, it's not that everyone knows everything about you. But it's small enough so that you can walk everywhere. I don't have a car, and walk everywhere. I have been totally immersed in the Florentine way of life: I'm married to a Florentine, I spend all my time with his friends. I didn't even know there was an English-language newspaper in Florence until very recently. CNN: What has made the city so special to you? Tanya: That would have to be all the historic buildings and the architecture, because once you have seen the Duomo and some of the old buildings you can't really compare it to anywhere else. When you see the Duomo, it's breathtaking. And there are various places in the city, such as the Piazzale Michelangelo, from where you can see the whole of the city, and it's beautiful. You can just spend ages there, especially if you are an art enthusiast. CNN: If Florence were a person, what would they be like? Tanya: They would be a really fun, enthusiastic, very lively and cheerful person. CNN: Is Florence a stylish place? Tanya: Yes, of course. All the Italians kit themselves out when they go around the center of Florence, everyone is wearing the latest fashion -- even the mothers of 50- and 60-years old have all got them. You get taken along with the current, even though in the beginning you think, "No, I'm not going to be like them, I'm not." But in the end you just get taken along with the flow. Otherwise you just feel underdressed. A lot of American students who come to Florence -- and there are lots and lots of students in the center, most of whom are American -- are a lot less dressy than the Italians, and the Italians can spot them a mile away. CNN: Is it hard to find places away from the tourists? Tanya: Oh no. The center is very touristy, but if you travel about a kilometer outside of the center it is actually hard to find someone to who speaks English. I live about three kilometers from the center of the city and round there it's really tough to find someone who speaks English. You walk into a bakery and everything has to be said in Italian. Also, some of the clubs 10 minutes' drive from the center are a lot less touristy than the clubs in the center. CNN: Where do you shop? Tanya: Obviously there are lots of shops in the city, but there are also lots of markets, and many people shop at them. I definitely shop at markets because the shops in town are so much more expensive, especially for clothes. And they're not just in the center, they're also on the outskirts as well, which tend to be cheaper, because the ones in the center can rip you off if you're a tourist, or if you look like one. CNN: Could you describe a typical Florentine's weekend? Tanya: On Saturday morning they would go for a walk into town and have a look at all the shops in the center. And then the Italians are very fond of aperitifs before they go out, and lots of the bars have these aperitifs put out. One of the bars in town is called Slowly and a lot of people go there and have their cocktail and their little things to eat, sausage rolls, crisps and all the different little things. Then they would go onto a club, a really good one is called Otel, it's in the south of Florence, a ten minute drive from the center, and it's a really nice club. You can have dinner, watch a show with comedians, live singing and dancing, and then it turns into a club after about 12.30. On Sundays, lots of the Italian people, if it's nice weather, like to go for a drive in the Chianti region: it's beautiful. They might stop for lunch in one of these very quaint little restaurants. If it's terrible weather they can go to the big shopping center, which is called Gilli. Sunday nights are very popular nights to have an aperitif, as well. It's a big student town, and Thursday night is a big night to go out as well. Well, in the city center any night you can find people going out. There is constantly something going on. .................................. Where have you found the "real" Florence? Do you agree with Tanya? Send us your comments in the "Sound Off" box below and we'll print the best. E-mail to a friend .

CNN spoke to Florence resident Tanya Gray about life in the Italian city . Florence is small enough to walk everywhere, big enough to stay fresh . Locals can spot the tourists -- they're not as dressy as native Florentines . Florence has a good nightlife, with many clubs and bars open late .

(CNN) -- Despite access to free contraceptives, unplanned pregnancies are a rising problem for women in the U.S. military, according to a new study. Nearly 11% of more than 7,000 active-duty women surveyed by the Department of Defense in 2008 reported an unplanned pregnancy during the previous year. That's 50% higher than the average rate in the United States, the study authors say. The study, publishing next month in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, also notes that the rate has increased since 2005. Authors Dr. Daniel Grossman and Kate Grindlay analyzed data from the 2005 and 2008 Department of Defense Survey of Health Related Behaviors, which they obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. "It's alarming," Grossman said of the increasing rate. "When you're in the military, that's actually one time where you have access to free, good quality health care. ... It really highlights the need to better address contraceptive care." The military offers FDA-approved contraceptives, including emergency contraception, at no cost in its medical facilities, according to Shoshona Pilip-Florea, spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. "It's important to note that contrary to the study, Navy Medicine has consistently found that the number of unintended pregnancies among female sailors and Marines is comparable to the national rates in the general population," Pilip-Florea wrote in an e-mail. Military to open combat jobs to women . The consequences . Unplanned pregnancies can have a significant impact on the health of military personnel and on troop readiness, according to the study. Servicewomen who become pregnant unexpectedly while at home cannot be deployed, which may affect their career. Servicewomen who become pregnant while overseas must be sent home, which can cost the military around $10,000. Research has shown approximately 43% of unplanned pregnancies in the United States end in abortion. "For women in the military, that can represent a huge challenge," Grossman said. Federal law allows abortion to be covered at military facilities only when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or threatens the life of the woman. And going off-base for medical care in places like Afghanistan or Iraq can be extremely dangerous, Grossman said. Readers skirmish over women in battle . Behind the numbers . Sexual assault could be playing a role in the military's high number of unplanned pregnancies, the study authors noted. Research shows an estimated 20% to 40% of servicewomen experience rape or attempted rape during their military career. (Exact numbers are difficult to obtain; the Department of Defense estimates more than 80% of incidents are never reported.) A lack of sexual education and fears about repercussions could also be contributing factors, the authors said. In 2012, Grossman and Grindlay published results from a small online survey about the use of contraception in the military. Close to 60% of the 281 servicewomen surveyed said that contraception was easy or somewhat easy to obtain. The most common reason women cited for not using birth control while deployed was not planning to have sex. More than half of the respondents said they did not speak to a military medical provider about birth-control options before deploying. Some felt policies prohibiting or discouraging sex during deployment prevented them and/or their doctors from initiating a conversation about contraception, the study authors said. Not being able to access their preferred method of birth control was also cited as a reason for not using contraception. Vaginal rings often cannot be used due to refrigeration needs and refills of patches or pills may be delayed due to transportation issues. Like many Americans, military personnel most frequently choose the pill and condoms for contraception, Pilip-Florea said. "These methods are much more failure-prone than long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) such as intrauterine devices and hormonal implants," she said. "Increasing the acceptance and usage of LARCs may decrease the unplanned pregnancy rate." Moving forward . Some branches of the military have already begun to address these issues. The Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center created the Sexual Health and Responsibility Program (SHARP) in 1999 to help reduce the occurrence of sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies. "Policies and programs, like SHARP, have been put in place to help minimize these barriers," Pilip-Florea said. "As a result, we believe those mentioned by Dr. Grossman may exist in isolated cases but do not represent a systemic problem." In 2012, the Navy issued a policy requiring all females to be offered contraception services immediately after receiving orders to make sure they have time to find a contraception method before being deployed, Pilip-Florea said. Navy medical facilities also have a film on the different kinds of contraceptives; the facilities will soon receive another film on the consequences of unplanned pregnancies. The Navy also plans to add a "multi-hour, facilitated classroom lecture on family planning" to their mandatory training after boot camp, according to Pilip-Florea. Grossman acknowledged these efforts, but said more needs to be done across all branches to provide education and access to contraception for servicewomen. "These findings highlight an important public health problem within the military that has not been adequately addressed," the study authors wrote.

In 2008, there were 105 unintended pregnancies for every 1,000 servicewomen, study says . The military offers free FDA-approved contraceptives in its medical facilities . Unplanned pregnancies can have a significant impact on health, troop readiness . Navy Medicine says its statistics are in line with the national rates .

Rome (CNN) -- Silvio Berlusconi's long strange trip through Italian politics -- and the nation's justice system -- reached another stop Thursday as a Milan court sentenced the former prime minister to a year in prison for publishing secretly recorded details of a political rival's telephone conversations. The conviction comes less than two weeks after Berlusconi came in a seemingly improbable second among voters as he tried to win back his old job. Whether Berlusconi, 76, will ever set foot in prison is questionable. Berlusconi has been charged and convicted before but has never served time. Previous charges have either been overturned on appeal or dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired. Berlusconi's lawyer, Piero Longo, said he will appeal. "We are not surprised by the verdict because of the judiciary bias against our client, which is proven here by the lack of evidence against him in this case," Longo told CNN. The cult of Silvio Berlusconi: Why Italians keep voting for him . The former prime minister is currently appealing his conviction last year on tax fraud charges relating to the sale of film rights by his media company, Mediaset. He is also on trial over allegations he paid for sex with an underage prostitute. A decision in that case is could come as early as March 18. Details of the case . The case involves publication of details from a 2005 conversation between Piero Fassino -- a political rival of Berlusconi's -- and the former chairman of an insurance group that at the time was close to taking over a large Italian bank. The takeover could have created a rival to Berlusconi's Finnivest conglomerate. The transcript -- published in a newspaper run by Berlusconi's brother, Paolo -- appeared to show Fassino, as head of the center-left opposition, had used his political position to help the insurance group take over Banco Nazionale del Lavoro. The ensuing scandal, which caused the deal to collapse, was widely viewed as an effort to discredit Fassino. The conversation was recorded by Italian financial crimes investigators, according to prosecutors, who argued Berlusconi bribed someone to obtain the recordings, then broke the law by publishing parts of them. Berlusconi has denied listening to the recordings or ordering their publication. Fassino issued a statement lauding the court's decision. "This is a ruling that restores truth and justice and confirms the judicial system, despite conscious criticism and mocking of the system for years, in a political campaign to vilify and delegitimize it," he said. Jail time, fine . According to court documents, Berlusconi was sentenced to one year in prison. Paolo Berlusconi received two years and three months. Silvio Berlusconi was also ordered to pay €80,000 (about $104,000) plus legal costs to Fassino, whose attorneys had been seeking €1 million (about $1.3 million) in damages. His lawyers will appeal to increase the award, they said in a statement following the verdict. History of scandal . Berlusconi -- who served on and off as prime minister between 1994 and 2011 -- is arguably one of the most colorful and controversial figures in the lively history of Italian politics. For years, he has been entangled in fraud, corruption and sex scandals that have often reached Italian courts. Berlusconi's first conviction came in 1997, four years after he was first elected prime minister and a year after he was removed after losing the support of other parties. The sentence in that conviction was suspended. A year later, in 1998, a court convicted him of corruption and bribery, but those verdicts were overturned in 1999 and 2000. In 2007, prosecutors accused him of judicial corruption over accusations he paid a lawyer $600,000 in exchange for favorable testimony in two court case. He was also accused of tax fraud and receipt of stolen goods involving the same lawyer. A judge dismissed some tax fraud allegations and the stolen goods case in 1998; the corruption case ended in 2012 when a judge ruled the statute of limitations had run out. He was convicted in 2012 on allegations that he had engaged in tax fraud involving Mediaset. Prosecutors accused Berlusconi of reducing Mediaset's tax liabilities by purchasing U.S. movie rights at inflated prices and then creating illegal slush funds. He is currently appealing that conviction. Sex scandals have also ensnared Berlusconi, whose wife filed for divorce in 2009 following reports of the then-prime minister's involvement with an 18-year-old girl. Two years later, magistrates in Milan said they were investigating whether Berlusconi paid for sex with an underage prostitute named Ruby the Heartbreaker, then used his power to spring her from jail in an unrelated incident in which she was picked up for theft. Berlusconi's trial on those charges began in 2011, shortly before he resigned from office. Berlusconi has a vast business empire, including media holdings and construction companies. Forbes Magazine says he has a net worth of $6.2 billion. Journalist Barbie Nadeau reported from Rome, Michael Pearson reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Peter Wilkinson, Paul Armstrong contributed to this report.

NEW: Silvio Berlusconi will appeal the verdict . NEW: His lawyer says the case shows judicial bias against Berlusconi . The former prime minister was accused of publishing a rival's wiretapped conversation . Berlusconi's brother also was sentenced to prison .

Washington (CNN) -- The owner of one farm at the center of a massive egg recall apologized to anyone who may have been sickened by his product Wednesday, while another refused to answer questions about conditions at his operation. Orland Bethel, president of Hillandale Farms of Iowa, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked whether he knew about unsanitary conditions at one of his farms before an August e-mail from a production manager. Bethel was appearing before a House subcommittee investigating the outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis that sickened more than 1,600 people and triggered the recall of more than half a billion eggs. Duane Mangskau, Hillandale Farms production representative, told the committee that the recall has forced his firm "to take a hard look at our operations." "And even if the source of the salmonella illness is never confirmed, where we have fallen short in Iowa, we are committed to improving our operations," Mangskau said. He said Hillandale has cut its marketing relationship with another DeCoster-owned farm "because we were disappointed with the test results there." Meanwhile, the owner of the other agribusiness firm involved in the recall said he was "horrified" that eggs from his company may have sickened anyone. "We apologize to everyone who may have been sickened by eating our eggs. I pray several times each day for all of them and for their improved health," Austin "Jack" DeCoster, the owner of Wright County Egg, told the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. DeCoster -- whose chicken and hog farms have been repeatedly cited by state regulators in the Northeast and Midwest -- said his company's compliance with food safety regulation suffered as it grew, and "I am sorry for those failings." "I accept responsibility for those mistakes in our operations," he told the committee. And DeCoster's son Peter, Wright County Egg's chief operating officer, told the subcommittee that "while we always believed we were doing the right thing, it is now very clear that we must do more." But the DeCosters faced sharp questions throughout the hearing from lawmakers, including the chairman of the full committee, Rep. Henry Waxman. Salmonella occurs naturally in chickens, but Food and Drug Administration inspectors reported in August that neither Wright County nor Hillandale fully followed their plans to prevent Salmonella enteritidis, the strain behind the outbreak. Federal investigators reported finding salmonella bacteria in chicken feed and in barn and walkway areas at the farms, as well as rodents, heaping piles of manure, dead animals and uncaged birds and flies too numerous to count. "It's hard for me to reconcile your words, that you wanted to clean up and you did clean up the facility, with the record before the committee," said Waxman, D-California. "The conditions in your facility were not clean. They were not sanitary. They were filthy." But the committee's ranking Republican, Texas Rep. Michael Burgess, also questioned why Department of Agriculture inspectors failed to report conditions at Wright County Egg to the FDA. "If you know this is a high-risk food and a high-risk practice -- and the deCosters kind of have a history -- why wouldn't someone say something?" Burgess asked Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the FDA's principal deputy commissioner. Burgess suggested the outbreak could have been averted "if one federal agency had used common sense and talked to another feeral agency. " Sharfstein said the FDA and the USDA, which regulate different aspects of the industry, "are working on improving communication." But he said new regulations on egg producers and a food-safety bill pending in the Senate "would allow us to make those inspections as effective as possible." At the outset of the hearing, Waxman said the DeCoster family has had "warning after warning" about conditions at its operations for decades. Despite those warnings, DeCoster family companies "continue to raise chickens in slovenly conditions and make millions of dollars by selling contaminated eggs," he said. And DeCoster's remarks were briefly interrupted by a protester the Farm Animal Rights Movement, a group critical of industrialized agriculture. The man carried a banner that proclaimed, "Recall ALL egg production." "DeCoster and his cohorts are a mere piece of a larger picture," the man said before being escorted from the hearing room. There were fireworks among members of the committee as well, as its ranking Republican tried to rebut Democrats' criticism of Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, who is fighting new food safety legislation supporters say could have prevented the outbreak. At one point, subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak, D-Michigan, cut off Burgess's microphone when he tried to read a statement blaming the Senate's Democratic leadership for stalling the bill. Burgess later accused Stupak of "censorship." Stupak said Burgess -- who supported the legislation -- tried to "back-door" a statement from Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn into the record after his time had expired and without the consent of the committee. One of those sickened in this summer's outbreak was Sarah Lewis, who told the subcommittee she ended up in an intensive-care unit after eating a custard tart at a party for her sister's college graduation. Her sister also fell ill. She said she still suffers from severe abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fevers and has to take between five to 10 drugs a day. "I lost 30 pounds," she said. "My sick joke is, 'You can cure my salmonella in 30 more pounds,' you know what I mean? But it's not funny."

NEW: Hillandale CEO takes the Fifth Amendment in salmonella hearing . Wright County Egg owners say compliance fell off as the company grew . Congressman says farms had "warning after warning" about conditions . Protest and partisan friction punctuates the hearing .

(CNN)Catapulted into the international spotlight after the publication of a sensational biography in 2012, Shin Dong-hyuk became the most famous North Korean defector. A soft-spoken and shy man, Shin shared his harrowing story about escaping from a total control zone called Camp 14, giving Western audiences an accessible reading on North Korea. Over the weekend, Shin stated that parts of his stories are inaccurate, although he did not specify which aspects. He posted on Facebook that parts of his past "that I so badly wanted to cover up can no longer be hidden." Blaine Harden, author of "Escape From Camp 14," wrote on his website that Shin had admitted several inaccuracies, including the length of time he spent in Camp 14. For more: North Korean prison camp survivor admits inaccuracies . Shin's high-profile role and now admitted inconsistencies in his story raised concerns that it could undermine human rights advocacy efforts and distract from testimonies by other North Korean refugees. "There are a lot of people who actually have been to the (prison) camp and experienced it. It will be wrong for their witness accounts to lose credibility because of this incident," said Ahn Myeong Chul, a former North Korean camp guard who knows Shin. Peter Jung, director of the human rights group Justice for North Korea, said he's "worried that people testifying about North Korea will be called a liar" but that Shin's new revelations can't challenge the fact that "North Korea control camps exist." Jung said that many North Korean refugees, such as Shin, suffer from major trauma after escaping the regime and called for support. "I hope he gathers his courage and tells his story accurately and honestly, and we must help him do that." Scrutiny on North Korea's human rights abuses . North Korean memoirs and testimonies cannot be verified -- there are no paper trails and investigators cannot interview or access witnesses in a closed society. Their stories are compared for consistency with other defectors and experts, but the process is far from foolproof. CNN has not been able to reach Shin, who noted in his social media apology that "these will be my final words and this will likely be my final post." Shin's admission of inaccuracies comes at a time of unparalleled attention on North Korea's human rights record following a landmark U.N. Commission of Inquiry report listing abuses of the Pyongyang regime. While "Escape From Camp 14" was not the sole reason for the creation of the commission, Navi Pillay, then the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, urged the probe after meeting Shin and another North Korean prison camp survivor in December 2012. Since the commission report's release in 2014, the U.N. General Assembly has called for more sanctions and a referral of those responsible to the International Criminal Court. The matter remains at the U.N. Security Council, where it's likely China would block referrals of Kim Jong Un and his leadership to the International Criminal Court. Double horror or triple horror? Michael Kirby, chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into North Korea, said that Shin's testimony consisted of only two paragraphs in the 400-page report and that he was only one of hundreds of North Korean witnesses. "It's a very small part of a very long story. And it really doesn't affect the credibility of the testimony, which is online," he said. "Lots of people took part (in) this inquiry. Their stories are powerful and convincing, and these stories do not only represent Shin but other people in North Korea." In a reversal of his story told for years, Shin told Harden on Friday that he had been transferred to another prison, Camp 18, when he was 6, instead of spending his entire life inside North Korea at the total control zone Camp 14, the author says on his website. The distinction of whether Shin was imprisoned in Camp 14 or 18 was not a deal breaker for Kirby. "It seems as if the issue is whether he was in the total control zone, or whether he was in an ordinary prison camp. In another words, it's whether triple horror or double horror," Kirby said. Pressures . Shin bears the physical scars of torture, including a missing fingertip and burn marks on his back, according to the book. And Harden noted in his book that during the interview process, Shin at times was unreliable and "in many crucial instances, corrected his Korean memoir" -- an autobiography that Shin wrote in 2007, called "Escape to the Outside World," which was only published in Korean. North Korea had sought to discredit Shin. Last fall, a pro-North Korea government website released videos with English subtitles featuring a man whom Shin recognized to be his father, disputing the story that his son was ever in a prison camp. Shin responded with a statement, accusing the government of "holding my father hostage." It's unclear if the video had any bearing on the timing of Shin's admission. Ahn, the former prison camp guard who has known Shin for seven years, said he believes the crux of Shin's story is true and that torture in either camp is still the same. "Shin became an icon for North Korean human rights. Whether he was in Camp 14 or Camp 18, he is definitely a person from a political prison camp. He was born there and tortured there." CNN's Judy Kwon and KJ Kwon contributed to this report.

Shin Dong-hyuk, subject of best-selling book, admits part of his stories are inaccurate . Advocates say it doesn't matter which North Korean prison camp Shin was in . Some fear Shin's admission of inaccuracies will affect views of other defectors' testimonies .

(CNN) -- Journalism is not as black and white as most people would like to believe. We ought to be able to see all shades of grey between the fresh revelations of email hacking by a Sky News reporter, the News International phone hacking scandal and other examples of journalists breaking the law to obtain stories. The Guardian revealed last week that Sky News reporter Gerard Tubb illegally accessed emails from the personal account of John Darwin, also known as "canoe man", who, in 2007, pleaded guilty to faking his own death. Darwin's wife, Anne, was due to stand trial for deception in 2008, but the reporter had collected a sufficient amount of emails, he believed, to crush her defense at trial. The hacking was authorized by Simon Cole, managing editor of Sky News, who stepped down from his position on the same day the Guardian story was published. Emails were given to Cleveland police, used in the successful prosecution and, according to Sky News, "pivotal to the case". Cole has since then tweeted he had been planning to retire for "some time" and the decision was unrelated to the hacking revelations. Sky News claimed the interception of emails was "justified and in the public interest" and "subject to the proper editorial controls". Those are the two key aspects that seem to separate this instance from two others: the phone hacking scandal and the outing of the Night Jack blogger by The Times. Richard Horton, a detective constable at Lancashire police, won the Orwell Prize in 2009 for his anonymous blog Night Jack, about life in the police force. His identity was then exposed against his wishes by reporter Patrick Foster, from The Times. The discovery of his identity was revealed in February this year to have been made via the hacking of his email account. Unlike the outing of Horton, the hacking carried out by Sky News seems to have been a carefully considered decision by a senior executive as to whether it was in the public interest to commit a prima facie breach of the Computer Misuse Act. It was most likely a calculated risk, taken with the understanding that the Act itself offers no public interest defense and that both Sky News and the reporter would be liable to criminal charges and subject to the discretion of the Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute. In the Night Jack case, a reporter made the decision to intercept Horton's emails without telling his editors and therefore without subjecting his decision to "proper editorial controls". If the Computer Misuse Act did offer such defense, the public interest in obtaining information via interception of emails would still have to be weighed by the courts. But Sky News, for instance, would have been able to explain to the public more confidently, from the outset, how the story came to light. I would say this is what we want from journalism -- transparency, responsibility and governance. This may seem a paradox, but that's what we want from newspapers and journalists even when they break the law. And despite having indisputably broken the law, the process Sky News seems to have undergone to break this story is a far cry from the industrial-scale criminality carried out and admitted to by News International. What we have found out so far about phone hacking is that during a period of at least two years, hundreds of individuals had their details collected by a private investigator at the request of journalists. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, head of Operation Weeting - the police investigation into phone hacking - told the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press, that 581 "likely" victims of phone hacking were contacted by police; 231 were uncontactable and 17 were not contacted for operational reasons. Subsequent to having their details collected, those individuals had their voicemail messages intercepted, listened to and used for an array of stories no one has been able to prove as yet were in the public interest. In fact, the majority of cases we have seen so far, if not all, involved obtaining information to write and publish stories about people's private lives with no good, justifiable reason. There is a fundamental difference between using a private investigator at any given time to turn around a story on tittle-tattle, or to fish for stories and monitor people's lives, and to make a careful, considered decision to carry out a breach of the law in order to expose wrongdoing. No one here is advocating a free for all or trying to make it easier for journalists to act like criminals. But if journalists can speak openly about the sourcing of stories, then everybody wins. Accountability is increased, journalists feel more confident to be transparent about their actions and to pursue genuine stories, and sheer criminality can be more easily identified. In my view, the Computer Misuse Act, Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, Official Secrets Act (mainly for protection of sources), should all provide a public interest defense for the protection of journalists and real journalism. The Reynolds defense for libel, which is always tested in court, should also be improved. Martin Moore, director of the Media Standards Trust, and Brian Cathcart, Professor of Journalism at Kingston University, decided to launch the Hacked Off campaign because it was becoming increasingly clear that phone hacking carried out by the News of The World was more widespread than News International and the Metropolitan Police cared to let us know. The campaign, supported by actors Hugh Grant and Steve Coogan, and several other victims of phone hacking and other abuses by the press, pushed and continues to push for criminality to be exposed, but we have always made absolutely clear that genuine, responsible journalism, carried out in the best interest of the public, should be protected. We will, however, continue to condemn fishing expeditions and industrial scale data-mining and hacking, which are clearly criminal and unjustifiable.

British journalist argues for public interest defense in some cases of hacking . There is key difference between peddling gossip and exposing wrongdoing . On rare occasions, journalists could be justified in monitoring emails, phones, she argues .

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that she intends to move ahead with a vote on a resolution that labels the deaths of more than a million Armenians during World War I as genocide. The resolution has strained U.S. relations with Turkey and drawn criticism from the Bush administration. "This resolution is one that is consistent with what our government has always said about ... what happened at that time," Pelosi said on ABC's "This Week." When asked about criticism that it could harm relations with Turkey -- a key ally in the war in Iraq and a fellow member of NATO -- Pelosi said, "There's never been a good time," adding that it is important to pass the resolution now "because many of the survivors are very old." "When I came to Congress 20 years ago, it wasn't the right time because of the Soviet Union. Then that fell, and then it wasn't the right time because of the Gulf War One. And then it wasn't the right time because of overflights of Iraq. And now it's not the right time because of Gulf War Two. "And, again, the survivors of the Armenian genocide are not going to be with us." But White House Spokesman Tony Fratto said bringing the resolution to a vote "may do grave harm to U.S.-Turkish relations and to U.S. interests in Europe and the Middle East." Turkey's top general warned Sunday that ties with the United States will be irreversibly damaged if Congress passes the resolution, The Associated Press reported. Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Washington for consultations and warned of cuts in logistical support to the United States over the issue. The recall is only for a limited period of time, said a U.S. State Department official who talked to the ambassador. "If this resolution [that] passed in the committee passes the House as well, our military ties with the U.S. will never be the same again," Gen. Yasar Buyukanit told the daily Milliyet newspaper, according to AP . The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 27-21 Wednesday to approve the nonbinding measure, which declares the deportation of nearly 2 million Armenians from the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923 was "systematic" and "deliberate," amounting to "genocide." The deportations led to the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people. But Sunday, Pelosi stood by her previous assertion that the measure would be taken to a full vote if it passed the committee. Newly installed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, tried to calm tensions by phoning his Turkish counterpart shortly after Wednesday's vote. Mullen told Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, Turkey's chief of staff, that the Pentagon is working hard to inform Congress of what the military implications might be if the Turks were to respond by cutting off U.S. access to the air base at Incirlik in Turkey. Seventy percent of U.S. air cargo bound for Iraq passes over or through Turkey. The Armenian government and Armenians around the world, including many Armenian-Americans, have been pressing for international support for their contention that Armenians were the victims of genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. The Ottoman Empire disintegrated in 1923, replaced by the modern republic of Turkey, where the Armenian issue remains sensitive. Turks reject the genocide label, insisting there was no organized campaign against the Armenians and that many Turks also died in the chaos and violence of the period. Though predominantly Muslim, Turkey, which borders both Europe and Iraq, is secular and pro-Western. In addition to its membership in NATO, Ankara is also seeking to become a member of the European Union. Speaking later on ABC's "This Week," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell denounced the House committee's vote -- despite agreeing with the assertion that the killings amounted to genocide. "I think it's a really bad idea for the Congress to be condemning what happened 100 years ago," the Kentucky Republican said Sunday. "We all know it happened. There's a genocide museum, actually, in Armenia to commemorate what happened. "But I don't think the Congress passing this resolution is a good idea at any point. But particularly not a good idea when Turkey is cooperating with us in many ways, which ensures greater safety for our soldiers." Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham echoed those comments on CNN's Late Edition. "I'm not worried about World War I. ... I'm worried about what I think is World War III, a war against extremists, and Iraq is the central battle front and Turkey has been a very good ally," Graham said Sunday. "We've had problems with Turkey, but the problem that Turkey has with the northern part of Iraq, if you think it is bad now, let the country fail." Turkey has engaged in ongoing cross-border skirmishes with rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which launches raids from northern Iraq. The recent killings of Turkish soldiers brought the conflict to a boiling point, and Turkey's parliament may consider a motion to approve cross-border incursions into northern Iraq as early as this week. Watch how the rebels are straining U.S.-Turkish relations » . The United States and the EU have designated the PKK a terrorist organization. The U.S. State Department has urged Iraq to crack down on the PKK, though some Turkish officials have said Washington has failed to take decisive action. E-mail to a friend .

Turkey's top general warns that ties with U.S. will suffer if resolution passes . White House says labeling deaths genocide would harm relations in region . Pelosi says "there has never been a good time" for this resolution . Deportation of Armenians after WWI resulted in estimated 1.5 million deaths .

Abidjan, Ivory Coast (CNN) -- African regional authorities are prepared to remove from office self-proclaimed President Laurent Gbagbo, who election observers say lost last November's presidential runoff but has refused to step down, Ivory Coast's President-elect Alassane Ouattara said Thursday. "I think it's clear that Mr. Laurent Gbagbo does not want to leave office," Ouattara told CNN, noting that representatives of the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union had tried to persuade him to leave earlier this week. "If he decides to leave, fine. If he decides not to leave, I think ECOWAS, our subregional union, will take the appropriate steps to remove him -- either through specific measures which the military people are working on, or a military force, which will be put into place. "And I don't think a military intervention would be a big problem because this has been used in other cases in Africa and in Latin America. It's not a war against Cote D'Ivoire," he said, using the French name for Ivory Coast. But Ouattara said he doesn't think such military intervention will lead to civil war. "It's just a single person refusing to abide by the rules of democracy and creating problems for peace. So he will be removed. This shouldn't be a difficult operation." The cocoa-producing West African nation was plunged into crisis when Ouattara was declared the winner of the November presidential runoff election, but Gbagbo, the incumbent, refused to leave office. The U.S. Treasury froze Gbagbo's assets in the United States on Thursday, and barred Americans from doing business with him. His wife and three top aides also were sanctioned. "Laurent Gbagbo continues to demonstrate wanton disregard for the will and well-being of the people of Cote d'Ivoire," the director of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said. "Today's designations will isolate him and his inner circle from the world's financial system and underscore the desire of the international community that he step down," Adam J. Szubin added. Ouattara told CNN Thursday that he welcomes a proposal for direct negotiations with Gbagbo -- on the condition that Gbagbo recognize Ouattara as president. Ouattara remains holed up in a waterfront hotel under the protection of U.N. peacekeepers. Gbagbo had previously promised to remove a military blockade he placed around the Golf Hotel, but those troops were still there late Thursday. The foreign minister under Gbagbo's government, Alcide Djedje, told reporters Thursday that the troops were there to counter the threat posed by Ouattara's security force. "More than 300 heavily armed soldiers live there, which constitutes a menace," he said. They must depart before Gbagbo's contingent of soldiers will depart, he said. "It's there for security purposes," he said. Ouattara acknowledged that some military were with him, but put the number at fewer than 300. He said they were the security guards assigned to him from when he served as prime minister. The United Nations said Wednesday it would ask the Security Council to approve up to 2,000 more troops to help ensure Ouattara is able to move out of the hotel and into the presidential palace. But Djedje said the peacekeepers are "complicit with the rebellion; we cannot accept that." He added, "Right now, we have no more confidence in the U.N." Alain Le Roy, the under-secretary-general for U.N. peacekeeping, said after a Security Council briefing that he was worried "we are facing more difficulties" in Ivory Coast. As the political standoff continued, the top U.S. diplomat on Africa said Gbagbo had "stolen" the vote that removed him from office. "There is no question but that the election in the Ivory Coast was stolen by President Gbagbo and those around him," Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson told reporters Wednesday. Gbagbo's "continued presence in office amounts to a theft of the election," Carson said. The United States and other countries have offered Gbagbo what they call a "dignified exit," which could mean living and working in other countries, including the United States. Gbagbo, however, has ignored those offers and has refused to accept telephone calls from U.S. officials. Carson said Gbagbo has challenged democracy not only in Ivory Coast but also in the region. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the African Union envoy for the mediation effort who met earlier this week with Gbagbo, said the embattled leader was open to a meeting with Ouattara. "He (Gbagbo) does not want any conditions," Odinga said. "He wants amnesty. He wants to know he's safe if he chooses to stay. These are things that have to be discussed face to face. "But Ouattara is not willing to negotiate unless Gbagbo accepts that he's president," Odinga said. "Ouattara is being difficult." Ouattara has said he will ensure protection for Gbagbo if he concedes, Odinga said. Violence following Gbagbo's refusal to vacate office has left more than 170 people dead in Ivory Coast and disrupted life for residents in Abidjan, the country's commercial hub. CNN's Richard Roth contributed to this report.

NEW: "He will be removed; this shouldn't be a difficult operation," says Ouattara . The U.S. Treasury freezes Laurent Gbagbo's assets . Alassane Ouattara says he will negotiate with his rival if Gbagbo concedes Ouattara is president . Ouattara is "confident" that West African nations will intervene .

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- Prominent retailers and clothing suppliers are scrambling to clarify their links to a garment factory in Bangladesh that caught fire over the weekend, killing more than 100 people. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday that the Tazreen Fashion factory in Ashulia, near the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, was no longer authorized to produce merchandise for its stores. But one of its suppliers "subcontracted work to this factory without authorization and in direct violation of our policies," Wal-Mart said in a statement. "Today, we have terminated the relationship with that supplier," it said, without identifying the company in question. The clothing factory, housed in a multistory building, caught fire Saturday night. More than 100 people were killed and at least 200 were injured as they rushed to escape, police said. The toll makes it "the most deadly factory fire in the history of the apparel industry in Bangladesh," according to the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), a workers advocacy group. The range of international companies being linked to the Tazreen facility highlights the complex web of global supply chains in the clothing industry. Li & Fung, a large trading company that supplies international retailers, said that it had placed orders worth more than $100,000 with the Tazreen factory this year for Kids Headquarters, part of its U.S. subsidiary. But it said it had not made orders for other customers with Tazreen. Li & Fung, which is based in Hong Kong, said it was very distressed and saddened by the deaths of workers" at the factory. It said it was offering the equivalent of about $1,200 to the family of each victim of the blaze. It also said it was setting up a fund for the education of victims' children. Fire rips through clothing factory near Dhaka . The big loss of life has provoked anger among workers in Bangladesh's huge garment industry. Thousands of people from dozens of clothing factories in Ashulia took to the streets Monday to protest the way in which their colleagues died. The protesters blocked traffic and demonstrated for several hours, demanding compensation and a full investigation into what happened. The Bangladeshi government has ordered such an investigation, asking two committees to file reports within a week. Li & Fung said it would carry out its own investigation. A period of national mourning was also held Tuesday for those killed at the factory and for the victims from a recent overpass collapse in southeastern Bangladesh. Overpass collapse kills 11 in Bangladesh . All apparel factories were to be closed Tuesday, and special prayers offered at mosques, churches and temples. As well as Wal-Mart and Li & Fung, other big companies were dealing with the fallout from the disaster. The ILRF published a list of companies whose brand logos had been found on clothing and documents at the factory. They included Dickies, whose owner, Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co., said it had concluded its "production schedule" with Tazreen earlier this year. Williamson-Dickie aims to "ensure the global vendors and suppliers we work with provide a safe work environment in accordance with all applicable laws and fair labor practices," the company said. The ILRF also said that the True Desire brand sold at the retailer Sears was among those linked to the factory. Sears Holdings said that it does not source products from the Tazreen factory and recognizes the critical importance of fire safety. "Any merchandise found at that factory should NOT have been manufactured there and we are currently investigating further," the company said in a statement. Even as Bangladesh prepared to mourn the deaths from the weekend fire, firefighters battled a blaze at another apparel factory near Dhaka on Monday. Police and witnesses said the latest fire, at a 10-story clothing factory in the suburb of Uttara, began Monday morning, and firefighters took about four hours to bring it under control. "Firefighters have brought the flames under control, and no one died in the incident," Brig. Gen. Abu Nayeem Mohammad Shahidullah, director general of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense, told reporters. Local police said at least 10 people were injured in Uttara as they jumped from windows to escape. They said the fire began on the second floor, where a large quantity of fabric and yarn were stored, and it spread immediately to the fourth floor. Bangladesh's ready-made garments make up 80% of the country's $24 billion in annual exports. The country has about 4,500 garment factories that make clothes for stores including Tesco, Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Kohl's and Carrefour. The sector earned $19 billion this year as of June. The state-run news agency, Sangbad Sangstha, recently reported that some 6,000 people die every year in fires in Bangladesh. The accounts of survivors from the blaze on Saturday night underlined the panic and chaos at the scene. "How the factory caught fire, I don't know. But when we heard 'fire,' we all rushed out and we were trying to get out of the factory," said Parul Begum, a survivor. "One factory worker broke a window and one of the workers pulled me through. After the fire, we tried to run out the door, but it was locked. When the floor (became) dark with smoke, the boys came to rescue me," she said. CNN's Atika Shubert and Jethro Mullen, and journalist Farid Ahmed contributed to this report.

The factory was not authorized to make merchandise for Wal-Mart, company says . The company cuts ties with a supplier that subcontracted work to the factory . A trading company based in Hong Kong offers financial aid to victims' families . More than 100 people were killed in the blaze in Bangladesh .

(CNN) -- Andy Weir had given up on writing as a career at the age of 26 after agents spurned his novel about a jewel heist involving aliens "on the Planet Sephalon." After burning through severance checks from his layoff by AOL, he went back to work as a programmer in Silicon Valley. Ten years later, in 2009, Weir decided to try writing again, but just as a hobby. Keeping his day job at a mobile phone software company, he started posting a new book on a personal website, chapter by chapter as he wrote it. This time, there were no aliens and no imaginary planet. Instead he crafted a story, set a few decades in the future, about an astronaut who mistakenly gets left for dead on Mars when the other members of his crew are forced to make a quick escape from the effects of a devastating sandstorm. This book found an audience. People starting following the story and it attracted scientists, including some who e-mailed Weir and offered suggestions to make the book's excursions into physics, chemistry and biology true to science. Today Weir's "The Martian" is on the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list and has been optioned by 20th Century Fox for a potential movie, raising the question: How does a space nerd with no track record as a writer craft a compelling work of science fiction? The book's hero, a cheeky astronaut named Mark Watney, possesses a self-reliance that enables him to jerry-rig NASA equipment in a suspenseful battle to eke out enough air, food and water to survive alone on Mars. In an interview with CNN, Weir said that his lead character is "smarter and braver than I am. The core personality that most people noticed -- that he's a massive smart ass -- that's basically my personality." Watney finds ways to heal the injury that led his fellow astronauts to abandon him, thinking he was dead; to grow food in the "hab" module that is his home on Mars, to turn hydrogen and oxygen into water, to restore communication with NASA, and to drive his rover on the inhospitable Martian landscape far further than it was designed to go. And yet critical life-support components keep failing, mishaps keep setting him back, and he keeps concluding that he's certainly about to die. There's more than enough science and technology for the technically literate, and although he's never worked at NASA, Weir has gotten compliments for the accuracy of his portrait of an enormous bureaucracy's infighting as it struggles to save a man tens of millions of miles away. In the story, Watney's lonely struggle captures the attention of billions on Earth, even spawning a daily half-hour cable news program: "CNN's Mark Watney Report." The book builds up the kind of narrative tension captured in the Oscar best-picture contender "Gravity," which Weir liked, even though it may have stretched the science. ("It doesn't have to be perfectly physically accurate to be entertaining. Nobody calls out the physics problems in 'Star Wars.'") Yet accuracy is one of the things that gets cited in praise for Weir's book. Astronaut Chris Hadfield, former commander of the International Space Station, has said the book "has the very rare combination of a good, original story, interestingly real characters, and fascinating technical accuracy," according to Crown, the book's publisher. Now 41, Weir is the son of a particle physicist -- his father double-checked much of the science in "The Martian" -- and an engineer. He got hooked on Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein and other classic science fiction writers by plucking their paperbacks from his father's shelf. Predictably, Weir is fascinated by manned spaceflight and intrigued by the idea of a manned mission to Mars. But he's no fan of Mars One, the nonprofit that has gotten 200,000 people to express interest in being selected for a one-way trip to Mars, to take place in 2025. Weir thinks the budget envisioned for the project is far too small and, "it would be basically a death sentence for the people who are going." He thinks a government-funded mission to Mars is far more likely but not for a long time. The after-effects suffered by astronauts on the International Space Station show the dangers of long-term space flight, he says. "There are a lot of pieces of the puzzle that we need to invent" to make for safe travel to Mars. Near term, he looks forward to a Chinese manned mission to the moon. As for NASA, Weir says he's "disappointed by the state of our manned spaceflight program," especially the lack of a vehicle to replace the space shuttle. Would Weir want to fly on a space mission? "I am not a brave man ...I do not have the right stuff. Astronauts are really a cut above." As a computer programmer, the closest Weir got to fame was as a member of the team that worked on the hit game "WarCraft2." At his current job in Mountain View, California, Weir's bosses know the score, he says. "I'm working on a pitch for my next novel right now, and if I get an advance, I'm going to quit and be a full time writer, which is the culmination of my dream coming true. I think I have to go sit in a coffee shop when I do that. And wear a neckerchief."

Andy Weir finds it hard to break into science fiction, and works as a programmer instead . He posted his book a chapter at a time; it finds audience, including scientists . "The Martian," now a bestseller and optioned for a film, tells of an astronaut stranded on Mars . Weir's book has gotten praise for technical accuracy and portrait of NASA bureaucracy .

(CNN) -- The last time Arsenal led the English Premier League by as much as five points, it was February 2008. So it's no surprise that Arsene Wenger, whose last silverware came three years before that, is not getting carried away. The veteran manager knows, after all, that a few days is a long time in football. On Tuesday his team lost 2-0 to Chelsea in the League Cup, which many trumpeted as a sign that Jose Mourinho's side had taken the ascendancy and would be the dominant force this season. But on Saturday Mourinho's men crashed 2-0 to Newcastle, which had lost to the EPL's bottom side Sunderland the previous weekend, and Arsenal earned a five-point lead at the top with a comprehensive win by the same score against another title hopeful, Liverpool. Arsenal's pre-season target Luis Suarez and fellow in-form striker Daniel Sturridge barely had a look-in for Liverpool, which had scored 12 goals in the past four games. Santi Cazorla volleyed a 19th-minute opener after his header hit the post, and Aaron Ramsey joined Sturridge on 10 goals in all competitions just before the hour mark when the Wales midfielder was given time to shoot from outside the penalty area. "I am always confident, but of course there is a long way to go," Wenger said. "Today was an important win for the team. "It was vital to win, I said that before the game and I don't change my mind, because had we not won people would say 'Yes, Arsenal at home they cannot win the big games.' "The Chelsea game was an important game but not of the importance of today's game. But still, it was a disappointment and it was important to respond today, to convince people that we can win these big games. "We had a good solidarity, a good focus, and I believe we have plenty of other big games coming up and this will help us deal well with them." On Wednesday, the Gunners will travel to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund in a match which will have a big bearing on the London club's hopes of progressing to the knockout stage of the Champions League. "Who would have said that Chelsea would lose today at Newcastle after Tuesday night? But that's the Premier League and it's down to consistency," Wenger said. "We are consistent since the first of January 2013, with the same group (of players). We have shown since our massive blip against Aston Villa (at the start of this season) that we have been very consistent. We have 10 games, 25 points." While Wenger appears calm, Mourinho admitted to being worried after the Newcastle defeat left his Chelsea side in second place, above Liverpool on goal difference. "I'm angry because I don't understand it," said the former Real Madrid manager, who won two EPL titles in his first season at the London club. "Of course I am worried, and I read in previous years it happened the same. "Chelsea were successful in cup competitions but not successful in the Premier League. Last year in December, they were not in the race for the title because they were already 20 points behind." Mourinho made nine changes to his team, and complained: "I made 11 mistakes. I should have picked another 11 and not this one." While the Portuguese coach's fortunes may have momentarily dipped, those of the Manchester clubs soared this weekend. Defending champion Manchester United won 3-1 at Fulham, the fourth victory in a row in all competitions for under-pressure manager David Moyes -- who saw Antonio Valencia, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney score in the first half as his side stayed eighth. Manchester City moved up to fourth -- six points behind Arsenal -- with a 7-0 thrashing of third-bottom Norwich, having lost at Chelsea last Sunday. England goalkeeper Joe Hart was dropped following his costly blunder at the end of that match, and his Romanian replacement Costel Pantilimon has now kept two clean sheets following the midweek League Cup win at Newcastle. Sergio Aguero's eighth league goal this season moved the Argentina striker to the top of the scoring charts alongside Sturridge, while Yaya Toure hit his fifth, Alvaro Negredo his fourth and Edin Dzeko his third among seven individual scorers. Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic was also a notable name on the scoresheets after his wind-assisted effort deceived Southampton counterpart Artur Boruc after just 13 seconds. The Bosnia international became the fifth keeper to hit the target since the EPL began in 1992, while Jay Rodriguez's equalizer left Saints in fifth place, behind City on goal difference. "As a manager that is the first time I've had to experience a moment as unlucky as that," said Southampton's Mauricio Pochettino. "I don't blame him at all. I think it had more to do with the weather conditions. "He didn't apologize for anything because he didn't have to. The wind was changing gusts completely all the time and it is a ground which is open on three sides, which makes it even more windy." West Brom moved up to 11th with a 2-0 win that dropped Crystal Palace to the bottom of the table, despite nine-man Sunderland losing 1-0 at 10th-placed Hull. West Ham drew 0-0 with Aston Villa in Saturday's other match.

Arsenal leads EPL by five points after beating title rival Liverpool 2-0 Saturday . Second-placed Chelsea suffers surprise defeat by same score at Newcastle . Manchester City up to fourth place after thrashing Norwich 7-0 . Stoke goalkeeper scores after just 13 seconds against Southampton .

(CNN) -- Truly, it's been a summer for jokers -- and I'm not just talking about "The Dark Knight." "Tropic Thunder" stars Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. as self-absorbed actors. When the bat's been away, Steve Carell ("Get Smart"), Will Ferrell ("Step Brothers") and Seth Rogen ("Pineapple Express") have all come out to play, and notched up lucrative returns, too. Ben Stiller's sometimes hilarious "Tropic Thunder" is easily the biggest of the summer's blockbuster comedies -- and certainly the goriest. It's a high-concept meta-movie about an all-star Vietnam War picture (also called "Tropic Thunder") that goes very, very wrong. Stiller's "Tropic Thunder," on the other hand, gets it mostly right. Which is just as well, because it looks like it cost an arm and a leg to make. The movie-within-a-movie is directed by Damian Cockburn (Steve Coogan) and stars chubby clown Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), action beefcake Tugg Speedman (Stiller) and Aussie method man Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.). The latter is a temperamental chameleon who takes his craft so seriously he has undergone skin pigmentation treatment for his role as a black GI. (Any resemblance to Russell Crowe is entirely superficial but can hardly be coincidental.) Cockburn quickly loses the trust of his ferocious, potty-mouthed studio boss (in one of the film's more inspired insider gags, he's played by a real-life studio boss you may just recognize as Tom Cruise). So when disabled Vietnam vet "Four Leaf" Tayback (Nick Nolte) -- the inspiration for the movie -- suggests dropping them into the jungle and shooting the picture with hidden digital cameras, "guerrilla-style," it seems like a stroke of genius. That is, until the stars lose contact with the outside world and find themselves in a firefight with Golden Triangle drug lords. "Tropic Thunder" is willing to push its gags right to the edge -- and sometimes over it. In the most famous example, the film has run into flak from disabled advocates for its repeated use of the word "retard," referring to Speedman's previous bid for artistic respectability, a sentimental "Forrest Gump"-style Oscar bid by the name of "Simple Jack." Watch why several groups want to boycott the film » . Stiller does milk it, but the protesters are missing the point. If there's one group who should be protesting this movie it's the Screen Actors Guild. The heart-rending, soul-searching, consciousness-raising commitment we prize in our movie stars, particularly around Oscar time -- it's all beautifully travestied and lampooned. An early bad-taste highlight has Tugg messing with his director's head. Literally. And the strained relationship between Alpa and Kirk -- who proves incapable of breaking out of his African-American character -- is terrifically juicy. Downey's blackface performance is an appalling mixture of Mr. T and Uncle Remus, but at the same time he endows the actor with enough straight critical intelligence to appreciate the severity of their situation. The effect is simultaneously funny and a little disturbing. Lazarus is the one character who leaves an indelible impression among some overly familiar caricatures. The Asian characters, in particular, rightfully belong in some third-rate "Deer Hunter" knock-off. Which doesn't mean that "Tropic Thunder" -- which was written by Stiller, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen -- isn't funny. It can be scattershot, even with its fairly safe targets, but when it hits it hits dead-on. (It's not wildly original and outrageous, though, to anyone who's seen Coogan in "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story" or watched the Ricky Gervais series "Extras," in which Stiller played himself in one episode.) iReport.com: Share your thoughts on 'Tropic Thunder' But after an hour or so the movie's one big joke starts wandering around in circles and we're stuck watching a painfully unfunny Jack Black flailing about in mock heroin withdrawal; Tugg reprising Simple Jack, yet again; and a silly, authentically B-movie climax which involves everyone shooting blanks. Still, if it doesn't live up to its full potential there is more than enough to keep you smiling, not least its production values. The film was photographed by John Toll, who shot "The Thin Red Line," and he gives it a look to compete with the Vietnam movies it has in its sights ("Platoon," especially, gets a ribbing). There's also the now-cliched '60s jukebox soundtrack to go with it. And though some of the caricatures wear thin, some of the acting rises to a high level. There's Downey, of course, but also Jackson and Jay Baruchel's nicely gauged supporting turns, and a blitzkrieg of celebrity cameos including Tobey Maguire, Matthew McConaughey and Jon Voight. As for Mr. Cruise, he's still the best mover and shaker in Hollywood. He should try this stuff more often. "Tropic Thunder" is rated R and runs 106 minutes. For Entertainment Weekly's rave review, click here.

Tom Charity: "Tropic Thunder" doesn't always hit, but when it does, pow! Robert Downey Jr. particularly good in Hollywood satire . Film's first half particularly strong, though it gets repetitive .

(CNN) -- The New Hampshire primary will tell us a good deal more than the Iowa caucuses did about where the Republican candidates stand and how they might do in the general election against President Barack Obama. While the unpredictable nature of the Iowa caucuses offered Rick Santorum an opportunity to shine, Tuesday's vote will tell us where the party is really headed, in what has been a Wild West of a presidential selection process, one with more ups and downs than the Colorado Rockies. The New Hampshire primary, established in 1916, has a long and treasured history in American politics. It has often been the site where new voices have been able to upset the status quo and take on establishment figures. In 1952, the military hero Dwight Eisenhower successfully challenged "Mr. Republican" Robert Taft, the senator from Ohio, who was thought to be one of the strongest figures in the party. That same year, Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver shook up the Democratic Party by winning a stunning victory against President Harry Truman, fueling his decision not to run for re-election. In 1968, Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy's strong second-place showing similarly upset President Lyndon Johnson, forcing him to think twice about how strong his support was within the Democratic Party. The results, Sen. Ted Kennedy recalled, demonstrated that "overnight, Johnson had become beatable." A few weeks later Johnson told the nation that he would not run for re-election. In 1976, the little-known Jimmy Carter built on his surprise victory in the Iowa caucuses by winning in New Hampshire and cementing his status as a front-runner. Republican Patrick Buchanan revealed the soft support among conservatives in 1992 for President George H.W. Bush, whom Buchanan derided as "King George," when he did better than expected against the president (though Bush won). To be sure, the outcome of the primary is not always a measure of who will win the party's nomination. There is a substantial list of New Hampshire losers -- including Barack Obama in 2008, George W. Bush in 2000, Bill Clinton in 1992, and Walter Mondale in 1984 -- who went on to receive party nominations. Most important, New Hampshire is a state where independents matter very much and turn out in large numbers. The primary allows unaffiliated voters to participate, thus boosting the number of participants from the middle of the political spectrum. With the base of each party relatively deflated about the choices in 2012 (liberal Democrats are disappointed in Obama's record, while conservatives are not overly enthused about any of the front-runners), the 2012 election will likely come down to the person who can capture the center. With Obama's approval ratings at a low ebb, Republicans have a major opportunity if they can win the hearts and minds of independents and centrist Democrats. One of Mitt Romney's biggest selling points is that he offers the GOP the only candidate who can run as a moderate who is not beholden to the party's base. During one of the weekend debates he brushed back talk about making contraception illegal and tried to focus on his economic policy rather than social and cultural issues. He left the others to fight it out as to who was a "big-government conservative" and who was not. In New Hampshire, Romney will have the first chance to show that his appeal to centrists is a strength. Republicans in New Hampshire tend to fit the profile of the kind of conservative candidate who will have the greatest national appeal. While Republican party activists are often attracted to the candidate who can speak the language of the religious right, the Republican with the best chance of taking Obama in this election will be the fiscal conservative who pushes for lowering the deficit, lowering spending, and containing taxes, while avoiding the cultural issues that turn off moderates. In 2008, according to ABC News, only 23% of the New Hampshire electorate said they were evangelicals, compared with 58% in Iowa this year. Finally, New Hampshire looks more like a national election than does Iowa. While Americans like to think our political process works by retail politics, with candidates shaking hands and enjoying a meal at the local diner, the reality is that elections are won or lost on major media -- television, radio and the Internet. The candidate who has the best ability to mount a national campaign is the person who can master the media, handling reporters and the 24-hour news cycle, and can amass the kind of money that is needed to buy TV ads In New Hampshire. It is simply not possible to win the state only by shaking hands. A candidate has to be able to do well on the screen. This is a year when New Hampshire's verdict will be key in evaluating the Republican field. The test is not completely fair in that Romney comes from this region and even has a home in this state. That said, being local is not a guarantee of victory. While a close victory in Iowa was certainly something that Romney can live with, he needs to have a very strong showing in New Hampshire to demonstrate that he is as electable a candidate as he has promised to be. He has to answer the kind of challenge posed in Sunday's debate, when Newt Gingrich said Romney would "have a very hard time getting elected" in a race against Obama. At the same time, this is a major opportunity for Romney's opponents (especially Jon Huntsman) to show that they fit the bill as well, and that the prospect of Romney winning the nomination is not inevitable. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julian Zelizer.

Julian Zelizer: Iowa gave Santorum prominence but N.H. vote is likely to be more revealing . He says the primary will test whether Romney is strong with centrist voters . The primary has been a place to challenge establishment figures, Zelizer says . Zelizer: Unlike Iowa, New Hampshire isn't decided by retail politics .

(CNN) -- Maybe the American South is more complicated than anyone realizes. We seem to exist down here in a kind of a moral and physical duality. The land gives up bountiful crops while it also grows vigorous weeds. There is no other valid explanation for the actions of either Paula Deen or the U.S. Supreme Court. Deen, a televangelist of butter, let slip in a court deposition that she had used a degrading racial term to describe African-Americans. Imagine the surprise of almost no one in Dixie. Deen came of age in a country that was just beginning to institute the equality it had been bragging about for almost two centuries. If her childhood was like most Southern baby boomers, she was raised on the lexicon of discrimination, and probably used it. Un-ringing such a bell is not simple. Passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 meant that people who had been taught that it was socially acceptable to use terms like the N-word in public suddenly found themselves struggling with restraint on their language. Unable to exorcise the term from their vocabulary fully, they took it into private quarters and used it among friends who had similar experiences and sentiments. It is grossly foolish, though, to dismiss Deen's stumble as a minor ineptitude with speech. In certain cultural circles in America, racism abides. And sometimes it simply forgets to close the door. In tearful interview, Deen slams 'horrible lies' Apologists racing to Deen's side are equally awkward in their articulations of defense. Author Anne Rice fretted about our "lynch mob" culture crucifying Deen, seemingly oblivious to the racial freight hauled around when using such a phrase to defend a privileged, Southern white person. Less than 100 years ago a 17-year-old black farmhand named Jesse Washington was lynched on the courthouse lawn in Waco, Texas, chained to a tree and burned alive. Parts of his body were sold as souvenirs to a cheering crowd of 10,000. He had admitted to a murder many historians doubt he committed. How hard is it to understand that any ethnic person whose race has a history of being so victimized in a nation that espouses equality is likely to have a justified sensitivity to the bumblings of Deen, who had also expressed an offhanded interest in a "plantation-style" wedding dinner where the waiters were black males? Eatocracy: Paula Deen and Southern food: Critics say credit is past due . Deen might have argued that her attitudes were forever altered when a black man robbed a bank where she worked in 1986 and held a gun to her head. But sympathy is a tough emotion to conjure when reading her 2012 interview with The New York Times where she speaks of slavery as a familial relationship, not an injustice, and says, "(F)or that reason we didn't see ourselves as prejudiced." She also used the same forum to suggest that the freeing of her grandfather's 30 slaves was the cause of his suicide. Consequently, it is disturbingly wrongheaded for comedian Bill Maher to argue that what she said is "just a word." Words are powerful things. Words have changed the world. Regardless, it is still a bit awkward labeling Deen a racist when she had Pat and Gina Neely on her program so frequently that the African-American barbecue chefs became stars of their own cooking show. It is probably a gross oversimplification to suggest Deen didn't know any better because she lives in two parallel and contradictory environments. No such explanation is sufficient for the Supreme Court's ruling on the Voting Rights Act, either. Deen's sons: She's no racist . The court's perceptions are as confounding as Deen's. A conservative majority voted 5-4 that Congress used "outdated facts" to force mostly Southern states to seek federal approval for voting rules changes that affect minorities. We can infer from the opinion's language that the problem of racial discrimination in the former slaveholding states has been mostly resolved. Can we all share a "hallelujah"? Unlike Deen's mishap, this news will generate surprise among minorities, particularly those living in Texas and Arizona. The high court had already ruled that the Texas Legislature drew congressional district lines in a manner "designed" to discriminate against minority representation, which, not surprisingly, meant nothing to Gov. Rick Perry and his Republican, conservative legislature. They recently readopted the plan that had been ruled unconstitutional. The high court also has a kind of Southern duality that puts it at odds with its own rulings. A week before the Voting Rights Act decision, the justices struck down an Arizona law that required people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. A judicial body that contradicts itself one week after a progressive ruling is struggling as much with the law as it is with the reality of the culture where it is employed. In the South, people understand how Paula Deen and judges can be as wrong as they are right. Unfortunately, there is considerably more at stake in this discussion than the buttery delights of a Southern cooking show. Regardless of how much we debate and legislate ourselves toward equality, we have not yet arrived. America seems immobilized by its history; we just can't stop staring at that tree on the courthouse lawn in Waco. And we wonder why we still haven't got this right. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of James C. Moore.

James Moore: Complicated South gives us actions of Paula Deen, U.S. Supreme Court . He says Deen's apparent use of racist terms not surprising in region with racist roots . He says her generation used them behind closed doors with other whites and many still do . Moore: This duality in the way racism's vestiges are perceived echoed in Supreme Court rulings .

(CNN) -- Four grand slam finals, four heartbreaking defeats. Andy Murray was in danger of becoming the "nearly man" of men's tennis -- and despite his public brave face, it was taking its toll. "Physically we go through a lot," the 25-year-old told CNN ahead of next week's ATP World Tour Finals. "So sometimes I questioned whether it was worth it because I had lost a lot of close matches and hadn't quite got to where I wanted to get to." July's defeat at Wimbledon, his home grand slam, was hard to take. Tears flowed after the final as he addressed the crowd. But just four weeks later, his revenge victory over longtime nemesis Roger Federer on the famous grass courts earned him the gold medal at the Olympics -- and in September Murray became the first British male player to win a major since Fred Perry in 1936 when he lifted the U.S. Open. Murray crashes out in Paris as ATP finals line-up is completed . His older brother and occasional doubles partner Jamie says that New York final was the defining moment in Andy's career. "I guess maybe it closed some of the doubts, I guess maybe in himself, but especially in the rest of the tennis world and in the media," he told CNN. "He's finally got a grand slam now and hopefully that'll be the start of many to come." Neil Harman, tennis correspondent for the Times of London, has followed Murray's career from the start and knew only too well the self-imposed pressure and self doubt that plagued the Scot, who has now won nearly $24 million in prize money on the ATP Tour. "I can only pay tribute to his dedication to keep going, this is a tremendous affirmation of his qualities. It means everything to him," Harman told CNN. Murray's London 2012 success against a man who had beaten him in three grand slam finals, and his later silver medal alongside Laura Robson in the mixed doubles, was made sweeter by his overwhelming support from a patriotic, flag waving home crowd. "I'd probably say the Olympics was a highlight -- not just the match but the whole two weeks of the Olympics were just unbelievable," he said. "I love sport, so as a sports fan it was great to be part of that and I love watching all the other sports whilst the tennis was on and then to win a gold medal and then a silver in the mixed was great. I really, really enjoyed it." The man credited with helping Murray take the final step from nearly man to big-time winner is coach Ivan Lendl, appointed at the turn of this year with just that in mind. Harman said it had been a "brave move" as former world No. 1 Lendl had little formal coaching, but "the proof of the pudding is in the results." In what may prove to be a good omen for Murray, Czech-born legend Lendl lost his first four grand slam finals before going on to win eight. "I'm not saying I will go on to achieve anything like that but he always wanted to keep improving," Murray said. "He worked incredibly hard. He would really do anything in terms of his training and his practice. "That's what I will look to tap into over the next couple of years, how to, after reaching a certain goal, how to reset your goals and how to keep getting better. " Murray will be seeking to emulate one of his best friends on the tour, Novak Djokovic -- who will be the year-end world No. 1 for the second season in a row no matter what happens in London at the eight-man season finale. The Serbian was effusive in his praise of Murray, who he first played at the age of 11, following his final defeat at Flushing Meadows. "It is obviously nice to hear that from him, he made his big real breakthrough last year -- he had one of the best years ever on the tour so he has helped inspire me in a way to keep trying to get better and believing that you can get to the top," Murray said. Murray's heroics earned him a rapturous welcome in his hometown of Dunblane, scene of a 1996 mass shooting at the primary school which he attended. A lone gunman, Thomas Hamilton, killed 17 people before taking his own life. Murray, eight at the time, survived by hiding in a classroom. He has revealed since that his mother Judy once gave Hamilton a lift in their car while he was sat in the back. A stunned community united in their grief and shock but now revel in the achievements of Andy and his brother, who has won a mixed doubles title at Wimbledon. "I think Dunblane's only maybe 9,000 people and it's very close-knit, especially after the bad experiences that have happened in the town in the past," Jamie said. "I think for what Andy's done the last few years of his career has really put a more positive light on the town and everyone's so behind him." The pair have enjoyed success as a doubles partnership, claiming two ATP Tour titles, but losing in the first round of this year's Olympic competition. Jamie has always relished the experience. "To be able to play high-level sport with your brother is always a cool thing to do, it's pretty unique as well." It's a standing joke between them that Jamie is the only one to claim a Wimbledon title -- he won with Jelena Jankovic in 2007 -- but with Andy desperate to add to his grand slam tally it's perhaps only a matter of time before that changes.

Andy Murray says he struggled with confidence after high-profile defeats . Scot was plagued by self doubt ahead of his double triumph in 2012 . He won Olympic gold and U.S. Open crown in quick succession . Coach Ivan Lendl is credited with improving his fortunes this year .

(CNN) -- It took just two "immortal words" for the chairman of a leading Australian media group to whip up hundreds more in print and online in the Australian press on Tuesday. Those words were "S-H-I-T happens," a phrase the chairman of Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) later reportedly dismissed as "a comment in one sentence" and "everyday parlance in Australia." The problem was those words were uttered, with the first spelled out, in response to a shareholder question about whether the company had a "cultural problem" as evidenced partly by the "UK incident." The "UK incident" refers to the apparent suicide of 46-year-old British nurse Jacintha Saldanha, three days after two Austereo DJs made a prank call to the hospital treating the then-pregnant Duchess of Cambridge. Using poor impersonations of Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales, Mel Greig and Michael Christian called the hospital switchboard and managed to talk to someone with knowledge of the Duchess' medical condition. It later emerged that Saldanha was the nurse who put them through. READ MORE: Who was nurse Jacintha Saldanha? On Wednesday, the company issued a statement alleging that Max Moore-Wilton's comments to a room full of shareholders at the company's annual general meeting in Melbourne were "taken out of context." It added that Moore-Wilton "would like to emphasize that his words should not be read as his or the company's lack of concern or sympathies towards those who have been involved in the Royal prank call issue." It included a full transcript of the question and answer: . Shareholder Question: . "Just in relation to Eddie and King Kong, Kyle and obviously the UK incident, do we have a cultural problem?" Max Moore-Wilton Answer: . "I think it's fair to say that those incidents were very unfortunate, there is no doubt about that. In each particular case we thoroughly investigated them and it comes generally within the context of some of these incidents where a whole series of events come together and in the immortal words of somebody who I forget, S-H-I-T happens." The answer goes on to address the "Kyle" question, a reference to shock jock Kyle Sandilands whose no-holds-barred approach to the discipline has long outraged and offended listeners. Moore-Wilton didn't separately address the portion of the question regarding "Eddie and King Kong," a reference to presenter Eddie McGuire who suggested on air that a star AFL player should be used to promote the King Kong musical. The comment was widely interpreted to mean he was calling him an ape. In regard to what he called the "United Kingdom incident," Moore-Wilton said "that is still ongoing." "The Coroner's court hearings in London have been delayed. I understand because further investigations are taking place in India. We however, have put in place again, procedures to ensure that such a situation will not happen again. "We of course have legal proceedings in place. We do not believe that we are in breach of any of the codes and that those matters will go forward but no doubt they did reflect the need to tighten up our procedures and the board and the management have taken considerable time and effort to ensure we've tightened up those procedures" -- SCA statement . 'An insult to a loving mother' In the UK, British lawmaker Keith Vaz issued a statement saying he was "shocked" by Moore-Wilton's comments. "This is an insult to the memory of a loving mother and wife. The radio station has clearly not learnt the lessons from this incident. Mr Moore-Wilton must apologise for his comments immediately." Moore-Wilton reportedly fired back, urging Vaz to look at the transcript of his comments rather than "listening to the truncated and sensationalist reports of the Australian media." He told the Australian Associated Press the phrase was "entirely Australian. I don't know whether it's British but it's certainly ... been used by many Australians to express a point of view. "I'm not here to be censored for my use of a word which is common in everyday parlance in Australia. If you don't like it, or the media don't like it, well that's fine." Outrage over prank call . The call, made in December 2012, provoked international outrage. Social media seethed with scorn for the two presenters who appeared tearful in television interviews when they dared to come out of hiding. "I'm very sorry and saddened for the family, and I can't imagine what they've been going through," Greig said on the program "Today Tonight." Christian described himself as "gutted, shattered and heartbroken." READ MORE: Two presenters apologize for prank call . The two presenters were taken off air, their show canceled and all advertising suspended. However, just six months later, Austereo bosses announced they were thrilled that Christian had won a national competition to find the "next top jock." Greig is yet to return to air and has filed a legal claim against 2DayFM, for failing to provide a safe workplace in relation to the prank call. In September, 2DayFM took the Australian Communications and Media Authority to the Federal Court, alleging that it didn't have the authority to reach a preliminary finding that the station breached the Surveillance Devices Act 2007. The ACMA has not publicly released the findings of its investigation but provided 2DayFM with a preliminary copy. The court is still considering its verdict.

Southern Cross Austereo chairman shocks with flippant comment . In response to a shareholder question, Max Moore-Wilton said "S-H-I-T happens" Company released a transcript Wednesday, saying quotes had been taken out of context . Last December, two Austereo DJs provoked outrage with a prank call to a hospital .