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(CNN) -- Gaze across Cannes Bay this week, and you'd be forgiven for thinking you had stepped back in time. Each year, the French seaside town -- better known for its glamorous film festival and extravagant superyachts -- is transformed into a haven of historic nautical engineering. Over 100 elegant wooden vessels, their white sails billowing like giant quills, will cruise the Mediterranean in one of the biggest vintage yacht races in the world -- the Régates Royales de Cannes. Forget throbbing engines and high-tech satellite gear. These multimillion dollar boats hark back to an era when sail ruled the waves, built from designs dating back centuries. "Using vintage yachts is completely different to modern sailing - it's not all about performance and technology," said Angelo Bonati, chief executive of sponsors Panerai, who also spent three years and more than $3.8 million restoring a 1930s boat which will race this week. "Each classic yacht expresses elegance, authenticity, craftsmanship, and above all, rarity and exclusivity." He added: "Everybody speaks the same language -- passion for the sea and a love for the great ladies of the sea." For the love of sail . If Bonati's words seems dramatic, then perhaps it's a reflection of competitors' devotion -- and huge financial investment -- in these vintage vessels. With classic yachts costing up to $13 million, and often built using traditional techniques, it's rare to see just one on the high seas -- let alone a fleet. "There are 100 of these boats at Cannes, and there are not much more than 300 of them in the world," said Celine Castellanet, organizer at the Cannes Yacht Club which helps run the regatta. "You can find a modern yacht anywhere. But for the crews taking part, these boats are really attractive because they're so unique." Hailing from every corner of the globe, many of the classic yachts have a rich history, with the oldest built in 1896 by renowned Scottish designer William Fife. Also setting sail will be the 1930 Shamrock V. Originally owned by legendary English tea magnate Thomas Lipton, it was the fifth and final yacht he fielded in the America's Cup -- without success. Race of a lifetime . Cannes is the final stop in the prestigious Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge, featuring 10 regattas held in the Mediterranean and east coast of America. The event is divided into three categories according to the age of the yachts -- those built before 1950, those built before 1975, and those built after 1975 but using classic designs. Depending on weather conditions, the yachts will race various routes across Cannes Bay for around five hours. But for the 3,000 sailors taking part, maneuvering the old-fashioned vessels takes not just specialized knowledge -- but brute strength. "These boats are really heavy," said Castellanet. "When they're launched they take a long time to stop and turn around." "Unlike modern yachts, they don't have hydraulics, so sometimes it takes 10 guys pulling on the same rope." Royal beginnings . The roaring twenties were a golden era for the French Riviera, with the crème de la crème of European society holidaying -- and sailing -- at the pretty seaside town of Cannes. In 1929 the first Régates Royales was born, in honor of Christian X, King of Denmark. World War Two put a temporary halt to the event, until it was re-launched in 1978. Fast forward 35 years and the prestigious regatta now attracts 40,000 visitors each year. However, this year will also be an emotional event, with the death of Cannes Yacht Club president Jean-Claude Montesinos earlier this month. Castellanet paid tribute to Montesinos' sense of humor and huge enthusiasm for the race. It is that same enthusiasm which sees thousands of crew members taking part, despite there being no prize money. Rather than staying in ritzy hotels, many sleep on board the yachts. "A lot of different people are involved. The boat owners obviously have a high level of income. But the crews are often younger people with the strength to pull the ropes," said Castellanet. "It's not about prize money. People do it for the spirit of the race."

Introducing Régates Royales de Cannes -- one of the world's biggest vintage yacht races . Over 100 classic boats take part, with the oldest dating back to 1896 . Costing up to $13m, the stunning vessels are often restored using traditional techniques . Follows recent death of Cannes Yacht Club president, Jean-Claude Montesinos .

(CNN) -- Princeton University will make a meningitis B vaccine available to all undergraduate students, graduate students living in dorms or the Graduate College and annexes, and other university community members with particular medical conditions, the school said Tuesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have officially recommended that these groups of people receive the vaccine, Princeton said. The CDC's Institutional Review Board approved this measure Tuesday afternoon, spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds said. The vaccine, which is not licensed for use in the United States, will not be provided to anyone else or given out anywhere else, the school said. Young adults and individuals with certain medical conditions have an increased risk of meningitis, especially when living in close proximity to one another, such as in dormitories, the school said. The vaccine is called Bexsero and is made by Novartis. It has been approved in Europe and Australia. The first dose of the vaccine will be available at the school's Frist Campus Center from December 9 to December 12, and the second dose will be available in February. For maximum protection, individuals must receive two doses. Princeton will cover the cost of the vaccine. The vaccine would be recommended for about 5,000 undergraduates and 550 graduate students in dorms, university spokesman Martin Mbugua had told CNN previously. Additionally, around half a dozen people with conditions that fall under the recommendation would also be affected, although there may be more who have not yet disclosed their conditions, he said. These include conditions where the spleen is compromised, or certain other immune system disorders. The school announced Friday that an eighth case of meningitis B had been reported, the latest in a string of cases reported this year. All eight were caused by a rare meningococcal bacteria known as serotype B. Also last week, the University of California, Santa Barbara, reported that three students were being treated for meningococcal disease and that their cases were caused by type B bacteria -- the same bacteria strain causing the Princeton outbreak. However, no link has been found between the California cases and those at Princeton, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department said. New Jersey state law requires all students at Princeton living in dormitories to receive a different meningitis vaccine, which is licensed in the United States. That vaccine protects against some other strains, but not serotype B bacteria. Any Princeton student who received the usual meningitis vaccine would not not be protected, Princeton said. What is meningitis B? Meningitis is caused by inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord, known as the meninges. Infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord usually causes this inflammation, according to the CDC. Meningitis usually develops in response to bacteria or viruses, but there can be other forms and causes, such as physical injury, cancer or certain drugs, according to the CDC. The bacterial form is rare in the United States, and the group B bacterial strains are even more rare. Meningitis can spread via the exchange of saliva and other respiratory secretions through kissing, coughing, sharing drinks and living in close quarters, such as in dormitories, according to the New Jersey state health department. Symptoms can include a stiff neck, headache, fever, vomiting, rashes, sensitivity to light and confusion. Untreated, the disease can lead to complications such as hearing impairment, brain damage, limb amputations and death. Antibiotic treatment of the most common types of bacterial meningitis "should reduce the risk of dying from meningitis to below 15%, although the risk remains higher among young infants and the elderly," according to the CDC. In 2012, there were 480 cases of bacterial meningitis in the United States, according to the CDC. Of those, 160 were group B. School activities continue . Several students told CNN that their peers are not overly afraid of getting meningitis, but that it's definitely a topic of conversation. "I think students do know that it is an important and fatal issue that is spreading on campus -- and each student individually decides to what degree to protect themselves," Stephen Cognetta, a junior, said in an e-mail. In Princeton's statement Tuesday, the university said: "The CDC and state health officials recommend that classes and activities at Princeton University continue as planned, and the surrounding community can continue to attend events on the campus. They do not recommend any travel restrictions for members of the University community." The university celebrated its football team's victories over Harvard and Yale on Sunday with a bonfire. Michigan, feds to share info in meningitis probe . CNN's Miriam Falco contributed to this report .

The first dose of the meningitis B vaccine will be available at Princeton in December . Princeton has reported eight cases of meningitis B since March . The vaccine is called Bexsero and is made by Novartis .

(CNN) -- A visit to the Aloha State rates high on many a travel wish list. Warm, floral breezes skip across the remote and spectacular Hawaiian Islands, home to some of the world's most beautiful beaches, lush rainforests, lava-laced volcanoes, and more. iReporter Adrienne Papania, of Cincinnati, Ohio, recently returned from an island-hopping Hawaiian getaway. Papania, 58, and her sister, brother and sister-in-law jumped between Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island. The group stayed mostly in oceanfront two-bedroom condos. Their experience at Kahana Village in Lahaina, Maui, was particularly welcoming, complete with a festive Mai Tai party with live Hawaiian music. "Honestly, though, while all of our accommodations were great, we were not in our rooms much since we had a lot of exploring to do," Papania said. Papania shared her favorite discoveries on iReport.com: . Don't-miss experiences . Oahu: Hike up Diamond Head Crater -- It wasn't an easy trek for us, but the views once we arrived were breathtaking. Kauai: Helicopter tour of the island -- You can't get to some parts of the island very easily without hiking, so the ride provides a panoramic view of what we would not have seen. This trip was very much worth the money! Maui: Sunrise at Haleakala -- We were told it would be cold when we did the sunrise at Haleakala... and it was! Fifty degrees doesn't sound too bad, but we sure were freezing even with jackets and blankets. But the experience is not to be missed. Big Island: Black Sand Beach -- This was an unexpected stop on our way to the Volcanoes National Park. The sand there is literally black, a byproduct of the lava that surrounds the island. It was absolutely gorgeous, and there were several huge sea turtles close to the shore. All islands: Fabulous sunsets . Share your recent travel tales on iReport.com: Just back from . First impressions. Did they change? Impressions changed dramatically from island to island. They each are so different and beautiful, from the populous, energy-filled Oahu, to the lush environment of Kauai, the valleys of Maui and the lava terrain of the Big Island. Travel Snapshots: Natural beauty shines in Aloha State . Lasting memory . For me, the most significant lasting memory (and it's hard to pick one) was the Black Sand Beach. It was something I had never seen before, and it was just beautiful beyond words. Three adjectives that capture this place . Scenic; distinctive; adventure-filled. (And I'll throw in beautiful!) Biggest surprise . My biggest surprise was the helicopter ride on Kauai. We would have missed a lot of the beauty of that island, especially the Na Pali Coast and the Waimea Canyon. I would highly recommend [Blue Hawaiian Helicopters]. I was very apprehensive about the idea of a helicopter ride and even took a motion sickness prevention pill just in case. But our pilot, Dawn, who was a former Coast Guard pilot, did a great job. The ride didn't come cheap, but it was a ride of a lifetime! We all agreed we would do it again, maybe on the Big Island next time. Most delicious food or drink . Our favorite meal was in Hilo on the Big Island at a place called the Hilo Bay Cafe. We had macadamia nut-crusted scallops, and they were absolutely delicious. Our favorite drinks were at the luau in Old Lahaina on Maui, where they served a tasty frozen lava flow. You use rum, coconut rum, strawberries, banana, pineapple juice and coconut cream. It's a recipe we hope to replicate at home soon! The whole night was a great experience, starting with receiving our gorgeous fuchsia/white plumeria leis; watching the natives display their craft skills around the perimeter of the venue (making jewelry, woodworking, weaving palms into flowers and animals, making poi, etc.); watching the removal of the pig from the imu; a great meal; and finally the show. The dancers were incredible, and all the songs followed a tale they wove into a story of their Hawaiian heritage. Have you been to Hawaii? Share your comments below and post your travel tales on iReport.com: Just back from.

iReporter Adrienne Papania recommends a helicopter tour to see remote Kauai . A black sand beach on the Big Island made a lasting impression on Papania . Macadamia nut-crusted scallops at Hilo Bay Cafe made for the top culinary moment .

(CNN)The Internet was abuzz last week when the cast of the all-female "Ghostbusters" reboot was announced. The crop of funny ladies charged with eliminating the undead are some of the top female comedians working today. The chatter and support has a lot to do with the fans these women have garnered. It also comes from groups and individuals -- male and female -- who long to see more women headlining major Hollywood films. So, is "Ghostbusters" progress? Yes. Is it a panacea? No. Let's talk about why. Putting women front and center in film is the exception, not the rule. Using "Ghostbusters" as an example of how far females have come is like celebrating Kathryn Bigelow's best director Academy Award -- and forgetting that she's the only woman ever to take home that honor. You can applaud Katniss, Elsa, and Anna, too. But, they're following the legions of guys who have protected and ruled the planet, palaces and corporate empires near and far. It's fair and important to celebrate these high-profile moments of progress. Doing so, however, may dismiss the lack of diversity that persists onscreen and behind the camera in Hollywood movies. Our annual statistics on women's participation in the year's 100 top-grossing films reveal stagnation. In 2013, only 29% of 4,506 speaking characters evaluated were female. In another study, we examined popular films from 1990 to 1995. The percentage was 29%. For those of you who think the past was better, other research shows that women clocked in at 25% of characters in a sample of movies from the late 1940s. Interestingly, only 28% of movies in 2013 depicted a female lead or co-lead. Behind the camera it's even worse. Women rarely get to direct large budget features on the scale of "Ghostbusters" or "The Hunger Games." Across top-grossing films from 2002 to 2013, only 4.2% of all directors were female. In 2013 and 2014, there were only two female directors each year. Even more dismal figures concern black or African-American female directors. Only three black women were directors across 700 popular movies between 2007 and 2014. What drives the lack of diversity in films? Our studies with industry leaders (funded by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and Sundance Institute/Women in Film Los Angeles) reveal that both in front of and behind the camera, perceptions about market forces and money are to blame for the lack of females. Male leads, stories and properties are seen as more profitable, while female stories and casts are seen as a risk. For female directors, the financing structure, subject matter, and even perceived confidence of filmmakers creates a barrier to career progress. Much like pesky poltergeists, these myths about profitability will have to be busted before change can occur. To do so, solutions need to be implemented that overcome implicit biases and circumvent stereotyping. Leveling the playing field when it comes to hiring is one step toward creating a more balanced behind-the-scenes environment. We have previously advocated for a modified version of the NFL's Rooney Rule: a league-wide commitment to interviewing diverse candidates for coaching positions. Applied to Hollywood, the rule would stipulate that women and candidates from underrepresented backgrounds be considered or even interviewed when hiring film directors. Another solution we're implementing at USC Annenberg is to look holistically at the entertainment industry from decision-making to the content we view. The USC Annenberg Comprehensive Analysis and Report on Diversity will "grade" companies based on the diversity within their ranks and the media they create. Media conglomerates can be held accountable for their decisions across film, television and digital productions. While not every story should or can be female-dominated or focus on underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups, examining a slate of content will reveal where and when stories about diverse groups and individuals are valued and told. Right now, lifting the veil on diversity in Hollywood reveals white men standing behind the curtain. In this environment, casting four women to take care of a metropolitan ghost problem does feel rather extraordinary. Sealing up cracks in the development, casting and hiring pipeline for women and underrepresented groups, however, should result in an onscreen reality that is more representative of the world we live in. Then, the only unreal thing about "Ghostbusters" will be the ghouls and goblins, not the women busting them.

A "Ghostbusters" reboot has been announced with all-female leads . But lack of diversity persists on screen and behind camera in Hollywood, authors say .

(CNN) -- Mexican migration to the United States may have stalled, as a new study shows, but the political and social debates over immigrants living in the United States aren't going anywhere, experts say. The immigration debate is reflected in a number of policies and proposals, most recognizably state immigration laws that are being challenged. Oral arguments are scheduled at the Supreme Court on Wednesday as the justices decide whether Arizona can enforce its controversial immigration law. A bill in Mississippi that would require police to check the immigration status of all those arrested died in the state Senate this month. Amid the backdrop of contentious debates comes a study this week from the Pew Hispanic Center, which finds that for the first time in decades, the flow of Mexican migrants to and from the United States balances out. The effect may be even more pronounced. According to the report, "the trend lines ... suggest that return flow to Mexico probably exceeded the inflow from Mexico during the past year or two." "The largest wave of immigration in history from a single country to the United States has come to a standstill," the report announces. The report's findings weren't a surprise to several Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles, who said they've seen the political and economic situation shift dramatically in recent years. "It isn't like it was before. The laws have changed. The work is very hard. Life is very expensive," said Norma Ibarra. "It's not the United States it was 30 years ago." Alba Roche said her nieces in Mexico want to come to the United States, but can't. "They haven't been able to come because of the situation, because there is not enough work, and more than anything because crossing is quite dangerous, so there are many obstacles," she said. Those who study immigration trends and policy agree that the apparent standstill in immigration is significant, but to varying degrees they say it will do little to change attitudes and actions in the United States. Jeffrey Passel, senior demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center and one of the report's authors, said that as Mexican families have fewer children, the number of potential immigrants is shrinking. Also, the Mexican economy is improving and providing jobs that before weren't available and provided a push to look for opportunities in the United States. "It's likely impossible that we'll get back to the level of immigration that we saw 10 years ago. It's possible that the flows may pick up, but I don't think they will get anywhere near where they were in 2000," Passel said. "People have been talking about the return flow for a couple of years, but it just wasn't showing up in the data, and now we're beginning to see it," he added. But the forces that pull immigrants to the United States and push them from Mexico have not disappeared. "It's a little premature to say that part of history is over," said Tamar Jacoby, president and CEO of ImmigrationWorks USA, a federation of small-business owners in favor of immigration reform. There are a number of factors that may have affected the recent trend: better enforcement in the United States, demographic changes in Mexico and the economic downturn in the United States. "We have three different reasons, and we don't know how important each one of these reasons is," she said. As those factors shift -- for example, as the U.S. economy improves -- the demand for immigrant workers in the United States will rise, she said. An improving situation in Mexico could result in fewer Mexicans migrating to the United States, but people from Central American countries could fill that void. Even if not as large as before, a future demand for immigrants in the United States will mean a continuation of the debates of today. The news produced in the Pew Hispanic report may relieve some people's anxieties, but for many illegal immigration critics, the real problem isn't the immigrants arriving today but the cumulative effects of immigrants who have arrived illegally over the past 30 years, Jacoby said. Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said there is no question that immigration from Mexico has slowed, but it doesn't mean nobody is coming. "The claim that this is a permanent development is premature," said Krikorian, whose center favors a restrictive approach to immigration policy. "When our economy picks up, what happens then?" he asked. Krikorian said he sees the pause in Mexican migration as an opportunity to build up enforcement against future illegal immigration. "The conclusion I draw from this is that we have breathing space to put enforcement measures in place that we will need when these pressures mount again," he said. CNN's Jacqueline Hurtado contributed to this report.

NEW: "It's not the United States it was 30 years ago," one immigrant says . A new study says net flows from Mexico into the United States have stopped . Better conditions in Mexico mean less desire to emigrate to the United States . But future demand means the controversial debates will continue .

Colombo, Sri Lanka (CNN)When you look at the gleaming buildings of Colombo and the fast-paced development that has taken place in recent years, it is perhaps easy to forget that until five years ago, Sri Lanka was embroiled in a bitter civil war. Tens of thousands were killed, and hundreds of thousands displaced, in a three-decade conflict between the state and separatist insurgents in the north, known as the Tamil Tigers. Peace is therefore a relatively new concept here, and something Sri Lankans don't take for granted. 'Truth and reconciliation' It's also the primary message from Pope Francis as he arrived in the island nation. On Tuesday, his first day of a three-day tour of the country, he told an audience that Sri Lanka cannot fully heal without "fostering reconciliation." He said the "pursuit of truth" was important, "not for the sake of opening old wounds, but rather as a necessary means of promoting justice, healing and unity." While steps towards reconciliation have been taken since the war ended in 2009, mainly in terms of economic and infrastructure development, real reconciliation on an emotional and spiritual level has yet to happen. "We had a military victory, five years ago but whether after that there is a victory of the hearts is a question we need to ask ourselves," the Archbishop of Sri Lanka, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith told CNN. War-stricken past . Sri Lanka has had a dark history, Cardinal Ranjith said, but now it is time for the country to put that behind and construct a new Sri Lanka, with a new identity where each minority group is respected and accepted. The island nation needs, he said, to "send a message to the world that Sri Lanka is a nation of peacemakers." The timing couldn't be more fortuitous. Pope Francis arrives just days after a new government was sworn in after a massive electoral upset. The new government under new President Maitripala Sirasena has promised to make reconciliation a priority. He won the snap elections largely because of the support from minority groups -- including Hindu Tamils -- so reaching a consensus is expected to be easier. Sirasena was a long time ally of outgoing president Mahinda Rajapaksa during the war but defected soon after snap elections were called in November. Multifaith greeting . In a show of ethnic coexistence, the pope's welcoming ceremony featured traditional dancers from both the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil groups. At an inter-religious meeting on Tuesday, perhaps the most important part of Pope Francis' first day in Sri Lanka, the session began with Buddhist chants, Hindu and Muslim blessings and then a message from Pope Francis on religious and ethnic harmony. He will also be traveling to Madhu, a town in the north of Sri Lanka, the former heart of the war zone, where he will meet with a number of families both Tamil and Sinhalese who suffered the consequences of the conflict. Sri Lankans are proud of their pan-religious, multi-ethnic heritage. More than 70% of the 21 million-strong population is Buddhist, 6-7% Christian and the remainder Hindu and Muslim, but religious tensions in recent years have given some cause for concern. Outbreaks of religious violence . Churches have been burned down and Muslims have been attacked -- the most violent case of which occurred in 2014, when at least three people were killed in a Buddhist-Muslim riot. Monk Galagad Atte Gnanasara's hardline Buddhist group, the Bodu Bala Sena is often blamed for the attacks. Gnanasara told CNN they condemn violence but argued that when Christian evangelicals try to "disrupt Sri Lanka's culture and society by proselytizing and breaking Buddha statues a rage develops deep inside," his group will react. Unity urged . While violent incidents between people of different religious groups like these attract headlines, leaders of a most religious groups in Sri Lanka say they are isolated and politically motivated. "There are extremists, they are not the majority," Cardinal Ranjith says. "So we cannot say there are religious persecutions in an organized fashion." Sri Lanka has a porous culture where people from various faiths have intermingled and taken aspects from other religions. "I am a Catholic, but I am very sure Buddhism, which is followed by the majority in the country, has influenced my thinking," he said. It is this co-existence of faiths Cardinal Ranjith wants Pope Francis to witness for himself in Sri Lanka, and thinks it's the best way forward for Christianity in Asia.

Pope Francis visits Sri Lanka for a three-day tour, preaches reconciliation for war-divided nation . Faith leaders aim to show him how intermingled religious groups can learn from each other . Incidents of religious violence downplayed, harmony is highlighted .

(CNN) -- It was Wednesday morning when I noticed a popular post on reddit that shared an unbelievable photo of a $1,300 HDMI cable. Yes. One HDMI cable. Thirteen hundred dollars. Naturally, I ordered three on my corporate AmEX and expensed them as "miscellaneous." (Also recently expensed as miscellaneous: NFL Sunday Ticket, Pop Tarts and a pony keg of Schlitz. I think HR is on the ninth floor. I'll just head up there now.) At first, I thought it had to be a simple labeling mistake at whatever store the picture was taken. But it was real. A company called AudioQuest sells Diamond brand HDMI cables that cost more than my actual TV. And I fully support it. I mean, somebody must be buying them. Granted, I'm not sure how Diamond HDMI cables satisfy a rich man's narcissism, but surely these work better than, say, driving around in my Saturn. Or as all the sexy ladies in Atlanta call it ... my Saturn. I first entered the dirty world of HDMI cables a couple years ago when I finally purchased a new TV. Although, to be slightly more accurate, I finally purchased Netflix streaming, and then I had to buy a new TV. First month of Netflix streaming: $1,200. You see, since 2006, I had been enjoying an old, 65-inch Toshiba that a friend gave me. It was old in that he was more than happy to give it away. And it was large in that it was an actual hippopotamus that somehow aired Seinfeld reruns. Fast forward to November 2010 when, suddenly, my life wasn't complete without Netflix streaming. But there was one little problem: My hippopotamus didn't have the correct hardware in the back to properly connect my laptop. Clearly this meant it was time for a new TV. I can be rather impulsive. (I wonder how my Facebook stock is doing.) Next thing I know there's a 55-inch LED LCD in my shopping cart and a kid with pimples trying to tell me why I absolutely, positively needed $40 Monster-brand HDMI cables. I admit, his case was compelling. Apparently, if I didn't get the good cables, my new TV would grow up to be a serial killer. So I bought the stupid cables and boasted about my big purchase to a colleague at work the next day. "Dude, this TV is great -- Netflix is actually built in! And I got these amazing HDMI cables that really bring out the high-def. They only cost like 40 bucks each." To which he replied, "Shouldn't you be wearing pants?" He later advised me to buy cheap, $3 cables online, and so far the HD still seems to be coming in perfectly. I can pick out individual hairs in Wolf Blitzer's beard. Which brings us back to Diamond cables. The company's website says: . "Diamond HDMI incorporates AudioQuest's highest-performance, lowest-distortion Perfect-Surface Silver conductors. Silver is known for its high conductivity and its 'colorless' sonic presentation." I have no idea what this means, but it seems to suggest that, if I were to buy the Diamond cable, Wolf's beard actually would jump out of the TV and make me an omelet. I could be wrong. I don't generally get things. And reading through any HDMI discussion online will only further the confusion. Some people say quality cables matter. Some people say they don't. In the end, it's all ones and zeroes to me. If you look for an expert opinion from Consumer Reports, however, you'll find they say "we've long been advocates of not paying for pricey cables, which often do little more than pad the pockets of the manufacturers that make them and the retailers that sell them." The only reasons to buy anything but low-end cables, they say, is if you plan to unplug and replug the cables all the time or if the cable is longer than 30 feet. Otherwise, "any high-speed cable should suffice," the group says, "and don't let a package or retail associate tell you otherwise." Still, you've got to hand it to them. AudioQuest cares about performance, and they seem to specialize in super-high-end everything. I actually found a $6,900 AC power cable on Amazon. AudioQuest calls it the NRG WEL Signature Series. I call it "miscellaneous." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jarrett Bellini.

AudioQuest sells Diamond brand HDMI cables for $1,300 . Jarrett Bellini: "I fully support it. I mean, somebody must be buying them" Some cables are available for as little as $3 online .

Washington (CNN) -- Even as it prepares to hand over the Libyan embassy in Washington to the rebel government, the State Department is warning the Transitional National Council to get its act together. An administration official told CNN the United States has warned the TNC that this is a "do-or-die moment" for the organization to carry out a credible and thorough investigation of the killing of its military commander, Abdel Fatah Younis. Last week's mysterious assassination has raised concerns that it might have been carried out by feuding groups within the rebels themselves. "We do welcome the Transitional National Council's move to set up an impartial committee that will investigate the incident and we look forward to hearing the results," deputy spokesman Mark Toner told reporters Monday. "It's important that, given the fluidness of the situation on the ground, that the Transitional National Council work to ensure that it takes the right kinds of actions, such as an investigation into the death, and sends a clear and transparent message that they speak on behalf of the Libyan opposition and the Libyan people and that they are diligently carrying out their mandate." The TNC has been rocked by internal divisions, with rival rebel groups battling each other. The divisions create a dilemma for the Obama administration, which recognized the rebel movement based in Benghazi as Libya's rightful government on July 15 at an international meeting on Libya in Istanbul. The move, done in coordination with the international community, paves the way for the United States to reopen the embassy, accredit diplomats and unfreeze billions of dollars in frozen assets. The internal strife within the rebel movement comes as the State Department prepares to hand over the Libyan embassy to the TNC as the recognized government of Libya, according to U.S. officials. The officials say the move would allow the TNC to re-open the embassy, accredit diplomats and regain control of the embassy's frozen bank account, worth about $13 million. It follows a formal request from the TNC to re-open the embassy under its control and accredit Ali Aujali, the former Libyan ambassador to the United States, as its charge d'affaires. In March, the State Department ordered the Libyan embassy in Washington closed and kicked diplomats loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi out of the country. Aujali had resigned his post as the regime's ambassador to the United States in February and has since represented the opposition in Washington. "We are consulting with the National Transitional Council on a broad range of issues, and that includes diplomatic accreditation and representation," Toner said. Despite the divisions within the TNC, the State Department publicly expressed confidence in the rebels. "We believe that this is the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people during this transition period," Toner said. "This is an extremely challenging period for Libya and they are dealing with these challenges as they come. But we have confidence that they can weather this." But privately, U.S. officials acknowledge there is some concern about the apparent disarray within the rebel movement, although officials say it is not surprising. "This is a tribal society," one official said. "We knew from the start this could be messy and there was always the concern about not moving too fast. We had no illusions about the TNC, but they have done a pretty good job and look better to us than Gadhafi at this point." NATO has been bombing Libya for more than four months under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians from troops loyal to Gadhafi, who is battling a rebellion that has claimed control of the eastern half of the country. The U.S. Embassy in Tripoli was shuttered and American personnel evacuated by sea and air in late February, after the current revolt against Gadhafi erupted. Libyan and U.S. officials held face-to-face talks in Tunisia last month, but Washington says the sole point of the meeting was to repeat its demand that Gadhafi "must go." Also Sunday, state TV aired video of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, Gadhafi's son, speaking to what was described as displaced families. He has not been seen speaking in public for weeks. "Whether NATO stays or not, the battle will continue until Libya is freed," he said, stressing the right of people to fight. "Let me say to you that the battle will not stop. Every one of you: return to your homes and farms and villages and jobs with peace of mind. We will not stop!"

NEW: Gadhafi's son: "Whether NATO stays or not, the battle will continue until Libya is freed" The U.S. prepares to hand over the Libyan embassy in Washington to the rebels . The Transitional National Council has been rocked by internal divisions . Last week the TNC's military commander was mysteriously assassinated .

St Paul, Minnesota (CNN) -- It's been described as the solution to a problem nobody realized existed. But that hasn't stopped the humble Post-it Note from becoming a ubiquitous fixture of stationery cupboards worldwide, with manufacturers 3M producing 50 billion each year. The sticky yellow squares did not always look destined to set the office supply world alight. In fact, it took 12 years from when the technology behind the product was first developed, to Post-its hitting the market. The story of the Post-it -- the self-attaching note that adheres in such a way that it can be removed without causing damage -- begins in 1968. Spencer Silver, a chemist for the giant multinational Minnesotan company 3M, was attempting to develop a better adhesive. "It was part of my job as a researcher to develop new adhesives, and at that time we wanted to develop bigger, stronger, tougher adhesives," he said. "This was none of those." What he came up with were microspheres, which retained their stickiness and had a "removability characteristic," allowing attached surfaces to be peeled apart easily. For years he struggled to find a use for his invention, preaching the merits of his creation to unreceptive colleagues. "I got to be known as 'Mr Persistent,' because I wouldn't give up," he said. Read more: The coder club turning out tween tech prodigies . But it never found a practical application, until in 1974 he was approached by a 3M colleague, Art Fry, who had heard him talk about his microspheres at a company seminar. Fry had been in church for choir practice, grappling with a regularly occurring problem with his hymnbook, when he had his "eureka moment" -- "the one where you get the adrenaline rush," he says -- regarding the way Silver's microspheres could potentially help. During his Wednesday night choir practice, Fry would bookmark his hymnbook with pieces of paper -- but by Sunday morning they would have fallen out. "I thought what I need is a bookmark that would stick to the paper without falling off and but not damage the sheets," he said. When the team started writing messages on the notes to communicate around the office, they realized the full potential of the idea. "I thought what we have here isn't just a bookmark," said Fry. "It's a whole new way to communicate." Not everyone saw the value in the idea, says Fry, but the team continued to lobby for their idea and eventually in 1980, after extensive market testing, 3M released the product on to the market. From that point, the Post-it was unstoppable. Read more: Materials that magically mend . "The Post-it notes took off so rapidly that I think it left a lot of people in marketing and sales gasping a little bit," said Silver. It spread "like a virus," said Fry. "It was always a self--advertising product," he said, because customers would put the notes on documents they sent to others, arousing the recipient's curiosity. "They would look at it, peel it off and play with it and then go out and buy a pad for themselves." Silver says that like many winning innovations, the Post-it was a product nobody thought they needed until they did. "It's like having a cell phone with a camera on it," he said. "Who would have thought that would have been useful for anything but you can't buy one these days without a camera or music on it." The make-up of the Post-it's adhesive strips remain a closely guarded secret, protected by the patents on microspheres. "Because we didn't patent it, we didn't have to tell people how we make it," said Fry, whose car license plate reads "POSTIT". "This is a product that looks so simple but is very high tech." People wrongly assume the co-inventors of the Post-it must be extremely wealthy, he said, but they have had great careers out of the invention, and he now enjoys a "comfortable retirement." The real satisfaction though, says Silver, is seeing a product they created embed itself in the culture -- featured in films, office mosaic pop-art and the daily lives of millions. "You see these computers (in movies) that are just festooned with Post-it notes," he says. "The fact that the Post-it notes just exploded as a product is more than I could ever hope for."

More than 50 billion of 3M's Post-it notes are sold every year . Hit product reached market 12 years after it was invented . 3M employee, Art Fry realized potential of Post-it Notes in church . Once the product was released in 1980, it spread "like a virus," he recalls .

(CNN) -- Uganda isn't known for being a big player on the baseball field, but one man is hoping for a home run with his documentary about the sport. An American filmmaker has made what he describes as 'a love letter to the game sent from a place you'd least expect.' Jay Shapiro hopes that his snap shot of youth baseball in the East African country will raise the profile of the sport in a part of the world where he says it means so much to its players. "I'm constantly dissatisfied with the way people react to Africa and the third world in general, and that sort of became my goal to shift the way people think about Africa," Shapiro explained. "What better way to shift the way Americans think about Africa better than baseball, the game they love and I love, too," he continued. His documentary, called Opposite Field, focuses on Uganda's Little League Baseball network. A sport that may still be in its fledgling stages but is growing bigger by the day. Shapiro explains that he ended up in Uganda when he was doing commercial work for Major League Baseball. It was there that he met a man from Staten Island, called Richard Stanley, who was passionate about bringing the sport to Uganda. "He showed me this stack of Polaroid pictures basically of a swamp in the middle of nowhere and he told me he's going to build this beautiful baseball facility," he said. It was a project that Richard Stanley began working on in 2002. Shapiro says that thanks to his hard work there are now two baseball fields in Uganda. But Shapiro says what really shocked him when he went to visit the fields was the kids. "I was expecting to see some really basic baseball, kids just picking up a ball for the first time and learning how to throw or swing the bat, but that's not what I saw," he said. "They were really good, they knew how to play." Around 15,000 children are signed up to the league now but with about 700 gloves between them more funding is desperately needed. However, Shapiro says that it's the lack of money that produces such impressive players in Uganda. "These kids just play, they don't even have a field to play on or a ball, they'll make a ball out of plastic bag that they singe and just throw it," Shapiro said. "That's why they are so good; they play for the right reasons. If they play because they love it, they'll win," he said. The team Shapiro filmed did win. He followed a group of 11 and 12-year-old boys from the ghettos of Kampala, who became the first African team to ever qualify for the Little League World Series. Uganda youth baseball team denied U.S. visas over age discrepancies . The team was due to play in the tournament in Williamsport, Pennsylvania but issues with their visas meant they couldn't enter America. "As everyone knows, documentation is a problem, not just for Uganda and not just baseball, but 1 billion kids in the world don't have documentation for who they are or how old they are," Shapiro said. Birth certificates are not routinely given out in Uganda and many people do not know the day they were born. In order to travel a certificate and passport is needed, but it's a costly process. A statement on the Little League's website says that if the problems can not be ironed out, Little League Baseball and Softball in Africa will only be for the wealthy. Shapiro hopes his film will address some of the challenges facing the sport in Uganda so it can continue to grow. "It is baseball at its purest form, its baseball for the love of it, its baseball...where there shouldn't be baseball so you have to love it to make it grow." The filmmaker says that it's this love of baseball that joins kids together against a backdrop of personal tragedy. One boy that features in the documentary is Ivan, who lives in an equipment shed with up to 8 people. Shapiro says that despite the daily hardships he faces, he is an incredible baseball player. "He does a lot of things you can't teach, he has a natural hand-eye coordination, you just see, his story could end up somewhere special," he said. "He strikes you as this shy, timid, quiet boy but when he gets on the field, he's the leader, he's the loudest one out there, holding huddles for the team, but he's the man, and I love watching that." Emily Wither contributed to this report .

An American filmmaker has made a documentary about Little League Baseball in Uganda . Around 15,000 children are signed up to the league in the country . An African team became the first ever to qualify for the Little League World Series . The team didn't make it to America because of visa issues .

(CNN) -- While most first-person shooter games want players to kill as a means of completing a mission,"Bulletstorm" takes that premise to the next level by having players "kill with skill." The new first-person shooter from Epic Games, People Can Fly and Electronic Arts ends up being a campy, over-the-top offering, featuring a new game play style that awards points for killing enemies in unique ways. The more outlandishly someone dies, the more skillshot points you get. You play as Grayson Hunt, an assassin-turned-mercenary who is on a mission to redeem himself by going after the people who used him to kill innocents. Sound convoluted? There are enough twists, turns, betrayals and unlikely partnerships that it feels like you will end up targeting everyone at some point in the game. That mounting body count, which is the game's true lead character, isn't just about using different weapons to off your opponents, but includes using the environment around you to deal death blows. Spiked cacti and steel beams become your friends for the "Spiked" or "Voodoo Doll" skillshot points. Kicking an opponent off a high platform earns you the "Vertigo" skillshot points. Players can cash in the points for upgrades to weapons and a special device called the Leash. It's a wrist device that shoots out an energy tendril, allowing Hunt to pull enemies or items toward him. You can also use the Thumper feature of the Leash to fling people into the air, where you can pick them off and earn "Trap Shooting" points. Hunt starts off the game with a standard assault rifle, but other weapons are found throughout the scenes. My favorite ended up being the Flail Gun, which fires off two bombs attached together by a chain. Wrap up an enemy, kick him into a crowd of bad guys, and then set off the bombs. It clears out a room quickly and will earn you points for the "Gang Bang" skill or the "Grenade Gag" skill. Get the idea? The more creatively a player uses his weapons and surroundings, the better his weapons become and the more destructive he can be. Instead of just mowing down enemy after enemy, I found myself taking a few extra moments to survey what was around me and how I could use it to destroy others. The wanton mayhem isn't the only thing that's over the top in "Bulletstorm." Dialogue is one obscenity after another in some of the most outlandish ways. Obviously, they are all NSFW (or for any real conversation), but they are laugh-out-loud funny if you keep your tongue firmly in your cheek. There is no real character development or even an attempt at real interaction between Hunt and the nonplayer characters that will help you along the way. Also, don't worry about trying to figure out where to go next. The nonplayer characters will lead the way and then stop right before heading into a danger zone. There are also indicators along the way (like a message telling you to press "B" to kick open a door) that lead the player by the hand through the linear game play. Single-player maps can be replayed after completion to see if you can improve your skillshot score in a timed setting. Multiplayer action ramps things up by introducing three team members to destroy the bad guys with you. The play is the same, but team skillshots are introduced to add a bit of spice. Cooperation is needed to move along, so play with people who will work with you rather than go off on their own. "Bulletstorm" is an entertaining attempt at making bloody fun with the skillshot feature. I think of it as a teenage shooter game that tries to get attention by being gross, obscene and sexually charged. It is funny at first, but after a while, it becomes tired -- especially the dialogue. But the shooting aspect is really something new and does keep interest levels high. Even toward the end of the game, I was still figuring out new combinations of weapons and environment that unlocked more new skillshot points. If you go into "Bulletstorm" thinking it is an elite first-person shooter game, you will be very disappointed. However, "Bulletstorm," with its "kill with skill" mentality, is a great change of pace in the first-person shooter genre that rewards players for doing something different. And that is refreshing. "Bulletstorm" is now available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. It is rated M for mature because of blood and gore, intense violence, partial nudity, sexual themes, strong language and use of alcohol. This review was done playing a retail copy on the Xbox 360.

"Bulletstorm" follows Grayson Hunt, an assassin-turned-mercenary . In the game, the more outlandish the killing, the more points you get . It is not only about using the different weapons, but also the environment .

Beijing (CNN) -- You can see them each night on street corners or public squares of Beijing, hundreds of Chinese couples ballroom dancing to music blaring from makeshift speakers. Some have this down to a fine art, twirling and sweeping across the pavement. This is entertainment for the armies of migrant workers who have flocked to China's cities over the past 20 years on the promise of a better life. For so many of them the dream has come true. China's breakneck economic growth -- inspired by former leader Deng Xiaoping's call "to get rich is glorious" -- has turned one time peasant farmers into factory hands, construction workers, sales people and shop assistants. Some have indeed become rich starting companies or riding the property boom. For the Communist Party, the country's unelected supreme leaders, this is the source of their legitimacy and authority: keep the engines of growth turning, and the people busy and prosperous. It has worked, so far. But strains are appearing. The gap between rich and poor is widening and the economy itself is weakening. The growth figures for the latest quarter are at 7.4 %, the slowest in three years. China's GDP growth slides to 7.4% . As the party prepares for its leadership change in November, it is also faced with reforming an economy that can longer rely on cheap labor, high exports and big investment. It needs to switch to domestic consumption - no easy task, according to some analysts. "It will take generation to get to remodel that growth formula. It is easier said than done, to make sure that people feel that they are safe to spend," says Victor Chu, chairman of First Eastern Investment Group. Chu has faith in China's leaders -- they have more tools in their box than the rest of the world, he says. Other big thinkers in the world of business agree. Faced with the potential of a "hard landing" of plummeting growth, many foresee a "soft landing" -- a controlled slowdown leading to more quality growth. "The last 10 years developed a very good track record of economic management," says John Quelch, dean of the China Europe International Business School. "Obviously there are global challenges affecting the China growth path. China needs to rebalance towards domestic consumption, but I'm pretty confident that the quality of the management in Beijing, financially speaking, is very very good." As the world's second biggest economy -- and many economists predict that one day, not far away, China is destined to overtake the United States at number one -- what happens here is now felt around the world. It's become a hot button issue during the U.S election campaign. Candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have used the presidential debates to try to "out-tough" each other on China. China is accused of not playing fair, keeping its currency low to gain an export advantage and taking American jobs. If elected, Governor Romney says he would declare China a "currency manipulator" on the first day of his presidency. President Obama says he's lodged successful cases against China at the World Trade Organization. U.S. debate: Tough talk on China . China's Foreign Ministry has hit back, saying that U.S politicians need to treat China fairly and that trade should be a win-win. Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of advertising giant WPP, does a lot of business in China. He says the rest of the world can't blame Beijing for its ills. "We have mismanaged our economy, not the Chinese," Sorrell says. "Look back in the history, we've been here before, early 19th Century, China and India were 40-50% of worldwide GNP. They are going be again ... the only question is when." But economists point out China's leaders should be under no illusions about the task ahead. The gap between rich and poor is widening, and poor Chinese complain that the opportunities are drying up. Then there are questions about social cohesion, the rule of law and human rights. In many ways China's incoming rulers are in a race against time. Reform the economy before the people turn against the Party. "The whole legitimacy of this one party rule depends on the ability to deliver. And in the last 30 years, hundreds of million have been brought above the poverty line. So going forward is going to be challenging, but the only way they can survive is to deliver," warns Victor Chu. Tonight the ball room dancers will be back on the streets, but the question remains what will become of them if the music stops.

China's explosive growth is slowing as economy expands at lowest level in three years . Growth is the source of legitimacy and authority for China's Communist Party . There is a growing prosperity divide as Beijing tries to move economy toward domestic consumption . Victor Chu: "The whole legitimacy of this one party rule depends on the ability to deliver"

(CNN) -- The Utah Department of Workforce Services said Friday it has identified at least two employees believed to be involved in creating a list containing the personal information of a purported 1,300 alleged illegal immigrants. "At this point we don't think it was a very large conspiracy. We think it was two, maybe. We have suspicion of a couple of more people, a very small group," said Kristen Cox, the executive director of the Department of Workforce Services. "Release of such private, sensitive information is deplorable," Gov. Gary Herbert said in a news release. "We immediately took action to discover the origins of this list, and I'm pleased with the hard work of the Department of Workforce Services. When someone does business with the state of Utah, they deserve to know that their private information will be kept private." Herbert told CNN's John King on Friday night that the 1,300 people have Hispanic names and not all of them are in the state illegally. The two employees have been placed on administrative leave pending completion of the full investigation and other employees may be identified as the review continues, the news release said. The Utah attorney general's office will review data from the investigation for possible further action. "The people we've identified certainly have some strong political opinions and seem to be frustrated with some of the issues around immigration," Cox said. "Regardless of what their frustration is, they work for the Department of Workforce Services and for state government. They understand what the rules are. They understand the protocols. And if they want to go rogue, they need to quit the department. I think it's immense hypocrisy to take someone to task for being illegal and doing so by breaking the law." The state focused on the Utah Department of Workforce Services, Herbert's office said Thursday, because all of the information on the 29-page list -- including contact information, Social Security numbers and pregnancy due dates -- is contained within that agency's database. Information from the investigation may be turned over to state prosecutors, a statement from the office said. The list was anonymously distributed to media and government offices across the state, CNN affiliate KSTU-TV reported. An accompanying letter from "Concerned Citizens of the United States" insisted that those on the list should be deported immediately. Thursday, a group of Latino activists told reporters that the list had sparked widespread fear. "Our community is very concerned, very worried about it," said Tony Yapias with Proyecto Latino de Utah. "I would say they have been terrorized, many of them. People are just afraid of what's happening." Those named on the list are even more frightened, said Jesus Ramos with the Utah Coalition of La Raza. "For these 1,300 people, unfortunately that fear has escalated," he said. "There's an arrest warrant out, essentially. That fear never goes away." Herbert said Friday, "Some are scared and apprehensive. I understand that. I expect that comes with the status of being illegal. If I was in the country illegally, I would probably have fear and apprehension, too." Utah Minuteman Project co-chairman Eli Cawley told CNN affiliate KSL-TV that he had some concerns about privacy and how the names were procured, but he would have released a similar list if he could have. "If it were a reliable list and it had come from a source that was acknowledged and vetted, then yes, I would absolutely support something like that," he said. But Herbert said Friday the information shouldn't have gone out to anyone, even the government agency charged with enforcing immigration law. "It's a violation of federal law to take this information and give it to ICE, whether it's out there or not," the governor said, referring to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. "If we have laws on the books, they need to be enforced and we're enforcing it here on this breach of the law as it appears on disclosing confidential information," Herbert said. "But I also believe the issue at hand, the underlying issue of illegal immigration, is something that needs to be addressed also. We know the frustration of the people out there because of the inaction of the federal government, in particular, in enforcing the law." Herbert has plans to bring together a "spectrum" of viewpoints, some "diametrically opposed," for a roundtable discussion on immigration reform in Utah on Tuesday. "We see what's happened in Arizona. So Utah, like other states right now, are saying if the federal government is not going to do something, we will take steps to do something ourselves within the parameters of the law. It may mean creating new law," he said.

NEW: Governor says some on list may have legal status . 2 Utah state employees believed involved in creating list with alleged illegal immigrants' data . The data includes personal information about 1,300 alleged illegal immigrants . Gov. Gary Herbert calls the release of information release "deplorable"

(CNN) -- Growing up in a small Sri Lankan fishing town, cricket changed Sanath Jayasuriya's life. But his association with the game and humanitarian work has also helped transform the lives of many others. Jayasuriya's stature and shot-making led to comparisons with India's Sachin Tendulkar. "Without cricket I would have a small job in my home town. My mother is happy to say my name," he told CNN in Hong Kong. His mother's pride in his success has an extra poignancy as Jayasuriya's fame in some part helped his mother survive the south Asian tsunami on December 26, 2004. She was swept away by the first wave and only by calling out to get attention, saying she was Jayasuriya's mother, did a rescuer manage to spot her among the debris and destruction and pull her to safety. Thousands of others, including many of Jayasuriya's friends and neighbors, were not so fortunate, and the impact that the disaster had on Jayasuriya's hometown of Matara and many other parts of Sri Lanka is still felt today. "Even now when many people hear the word (tsunami), they are still scared. When my mother hears it, she still can't run," he said. After nearly 20 years of international cricket, the 39-year-old is now just as happy to put bowling attacks to the sword as well as working as a UN Goodwill Ambassador. "Coming from Sri Lanka you need to do a lot of charity work and help in anyway you can. People love cricket and they look to cricketers, so as a team Sri Lanka also does a lot for charity. It's a personal commitment," he told CNN. On the pitch he has always been just as committed to helping his team. Making his international Test match debut in 1991, he captained the Sri Lankan team for four years until 2003 and hit memorable centuries against every other Test side, bar the West Indies and New Zealand. He retired from the five-day version of the game in 2007. However it was in the one day game that the all-rounder has really made his mark. As part of the Sri Lankan team that won the World Cup in 1996, he played an explosive innings of aggressive shot-making that has been credited with revolutionizing the way in which batsman play the game. In 2005 he became only the fourth batsman to reach 10,000 runs in one-day matches and his current stats stand at 12785 runs from 421 one-day internationals. Having made his name in the 50-over version of the game he's still involved in cricket's latest revolution; the even shorter Twenty20 game that is being touted as the future of popularizing the sport. "Cricket has changed all over the world. For the public to watch this game we need for it to change. You can now enjoy all that in around 3 hours (with Twenty20). The Indian Premier League (IPL) is good for cricket and good for cricketers. The one-day game will be phased down." Throughout his career he's shown his own resilience adapting to changing circumstances on the cricket pitch as well as off it. Before the 2003 World Cup he took the decision not to sign a contract with the Sri Lankan cricket board, citing the loss of potential earnings it would mean for him and fellow players. Despite not being a confrontational personality, the tension between himself and the Sri Lankan cricket board led to his resignation from the captaincy in 2003. With no Test cricket to play this year, Jayasuriya found himself omitted from the Sri Lanka squad for 2008 series one-day series against the West Indies. However his fine form while playing in the IPL -- he ended its inaugural season as the third highest run scorer with 514 runs and hitting 31 sixes -- convinced the selectors to pick him for the upcoming one-day series between Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. "Looking back I could never have thought I would have come this far. Buddhism helped me a lot. It says that you should take the middle path and you will never go wrong," he said. "But I've done a lot of hard work and everyone, my family and coaches, have given me support. Without that I wouldn't have got here." When he does finally retire you can expect Jayasuriya to keep giving all he can to the game and causes he loves so much.

Sri Lankan cricketer recognized as changing the way one-day cricket is played . The first cricketer to be a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador . Sri Lanka's highest run scorer in Test matches and one-day internationals .

(CNN) -- Glenn Greenwald, the reporter who broke the news about secret U.S. surveillance programs, said the authorities who took his partner into custody at London's Heathrow Airport "are going to regret what they did." "I am going to write my stories a lot more aggressively now," the Guardian reporter told Brazil's Globo TV on Monday in Rio de Janeiro. "I am going to publish many more documents now. I am going to publish a lot about England, too, I have a lot of documents about the espionage system in England. Now my focus is going to be that as well." Greenwald's partner, 28-year-old David Miranda, was held for nearly nine hours. He was reportedly passing through the airport on his way home to Brazil after leaving Berlin. Authorities seized his laptop, phone, and other materials. The White House knew the move was coming. "There was a heads up that was provided by the British government," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday. So the United States knew it "was likely to occur, but it's not something that we've requested and it's something that was done specifically by the British law enforcement officials there," he said. He would not comment on whether the United States has obtained material from Miranda's laptop -- and would not say whether President Barack Obama condemns the detention. Agents asked 'about my entire life' Miranda, also speaking to Globo TV in Rio, said agents were asking him questions "about my entire life." "I was in a room, there were six different agents coming in and out and talking to me," he said. "They took my computer, video games, cell phone, everything." The detention was reported by The Guardian. Before releasing him, authorities seized Miranda's laptop, cell phone, video game consoles and USB sticks, Greenwald wrote for The Guardian. "This is obviously a rather profound escalation of their attacks on the news-gathering process and journalism," he said. "It's bad enough to prosecute and imprison sources. It's worse still to imprison journalists who report the truth. But to start detaining the family members and loved ones of journalists is simply despotic. Even the Mafia had ethical rules against targeting the family members of people they felt threatened by." A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed that a 28-year-old man was detained Sunday at Heathrow. The spokesman said the man was held for close to nine hours under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. 'Grave concern' Brazil's foreign ministry issued a statement Sunday expressing "grave concern" over the incident. Anger had erupted in Brazil when citizens learned of U.S. National Security Agency spying on Brazil. "This measure is without justification since it involves an individual against whom there are no charges that can legitimate the use of that legislation. The Brazilian government expects that incidents such as the one that happened to the Brazilian citizen today do not repeat." According to The Guardian, nine hours is the maximum time allowed before authorities must either release or arrest a detained individual. Miranda was returning to their home in Rio de Janeiro. While in Berlin, Miranda stayed with filmmaker Laura Poitras, who has worked "extensively" with Greenwald on his stories about the National Security Agency, the reporter wrote. The Guardian reported that it paid for Miranda's flights. "Miranda is not a Guardian employee but often assists Greenwald in his work," the newspaper said. Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, in an editorial, wrote that "Miranda is not a journalist, but he still plays a valuable role in helping his partner do his journalistic work." He added that Greenwald's work on the reams of material provided by Snowden has been "immensely complicated by the certainty that it would be highly unadvisable for Greenwald (or any other journalist) to regard any electronic means of communication as safe. The Guardian's work on the Snowden story has involved many individuals taking a huge number of flights in order to have face-to-face meetings." Miranda is quoted by the Guardian as saying: "So they think I have a big connection. But I don't have a role. I don't look at documents. I don't even know if it was documents that I was carrying. It could have been for the movie that Laura is working on." "If the UK and U.S. governments believe that tactics like this are going to deter or intimidate us in any way from continuing to report aggressively on what these documents reveal, they are beyond deluded," said Greenwald. "If anything, it will have only the opposite effect: to embolden us even further."

The White House knew the move was coming, spokesman says . David Miranda, 28, was reportedly held for nearly nine hours . Glenn Greenwald broke the story about secret surveillance programs in the United States . Greenwald says he'll focus efforts on the English spy system .

(CNN) -- A defiant Donald Sterling calls the NBA "a band of hypocrites and bullies" in a written statement the longtime Los Angeles Clippers co-owner sent to the media through one of his lawyers. He also wrote that the NBA needs to examine its own "discriminatory practices" rather than try to take away his personal property. "We have to fight for the rights of all Americans. We have to fight these despicable monsters," Sterling wrote in the statement, provided to CNN by Bobby Samini. In Sterling's 420-plus word statement, he says the NBA has been able to "exact its reign of terror" through revenues from the fans. He slams new Commissioner Adam Silver, who has worked for the league since 1992 but took over the top spot in February. Sterling said Silver is "focusing his energy on violating my rights, attempting to take my property, and signing autographs for TMZ." Talking to ABC about the Sterling accusation at the halftime of an NBA finals game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat, Silver said he had "no idea what he's talking about." "This is about Donald Sterling and his conduct," the commissioner said. "And if he wants to litigate, he'll litigate." Sterling said the NBA has been sued many times for discrimination. He said Silver and the NBA need to look at their own conduct and the conduct of the other 29 owners in the league and they are centering their attention on him to "draw attention away from their own discriminatory and repulsive conduct." The statement comes as a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN that Sterling's estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, intends to ask a California probate court on Wednesday morning to "verify her standing" as the head of the family trust and rule that she had the right to sell the Clippers. Referring to this apparent disagreement between the Sterlings about what to do with the Clippers, Adam Silver said the NBA is planning to step back and let the situation play itself out. "This is really now a dispute between the Sterlings," he told ABC. "So we're on the sidelines." Shelly Sterling announced May 30 that she had reached an agreement to sell the franchise that her husband bought in 1981 to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for a record $2 billion. Technically, a family trust owns the Clippers. Last month, two sources with detailed knowledge of the situation told CNN that two neurologists have deemed Donald Sterling to be mentally incapacitated. According to one of the sources, there is a provision in the Sterling family trust that says if either Donald Sterling or Shelly Sterling become mentally incapacitated, then the other becomes the sole trustee. Donald Sterling is mentally sound, another lawyer, Maxwell Blecher, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "It strikes me as totally incredible to argue that this man -- I talk to him every day -- is incapable of making decisions and is mentally incompetent," Blecher said on Tuesday afternoon. "And I don't believe any court is going to make a finding to the contrary." Donald Sterling initially vowed to fight the sale and filed a lawsuit against the NBA, then said he was going along with the sale -- until Monday, when he again pulled his support. "From the onset, I did not want to sell the Los Angeles Clippers. I have worked for 33 years to build the team," Donald Sterling said. Sterling, 80, has been embroiled in controversy since a recording of a conversation with his friend V. Stiviano surfaced. The recording included a series of racist comments. The comments, first posted on TMZ, sparked outrage among NBA players, executives and fans. The commissioner fined Sterling $2.5 million and banned him for life from the NBA. In Tuesday's statement, Sterling said he has apologized for the remarks and his apology is sincere. He also made inflammatory comments to CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" about African-Americans, which the NBA had planned to use as part of its evidence against Donald Sterling in an owners' meeting where a vote would be taken on whether to terminate Sterling's ownership rights. The meeting was canceled. His lawsuit makes clear that he believes the NBA has no right to force such a sale, and the league was wrong in banning him for life and fining him. In addition to damages, the lawsuit seeks a restraining order. NBA commissioner to CNN: Donald Sterling saga not over yet .

NEW: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver dismisses Donald Sterling's accusation . NEW: Silver: NBA is stepping back amid dispute between Donald, Shelly Sterling . LA Clippers co-owner Donald Sterling says he will no longer support the team's sale . Donald Sterling's lawyer says no court will believe his client is mentally incapacitated .

(CNN) -- The press does not have the right to get access to the government's investigation into the deadly August accident at the Crandall Canyon mine, a federal judge in Utah ruled Tuesday. Rescuers drill into the mine on August 16 to try to reach the miners. Three people died in rescue attempts. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson said there is no constitutional basis for him to make the investigation public. "Plaintiffs argue that the First Amendment mandates public access to the type of MSHA [Mine Safety and Health Administration] proceeding at issue in this case," Benson wrote in his order. "They point, however, to nothing specific in the Constitution to support their claim." A coalition of news organizations including CNN, The Associated Press, the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret Morning News filed suit last week seeking to stop the investigation into the Crandall Canyon incident until a judge could decide whether the proceedings should be open to the public. The suit asked for Benson to grant a temporary restraining order to stop federal investigators "from conducting any more closed proceedings" and to release the transcripts from the proceedings that have already taken place. Michael O'Brien, a Salt Lake City attorney representing the media organizations, said they are "disappointed, but not disheartened." The news organizations are considering appealing the ruling within the court system. They are also considering a possible appeal to Congress that would require MSHA to hold public hearings "on these important matters, where the actions of MSHA as well as the mine owner are under question. "Certainly, MSHA should not be allowed to investigate itself in secret," O'Brien said in an e-mail to CNN. "If the courts don't intervene, hopefully Congress will find a way to allow public scrutiny of MSHA's investigations of itself and its regulated mines." The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah is pleased with Benson's decision, but won't comment further "since this is ongoing litigation," said spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch. Attorneys for MSHA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN. On August 6, a cave-in of the Crandall Canyon mine trapped six miners. Ten days later, three other people, including an investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor's MSHA, died as they attempted to reach the trapped miners, whose bodies have not been recovered. Benson said there is no established precedent under which he could make the investigation public. Some cases the media organizations referred to have to do with access to criminal trials, he wrote, and "the court cannot make the leap that plaintiffs suggest by concluding that because the public has a First Amendment right of access to hear witnesses in a criminal trial, they also have a right of access to private government investigatory interviews." The media organizations claimed in their suit that the same Utah federal court, after a similar accident 20 years ago, ruled that MSHA had to make its proceedings public. Government attorneys said in their response to the suit that the decision was later vacated as moot, and even if it had not been, that case involved formal hearings open to outside groups but closed to the media. Benson agreed with the government in his ruling, saying the facts in the previous case differ from those in the current situation. "In this case, MSHA is conducting private, government-only interviews. Unlike [the previous case], no company or union representatives, or any other outside individuals, are permitted to attend or participate in the interviews." The ruling in the previous case allowed MSHA to exclude the media so long as interview attendants were limited to MSHA personnel, a court reporter, the person being questioned, and his or her attorney or adviser, Benson wrote. "This is almost the exact situation in this case. The only difference is that in this case a state official [who is part of the investigation team] and a notary are also present." The media organizations claimed in the suit that media access to the investigation would ensure it is conducted properly and minimize attempts by the government to distort the truth. The government claimed that media access could compromise the investigation through the release of incomplete information or by influencing the statements of those who had not yet been interviewed. "The court finds any of these policy arguments persuasive," Benson wrote, but said it was not his place to make such decisions. "While it may be true that requiring all government investigations to be open would result in greater accountability and more accurate information, if such a requirement is to be imposed, it must come from a statute that is debated and passed by Congress and signed into law by the president. "It is not this court's or any other court's role to make law, only to interpret it." E-mail to a friend .

Judge says there is no constitutional basis to make investigation public . News media sued to open inquiry into Utah mine disaster . Government says media access could compromise the investigation . Six miners trapped in August 6 cave-in; their bodies have not been recovered .

(CNN) -- Sports fans may have been deprived of another chance to see Lionel Messi stake his claim to be considered the greatest footballer of all time after Barcelona failed to progress to the final of the Champions League. But far from the bright lights of Munich's Allianz Arena, in a quiet corner of England, another athlete was busy rewriting the history books. Humans have been selectively breeding racehorses for 300 years, always in search of that elusive specimen of equine perfection who can redefine our idea of what might be possible on four legs. In Frankel, we may have found it. In action for the first time since last October in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury, for his trainer, Henry Cecil, it was a chance to show the world that his colt had overcome a leg injury sustained on Newmarket gallops, news of which had sent shockwaves throughout the racing world. Brutal beauty . For his jockey, Tom Queally, it was a chance to prove that the four-year-old Frankel was a more mature, calmer beast than the Frankel of last season, without losing any of his domineering physicality or brutal beauty. For Frankel, it was first blood in a senior campaign that could see him elevated to the ranks of the best Thoroughbreds ever to grace a racetrack. Sent off at odds as short of 1-4 -- meaning a $4 bet would earn you just $1 -- the undefeated son of Galileo was always going to have to be at this best to overcome a field that included Aiden O'Brien's improving colt Excelebration (who surely would be considered a superstar in his own right had he not had the misfortune to be racing in the same era as Frankel). As expected, the pacemaker Bullet Train (a half-brother to Frankel) set a strong early gallop, with Frankel tucked in second place. All-devouring stride . But when Queally pulled the pin with three furlongs to go, it felt more like a coronation than a contest, Frankel's all devouring stride putting more and more distance between him and a somewhat subdued Excelebration, who finished five lengths back. The victory means Frankel extends his unbeaten run to 10 from 10. His next appearance is likely to be the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, when he will face some of the best milers in Europe. After that, Cecil has indicated a step up in trip will be the next logical step, to see if Frankel can reproduce his devastating form over distances of up to a mile and a half. Such is Frankel's superiority over his rivals that Queally rarely has to ask him to hit top speed (indeed, far more familiar is the sight of the hulking colt taking a strong hold as Queally tries to restrain him). The result is the Frankel has not run a race to trouble the handicappers since his devastating performance in the 2,000 Guineas last year. In spite of that, Frankel has a Timeform rating of 143, the third-highest of all time, behind the great Sea Bird II (145) and Brigadier General and Tudor Minstrel (both on 144). Black Caviar showdown? Is there a horse in the world who can push Frankel to the kind of performance that would see him take his rightful place at the top of the all-time list? An Australian mare by the name of Black Caviar may have something to say about that. She will also be at Royal Ascot, although she will run in the sprinter's Diamond Jubilee Stakes. Such is the clamor in the racing world for a Frankel-Black Caviar showdown, billionaire owner Sheikh Fahad al Thani has offered a purse of $1.6 million if they both line up for the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, a race that Frankel won last year. Cecil has indicated he would love to see the two best horses in the world face each other, although Black Caviar's trainer, Peter Moody, remains cautious about exposing his mare over Frankel's preferred distance of a mile on the undulating Goodwood track. Whether or not the equine 'battle of the sexes' ever materializes, the racing world has one more season to savor the exploits of the giant bay with the white star before his career follows its inevitable trajectory towards the breeding shed. A horse like Frankel doesn't come along every day. Enjoy him while you can.

Frankel races to 10th win in 10 races with victory at Newbury . Wins Group One Lockinge Stakes by five lengths . Four-year-old Colt rated one of the great racehorses of all time . Clamor for head to head with Australian champion Black Caviar .

Madurai, India (CNN) -- Narayanan Krishnan was a bright, young, award-winning chef with a five-star hotel group, short-listed for an elite job in Switzerland. But a quick family visit home before heading to Europe changed everything. "I saw a very old man eating his own human waste for food," Krishnan said. "It really hurt me so much. I was literally shocked for a second. After that, I started feeding that man and decided this is what I should do the rest of my lifetime." Krishnan was visiting a temple in the south Indian city of Madurai in 2002 when he saw the man under a bridge. Haunted by the image, Krishnan quit his job within the week and returned home for good, convinced of his new destiny. "That spark and that inspiration is a driving force still inside me as a flame -- to serve all the mentally ill destitutes and people who cannot take care of themselves," Krishnan said. Krishnan founded his nonprofit Akshaya Trust in 2003. Now 29, he has served more than 1.2 million meals -- breakfast, lunch and dinner -- to India's homeless and destitute, mostly elderly people abandoned by their families and often abused. Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2010 CNN Heroes . "Because of the poverty India faces, so many mentally ill people have been ... left uncared [for] on the roadside of the city," he said. Krishnan said the name Akshaya is Sanskrit for "undecaying" or "imperishable," and was chosen "to signify [that] human compassion should never decay or perish. ... The spirit of helping others must prevail for ever." Also, in Hindu mythology, Goddess Annapoorani's "Akshaya bowl" fed the hungry endlessly, never depleting its resources. Krishnan's day begins at 4 a.m. He and his team cover nearly 125 miles in a donated van, routinely working in temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit. He seeks out the homeless under bridges and in the nooks and crannies between the city's temples. The hot meals he delivers are simple, tasty vegetarian fare he personally prepares, packs and often hand-feeds to nearly 400 clients each day. Krishnan carries a comb, scissors and razor and is trained in eight haircut styles that, along with a fresh shave, provide extra dignity to those he serves. He says many of the homeless seldom know their names or origins, and none has the capacity to beg, ask for help or offer thanks. They may be paranoid and hostile because of their conditions, but Krishnan says this only steadies his resolve to offer help. "The panic, suffering of the human hunger is the driving force of me and my team members of Akshaya," he said. "I get this energy from the people. The food which I cook ... the enjoyment which they get is the energy. I see the soul. I want to save my people." How to nominate a CNN Hero . The group's operations cost about $327 a day, but sponsored donations only cover 22 days a month. Krishnan subsidizes the shortfall with $88 he receives in monthly rent from a home his grandfather gave him. Krishnan sleeps in Akshaya's modest kitchen with his few co-workers. Since investing his entire savings of $2,500 in 2002, he has taken no salary and subsists with the help of his once-unsupportive parents. "They had a lot of pain because they had spent a lot on my education," he said. "I asked my mother, 'Please come with me, see what I am doing.' After coming back home, my mother said, 'You feed all those people, the rest of the lifetime I am there, I will feed you.' I'm living for Akshaya. My parents are taking care of me." For lack of funding, the organization has been forced to halt construction on Akshaya Home, Krishnan's vision of a dormitory where he can provide shelter for the people he helps. Despite the demands and few comforts his lifestyle affords, Krishnan says he's enjoying his life. "Now I am feeling so comfortable and so happy," he says. "I have a passion, I enjoy my work. I want to live with my people." Want to get involved? Check out the Akshaya Trust Web site and see how to help.

Narayanan Krishnan has served more than 1.2 million meals to India's homeless, destitute . He founded nonprofit trust after seeing homeless man eating "his own human waste" Krishnan had been a young, award-winning chef bound for five-star hotel group . Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2010 CNN Heroes .

(CNN) -- As the swine flu outbreak escalates across the globe, U.S. travelers returning from Mexico are wondering what to do when they come home. Travelers leaving a Mexican airport fill out questionnaires about their health. On Wednesday, Christine Kovar of San Francisco, California, returned from a vacation to Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. She said she wasn't sure whether she should attend work or stay home. "I feel fine," said Kovar. "It will be the discretion of my boss whether I go back to work." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, is advising U.S. travelers back from Mexico with at least two of the swine flu symptoms to stay at home and avoid public places upon return. Symptoms of swine flu, also known as 2009 N1H1, can include a fever, sore throat, cough, chills, headaches and runny nose. People with symptoms should report to a health care provider or local health department and provide itinerary details and symptoms, according to the CDC. If infected, the swine flu is contagious for up to seven days. People who aren't sick should continue to work and use normal precautions like washing hands, according to the CDC. They should monitor their health for seven days. "As long as they aren't presenting any flu-like symptoms, there is no reason why they can't continue to do things that they normally would," said Llelwyn Grant, a spokesman for the CDC. Meanwhile, the death toll from swine flu continues to climb. On Thursday, the World Health Organization reported 236 cases of swine flu worldwide. In the United States, the CDC said it confirmed 109 cases of swine flu, or 2009 H1N1, in 11 states, an increase of 18 from its previous total. On Wednesday, the WHO raised the pandemic threat level to 5 on a six-step scale . These numbers are causing alarm among the public, as schools and businesses try to contain the disease and protect the health of others. Some companies are erring on the side of safety, telling employees who returned from Mexico to stay at home for a few days. One university in Pennsylvania barred nearly two dozen students back from Mexico from attending graduation. More than 100 schools across the country have shut down. Greenville County School District in South Carolina shut down on Thursday to clean the buildings and busses when 18 students reported flu-like symptoms after a band trip to Disney World in Florida. School officials are awaiting the test results of the children. "We are being proactive and trying to take [the] right precautions," said Oby Lyles, spokesman for the Greenville County School District. Several state health departments such as the New York, where there are 50 confirmed cases, and Kansas, where there are two confirmed cases, said they haven't made state-level advisories yet on whether travelers from Mexico who feel healthy should attend work or not. If travelers are feeling sick, the state departments said travelers should follow CDC guidelines and stay at home. "If you aren't sick, make sure you are practicing the common sense precautions," said a spokesman at the New York State Department of Health. "Wash your hands. Cover your mouth when you sneeze." In addition to advising ill U.S. travelers returning from Mexico to stay confined, government officials are turning to the travel industry for help, particularly air travel. The CDC is advising airline crew members who have arrived from domestic and international areas affected by the swine flu to be on the lookout for ill passengers. Airlines have been advised to stock the planes with gloves and face masks in case of an emergency. The CDC said airline crew members need to ask passengers who appear sick to be quarantined at one of the CDC's 20 locations across the country. It's been smooth sailing at U.S. airports, several passengers say. There have been no nationwide questionnaires being issued at the airports, according to a spokeswoman at U.S. Customs and Border Protection yet. In contrast, at some Mexican airports, travelers are asked to fill out forms asking about his or her health, passengers interviewed say. Still, travelers will find warnings about swine flu all over the airport. At O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, travel warnings about the flu are being distributed. Signs informing passengers about swine flu, particularly in the international terminal, are posted. As of Friday, the CDC was recommending U.S. travelers avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico.

Travelers with flu-like symptoms coming back from Mexico should stay at home . Healthy travelers coming from Mexico can continue to go to work and school . There are more than 230 confirmed cases of swine flu worldwide, according to WHO . Companies and schools are erring on the side of safety asking people not to come .

(CNN) -- Leo McCarthy gives college scholarships to teenagers who pledge not to drink while they're underage. In 2007, McCarthy lost his 14-year-old daughter, Mariah, when an underage drunken driver hit her and two of her friends as they walked down a sidewalk near her home in Butte, Montana. Through McCarthy's nonprofit, Mariah's Challenge, more than 140 teenagers have received $1,000 scholarships. CNN asked McCarthy for his thoughts on being chosen as one of the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012. CNN: What do you hope this recognition will mean for Mariah's Challenge? McCarthy: It's a very quiet sense of pride for this town. We have such a hard history of living here. ... (We use) the term "Butte tough." Now, it's more about character and strength, about growing old and helping our youth to grow old. People come up and say, "Hey, congratulations." And some kid said, "I am Mariah's Challenge." And that totally blew me away. So, it's formulating to them that it's really them, not me, that are seen in CNN Heroes. To them, it's growing up by changing this situation a generation at a time. We're seeing this in sixth-graders coming up; they automatically know about Mariah's Challenge. They automatically know that they're not supposed to drink for four years in high school. So, will they? I don't know. But hey, it's a better start than it was prior to October 27, 2007. And it's a great honor for parents and youth that are sitting at the table and talking about it. It just gives parents more power to say: "Hey, this is a good deal. Let's talk about it. What's going on in your life?" So, (the CNN recognition) is a validation of the three girls, and it's a validation of the tool that parents can use at the dinner table. The dinner table is the most powerful place in the world. CNN: How will you use the $50,000 award that you receive for being selected as a top 10 CNN Hero? McCarthy: (It) will provide at least 40 scholarships, hopefully this year, that we're going to immediately give out to courageous youth. Also, the money is going to be used to start our Mariah's Education Initiative for the local elementary and junior highs. Basically, it's going to be a template for teachers to use to assist (the students) in empowerment, honesty, integrity and character. CNN: What do you want people to know most about your work? McCarthy: It's about making sure that our youth have an option and a tool to talk to their parents and their loved ones about what's going on in their life. This is such an in-your-face situation because it stole the innocence of our town when three 14-year-old girls were basically mowed down a half a block from my house, on a pedestrian pathway. That innocence was shaken in this town. I want this to be a platform for people to say, "OK, I don't want to be like that guy who killed Mariah. But I need some help, because I'm getting group pressure." And I hope that it's a way for them to choose "yes" instead of "no." I'm not asking you to say "no" to drugs. I'm asking you to say "yes" to yourself and a life of simple self-respect. That's all it is. CNN: We're coming up on the five-year anniversary of Mariah's death. What does the timing of this honor mean to you? McCarthy: Surreal, going back to those lonely, sleepless nights after it happened and trying to make sense of this. Stumbling and bumbling about, realizing it's got to be up to me and my family to try to bring something out of this and always believing about the legacy of love ... and seeing it now. It would have been so easy to build a monument to misery and light the torch of vengeance. ... But we decided to go the tough way, the hard way, which is acknowledging we can all be better and we can always bring good out of bad. There is grace in that, and there is deep peace in that. Read the full story on CNN Hero Leo McCarthy: . Grieving father offers teens money not to drink .

Leo McCarthy was named one of the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 . His nonprofit gives scholarships to Montana teens who pledge not to drink . His daughter, Mariah, was killed by an underage drunken driver in 2007 . Who should be the CNN Hero of the Year? Cast your vote now!

(CNN) -- The Humane Society has accused a federally funded primate center of mistreating chimpanzees and other primates, saying that some animals showed signs of psychosis and self-mutilation. New Iberia Research Center cages about 325 chimps on its 100 acres. It also has about 6,000 monkeys. The allegations against the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana, which houses more than 6,500 primates, came after a nine-month undercover investigation. The center denies the allegations. "We found animals living in isolation, exhibiting self-mutilating behavior, psychosis, all sorts of emotional and physical problems at this laboratory," Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle told CNN on Wednesday. The Humane Society's undercover investigator, who worked as a laboratory technician with a hidden camera, revealed 338 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, which sets standards for the treatment of animals in labs, Pacelle said. The Humane Society posted some of its secret footage on its Web site. The footage includes an animal with what the group said was a self-inflicted wound, another animal jumping in circles in its cage, and chimpanzees screaming as lab technicians approached with a dart gun. The violations were filed in a 108-page complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is required by law to enforce the Animal Welfare Act, the organization said. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he will order a thorough investigation of animal welfare practices at the facility. "If the allegations prove to be true, the American public can expect the perpetrators to be held fully accountable. I take the protection of animals very seriously, and will do my utmost to fully enforce the Animal Welfare Act," he said in a written statement. The New Iberia Research Center, part of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, issued a statement saying that the videos "distort acceptable standard procedures and incorrectly imply mistreatment of nonhuman primates at the New Iberia Research Center." It added: "We take very seriously our responsibility to care for the animals housed at the center and to carry out biomedical research according to federal rules and regulations." The center further said it properly housed and cared for the animals. It also said it complies with regulations of the USDA, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Humane Society accused workers at New Iberia of hitting primates on the mouth, using "painful" dart guns and removing infant monkeys from their mothers. The Humane Society also said it had documented evidence of "rampant" breeding of government-owned chimpanzees. In 2007, the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Research Resources, following a 12-year moratorium, said it would no longer breed chimpanzees for research, citing financial reasons. The New Iberia Research Center has received more than $37 million in grants from the NIH, according to the center's Web site. The NIH said it has opened an investigation regarding the allegations and said it is working closely with the USDA. However, it said it could not comment on the allegations while its investigation is under way. "The results will be available when the investigation is complete," the NIH said in a written statement. "We are committed to the safety and welfare of all animals in research. All animals used in federally funded research are protected by laws, regulations, and policies to ensure they are used in the smallest numbers possible and with the greatest commitment to their comfort." Pacelle said the most serious issue was the self-mutilation and "nonstop pacing and circling, psychosis and other abnormal behaviors." "These are highly intelligent animals. They have a sense of self, they have a sense of past and future, they have the wide range of emotions that we have," he said. "They should not be subjected to this long-term, decade-long isolation, and all these painful and physical procedures and the psychological torment in these laboratories." The New Iberia Research Center says it offers a "broad range of diagnostic, laboratory, and human resources for the development and characterization of nonhuman primate models for applied and basic research aimed at promoting human quality of life." In its statement e-mailed to CNN, the center said it has made numerous contributions to public health improvements for the prevention and treatment of three forms of hepatitis, mumps, measles, chicken pox and mad cow disease. CNN's Bill Caiaccio and Taylor Gandossy contributed to this report.

Society says undercover investigation found animal psychosis, self-mutilation . Center denies allegations, says it properly housed and cared for the animals . Agriculture secretary says he'll order investigation of facility's animal welfare practices . New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana houses more than 6,500 primates .

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A Pakistani judge sentenced Osama bin Laden's three widows and two daughters on Monday to 45 days of house detention for living illegally in Pakistan, the widows' lawyer said. The judge ordered that after their term, the five be deported back to their countries of citizenship, said Amir Khalil, the lawyer. He said the time served began March 3, when the five were formally arrested or taken into custody, and that they would all be released by mid-April. The widows -- identified by U.S. and Pakistani officials as Amal Ahmed Abdul Fateh, Khairiah Sabar and Siham Sabar -- have been in Pakistani custody since U.S. Navy SEALs raided bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad and killed the al Qaeda leader in May 2011. The daughters are ages 17 and 21, Khalil said. Since all five defendants confessed to impersonation, illegal entry into Pakistan and staying illegally in Pakistan, there was no need for a trial, said Khalil, who added that his clients would not appeal the "lenient" sentence. They will serve their sentence in the Islamabad residence where the trial took place, Khalil said. A source familiar with the widows' case said last week that the Yemeni government has expressed willingness to let Fateh, bin Laden's youngest widow, return home. Saudi Arabia, where the other two women are from, has been resistant. The judge also fined each of the defendants 10,000 rupees, or about $110, Khalil said, adding that the fines had been paid in court. Bin Laden spent years on the run in Pakistan after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, moving from one safe house to another and fathering four children -- at least one of whom was born in a government hospital, Fateh has told Pakistani investigators. A deposition taken from Fateh gives the clearest picture yet of bin Laden's life while international forces hunted him. "While we may never be able to corroborate every detail, generally speaking, bin Laden's wife's account seems plausible, and it confirms some previously held theories on where the al-Qaeda leader was hiding over the years," a U.S. official said about the widow's account. In the January 19 police report, Fateh said she had always wanted to marry a holy warrior. When word of plans for her arranged marriage to bin Laden came in 2000, she flew to Pakistan, crossed the Afghanistan border at Quetta and went to Kandahar. She said she did not recall exactly when, but she was married before the 2001 attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. She lived with bin Laden and his two other wives until the attacks. The family "scattered" after that, she told police. She said she returned to the southern port city of Karachi with her eldest daughter, Safia, and stayed in an apartment for eight or nine months. She said that "all the things were arranged by some Pakistani family and Saad," bin Laden's eldest son. They moved six or seven times in Karachi before she reunited with bin Laden in the border city of Peshawar. They moved to the Swat Valley, living in two houses over an eight- or nine-month period. Next, they shifted to Haripur, also in northern Pakistan. Fateh's daughter Aasia was born there in 2003 and son Ibrahim the next year. Fateh said she stayed in a hospital on both occasions. They settled in Abbottabad in 2005 and stayed there for six years before bin Laden was killed. Fateh gave birth to two more children in Abbottabad -- daughter Zainab was born in 2006 and son Hussain in 2008. Fateh said two families, whom she called the Ibrahim and Abrar families, stayed with them while they were in Swat, Haripur and Abbottabad, and "everything was arranged by them." She said some members of those two families were killed in the raid, as was bin Laden's 20-year-old son, Khalid. She told police she never applied for a visa during her stay in Pakistan. CNN asked Pakistani officials in Washington, in e-mails and over the phone, whether they had any knowledge of Fateh's movements and got no response.

The 5 will be released in mid-April, lawyer says . The three widows and two other relatives faced charges of living illegally in Pakistan . The court orders their repatriation after completion of sentence . They have been detained since the U.S. raid in May that killed bin Laden .

Washington (CNN) -- He's the leader of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which runs the VA hospitals where dozens of U.S. veterans died waiting for simple medical screenings. Yet in the six months that CNN has been reporting on these delays, Eric Shinseki has been silent. And he hasn't spoken out on the matter to any other news organization, either. Early Friday evening -- after this story appeared on CNN.com -- the VA gave a response, via spokesman Drew Brookie. He explained that the VA's inspector general's office (referred to as OIG), which is probing the matter, "advised VA against providing information that could potentially compromise their ongoing investigation at the Phoenix VA Health Care system." "Accordingly, VA may not be able to respond with respect to specific inquiries that may fall within the bounds of the OIG investigation on this subject," Brookie said. "VA will work with OIG to ensure that any information provided balances our need to keep the public informed with the obligation to preserve the integrity of the OIG's investigation." We first began examining the delays in appointments and care for veterans last fall, and immediately reached out for an interview with Secretary Shinseki on November 12. Our initial report on delays in care at VA hospitals in Georgia and South Carolina published a week later. Since then, we've submitted numerous written requests and last month we verbally requested an interview with Shinseki at an April 9 House hearing on the delays prompted in part by CNN's reporting. Most recently, we started looking into the Phoenix VA, where sources told us that the hospital concocted an elaborate scheme to cover up long wait times there. The sources said more than 1,400 vets were placed on the purported secret list and that documents were shredded to hide the evidence. According to sources, at least 40 U.S veterans died waiting for care at the facility, many of whom were on the list. According to CNN's sources and documents, more than 120 veterans -- including the 40 in Phoenix -- have died, are dying or have suffered serious injuries waiting for care at VA facilities. The VA has acknowledged that 23 veterans have died as a result of delayed care in recent years. Our requests for interviews with Arizona officials were repeatedly denied, until finally the local top VA officials in Phoenix agreed to an interview on Tuesday -- nearly a week after our initial story aired on CNN's AC360 and CNN.com. The Arizona officials told CNN Tuesday they had never instructed their staff to create a secret list, or to maintain a secret list, or to shred any evidence, and they said they never issued any instructions about it to their staffs. They acknowledged an electronic waiting list for veterans but said there may have been confusion among their staff about how it worked. They admitted some patients on the waiting list have died, but that they said they do not know if those deaths were tied to delays. CNN's exclusive investigation quickly drew attention in Washington: on Monday -- a day before the Phoenix VA officials agreed to speak to us -- President Barack Obama announced he has called for an investigation into what has happened in Phoenix. Shinseki issued a written statement Thursday, announcing that the director of the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system and two others have been placed on administrative leave amid claims of a secret waiting list and claims that 40-plus veterans died waiting for care. "We believe it is important to allow an independent, objective review to proceed," Shinseki wrote. "... These allegations, if true, are absolutely unacceptable and if the Inspector General's investigation substantiates these claims, swift and appropriate action will be taken." Still, Shinseki has refused all CNN requests for an interview. Shinseki has served as VA secretary since 2009, appointed by President Obama who hailed him as someone who "always stood on principle." The former Army Chief of Staff under the Bush administration earned high praise among Iraq war critics for his testimony before the Senate Armed Services committee one month before the U.S. invasion into Iraqi, saying he believed "several hundred thousand troops" would be needed to keep order in a post-invasion Iraq. That was more than double the number of forces the Pentagon had estimated. "No one will ever doubt that this former Army chief of staff has the courage to stand up for our troops and our veterans," Obama said when he nominated Shinseki to the post. January: Veterans dying because of health care delays . January: Congress demands answers . November: Georgia VA hospital apologizes . November: A dire situation in South Carolina . Watch Anderson Cooper . 360° weeknights 8pm ET. For the latest from AC360° click here.

NEW: VA: Want to balance keeping public informed, ensuring investigation's integrity . CNN has reported dozens of veterans have died waiting for care at VA hospitals . This week, sources told CNN the Phoenix VA concocted a scheme to cover up the delays . Arizona VA officials have denied that .

(CNN) -- These days, it's impossible to overstate the popularity of games for social networks, with Facebook titles like "Pet Society," "Happy Aquarium" and "Zoo World" all boasting massive followings. To cynics, popular games such as Zygna's new "FrontierVille," which recently racked up 20 million users in just 36 days, may seem like simple carbon copies of earlier hits -- most obviously "FarmVille," which once touted four times as many players. Not so, argue industry insiders, who maintain that imitation is both the sincerest, and most sensible, form of flattery available to today's game designers. "Zynga certainly uses a formula for its games," says Libe Goad, editor-in-chief of Games.com. "'FrontierVille' takes elements of 'FarmVille,' including harvesting and helping neighbors, and then adds elements from more traditional strategy games to it. Since [the company] is notoriously metrics-driven, I predict that they will stick to this formula... It seems to be working well for them." It's a sentiment clearly echoed by Wade Tinney, CEO of Large Animal Games, makers of popular Facebook, MySpace and Bebo outings like "Bumper Stars" and "Lucky Strike Lanes." "Certainly there are some play mechanics that reappear in 'FrontierVille,' but I'd expect that from any game developer," he says. Arguing that "FarmVille" was "basically a rip-off" of earlier title "myFarm" anyway, Tinney counters that "FrontierVille" is "a step in the right direction" for the company because it offers a more original take on an existing formula. The idea of recycling core game mechanics isn't really a big deal -- witness the number of military-themed shooters on the market for PCs and consoles, Tinney said. "If something works well, why not keep using it?" "Games in general, including board games, sports, video games and more, tend to use successful mechanics over and over again, just like movies have formulaic plots," concurs Brenda Brathwaite, creative director at lolapps.com. "It reduces risk and takes advantage of existing player knowledge." But Brathwaite believes the practice of recycling game concepts, while appealing to profit-minded companies, also has the potential to backfire. "In casual games, players not only want, but need to have some kind of idea how to play a game when they first [try] them, and these common paradigms provide context," she says. "The key, however, is to innovate on them or introduce a completely new mechanic. The potential downside is that players can get tired of the same old patterns over and over again." In FarmVille, players manage a virtual farm by planting and harvesting virtual crops and raising livestock. FrontierVille transplants this concept to the wilderness, where players fell trees, clear brush, find arrowheads and build a Western-themed homestead. Some outspoken critics say that enough is enough already. "There will always be some players who want more of the same," says Joel Brodie, founder of casual game reviews site Gamezebo.com. "I think the majority of game players online, however, have a short attention span and always want to be challenged." "Some companies are releasing very innovative games," he says. "Examples include 'Lucky Train' (create and send trains between friends), 'Office Wars' (create an army of office workers and fight away) and 'Growing Diary' (a chance to relive your life as a 5- year-old). "I think the bigger question is whether companies that take such risks are rewarded with success on Facebook. 'FrontierVille' in one hour is making more money and driving more game traffic than all the innovative games combined." For those seeking the next big thing, experts agree that social games are just scratching the surface when it comes to pushing creative boundaries. "Social game makers are just getting warmed up," says Games.com's Goad, citing Playfish and its swashbuckling title "Pirates Ahoy!" as a prime example. "Nobody's run out of ideas," agrees Brathwaite. "In fact, I think we're seeing more diversity of topics in social games than we're seeing in the traditional game market. Because of [social gaming's] nature and shorter development cycles, though, we're also more able to see the 'me too' clones way faster."

Zygna's "FrontierVille" recently racked up 20 million users in 36 days . Tinney: "FrontierVille" is "a step in the right direction" for the company . "Social game makers are just getting warmed up," says Games.com's Goad .

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Ailing "Great Train Robber" Ronnie Biggs -- one of the most notorious British criminals of the 20th century -- was formally released from prison to his death bed Friday after being granted his freedom on compassionate grounds. Ronnie Biggs, pictured at a book launch in Rio de Janeiro in 1994. Biggs, who is gravely ill with severe pneumonia, is being cared for at a hospital in Norwich, eastern England, where he was moved on Tuesday. Three prison staff who had been assigned to Biggs' bedside have been withdrawn following UK Justice Minister Jack Straw's decision to authorize his release, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson told CNN. "The medical evidence clearly shows that Mr Biggs is very ill and that his condition has deteriorated recently, culminating in his re-admission to hospital," Straw said in a statement Thursday. "His condition is not expected to improve." Biggs' son, Michael Biggs, said his father was "over the moon" that he had been released on the eve of his 80th birthday. Speaking to reporters outside the hospital, he confirmed his father had been handed his release papers. "As a family, we are absolutely thrilled," Michael Biggs said, according to the UK's Press Association. Biggs is unable to walk, barely able to communicate and no longer able to eat or drink, Michael Biggs said, adding that the family was "very hopeful that my father will be able to survive the next few days." Biggs' legal advisor Giovanni Di Stefano told journalists that Biggs was unlikely to ever leave his hospital bed. "This man is ill, he's going to die... he is going to stay in hospital," he said. Saturday also marks the 46th anniversary of the infamous 1963 heist dubbed the "crime of the century" that transformed Biggs from a petty London thief into one of the most wanted men in Britain. Biggs and 14 other professional criminals made off with more than £2.5 million ($4.2 million) in used bank notes -- the equivalent of around £40 million ($67 million) today -- after holding up a mail train from Glasgow to London in the early hours of the morning. In the course of the robbery the train driver was badly beaten with an iron bar. Most of the gang, including Biggs, were soon picked up in a massive manhunt after police discovered fingerprints at a farmhouse hideout where the robbers had holed up to split their spoils. Biggs was sentenced to 30 years in prison but escaped over the wall of a London prison after serving just 15 months -- and spent most of the rest of his life as a celebrity fugitive. After undergoing extensive plastic surgery in Paris, Biggs made his way to Australia, living there with his wife and two children. Tracked down by police, Biggs fled again in 1969, this time to Brazil. Five years later, Biggs was traced once more by a newspaper reporter. Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Jack Slipper, who had led police efforts to bring the train robbers to justice, flew out to Rio de Janeiro to arrest Biggs, allegedly greeting him at a beachside hotel: "Long time no see, Ronnie." But efforts to bring Biggs home were frustrated because by then he had fathered a Brazilian-born son -- Michael Biggs -- and authorities rejected British requests for his extradition. Biggs continued to live openly in Rio, trading on his notoriety by entertaining tourists, selling t-shirts and even recording with the Sex Pistols. In 1981 he was kidnapped by a gang of British ex-soldiers and smuggled to Barbados. But legal efforts to have Biggs brought back to the UK once again stalled and he was allowed to return to Brazil. By the late 1990s Biggs was in poor health following a series of strokes and running out of cash. In 2001 he flew back to the UK on a private jet laid on by the Sun newspaper. He was promptly locked up in a high security prison but then moved to a facility for elderly prisoners. Since his return Biggs and his family have campaigned for his parole on compassionate grounds -- an appeal until now rejected by successive justice ministers on the grounds that Biggs had never shown any remorse for his actions. Michael Biggs said his father had expressed regret for the robbery -- but not for the life he had led in the years since the crime.

Ronnie Biggs freed on compassionate grounds because of ailing health . Biggs took part in 1963 Great Train Robbery, dubbed "crime of the century" in UK . Biggs, 80 on Saturday, has been hospitalized suffering from severe pneumonia . Biggs escaped from jail, spent decades as a fugitive before returning to UK in 2001 .

(CNN) -- A pair of north African delegates addressed the U.N. General Assembly for the first time Saturday, each representing a new government formed after revolution and civil war ousted their respective long-time leaders. From Libya, the executive chairman of the country's transitional council formally addressed the assembly's 66th annual session, saying his country was ready to "redevelop itself" and "heal its wounds." Mahmoud Jibril also called for a thaw of Libyan financial assets, frozen during the ongoing conflict between pro and anti-Gadhafi forces. Col. Moammar Gadhafi -- who ruled Libya with near absolute power for more than four decades -- fled from office last month, although pockets of resistance have remained. Jibril's speech was in stark contrast to a rambling 90-minute address given by the former Libyan leader two years ago in which he criticized the United Nations and the composition of its security council. From Egypt, Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr also addressed the assembly -- the first time an Egyptian delegate has done so representing a post- Mubarak government. Long-time strongman and former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down in February, handing over power to the military and ending three decades of iron-clad rule following an 18-day popular revolution. In a move that seemed to punctuate recent tensions between Egypt and Israel (rioters stormed the Israeli embassy in Cairo earlier this month) the country's foreign minister told delegates that Egypt is supportive of a Palestinian U.N. bid for statehood. He added that the Quartet -- representatives from the U.S., the U.N., Russia and the European Union -- had failed "to come up with a balanced vision." The first week of U.N. debates wrapped up on Saturday as delegates outlined their visions for peace and global security. But one topic remained at the forefront of the annual session: The bid for Palestinian statehood. On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas put forth a historic request for full U.N. membership, a move Israel says is premature without direct talks that address its longstanding security concerns. The measure prompted the Quartet to issue a call for renewed talks, after they broke down last year. Their statement Friday outlined a timetable for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement to be reached before the end of 2012, countering any anticipation of immediate change in the region. Abbas told reporters traveling with him Saturday that he would not comment on the Quartet statement before studying it, according to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority news agency. But he added that any proposal that did not include an end to settlement activities and a return to the 1967 borders would not be dealt with. He said there were many last-minute meetings on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, with diplomats seeking to persuade him to give up his request for Palestinian statehood. "All these meeting, which were confusing, did not make us change our position because our goal was to deliver the official and humanitarian Palestinian message," Abbas said. Abbas' application -- viewed as a largely symbolic gesture because an American veto is all but assured should it come to a vote in the Security Council -- drew applause in the assembly when the Palestinian leader raised the document at the podium. "Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the U.N.," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a speech to delegates at the General Assembly earlier this week. "If it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now." The American president said he supports Palestinian statehood, but reiterated a long-standing U.S. position that Israel must be part of the discussions. Israel has described the bid as counterproductive, and has called for an immediate resumption of talks to begin in New York and to be continued in Ramallah and Jerusalem. The Security Council is expected to meet Monday to further discuss the issue. Also Saturday, the international body hosted a mini-summit on drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said more than 13 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti "need our help." He said three-quarters of a million people are "at imminent risk of starvation" as a result of war, rising food costs and droughts that have continually plagued the region. The mini-summit coincided with a World Bank decision in Washington to boost aid to the region to $1.88 billion from more than $500 million, the D.C.-based financial institution announced Saturday.

Abbas says he will not comment on Quartet statement . Egyptian official says Quartet has failed "to come up with a balanced vision" for the Palestinian bid . Libyan NTC leader calls for his country's financial assets to be unfrozen . The Security Council is expected to meet Monday to discuss statehood request .

(CNN) -- Two issues -- security and immigration -- often get too much attention when it comes to talking about the U.S.-Mexico relationship, U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday. Now, Obama said, it's time to forge deeper economic connections to create more jobs and more trade on both sides of the border. "That's the focus of my visit," he told reporters after meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in the country's capital. But even as Obama and Peña Nieto pushed to shift the tone more toward trade and economics, security issues loomed large over Thursday's meeting. Peña Nieto said his government remains committed to fighting organized crime, but that the United States and Mexico must "cooperate on the basis of mutual respect, to be more efficient in our security strategy that we are implementing in Mexico." Obama stressed that the countries will continue to cooperate closely on security, but he didn't specify how. "I agreed to continue our close cooperation on security, even as that nature of that close cooperation will evolve," he said. It's up to the Mexican people, Obama said, "to determine their security structures and how it engages with other nations, including the United States." In the meantime, he said, the United States remains committed to reducing the demand for drugs north of the border, and the southward flow of illegal guns and cash that help fuel violence. "I think it's natural that a new administration here in Mexico is looking carefully at how it's going to approach what is obviously a serious problem," Obama said, "and we are very much looking forward to cooperating in any ways that we can to battle organized crime." High-profile cartel takedowns were a hallmark of former President Felipe Calderon's tenure. Peña Nieto has vowed to take a different approach, focusing more on education problems and social inequality that he says fuel drug violence. The details of his policies are still coming into focus, and analysts say his government has deliberately tried to shift drug violence out of the spotlight. Before Obama's arrival, a spate of news reports this week on both sides of the border detailed changes in how Mexico cooperates with the United States. Under the new rules, all U.S. requests for collaboration with Mexican agencies will flow through a single office, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong told Mexico's state-run Notimex news agency. It is a drastic change from recent years, when U.S. agents enjoyed widespread access to their Mexican counterparts. Critics have expressed concerns that Peña Nieto's government will turn a blind eye to cartels or negotiate with them -- something he repeatedly denied on the campaign trail last year. On Tuesday -- two days before Obama's arrival -- his government arrested the father-in-law of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, head of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel and one of the country's most-wanted drug lords. Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Obama on Thursday, Peña Nieto emphasized the importance of reducing violence, and also the importance of Mexico's relationship with the United States extending beyond the drug war. "We don't want to make this relationship targeted on one single issue," he said. "We want to place particular emphasis on the potential in the economic relationship between Mexico and the United States." To achieve that goal, Peña Nieto said, the presidents agreed to create a new high-level group to discuss economic and trade relations between the two nations. The group, which will include Cabinet ministers from both countries and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, will have its first meeting this fall, Peña Nieto said. Imports and exports between the United States and Mexico totaled nearly $500 billion last year, and before Obama's arrival officials on both sides of the border said economic relations would be a focal point during the U.S. president's visit. "When the economy in Mexico has grown, and people have opportunity, a lot of our problems are solved, or we have the resources to solve them," Obama said Thursday. The emphasis on the economy Thursday was a significant shift, said Jason Marczak, director of policy at the Americas Society and Council of the Americas. "The conversations between Mexico and the United States are changing," he told CNN en Español. Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech at the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City on Friday morning. In the afternoon, he will travel to Costa Rica, where he will meet President Laura Chinchilla and other regional leaders. CNN's Mariano Castillo and CNN en Español's Juan Carlos Lopez and Mario Gonzalez contributed to this report.

A new high-level group to discuss economic cooperation will convene in the fall . Obama says ties between the U.S. and Mexico go beyond security and immigration . Mexico's president says his administration is committed to fighting organized crime . The U.S. president will travel to Costa Rica on Friday to meet with Central American leaders .

Athens, Greece (CNN) -- Greek lawmakers voted to approve a new round of tough budget-cutting measures Thursday, despite a second day of angry protests in which one demonstrator died. Tens of thousands rallied outside the parliament building as lawmakers debated the unpopular measures, aimed at bringing down the country's huge national debt. After a peaceful start, violent clashes broke out between anarchist rioters and the police, and between the anarchists and some union demonstrators who wanted to keep the protest calm. Tear gas was fired into the crowd, while rocks and fire bombs were thrown. The protester who died was a member of the PAME workers' union, lawmaker Makis Voridis told parliament. Hospital officials told CNN he was a 53-year-old man who suffered cardiac arrest. The Greek minister for health said the demonstrator had been taken to an Athens hospital without a pulse and could not be revived, but he had no injuries. Earlier reports suggested he had been injured. Lawmakers approved the austerity measures by 154 in favor to 144 against, despite nationwide protests and a two-day strike that has gripped the country. The new bill is expected to lead to around 30,000 job losses and further cuts to wages and pensions for workers in the public sector. "We have no hope. The only hope we have is the strength of the people," said protester Vagelis Filezis, a civil engineer, before the vote. He said Europe's leaders were trying "to save the banks but they don't think about the people." And he warned Italy and Spain, which are also facing debt crises: "Look at us. This is where you will be in two to three years." Organizers had urged protesters from all over the country to come to Athens Thursday, suggesting the crowd could be larger than the 70,000-plus police estimated Wednesday. Organizers estimated the turnout Wednesday at 120,000, which would make it one of the biggest protests in the country in years. Police said there were about 40,000 people on the streets Thursday morning -- fewer than at the same time a day earlier -- and about 3,000 police officers. The mood early in the day was good-natured, but when violence erupted later it was unusual for the fighting that broke out between different groups of protesters,as well as confrontations with police. On Wednesday, clashes between protesters and police in front of the Greek parliament building left at least six protesters and 15 police officers injured, authorities said. At least 15 people were arrested. Some marchers Thursday accused the government of planting troublemakers in the crowd to spark violence. "They have never been caught," said teacher Thannasis Karametsus. "Why not?" Protesters aimed to shut down wide sectors of the country during the two-day national strike. "Don't bow your head, it's time for resistance and struggle," marchers chanted in the capital Wednesday as they gathered for the union-backed demonstration. "I'm here for my children and everyone else's children. Those punks in there have destroyed everyone's lives," said former railway worker Diamandis Goufas, 62, pointing at parliament. Greeks are angry at yet another round of planned austerity measures as Greece tries to bring down its stratospheric debt. Lawmakers are trying to cut government costs to reassure international backers it is doing enough to earn the bailout funds they have promised to pour into the country. European Union leaders are scrambling to minimize the effect of Greece's debt on their common currency, the euro. Over the weekend, finance ministers from the world's largest economies pledged their commitment to take "all necessary actions" to stabilize markets. They aim to keep banks well capitalized so they can weather the effects of any defaults by Greece or other indebted countries, such as Portugal, Spain, Ireland or Italy. But there appears to be a split between France and Germany -- Europe's two largest economies -- on how to do it. Germany has stressed that individual European states should inject capital into domestic banks that lack sufficient buffers. But analysts say France is opposed to this idea because it could jeopardize the nation's top-tier credit rating. European leaders are expected to hear concrete details about how the plan might work at a European Council meeting Sunday. European Union heads of state are widely expected to finalize the plan in early November at a meeting of the Group of 20 world economic powers. CNN's Andrew Carey, Elinda Labropoulou, Diana Magnay and Ben Rooney contributed to this report.

NEW: Greek lawmakers pass new austerity measures despite protests . Clashes break out in Athens between different groups of protesters and police . One protester dies after cardiac arrest, hospital officials say . European Union leaders worry that Greek debt threatens the euro .

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Robin Thicke's summertime hit "Blurred Lines" is an illegal rip-off of Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up," Gaye's children claim in court documents filed Wednesday. Fans, journalists and music experts immediately recognized similarities between Gaye's 1977 hit and the 2013's summertime smash, Gaye's heirs contend. The controversy is a high-stakes legal fight involving an alleged conflict of interest with Sony-ATV, the music publisher half-owned by Michael Jackson's estate. Gaye's heirs not only accuse Thicke and "Blurred Lines" co-writers Pharrell Williams and "T.I." Clifford Harris Jr. of copying Gaye's song, but they also contend Sony-ATV failed to meet its responsibility to protect the copyright. The Gaye family contracted with Sony-ATV after the singer-songwriter's death to administer his music catalog, but it also represents Williams' songs, according to a counterclaim filed Wednesday in response to a lawsuit filed by Thicke, Williams and Harris. The publisher, however, refused to sue the "Blurred Lines" writers when the family asked them to do so, the Gaye's lawyer said. As a result they "reluctantly" included Sony-ATV as a defendant in their counterclaim, he said. The "Blurred Lines" writers filed their pre-emptive lawsuit in August asking a federal judge to declare that their song was not a copyright infringement on Gaye's work amid public rumblings about the similarities. Thicke's inital lawsuit contends there are "no similarities" between his song and Gaye's "other than commonplace musical elements" "Being reminiscent of a 'sound' is not copyright infringement," his complaint argues. The Gaye family counterclaim includes Thicke quotes from an interview with Billboard Magazine published in July. "Pharrell and I were in the studio making a couple records, and then on the third day I told him I wanted to do something kinda like Marvin Gaye's 'Got To Give It Up,' that kind of feel 'cause it's one of my favorite songs of all time," Thicke reportedly said. "So he started messing with some drums and then he started going 'hey, hey, hey' and about an hour and a half later we had the whole record finished."Â . Who owns happy birthday? Lawsuit seeks return of millions . The filing also quotes what music journalist wrote about the two songs. New York Times writer Rob Hoerburger: "And that bass line came right from Marvin Gaye's No. 1 hit from the summer of '77, 'Got to Give It Up'." Rolling Stone magazine contributor David Ritz: "When I first heard Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines,' my reaction was the same as millions of other R&B fans: Hey, that's Marvin Gaye's 'Got to Give It Up.' " Vice magazine music critic Paul Cantor: "You probably don't feel guilty for liking 'Blurred Lines.' Maybe that's because it was originally a Marvin Gaye song ("Got To Give It Up") and Marvin Gaye is ... awesome." The filing by the heirs also includes a report from musicologist Judith Finell, who identified a "constellation of at least eight substantially similar compositional features between the two works." "The signature phrase, vocal hook, backup vocal hook, their variations, and the keyboard and bass lines" are substantially similar and they share "departures from convention such as the unusual cowbell instrumentation, omission of guitar and use of male falsetto," it said. Gaye's heirs also accuse Thicke of stealing from their father's 1976 hit "After the Dance" when he recorded "Love After War" in 2011. Those tunes "contain substantially similar compositional material in their choruses, including the melodies of their hooks," the Gaye filing contends. The family suggests that Thicke has a "Marvin Gaye fixation." "Blurred Lines" stayed at the top of Billboard's pop chart for a record 16 weeks this summer and sold more than 6 million copies, according to court documents. 'To Kill a Mockingbird' novelist sues over trademark . CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report.

Gaye family also contends Thicke's "Love After War" copied Gaye's "After the Dance" Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and rapper T.I. recorded the summer smash . Musicologist report identified eight similarities in the two songs, counterclaims says . Family suggest Thicke has "Marvin Gaye fixation"

Beijing (CNN) -- Furious anti-Japan protests erupted in Chinese cities Sunday after a Japanese group landed on an island that both countries say is theirs. Protesters toppled Japanese-made cars, burned Japanese flags, and shouted that the island is Chinese territory and that Japan should get out, according to the state-run China Daily newspaper. There were protests in Shenzhen, Shenyang, Hangzhou, Harbin and Qingdao, China Daily reported. In Guangzhou, demonstrators staged a loud sit-in in front of the Japanese consulate, it said. Chinese protesters carried Chinese flags and banners during a march in Hong Kong. The group of 10 Japanese landed on the island Sunday. They waved Japanese flags and draped one over a lighthouse. "As a Japanese citizen, and as a local lawmaker, I went onto the island to show clearly that this is Japan's territory," Eiji Kousaka, a parliament representative from Tokyo, told the Reuters news agency after landing on the island. TIME: Maritime disputes not just about China . He said he "had" to go to the island after a group of Chinese nationals landed there Wednesday. Japan arrested 14 of them and deported them Friday. "I can't just shut my eyes and go and just fish," Kousaka told Reuters. The island is part of an uninhabited chain in the East China Sea claimed by both countries. China calls them Diaoyu and Japan calls them Senkaku, and ownership of the islands would allow for exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in surrounding waters. After Japan arrested the Chinese group Wednesday, there were anti-Japan demonstrations in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Beijing. China warned Japan not to allow Sunday's landing, urging it not to "undermine China's territorial sovereignty," according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. The islands have been the center of dispute for decades. Japanese nationalists traveled to the islands in 1990 and 1996. In 2010, tensions rose to a boiling point when a Chinese fishing trawler rammed into a Japan Coast Guard vessel on patrol in the islands' waters. Japan detained the crew members but later released them under Chinese diplomatic and trade pressure. The dispute boils down to where lines can be drawn in the ocean for commercial use. International law allows for a nation to claim exclusive economic rights to fish, oil and mineral reserves up to 200 nautical miles from the shore. One question hanging over territorial claims is whether the disputed islands are islands at all, according to maritime law. If they're not islands, then territorial claims don't apply. Both sides say they have a history of economic use of the islands. China points to a 1893 decree by Dowager Empress Cixi, giving the island to a Chinese medicine-maker for use in cultivating herbs. Japan points to 19th-century use on the island to collect seabird feathers and guano. Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara says a Japanese family claims to own four of the five disputed islands, and that it has documents showing the islands' Japanese ownership dating to 1890. The Wednesday incident coincided with the 67th anniversary of Japan's official World War II surrender. On the same day, two Japanese Cabinet ministers visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, which honors Japan's war dead as well as war criminals. China and South Korea, given their respective wartime occupation and colonization by Japan, have condemned such visits. A commentary published by the Japan Times on Friday cited diplomatic experts in Japan as saying both nations would benefit from resolving the dispute quickly, with China facing a leadership change later in the year and Japan facing separate territorial fights with Seoul and Moscow. Adding to the regional tensions before the anniversary was South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit Tuesday to what the country calls Dokdo, a small group of islands in the Sea of Japan that Japan claims as Takeshima. The move prompted Japan to recall its ambassador to Seoul and warn South Korea that it will take the issue to the International Court of Justice -- a proposal rejected by Seoul. Japan's finance minister has also said he will cancel a trip to South Korea because of the dispute. Japan has long claimed the islets as its territory, but Seoul said all Korean territory was returned after the country won independence from colonial rule by Japan in 1945. CNN's Elizabeth Yuan, Ben Brumfield, Kyung Lah and Kevin Voigt contributed to this report.

NEW: Protesters toppled Japanese-made cars and burned Japanese flags . NEW: A Japanese activist who went to the islands says they belong to Japan . Both China and Japan claim sovereignty over the uninhabited islands . A Chinese group traveled to the islands last week and was deported .

Los Angeles (CNN) -- If you've ever wondered how much money charities spend mailing you those glossy brochures and free address labels along with their request for a donation, the answer might surprise you. CNN has found that this type of direct-mail marketing cost two veterans charities tens of millions of dollars. Los Angeles-based National Veterans Foundation raised more than $22 million in donations over the past three years to help veterans, yet spent approximately $18.2 million paying its direct mail fund-raisers, according to IRS 990 forms. For nearly a year, the charity has been trying -- without success -- to get out of its contract with Brickmill Marketing and its parent company, Quadriga Art, according to NVF's Rich Rudnick. "We were told for two years it would be very expensive, then we'd be going into the black," Rudnick told CNN. "That never happened." Quadriga Art is one of the world's largest direct-mail providers to charities and non-profits. Quadriga Art is the same fund-raiser hired by the Washington, D.C.-based Disabled Veterans National Foundation, which collected nearly $56 million in donations over the past three years, yet paid Quadriga Art more than $60 million in fees, according to a CNN investigation into the charity's tax records. Quadriga Art confirmed that its relationship with NVF is ending because "fund-raising efforts did not prove as financially viable as the client had hoped," a spokesman wrote in an e-mail to CNN. Quadriga Art says although it increased the charity's donor base by more than 700,000 people, the direct-mail provider recommended phasing out the program last August based on its performance. And despite Brickmill and Quadriga Art being paid more than $18 million by NVF, Quadriga Art says it actually lost money. Meanwhile, DVNF still has a business relationship with Quadriga through 2013. The independent group CharityWatch gave both charities an "F" grade because of the miniscule amount of money they spend on actually helping veterans. "It's as if you're looking at these ratios through a fun house mirror," Daniel Borochoff, CharityWatch president, told CNN. "It really ought to be reversed, it ought to be flipped, they ought to be giving 80 or 90 percent to helping veterans, not only 12 percent. It's really pathetic." Beyond its finances, the other services that the National Veterans Foundation offers to veterans are also questionable. On its website, it says one of its principal benefits to veterans is a toll-free hotline, but the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington operates several similar toll-free hotlines for veterans seeking a variety of services. In a statement, the charity said that it has been in business 27 years and that it serves thousands of veterans each year through its toll-free hotline. CNN attempted to visit the National Veterans Foundation office near the Los Angeles International Airport, but staffers said that they would not speak on camera, refused to allow CNN inside, and declined CNN's request to photograph the call center that the charity says it operates there. CNN's recent investigation into the Disabled Veterans National Foundation found that the charity was doling out massive amounts of candy, hand sanitizer bottles and many other unnecessary items to veteran aid groups, surplus items it had obtained for free. It also claimed in its tax filings more than $838,000 in fair market value donations to one charity, although the bill of lading obtained by CNN showed that the donations -- which included chef's coats and aprons -- was valued at around $234,000. DVNF vice president Valerie Conley stressed that "not all the funds" raised by the foundation go to fund-raising. "The cost of fund-raising is high, as you know, and it has been for many veteran service organizations who use this kind of direct paying approach," she said. But CharityWatch's Borochoff says these charities are wasting public donations, and the only ones benefiting are the marketing firms. "We really have to ask why is this going on, what's the point?" he said in an interview with CNN. "This really should be called the 'National Enrich Fund-raising Foundation' rather than the National Veterans Foundation because ... the amount of help that the veterans receive is so small." Watch Anderson Cooper 360° weeknights 10pm ET. For the latest from AC360° click here.

Tax records show two veterans charities spent more than $78 million on direct mail marketing . One of the charities is trying to end its relationship with the marketing company . CharityWatch gave both charities an "F" for spending only 12% on helping veterans . "Who's benefiting here other than the fund-raising company?" asks CharityWatch .

(CNN) -- World football's governing body is threatening to take a more hard-line approach to racist abuse after FIFA president Sepp Blatter called for clubs to be punished with points deductions and relegation if they are found guilty. Since AC Milan forward Kevin-Prince Boateng walked off the pitch in a friendly match earlier this month, both FIFA and Europe's governing body have faced criticism over their perceived leniency towards players being racially abused. "It is not enough to give a fine," Blatter told FIFA.com. "Playing a game without spectators is one of the possible sanctions, but the best would be the deduction of points and the relegation of a team, because finally the club is responsible for their spectators." Blatter's stance is something of a volte-face given two years ago he said racism did not exist in football and that any problems could be solved with a handshake. But the 76-year-old, who has spent the past 15 years in charge of FIFA, has changed his view following a number of recent unsavory incidents. Italy presses charges after AC Milan soccer racism . "It is a phenomena where football is a victim of our society," added Blatter. "Discrimination and racism is everywhere in our society. We in football cannot be made responsible for what happens in our society. "But nowhere in the world -- regarding all the problems you can have in your private life, in business, in politics -- can you solve a problem by running away. "I agree with and support the movement of Boateng -- as I have said -- as it was a strong warning. It is now up to us to take the adequate steps. "What I feel we should do is give instructions to our national associations and the confederations -- specifically to the disciplinary committees -- to be very strong." The ugly face of racism has reared its head far too often over the past 18 months with several high-profile incidents catching the headlines. Suarez fined, suspended over racist remarks . In December 2011, Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was hit with an eight-match suspension and $63,000 fine after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra. Last September, Chelsea captain John Terry was given a four-game ban and fined $347,000 for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand. Then in October 2012, England's Under-21 players were subjected to racist chanting during the European Championship qualifier in Krusevac. The punishment of a $105,000 fine and the order to play one under-21 match behind closed doors handed out by UEFA's disciplinary commission was then appealed by the organization as it was seen to be too lenient. UEFA appeals Serbia sanctions . However in an interview with French radio station RTL, UEFA president Michel Platini insisted the European governing body was in great shape to tackle racism. "We have put rules in place with the referees in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League," said the Frenchman. Earlier this month FIFA imposed a one-match spectator ban on Bulgaria for racist abuse by their fans of a Denmark player. It was the first time the body had imposed anything more than a fine for racism . Boateng makes racism walkout vow . Prince-Boateng walked off the field of play after being subjected to racist chanting by supporters during a friendly game at fourth-tier club Pro Patria. Speaking to CNN in an exclusive interview following the incident, the Milan midfielder insisted he would walk off the field again if he was subjected to more racist chanting. ""If it happens again I'm not going to play anymore," he said. "The referee said: 'Don't worry' but I said I do worry, it's not very nice. "I was angry and I was sad, but it all came together and I said I don't want to play anymore. There were so many negative emotions that came up with me. "I'm surprised we're still hearing these things in 2013. It's not the first time in my life that I've heard these things, but I'm 25 now and I've had enough this bulls***." Boateng's decision to walk off the field was applauded by Platini, who told RTL: "I appreciated this very much. I also sent a message of congratulations to AC Milan's [vice-president] Mr Galliani. I found [the decision] a good thing to do."

FIFA threatens more hard-line approach to racism . FIFA president Sepp Blatter says clubs could be hit with points deduction or relegation if found guilty . UEFA president Michel Platini has also recently insistedhis organization will get tough with racism . Frenchman Platini has backed stance taken by AC Milan's Kevin Prince-Boateng .

Washington (CNN) -- You could read the entire 1,582-page, $1 trillion omnibus spending plan announced in Congress Monday night. Or you can check out our handy cheat sheet of some of the key winners and losers in the plan. Winners . Little kids: Big winners. Funding for the Head Start and early Head Start programs would jump by $1 billion. That's $1 billion more than last year's low point after budget cuts. The mentally ill: Social-worker-turned-Senate-Appropriations-Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland, has long pushed for mental health programs. This year she got them an additional $173 million dollars more than their funding level with last year's budget cuts. Disabled veterans and surviving families: No longer would a planned cut in pensions hit "medically" discharged military retirees or military spouses or children who depend on military pensions. Federal workers and active military: A 1% pay raise would come to both groups of furlough- and sequester survivors. Details of the $1 trillion spending bill . G-men: The FBI stands to gain $700 million+ over the funding it got following last year's budget cuts. Social Security Administration: The agency gets a hefty $651 million increase to help it make up for budget cuts in the past. Seated handshakes: The photo of Mikulski and House Appropriations Committee chairman Hal Rogers, R-Kentucky, sealing the deal is a double win: a more natural-looking, lawmakers-at-work shot than the traditional standing handshake. And it masks the significant height difference between the two powerful lawmakers. Obamacare: (And see below.) No gain in funds, but no loss of funds, either. Given the razor-sharp opposition to the health care law, a spending bill that doesn't get snagged in the Obamacare debate (and vice versa) could be considered a win. Obama looks to bypass Congress to press 'Year of Action' Appropriations committees: Think of it as a reality game show that no one would enjoy. The chairmen and staffs of the House and Senate appropriations committees had less than a month to agree on 12 detailed spending bills and fold them into one 1,582-page document that both parties could sign. Losers . EPA: The deal restores some of the funds cut by sequester to the Environmental Protection Agency, but not all. In a summary of the measure, Republicans boasted that with this bill, they have cut the EPA's funding by 20% since 2010. IRS: The tax agency's funding has been cut to 2009 levels, according to the Republican House Appropriations Committee. And just to send a more direct message, this appropriations bill states that the agency cannot use its funds to target citizens or groups based on their ideology. TSA: You have millions of passengers to screen everyday and now Congress has capped the number of employees you can hire. If passed, the deal would set a limit of 46,000 TSA screeners and require the TSA to find a way to make half of the traveling public eligible for "expedited" screening by the end of this year. Senators seek compromise on unemployment standoff . Russia: Two reasons. 1. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois, told CNN the deal fully funds a U.S. missile defense system in Romania, which the Russians do not like. 2. The measure makes it harder for the United States to buy weapons from Russia, including some controversial helicopters. To get around the ban, the omnibus requires the Pentagon to reveal the number of anti-aircraft missiles the Russian weapons agency has sold to Syria's Bashar al-Assad. Obamacare: (And see above.) If the Obama administration needs more funds to implement the health care law, it isn't going to get them from Congress. The bill doesn't add any funding and also blocks the administration from dipping into a prevention fund as a backup pool of money. Generals and admirals: Flag and general officers in the military would see a cut in their staff expense budgets under this plan. The president of Afghanistan: The bill specifically prohibits any of its funds from going to "the direct personal benefit of the president of Afghanistan." Portrait artists: The bill bans government officials from spending money to have a portrait made. Jerry Brown: No funds for you. The California governor hoped to get some federal funds for his dream of a $60 billion high-speed rail line between L.A. and San Francisco. But Republicans successfully blocked the idea in this deal. Obama, Maria Shriver to talk women's poverty issues .

Little kids, the mentally ill and G-men are among the winners . Russia, Jerry Brown and the IRS are among the losers . Obamacare -- both a winner and a loser .

NEW YORK (CNN) -- If you're Iranian, you probably know both and Akbar Ganji and Googoosh. You also know that 30 years ago they had as much in common as Rush Limbaugh and Madonna. The story of how they came together this week on a street corner in Manhattan for a hunger strike is a glimpse of the evolution of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the far-reaching impact of Iran's current opposition movement. Akbar Ganji went on a three-day hunger strike this week outside the U.N. to protest Iran's crackdown on dissidents. In 1979 no Iranian singer was more famous than Googoosh. She was Iran's Madonna, Sheryl Crow and Mariah Carey wrapped into one. She was rich, famous and adored by millions. Back then, the 29-year-old singer was also a symbol of an increasingly westernized Iran. In 1979 Akbar Ganji was 19. He was a devout Muslim and staunch supporter of a religious movement to overthrow the western backed Shah of Iran. Ganji says he had Googoosh's records, but his religious mentors convinced him that her music was un-Islamic. So he tossed the records in the trash. "All my friends did," Ganji said. "Back then everything had to be about the revolution." In February 1979, Ganji's wish came true. The shah fell from power. In his place came the father of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. For Googoosh and Ganji, the tables turned. Googoosh never recorded another album in Iran. Ganji went on to become a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, worked for the government, then went on to become an accomplished journalist. The two very different roads traveled by Googoosh and Ganji began to converge in the mid-1990s. That was when Ganji started becoming disillusioned with Iran's theocracy. This wasn't what he had in mind, he says, when he struggled for freedom and change in 1979. As a journalist he described Iran's leaders as fascists and dared to accuse high-ranking officials of murdering political dissidents. In 2000, the government accused Ganji of being an enemy of the revolution and sentenced him to six years in prison. In 2005 Ganji went on a hunger strike. For 74 days he ate no food, surviving on water, tea and sugar cubes. Ganji left Iran for the United States after he was released from prison in 2006. Soon after he arrived, he says, he got a call from the singer whose records he'd trashed more than 25 years before. Googoosh was already living in exile in the States. "I don't want to go into details of what she said," Ganji said. "It was personal. She just wanted me to know that I was in her thoughts during my time in prison." Watch Googoosh and Ganji talk about the hunger strike » . This week, Ganji welcomed Googoosh at a rally as they started a three-day hunger strike in support of Iran's opposition movement. Dozens of Iranian artists, authors and intellectuals living in exile joined them in the hunger strike in front of the United Nations' headquarters in Manhattan. Many were draped in green, the official color of the opposition movement that claims Iran's presidential elections were rigged. The gathering called on the U.N. and the international community to help free the hundreds of detainees arrested by Iranian authorities after the disputed June 12 election. The names of the detainees were printed on a banner. The names in red were those who had been killed. When Googoosh arrived on Wednesday, her fans mobbed her. One woman wrapped a green scarf around her shoulders. "As an artist I have a voice, and I can ask the world to help our people," Googoosh told CNN. Two Iranians with nothing in common 30 years ago now struggle for the same cause. "No, I don't think anybody expected this," Ganji said. The hunger strike ended Friday evening, and Ganji called it a success. He said the hunger strikers also vowed to oppose any future appearance at the United Nations by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "If he decides to come to the U.N., we have to bring 10 times as many people as we had this week to prevent him from making an appearance," Ganji said.

Akbar Ganji was committed to the revolution in Iran before souring on the regime . Googoosh was a superstar in Iran who went into exile after the 1979 revolution . Ganji and Googoosh joined in a hunger strike this week in support of dissidents .

(CNN) -- The man tasked with investigating the World Cup bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments resigned Wednesday, plunging world football into turmoil. Michael Garcia's resignation followed world governing body FIFA's decision to throw out his appeal after he complained about the way his report into the bidding process had been summarized by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert -- FIFA's independent ethics adjudicator. "I disagree with the Appeal Committee's decision," said the American lawyer Garcia -- the chairman of the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee -- in a public statement. "It now appears that, at least for the foreseeable future, the Eckert Decision will stand as the final word on the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process. "No independent governance committee, investigator, or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organization." FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he was surprised by Garcia's resignation but that the "work of the Ethics Committee will nonetheless continue." "Pending the election of a new chairman of the Ethics Committee by the FIFA Congress, the FIFA Executive Committee will appoint an acting chairman to serve as a replacement for Mr Garcia," added Blatter, who will be at FIFA ExCo's meeting in Marrakech on Thursday and Friday. However Jerome Champagne, who is standing against Blatter in the 2015 FIFA presidential election, said Garcia's decision was "a step backwards." "We need to know what happened before and after the 2 December 2010 vote," added Champagne, referring to the date Russia and Qatar won the right to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. "When will the facts be known fully, transparently and above all without suspicion? When will we be able to start rebuilding FIFA's image? And we need to protect the World Cup." Garcia said his decision to resign had also been in influenced by FIFA's "lack of leadership." "Now even FIFA's very own lead investigator has recognized what many of us have warned for months: its self investigation process is neither valid nor credible," said U.S. lawyer David Larkin, who has been a campaigner for greater accountability from FIFA. It has been a difficult few months for Garcia. In September the American said for the first time that his report should be made public with redactions. FIFA rejected his request on the grounds that witness confidentiality for his work could prove difficult to sustain if the report was published. Then Eckert published his summary, prompting Garcia to respond by saying the German judge's 42-page report contained "numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations." In his resignation statement Garcia went even further. "A brief I filed with the FIFA Appeal Committee on November 24, 2014, outlined the Eckert Decision's most serious failings," said the American lawyer. "Among other points, the brief explained why, when viewed in the context of the Report it purported to summarize, no principled approach could justify the Eckert Decision's edits, omissions, and additions." After Eckert's summary was published, Garcia also faced pressure from two whistle-blowers. Phaedra Al-Majid and Australian Bonita Mersiades gave evidence to Garcia and claim he broke his promise over an offer of anonymity if they helped with his investigative report. The two women insist that assurances were given to them both in private and public that they would not be compromised after agreeing to give evidence "through a sense of natural justice and a desire to bring closure to a long running chapter in our lives." The women were not identified by name, but they contend they were "clearly identifiable" in the summary of Garcia's report. However, FIFA's disciplinary committee said Tuesday there "were no grounds to justify the opening of disciplinary proceedings" given "the breach of confidentiality claim had no substance." Responding to Garcia's resignation, Mersiades welcomed his decision, given he "agrees with what many of us have long stated -- that FIFA is incapable of reform or cultural change with its current leadership." Al-Majid described the American's departure from FIFA was "one more, emphatic exposure of FIFA's self-protecting corruption." She added: "FIFA has no ethics. Its rules are a farce. Not even an extensive, purportedly independent, two year investigation and report could affect its culture. "Why would anyone believe or trust anything it says?"

Independent Chairman of the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee resigns . Michael Garcia says problem with FIFA "culture" "Lack of leadership" at FIFA, says American lawyer . "Self investigation process is neither valid nor credible," says one FIFA reformer .

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Cuban President Raul Castro is taking over leadership of a country whose government believes its citizens are not working hard enough. Raul Castro was chosen Sunday to take over Cuba's presidency from his brother, Fidel Castro. The state-run newspaper recently ran an article headlined "Work: Option or necessity?" The writer pointed out that, judging by the number of people in the streets during the day, many Cubans don't seem to be on the job. They have few motivations to buckle down: Salaries average about $15 per month on the island, and Cubans get monthly food rations even if they don't work. Watch a report on the realities in Cuba » . "There is a strong desire to protect and to gradually increase the incomes and savings of the population, particularly of those least favored," said Raul Castro, 76. The black market is so widespread that Cubans have coined a special term for breaking the law to make ends meet: "resolver" -- literally, "to resolve." See Cuba through I-Reporters' eyes » . The new president, who took the reins of power Sunday from his ailing brother, Fidel, 81, has said the country must become more productive. "The country's priority will be to meet the basic needs of the population, both material and spiritual, based on the sustained strengthening of the national economy and its productive basis without which, I'll say it again, development would be impossible," Raul Castro said in a speech Sunday. Cubans, too, are calling for reforms, though not all of them related to productivity. In a recent video that has made the rounds on the Internet, a student poses tough questions to the president of Cuba's National Assembly, asking why Cubans cannot travel freely to resorts -- a practice derided by critics as "tourist apartheid." Though such a public display of discontent is rare, the video echoed sentiments often voiced in private for years, particularly since the fall of the Soviet empire in 1991 and, with it, the loss of billions of dollars in subsidies. Cuban officials counter that Cubans are not granted access to the nation's most luxurious spots because they do not have the foreign exchange brought by the tourists and needed to run the country's social programs, such as free health care and education. With a new president steering the island nation for the first time in 49 years, some Cubans have allowed their expectations to rise. "I think those expectations are really very large indeed and it'll be the Achilles heel, potentially, of this new government if it doesn't attack them with some vigor," said Hal Klepak, a professor of history and warfare studies at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. Indeed, Castro has promised to move within a few weeks to improve efficiency by cutting some of the red tape that can frustrate the most fervent of revolutionaries. But Wayne S. Smith, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington and chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana from 1979 to 1982, predicted Sunday in an editorial in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Raul Castro will not break strongly from his brother's policies. "Rather, we will see a peaceful transition and the existing system remain largely intact," Smith predicted. Still, changes are inevitable, he said. "Raul Castro has called for a nationwide debate on the country's economic future and for Cubans to propose reforms in group discussions. "He has also called for new proposals to raise productivity, including discussion of more private ownership of land. The Cuban people want change, want reforms that will bring about a better way of life." Smith credited the younger Castro's leadership over the past 1½ years, while serving as acting president, with having already resulted in "a greater openness, and open criticism of certain government programs." But the degree of change remains uncertain, as does the possibility that "even from the shadow Fidel will try to discourage reforms," he said, adding "the prognosis, nonetheless, is hopeful." See a timeline of Castro's rise to power » . The U.S. government's former man in Havana recommended current politicians exert pressure on the island with a light touch. "We could accomplish far more by reducing tensions and beginning a meaningful dialogue," he said. "Raul Castro has several times suggested such a dialogue. Why not take him up on it? We have disagreements, yes, but how do we resolve them without talking?" E-mail to a friend . CNN's Morgan Neill contributed to this story.

Cuban President Raul Castro says the country must become more productive . Castro has promised to improve efficiency by cutting some red tape . Expectations rise as a new president leads Cuba for the first time in 49 years . Rare public displays of discontent show frustrations faced by Cubans .

(CNN) -- Ohio prosecutors are asking that a teenager be tried as an adult in the killings of three men and the wounding of a fourth, each of whom answered a Craigslist ad for work on a cattle farm, officials said Tuesday. Brogan Rafferty, 16, and Richard Beasley, 52, face multiple charges in the case. An Ohio grand jury Friday indicted Beasley, alleging that he pulled the trigger. His arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday, said April Wiesner, director of communications for the Summit County prosecutor's office. Rafferty, of Stow, Ohio, had a preliminary hearing Monday at which prosecutors filed a motion asking he be tried as an adult, Wiesner said. A probable cause hearing on whether to bind him over to adult court has not been set, she said. The high school sophomore is charged with three counts of aggravated murder, one count of attempted murder, and robbery and kidnapping, according to Wiesner. Rafferty has entered a not guilty plea. His father, Michael, told CNN Cleveland affiliate WJW in late November that his son had been "manipulated" and "corrupted," insisting that the teenager is a "mild-mannered gentleman." The father also said that his son unwittingly dug the graves at Beasley's direction, WJW reported. The boy's mother said her son denied killing anyone and added that Beasley portrayed himself as "a chaplain" who gave food to the homeless. Beasley faces multiple counts of aggravated murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery as well as a host of other charges, according to the 28-page indictment released Friday. Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron, Ohio; David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Virginia; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon, Ohio; were found dead in separate shallow graves after they responded to an online ad soliciting workers between August and November of last year, authorities have said. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine acknowledged last week there may be more victims, and thus more charges. "We are dealing with serial killings here," DeWine told reporters, pleading for the public to provide more information. "Are there more bodies? Frankly, we don't know. If there are, we need to find them." The indictment calls Beasley the "principal offender" in the killings, Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said. He could be eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted, because the killings appear to meet one or more requirements for that sentence, including purposely causing the death of two or more people and murdering people while a fugitive, committing a kidnapping and/or committing armed robbery. "This case deserves the death penalty for a multitude of reasons," Walsh said. "This case, we view to be one of the worst of the worst when it comes to horrible murder cases." The investigation into the killings began the night of November 6, when a Noble County deputy sheriff responded to a call and came upon a "white, middle-aged man being treated for a gunshot wound to the right arm," according to Sheriff Stephen S. Hannum of Noble County. The wounded man -- who was identified in the indictment as Scott Davis, 48, from South Carolina -- told the law enforcement officer that he had answered an ad on the Craigslist website offering work caring for cattle on a 688-acre property in eastern Ohio. He met with two males, including Beasley, and drove with them toward Stock Township, Ohio. After being told a road was closed due to a landslide, Davis got out of the car to start walking toward the property, which he was told was nearby. Davis told the sheriff that, while walking through a heavily wooded area, he turned around "to see a gun pointed at his head. He deflected the gun and ran" -- getting shot in the arm while fleeing, the sheriff explained late last year. The victim hid for seven hours in the forest before going to a house and requesting help, Hannum said . The third victim, Kern, was killed one week after Davis' escape, according to authorities. The attorney general said that the victims were all "down on their luck" men trying to take advantage of an opportunity to "have a better life." One of the shooting victims was found in Summit County and the others in Noble County. The attorney general's office and local jurisdictions decided to consolidate the cases in Summit County. CNN's John Fricke and Rich Porter contributed to this report.

A date has not yet been set for a hearing on charging the 16-year-old as an adult . Ohio attorney general calls the acts "serial killings" and says there may be more victims . The alleged trigger man's arraignment is set for Wednesday .

Magdalena, Colombia (CNN) -- To the unaccustomed eye, a man toting 120 books while riding a stubborn donkey would seem nothing short of a circus spectacle. But for hundreds of children in the rural villages of Colombia, Luis Soriano is far from a clown. He is a man with a mission to save rural children from illiteracy. "There was a time when many people thought that I was going crazy," said Soriano, a native of La Gloria, Colombia. "They'd yell, 'Carnival season is over.' ... Now I've overcome that." Soriano, 38, is a primary school teacher who spends his free time operating a "biblioburro," a mobile library on donkeys that offers reading education for hundreds of children living in what he describes as "abandoned regions" in the Colombian state of Magdalena. "In [rural] regions, a child must walk or ride a donkey for up to 40 minutes to reach the closest schools," Soriano said. "The children have very few opportunities to go to secondary school. ...There are [few] teachers that would like to teach in the countryside." Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2010 CNN Heroes . At the start of his 17-year teaching career, Soriano realized that some students were having difficulty not just learning, but finishing their homework assignments. Most of the students falling behind lived in rural villages, where illiterate parents and lack of access to books prevented them from completing their studies. To help bridge the learning gap, Soriano decided to personally bring books to the children. "I saw two unemployed donkeys at home and had the idea [to use] them in my biblioburro project because they can carry a heavy load," Soriano said. "I put the books on their backs in saddles and they became my work tools." Every Wednesday at dusk and every Saturday at dawn, Soriano leaves his wife and three young children to travel to select villages -- up to four hours each way -- aboard a donkey named Alfa. A second donkey, Beto, follows behind, toting additional books and a sitting blanket. They visit 15 villages on a rotating basis. "It's not easy to travel through the valleys," Soriano said. "You sit on a donkey for five or eight hours, you get very tired. It's a satisfaction to arrive to your destination." At each village, some 40-50 youngsters await their chance to get homework help, learn to read or listen to any variety of tall tales, adventure stories and geography lessons Soriano has prepared. "You can just see that the kids are excited when they see the biblioburro coming this way. It makes them happy that he continues to come," said Dairo Holguin, 34, whose two children take part in the program. "For us, his program complements what the children learn in school. The books they do not have access to ... they get from the biblioburro." More than 4,000 youngsters have benefited from Soriano's program since it began in 1990. Soriano says countless others have been helped, too; parents and other adult learners often participate in the lessons. Soriano has spent nearly 4,000 hours riding his donkeys, and he's not traveled unscathed. In July 2008, he fractured his leg when he fell from one of the donkeys; in 2006, he was pounced on by bandits at a river crossing and tied to a tree when they found out he had no money. Despite these injuries, which left him with a limp, Soriano has no intention of slowing down. In addition to the biblioburro program, he and his wife built the largest free library in Magdalena next to their home. The library has 4,200 books, most of which are donated -- some from as far away as New York City. They also run a small community restaurant. Soriano's hope is that people will understand the power of reading and that communities can improve from being exposed to books and diverse ideas. "For us teachers, it's an educational triumph, and for the parents [it's] a great satisfaction when a child learns how to read. That's how a community changes and the child becomes a good citizen and a useful person," Soriano said. "Literature is how we connect them with the world." Want to get involved? Check out Luis Soriano's website at www.fundacionbiblioburro.com and see how to help.

Teacher uses donkeys to bring mobile library to children in rural Colombia . More than 4,000 youngsters have benefited since the program began in 1990 . Children get homework help, learn to read or listen to stories and geography lessons . Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2010 CNN Heroes .

(CNN) -- The Obama administration had "very detailed contingency plans" for military action against Pakistani forces if they had tried to stop the U.S. attack on Osama bin Laden's compound, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the plan. Their names are not disclosed because of the sensitive intelligence information involved. "No firepower option was off the table" during the Navy SEALs' 38-minute mission on the ground, or during the time U.S. helicopters were in the air, one official told CNN. "We would have done whatever we had to in order to get our men out." The two U.S. officials also told CNN about the plan if bin Laden had been captured alive, which included taking him to Afghanistan and then out to the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea. All of the senior U.S. officials in the White House Situation Room during the assault were prepared to call their Pakistani counterparts if fighting between U.S. and Pakistani forces appeared imminent, one of the officials told CNN. The SEALs at all times retained the right of self-defense, and they could have fired at the Pakistanis to defend themselves. During the time the SEALs were on the ground, while some were inside the compound, others were covertly placed just outside the compound walls to provide perimeter security and keep people away. Some of those SEALs would have been able to speak enough of the local language to communicate with townspeople if they had come across them, one source told CNN. As the assault on bin Laden's compound commenced, the United States had a number of aircraft flying protective missions. None of the aircraft entered Pakistani airspace, but they were prepared to do so if needed. These included fixed wing fighter jets that would have provided firepower if the team came under opposition fire it could not handle. Additionally, the Air Force had a full team of combat search and rescue helicopters including MH-53 Pave Low and HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters flying. The helicopter that came in to replace the crashed stealth helicopter was carrying a battlefield medical team that was flying overhead and ready to land if SEALs were wounded, one of the CNN sources said. That helicopter landed at the compound within about thirty minutes of being called. U.S. military and intelligence assets were conducting continuous reconnaissance of Pakistani military installations to watch for any indication of movements, but the Pakistani military never responded while the U.S. forces were there, one U.S. official indicated. On Monday, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani praised the Pakistani military's response to the sudden arrival of U.S. forces. "The air force was ordered to scramble," he said. "Ground units arrived at the scene quickly. Our response demonstrates that our armed forces reacted, as was expected of them." Still, he added, "There is no denying the U.S. technological ability to evade our radars." Even though it was anticipated that bin Laden would resist the Navy SEALs that assaulted his compound, and therefore be killed, the Obama administration had a plan in place for dealing with bin Laden if he was captured alive, according to both U.S. officials. The plan was for bin Laden to be flown back to Afghanistan aboard U.S. military helicopters and then flown out to the USS Carl Vinson in the north Arabian Sea. There was a team of lawyers, medical personnel, interrogators and translators standing by to deal with bin Laden if that was the scenario that unfolded. A major concern was to immediately "preserve evidence" and put bin Laden into a legal framework that would ensure he could be charged and tried some day, the official said. "We didn't want to have some case thrown out on a technicality." The official indicated the standby teams included the type of expertise normally within U.S. units in Afghanistan, so it's likely personnel did not even know who their potential target would have been. The official noted that bin Laden would have undergone the same type of medical checks and photographing that surrounded Saddam Hussein when he was captured. After bin Laden was killed by the Navy SEALs at the compound, his body was flown back to Afghanistan, and then to the Carl Vinson where he was buried at sea. Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, placed a phone call to his counterpart General Ashfaq Kiyani asking for U.S. aircraft to re-enter Pakistani airspace -- several hours after the raid -- so the body could be flown out to the Vinson.

"No firepower option was off the table," a U.S. official says . If bin Laden was caught, he would have been taken to Afghanistan and then a U.S. ship, a U.S. official says . The helicopter that replaced the crashed one was carrying a battlefield medical team, sources say .

Washington (CNN) -- The Obama administration is likely to come under new pressure to take more decisive steps in Syria following opposition claims that Bashar al-Assad's government used chemical weapons to kill more than 1,000 people. While the regime denied the fresh accusations, the administration said it could not immediately verify the accuracy of newly released videos online purportedly showing civilians suffering from chemical agents outside Damascus. Still, the images were searing and prompted the United States to seek an urgent U.N. investigation, demand accountability, and not rule out additional help. "There is an investigation team that's on the ground in Syria right now. And we are hopeful that the Assad regime will follow through on what they have claimed previously, that they are interested in a credible investigation that gets to the bottom of reports that chemical weapons have been used," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. Earnest added the administration has regularly considered increased aid for the rebels. "The conduct of this investigation, the results of this investigation or the efforts by the Assad regime to inhibit this investigation will certainly impact that calculation about possible additional aid," Earnest said. Key questions would immediately surface if the latest troubling development from a region wracked by civil war for more than two years were to change the overall calculus for the United States. What new steps would it take? How would it address uncertainty about the rebel makeup? And how would it approach what some believe is a worsening multidimensional trust gap on the issue of rebel assistance? The administration has rebuffed calls for a stronger military aid response, opting to push for a political solution and provide humanitarian, logistical and limited weaponry and other hardware. Syrian activists: Videos show chemical weapons used . A chief problem has been identifying those rebels the United States would happily deal with vs elements said to be militants, including some with ties to al Qaeda. "Syria today is not about choosing between two sides but rather about choosing one among many sides," Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey wrote this week to Rep. Eliot Engel of New York. "It is my belief that the side we choose must be ready to promote their interests and ours when the balance shifts in their favor. Today, they are not," he said in the August 19 letter. Inherent political mistrust amid sharp partisan divisions in Washington coupled with close congressional vetting also have influenced the response to Syria. Congress is currently on vacation until after Labor Day. Also critically, mistrust cuts both ways. According to experts who have traveled to Syria during the war, opposition groups have little faith in the United States. Syrian refugees stream into Iraq . "Our credibility wasn't high to begin with and obviously didn't improve with time," said David Lesch, Middle East history professor at Trinity University and author of "Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad." "They basically shrug their shoulders and say, 'Oh well, what is new?' They feel like they are on their own on this." Lesch said the administration had not had enough contact with oppositions groups from the outset. "There is just a lack of knowledge of these groups," he said. This is the second time the administration has faced questions about chemical weapons use in Syria. Last August, President Barack Obama said using those weapons would cross a "red line" and provoke a U.S. military response. His administration confirmed in June that chemical agents were used in April and it resulted in an uptick of military aid. But the "red line" tag has seriously damaged U.S. credibility in the region, said Andrew Tabler, author of "In the Lion's Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington's Battle with Syria." "Reacting way too late - that has been our policy on Syria for some time," Tabler said. "(The United States' credibility is) very low because of its inability to keep to its word. We have done absolutely nothing to enforce the red line. What kind of signal does that send to the Syrian people?" But in his letter, Dempsey warned that even limited military action in Syria could lead to deeper involvement -- a point the military has made previously. The administration has said it has no plans to put "boots on the ground." A team of U.N. chemical weapons inspectors landed in Syria this week to begin probing chemical weapons allegations, and the U.N. Security Council planned a meeting on Wednesday to address the issue. CNN's Samira Said, Ed Payne, Jessica Yellin, Dana Bash and Chloe Sommers contributed to this report.

NEW: White House won't rule out more help for rebels, hasn't verified latest claim on chem weapons . Chairman of the Joint Chiefs points to lack of trust as major issue in military involvement in Syria . Syrian opposition groups don't trust the Obama administration, experts on the region say . Distrust stems from the U.S. debate over chemical weapons, likely to reignited after latest claims .

(CNN) -- Auburn University officials got their first glimmer of hope Friday since they received word that that school's beloved live oak trees had been poisoned with a massive dose of the virulent herbicide Spike 80DF. A task force made up of horticulturists, agronomists and engineers had determined that the area directly adjacent to the trees does not show high concentrations of the dangerous toxin, Auburn spokeswoman Deedie Dowdle said. "We were very concerned that the herbicide would spread. This particular one has been known to kill everything in a very large area, up to an acre," Dowdle said. Dowdle said that new, clean soil mixed with activated charcoal was installed around the trees. The charcoal's purpose is to try to pull away any remaining herbicide in the soil, she said. Workers began removing the highly contaminated dirt earlier in the week, after conducting extensive tests to see just how far the poison traveled through the grounds. As a precaution, the workers were also removing several areas outside beds around the trees that have shown elevated levels. Although it's unknown how much of the poison the live oak roots took in, Dowdle said the task force was encouraged with their progress. "Obviously we're very concerned about the trees, given that they were given 65 times the dose than what would be necessary to kill them," she said. "But they feel a bit better. We had thought there was virtually no chance, and now we're just hoping." Auburn police arrested Harvey Updyke Jr., 62, last week for allegedly dousing the landmark trees with herbicide so potent that agronomists said the two 130-year-old trees on Toomer's Corner have little to no chance of survival. Updyke has been charged with one count of criminal mischief and has been released on $50,000 bail. "At this time, we have no other suspects," Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said Friday. Updyke has cycled through three court-appointed lawyers and is currently being represented by Glennon Threatt Jr., a Birmingham-based attorney, according to court documents. Attorney Jerry M. Blevins said Tuesday that he was retained on the matter last week but withdrew from the case, based on "some conflicts between me and Mr. Updyke." Updyke's two previous court-appointed attorneys were allowed to withdraw because of their affiliations with Auburn University. Authorities first learned of the herbicide after a caller who identified himself as "Al from Dadeville" phoned into a Birmingham, Alabama, radio talk show, saying he had poisoned the renowned live oaks after Auburn won a contentious November football game against the University of Alabama. "Al" ended the call with "Roll Damn Tide," a battle cry for the University of Alabama. Fans typically gather around the trees after victories, draping them with toilet paper, said Mike Clardy, Auburn University spokesman. Clardy said it's not just Auburn supporters who have rallied around the trees, however. "We've had hundreds of calls of encouragement and suggestions from other schools in the SEC, including from the University of Alabama," he said, referring to the Southeastern Conference, which includes Auburn and the University of Alabama. Friday, a Facebook page called "Tide for Toomer's" said more than $47,000 had been raised in support of the historic trees. Dowdle said that sum, combined with the amounts contributed through Auburn and its partnerships, brings the total donation to more than $100,000. "Isn't that fantastic?" Dowdle said. "On the field, there's a tremendous rivalry, but off the field, there's a tremendous respect." Student body presidents of the longtime rival schools announced earlier in the week an initiative to plant sister trees on each other's campuses, in an expression of joint unity. "Our rivalry is more than a game. It's a partnership. More times than not, it unites us instead of dividing us," James Fowler of Alabama said. The unity trees will be planted within the next months. The next step for the Toomer's Corner trees, Dowdle said, is to see whether the live oaks produce leaves come spring. "Depending how long the poison was in the soil and taken up by the roots, in spite of the rain," she said. "We're just going to wait and see. Everybody is giving it their all."

The 130-year-old live oaks were poisoned with a massive dose of a virulent herbicide . A task force says the toxin hasn't spread far from the trees, an Auburn spokeswoman says . The dirt around the tree has been replaced with clean soil and charcoal . "Now we're just hoping," says the spokeswoman .

(CNN) -- A coalition of protesters marched Saturday under sunny skies to a Royal Air Force base north of London to voice its opposition to the UK's use of armed drones in Afghanistan. "People are pretty upset about the idea that Britain will be developing this drone warfare," said John Hilary, executive director of War on Want. Some 700 representatives of "a whole range of different anti-war movements" participated, many of them arriving in buses from around the country, he said. They made the 4-mile march from the town of Lincoln to Royal Air Force Waddington, about 130 miles north of London, he said. The coalition also includes members of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Drone Campaign Network and Stop the War Coalition. Their march was held two days after the RAF announced that it has begun remotely operating its Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles deployed to Afghanistan from the Lincolnshire airbase. Before that, they had been operated from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, where the U.S. drone program is located. In a statement, Britain's Ministry of Defence said its Reaper drone, which is operated in Afghanistan under the command of NATO International Security and Assistance Forces, "is undoubtedly helping to save the lives of our forces, our allies and those of countless Afghan civilians." But the Ministry of Defence itself, in a 2011 Joint Doctrine Note, raised concerns over the increasing use of drones. "The robot does not care that the target is human or inanimate, terrorist or freedom fighter, savage or barbarian," it said. "A robot cannot be driven by anger to carry out illegal actions such as those at My Lai. "In theory, therefore, autonomy should enable more ethical and legal warfare. However, we must be sure that clear accountability for robotic thought exists and this in itself raises a number of difficult debates. "Is a programmer guilty of a war crime if a system error leads to an illegal act? Where is the intent required for an accident to become a crime?" Noting that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles is increasing, the report called for the establishment of clear policies outlining their acceptable use. "There is a danger that time is running out," it concluded. "Is debate and development of policy even still possible, or is the technological genie already out of the ethical bottle, embarking us all on an incremental and involuntary journey towards a Terminator-like reality?" Experts in other countries have grappled with similar questions. The use of drones "builds resentment, facilitates terrorist recruitment and alienates those we should seek to inspire," said Kurt Volker, former U.S. ambassador to NATO, in an editorial published last October in the Washington Post. There is no way to be certain that there are no cases of mistaken identity or innocent deaths, he said. Drone use can radicalize populations, said Volker, who now is executive director of the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University and a senior adviser to the Atlantic Council of the United States. He noted that the United States has no monopoly on the technology. "Imagine China killing Tibetan separatists that it deemed terrorists or Russia launching drone strikes on Chechens," he says. "What would we say?" But a former RAF "Reaper" pilot, David Cummins, who has worked in the United States and Britain, defended the program from its critics. "I'm not 100% sure what they are marching against," he told CNN in a telephone interview. There is little difference between drones and piloted planes, said the pilot, who joined the Combined Joint Predator Task Force in 2006 in Nevada and left in 2011. "Same rules of engagement, same laws of armed conflict, same crews. "It's just one is manned and one is unmanned." If drone use is indeed immoral, does that mean it would be immoral to fire at an enemy from a naval vessel 50 miles off the coast, asked Cummins. "Where do you draw the line?" Cummins is now working as a vice president in charge of operations at Unmanned Experts, a company that specializes in drone training, equipment and business development. A study published last year by two U.S. universities argued that the "dominant narrative" that drones are "surgically precise and effective" is false. The strikes have killed far more people than the United States has acknowledged, traumatized innocent people and largely been ineffective, according to the study by the law schools of Stanford and New York University. CNN's Bharati Naik contributed to this report from London .

"No to drones," says the Drone Campaign Network . The march came two days after the RAF announced its program shift . "I'm not 100% sure what they are marching against," a former RAF drone pilot says .

(CNN) -- The holidays are a time of reflection and often a time of charity, even for some of Hollywood's biggest stars. CNN's Alina Cho is taking a special look at how three celebrities are doing their part for causes near to their hearts in this year's "Big Stars, Big Giving," which is scheduled to air 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET December 26-28 on CNN. Matt Damon . Water.org . Academy Award winner Matt Damon is using his star power to lead the way for change and bring clean water to those who do not have access to such a basic staple. "Every 20 seconds, a kid under the age of 5 is dying, losing their life because they do not have access to clean water. And it just doesn't have to be that way," Damon tells CNN. Damon and water expert Gary White founded water.org in 2009 with a plan for what Damon says is a solvable problem. Close to a billion people do not have an affordable solution to clean drinking water, and the problem is twofold. "To me, the most disturbing thing, not only is it contaminated, but people are walking hours to get this kind of water, " Damon said in an interview with Impact Your World a few years ago, "So, you're forced to give your children this water knowing that the chances of them getting a water-borne disease is pretty high." Damon and White say that charity is not enough and have created the concept of "water credit," which allows people access to affordable loans to buy a toilet or a faucet to bring clean running water into their homes. And it's working. White says that loans are being paid back at a rate of 98% in places such as Haiti. Matthew McConaughey . J.K. Livin Foundation . Actor Matthew McConaughey and his wife, Camila, have made bettering the lives of young adults their mission. They founded the Just Keep Livin, or the J.K. Livin Foundation, to empower high school students "to lead active lives and make healthy choices to become great men and women," as their mission states. "I want to find a place where I can help out where it's prevention before you need a cure," McConaughey tells CNN. McConaughey has so far brought the J.K. Livin Foundation into 14 schools without after-school programs and where 75% of the students are on a free or reduced lunch program and below the poverty line. They are students who come from families who might not have the means to provide healthy meals or access to gyms. The J.K. Livin Foundation gives the students a safe place to be after school and the tools they need to grow into healthy adults. The program meets twice a week for two hours a day and is voluntary. The students who choose to attend participate in physical fitness, nutrition education and a gratitude circle. "Everyone goes around and says something that they are thankful for. And that's a lesson that came from my mother and the family I grew up in. I found that the more you find something to be thankful for, the more you end up having things to be thankful for, and so it goes well beyond the gym," says McConaughey. Eva Longoria . The Eva Longoria Foundation . In addition to establishing herself as one of Hollywood's leading ladies, Eva Longoria has also made a name for herself campaigning for social issues. She's lent her voice to raise awareness of the AIDS crisis in Africa and sex trafficking in Thailand. When she decided she wanted to create her own foundation in 2010, she decided on a cause that hit much closer to home for her. The Eva Longoria Foundation aims to help Hispanic women get a college education. Some 27% of Latinas live below the poverty line, and 17% drop out of high school. Only 15% of adult Latinas have college degrees. Longoria hopes to empower women and change those statistics. "I come from a family of teachers. I wasn't the first to go to college. It was expected, and that's rare in a lot of low-income families and a lot of minority families," says Longoria. Longoria's foundation supports other programs that help Hispanic women excel in their education, and it aims to provide Latina entrepreneurs with career training, mentorship, capital and opportunity. "I don't want the Latino community to just be a large community. We need to be an educated community because this is going to be our future work force," says Longoria.

Three big stars are focused on giving back in a big way . Matt Damon helped found water.org so people can get access to clean water . Matthew McConaughey's J.K. Livin Foundation helps kids make healthy choices for life . The Eva Longoria Foundation aims to help Latina women get a college education .

(CNN) -- In the history of the modern Olympics few, if any, performances have captured the popular imagination in quite the same way as that of American Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Games. Owens defied Hitler by winning four gold medals in Berlin in 1936. His haul of four gold medals -- in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4x100 meters relay -- would have been a notable achievement under any circumstances, especially since two of his victories resulted in new world records. What gave his feat its unique resonance, however, was the fact that it took place at a Games organized by Hitler's Nazi Party, and specifically designed as a showcase for white Aryan talent. As a black man, Owens' quadruple triumph was a huge embarrassment to the hosts, and a defiant snub to the Third Reich's theories of white racial supremacy. No other sporting performance before or since has achieved quite the same level of symbolism. The 11th Olympiad had been awarded to Germany in May 1931, two years before Hitler and his Nazi party came to power. Their overtly racist policies -- including the exclusion of all Jews and gypsies from German sporting facilities -- led to widespread calls to either move or boycott the competition, especially in Europe and the U.S. Despite that the Games went ahead, with 49 countries and a total of 4,066 athletes participating, more than in any previous Olympics. From the outset the Nazi propaganda machine made the most of the opportunity presented by the Games. For their two-week duration -- from August 1-16 -- houses and monuments throughout Berlin were decked with Nazi flags and banners, while posters and magazine spreads lauded the ideal of the white Aryan athlete, making an overt link between the racial purity of modern Teutonic culture and that of classical Greece. Director Leni Riefenstahl -- dubbed "Hitler's film-maker" -- was employed to capture the anticipated German triumphs on camera. At the same time stringent efforts were made to play down the darker aspects of Nazi ideology, including the removal from Berlin's streets of all anti-Jewish signs, and an order that foreign nationals were not to be subject to Germany's oppressive anti-homosexual laws. Nazi showcasing . It was against this background of tightly regimented Nazi showcasing that, on August 3, Owens started competing in Berlin's 100,000-seater Olympic Stadium, winning his first gold medal in the 100 meters (equaling the Olympic record with his time of 10.3 seconds). Over the next six days he would take a further three golds, in the process setting two new world records -- for the 200 meters and 4x100 meter relay -- and incensing the Nazi authorities (Joseph Goebbels, the minister for propaganda, privately described his victories as "a disgrace"). The Owens myth is admittedly not quite as clear-cut as it has sometimes been presented. German spectators were open in their admiration for the American, and he would probably have not won the long jump gold had it not been for advice given to him by his main rival in the event, the star German athlete Luz Long. His place in the 4x100 meter relay team, meanwhile, was only secured when American team managers dropped two Jewish athletes -- Marty Gluckman and Sam Stoller -- allegedly at the behest of Hitler himself. Claims that the latter refused to shake hands with Owens were also unfounded -- the German leader had been told at the start of the Games that he should either shake every athlete's hand or none, and had chosen the latter option. Despite that, and the fact that Germany still came top of the overall medal standings, the domination of a black athlete at a Games so overtly dedicated to promoting the ideal of Aryan physical perfection proved hugely symbolic for, and satisfying to a world increasingly alarmed at the activities of the Third Reich. There is a depressing coda to the Owens story, however, for the hero of the Berlin Games subsequently returned home to an America that was itself tainted by profound racial discrimination. Although he received a New York ticker-tape parade, he was snubbed by President Roosevelt, and, because of his color, failed to attract the commercial sponsorship deals awarded to his fellow white athletes. As Owens himself commented: "Although I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President either."

Hitler's Nazi Party designed the Games as a showcase for white Aryan talent . Owen won his first gold medal in the 100 meters . Owens' quadruple triumph was a huge embarrassment to the hosts .

Delhi (CNN) -- On Sunday, about 100,000 Indian spectators -- including a bevy of India's top celebrities and corporate bigwigs -- will pack into a stadium to watch two teams go at each other with everything they've got. No, it's not cricket. It's not even hockey. It's football and the all-new, swish, Indian Super League. The 10-week tournament features mostly Indian players, but also a number of "marquee" European soccer stars, admittedly out of their prime but still huge draws: former Juventus strikers Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet, and former Arsenal attackers Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg. The stated aim of the league is to promote the beautiful game in India, a country of 1.2 billion people that has long languished in football's global rankings --158th in the world on FIFA's latest list. Similar to Major League Soccer (MLS) in the U.S., eight franchise teams from across India will face off against each other twice each before heading to a set of play-offs in December. As a mandatory requirement, each team must consist of 14 Indian domestic players and four local players from the same state. The teams have entered alliances with several high profile European clubs including Atlético Madrid, Feyenoord, and Fiorentina. Ljungberg, a member of Arsenal's famous 2004 "Invincibles" squad is now the public face for Mumbai City FC. When CNN caught up with him in Mumbai, he said: "I went to the U.S. to promote the game there, and it worked really well. I want do the same thing here. "I feel like I can give something back to football," says Ljungberg. However, competing with cricket as the numero uno sport will be an uphill challenge. India's cricket craze . India has always been a cricket-crazy nation. While the few football stadiums in the country remain empty, Indians rarely miss an opportunity to see their cricket team play, flocking in the tens of thousands to cheer the "Men in Blue." Their team has performed well in recent years, a major highlight being the 2011 World Cup triumph on home soil. The Indian team was also ranked number one in the world at one stage, at both Test cricket and One Day International cricket -- the sport's two most popular versions. The country's cricket governing body, the BCCI, is the richest and most influential in the sport, capitalizing on India's appetite through multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals and broadcasting rights. Indian football, on the other hand, is its indigent cousin. India lacks even basic infrastructure for the sport to grow and prosper. There are only six stadiums that meet the current FIFA guidelines; maintaining them to international standards has been a regular concern. The latest FIFA World Rankings places India at a humbling 158th place, eight down from the previous month. India is set to slip further after losing to Palestine last week. The national team has failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup since 1950 and the last time it tasted success at an international sporting event was more than five decades ago, when it managed to beat South Korea to win the 1962 Asian Games. A football revival? The Indian Super League aspires to become the premier football league in India, providing a platform to unearth domestic talent. The hope is that a cocktail of big corporate money, Bollywood's glitz, and some of Europe's former superstars will help local players further develop their skills, and boost interest. Indian broadcasters are betting on a big response. Sanjay Gupta, the chief operating officer of Star India, told CNN the games will be available on an unprecedented number of platforms. "We are broadcasting the games in five different languages. Hindi and English is the norm. But for the first time, we're also broadcasting in Bengali, Malayalam, and Kannada." There are more than 80 million Bengali speakers in India, and more than 30 million each of Malayalam and Kannada. Ljungberg thinks the Super League can transform the sport in India. "If I can help inspire the kids, then that's the future of Indian football," he said. As top European soccer clubs look to capture more fans in Asia, perhaps they will face competition for Indian viewers from an unexpected source: Indian clubs. Read more: While Indian football sleeps, its young hopefuls dream .

Ten-week tournament features mostly Indian players, as well as some high-profile foreign stars . Despite having a population of 1.2 billion, India's national team is ranked 158th in the world . Football is looking to compete with other sports like cricket . But India lacks even basic infrastructure for the sport to grow and prosper .

(CNN) -- Jason Dinant has the opposite problem of most Americans -- he has flat abs. Jason Dinant's New Year's resolution is to shape up his abs from flat to muscular. Standing 6-feet, Dinant has a beanpole leanness many Americans covet. The 27-year-old's ribs protrude from his chest, but he has some fat collecting in his stomach. "I don't have that much body fat, but it tends to stick right here in my stomach," he said pinching his belly. "My goal is to get a six-pack by summer," Dinant declared in a video he submitted to iReport.com. Dinant often peels off his shirt and gives what he calls "the naked truth about today's news" in Web videos he posts on his blog called "Naked Boy News." Watch Dinant's video. "I give reports without a shirt on, so I should have the best body," he said. "Who wants to see a guy with skinny arms and no abs?" CNNhealth.com recently asked viewers to talk about their New Year's resolutions on iReport.com and to upload photos and videos during their journey to change. Share your story with iReport.com. Dinant works in sales during the day and has a night job as an emcee at a Las Vegas, Nevada, night club, where he is surrounded by toned and fit dancers. "There are go-go boys and girls with killer stomachs," Dinant said. "I get up on the stage, I don't take my shirt off. I'm nervous about my stomach." He doesn't mind going topless on his videos, but he gets self-conscious in person. With his high school reunion fast approaching this summer, Dinant wants to tone up in the next six months and develop chiseled abs like Shemar Moore of TV's "Criminal Minds" or Ty Pennington, host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Until recently, the extent of Dinant's exercise has been walking up the stairs and parking his car far away from stores. Now Dinant works out four times a week in a gym inside his apartment complex, cycling on a stationary bike, using weights on his upper body and doing 500 sit-ups a day. A televised Britney Spears interview gave him the idea for the sit-ups routine. "I heard her saying that she'd do 1,000 sit-ups a day," Dinant said. "She had amazing abs. If she can do it, I can do it." But the sit-ups get old, Dinant said. To distract himself, he watches TV shows such as "The Bachelor" while crunching, or he thinks of games ("Every time you do sit-up, you name an Osmond child") to pass the time. Contrary to popular opinion, traditional sit-ups aren't the most effective way to get a six-pack, said Robert Dothard, a personal trainer based in Atlanta, Georgia. "Crunches are great to flatten the stomach," he said. "For men, we have to put abs under weight resistance to make them stick out." The ab segments that make up a six-pack exist under layers of fat and skin. To make the six-pack more pronounced, a person has to exercise and lose the excess fat so those muscles are visible. That comes through cardio exercises. To make those stomach muscles bigger, "abs have to be put under resistance," Dothard said. Those muscles need weight training to become bigger and more prominent. He recommended doing sit-ups on a stability ball while holding a medicine ball over the head and crunching. Using a resistance band anchored around a stationary bar while performing side-to-side twists also creates resistance, he said. Dothard demonstrated these moves on a video. Watch Dothard's fitness demonstrations. » . Someone with a svelte frame such as Dinant's may not look as if he or she needs to exercise, but appearances can be deceiving. "People can be lean, but still carry a lot of fat," Dothard said. Research suggests that it's wise for even lean people to lose the belly fat. Even with a normal body mass index, people can carry extra weight in their stomachs, which increases the risk for cardiovascular disease. Those with belly fat have a higher risk of dying compared to their peers without it. But, Dinant's reasons for wanting a taut stomach remain purely aesthetic. "I have my 10-year high school reunion coming up," Dinant said. "I want to go back and be like, 'Bam. Look at me.'"

An iReporter with flat abs sets his goals this year for a six-pack . Jason Dinant is doing 500 sit-ups, cardio and weights . Fitness trainer says sit-ups aren't sufficient, recommends weight resistance . Share your journey to change with iReport .

(CNN) -- If your air hostess seem better suited to a fashion runway than an airport runway, it may be because her uniform has a designer label. Recently, there's been a rash of cabin crew going couture. Last month, Japanese carrier Al Nippon Airways tapped Prabal Gurung -- whose designs have graced the backs of celebrities ranging from Michelle Obama to Lady Gaga -- to revitalize the staff apparel. Vivienne Westwood is currently doing the same for Virgin Atlantic (stewardesses will start wearing the uniforms on trial next month). "It could have something to do with the changing of the airline industry. Everyone is having to approach the business differently, and everyone is having to put an emphasis on look," says Australian designer Martin Grant, who in addition to clothing the likes of Emma Stone and Heidi Klum crafted the new uniforms for Qantas Airways last April. High-end airlines put an emphasis on excellence, Grant says, and Qantas is no different. "They apply the principle to everything: the food, the design of the interiors, the lounges. It's the same with the uniforms," he explains. The updated outfits feature a haute take on Qantas' red triangle logo. Grant referenced the graphic in the uniform tops, which are navy blue with ruby red and fuchsia pink diagonal stripes across the shoulder. "The uniforms have to be identifiable and easily seen. You want to be able to see from afar the staff you're looking for. When you're running around an airport, you're constantly looking for the logo of the aircraft," he says. Moreover, Grant's design has an on-trend retro feel to it. The ensemble includes a trilby-style hat made from recycled bottle tops and trench coat. Read more: The man with 1,000 stewardess uniforms . "Passengers and flight attendants alike say they miss the old world glamor associated with flight," says Grant, adding that security controls and low-cost carriers have taken some of the luxury out of the industry. "[The accessories] very much came from staff feedback. They said, 'we want the glamor back. We want hats, gloves, the whole kitten caboodle.'" Though Westwood's designs have not been unveiled yet, sketches suggest that the female staff will have gloves. Some of the items will also be made from a polyester yarn made from used plastic bottles. In a statement released by Virgin, Westwood said the uniforms would be in keeping with her "enduring interest in '40s French couture." Some airlines have been sporting designer threads for years. British Airways had Julien Macdonald -- previously artistic director of French fashion house Givenchy -- overhaul their uniforms in 2000. Air France staff, meanwhile, have been wearing costumes crafted by Société Christian Lacroix since 2005. "Because we have 'France' in our name, we're an ambassador for the country," explains Sylvie Tarbouriech, the vice president of branding for Air France. "The idea is that we should give our customers the best France can bring them, and when you're thinking about France, you're thinking about food, you're thinking about wine, and you're thinking about fashion." Airlines have a long tradition of collaborating with designers. Emilio Pucci notably crafted some space-age-style uniforms in 1965 for the now-defunct Braniff International Airways. Still, Tarbouriech maintains it's actually quite difficult finding people willing to take on such a limiting project. Read more: Airline uniforms recycled to make bags . "A uniform is the sum of many, many constraints," she says. "It has to be comfortable, it has to be in materials that are not flammable, it has to be flattering to everybody -- blonde, redhead or brunette, thin women and not so thin women. And it has to be in keeping with the brand colors. It's very challenging for a fashion designer to work under these constraints, and that's why it's not always easy to find one willing to do it." Still, Grant says for him at least, it's long been a fantasy. "I've loved the essence of flight since I was a child," he says. "I love the idea of groups of people looking smart, looking tailored and being part of a team."

Al Nippon Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Qantas Airways are just a few carriers who've recently tapped fashion designers to overhaul their uniforms. Martin Grant, who designed the new staff outfits for Qantas, says he's trying to bring "old world glamor" back to flight. Air France, whose uniforms are designed by Christian Lacroix, says many designers don't like working with airlines.

(CNN) -- Gonzalo Higuain scored the first hat-trick of the 2010 World Cup as Diego Maradona's Argentina took a big step towards qualifying for the second round by crushing South Korea 4-1 in Johannesburg on Thursday. In a tournament so far largely lacking attacking flair, the South Americans showed fine style in following up their 1-0 opening Group B victory against Nigeria, who later slipped to their second defeat as they went down 2-1 to Greece in the second match of the day in Bloemfontein. Argentina's winning margin was the second-highest so far at the South African event, behind only Germany's 4-0 thrashing of Australia. "I have to commend my boys for the great job they have done, the only way South Korea would have made our lives difficult would have been if we had allowed them to," Maradona told AFP. "We were never worried about them and they never upset us." South Korea, who defeated the Greeks in their opening match, had battled back to 2-1 just before halftime after conceding an unlucky early own-goal, but could not contain the counter-attacking prowess of an Argentina side spearheaded by the mercurial Lionel Messi. But while Messi was an ever-present threat, it was Real Madrid striker Higuain who reaped the rewards with three close-range finishes, two in the final 15 minutes. The Koreans made the worst possible start when striker Park Chu-Young inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net off his knee in the 16th minute after teammate Park Ji-Sung failed to cut out Messi's curling free-kick from wide on the left. Higuain doubled the lead just after half an hour with a header when a cross by Maxi Rodriguez -- starting in place of the injured Juan Sebastian Veron -- was flicked on by substitute Nicolas Burdisso. Burdisso had entered the fray just minutes earlier when central defender Walter Samuel went off injured. South Korea pulled a goal back on the stroke of halftime as Lee Chung-Yong pounced on an error by Argentina defender Martin Demichelis, but Yeom Ki-Hun squandered a golden chance to level in the 58th minute. Argentina and South Korea win openers . Higuain made it 3-1 in the 76th minute after Messi's first shot was blocked by the legs of goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong and his second rebounded kindly off the base of the post. Messi and substitute forward Sergio Aguero then combined superbly to set up Higuain for another header four minutes later. Argentina will be without Jonas Gutierrez for the final game against Greece after the makeshift defender -- who usually plays as a winger -- received his second booking of the tournament. Victory for Greece was their first in the World Cup finals but owed much to a moment of madness by Nigeria's Sani Kaita. The Super Eagles led through a free kick from Kale Uche after 16 minutes which crept past Alexandros Tzorvas in the Greek goal. They were generally in charge until Kaita kicked out needlessly at Vasileios Torosidis and was shown a red card after 33 minutes. Greece pressed forward and equalized just before halftime as Dimitrios Salpingidis saw his shot deflected into the net off Nigeria's Lukman Haruna. Catch CNN's World Cup twitter.buzz . It was the first-ever goal in the World Cup finals for the Greeks. The highlight of the second half was a spell which saw Theofanis Gekas superbly denied by Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama before Nigeria broke upfield with Yakubu Ayegbeni forcing Tzorvas into a smart save and Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi missed a clear chance on the follow-up. But soon after pulling off his fine save, Enyeama was deceived by a powerful shot by Alexandros Tziolis and Torosidis smashed in the rebound from close range for the eventual winner. The results mean Argentina are all but assured of qualification for the last 16, but still need a point in their final group game against Greece to make absolutely sure. Even Nigeria are not entirely out of it, but would require a big win over South Korea to have any chance of progressing to the knockout stage.

Argentina on course for second round of World Cup after defeating South Korea 4-1 . Striker Gonzalo Higuain scores the first hat-trick of the tournament in South Africa . South Korea concede early own-goal but pull back to 2-1 down at halftime . NEW: Greece beat 10-man Nigeria 2-1 in the second Group B match on Thursday .

(CNN) -- A former government contract employee was indicted on charges of stealing restricted nuclear energy-related materials and putting the United States at risk, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. Sources say the classified materials were taken from the East Tennessee Technology Park. Roy Lynn Oakley, 67, of Roane County, Tennessee, appeared in federal court in Knoxville on Thursday. Oakley was briefly detained for questioning in the case in January, when authorities first learned of the alleged plot to divulge the materials, government sources told CNN. He voluntarily surrendered Thursday at an FBI field office in Knoxville, the sources said. Oakley is a former employee of Bechtel Jacobs, the Department of Energy's prime environmental management contractor at the East Tennessee Technology Park, prosecutors said. The indictment states that Oakley, "having possession of, access to and having been entrusted with sections of 'barriers' and associated hardware used for uranium enrichment through the process of gaseous diffusion ... having reason to believe that such data would be utilized to injure the United States and secure an advantage to a foreign nation, did communicate, transmit and disclose such data to another person." The transfer took place January 26, the indictment alleges. Oakley is also charged with converting the material and "restricted data" to his own use. He began doing so on about October 17, 2006, and continued through January, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said the materials involved have been examined by scientists and posed no threat to people who may have come into contact with them. Oakley's attorney, Herb Moncier, said outside court Thursday that Oakley's job was to break rods "into little pieces" and throw them away. Moncier said Oakley had a security clearance, but Moncier did not believe it was a high-level clearance. The government alleges that in January, Oakley attempted to sell the "pieces of scrap" to someone he thought was a French agent -- but in reality was an undercover FBI agent, Moncier said. He said he questions whether those broken pieces would be considered an "appliance" under the law. "Mr. Oakley has cooperated fully for the last six months," said Moncier, who added that he had traveled to Washington for work on the case. Each count carries a possible sentence upon conviction of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. "While none of the stolen equipment was ever transmitted to a foreign government or terrorist organization, the facts of this case demonstrate the importance of safeguarding our nuclear technology and pursuing aggressive prosecution against those who attempt to breach the safeguards and put that technology in the wrong hands," Kenneth Wainstein, assistant attorney general for national security, said in the Justice Department statement. One government source said the materials involved are not the "crown jewels," but they should not have been taken from the facility. A "barrier" is used to filter uranium during the enrichment process, according to nuclear energy officials, but a significant number of barriers are needed to do that job. Sources told CNN that federal authorities have been following Oakley and investigating the case for at least six months, after he allegedly tried to sell the classified material. Oakley, described as a low-level employee, apparently did not make contact with any foreign government and is not a foreign agent of any kind, an official familiar with the case said. A government official with with knowledge of the case said that when authorities learned of Oakley's alleged intentions six months ago, the FBI and Department of Energy launched a joint investigation. The FBI then developed a sting operation, government officials familiar with the case said, and authorities intervened before there could be any involvement of a foreign country. East Tennessee Technology Park is an area of the DOE's Oak Ridge reservation "where we are currently decontaminating and decommissioning buildings that were last used in 1985," Gerald Boyd, manager of the DOE's Oak Ridge site office, said Thursday. "When they were in use, now over 20 years ago, some of the buildings at ETTP housed facilities used for the enrichment of uranium." Boyd said the technology park and the reservation "are protected by multiple layers of security systems and detection programs, both visible and unseen, meant to identify rogue employees attempting to abuse their access and position." In this case, a review of security procedures showed that the system worked and "successfully identified the individual in question," he said. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Terry Frieden and Kelli Arena contributed to this report.

NEW: Indictment: Man tried to pass nuclear filters to foreign agent . NEW: Roy Lynn Oakley appears in court in Tennessee after surrendering . NEW: Facility's role is to break down decommissioned equipment . NEW: Lawyer: Oakley's job was to break machine parts into pieces, pitch them .

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian pro-government Basij militia members dispersed crowds of protesters here Thursday -- sometimes with force -- witnesses said. Protests by Iranians, such as this one on June 15, have been defended by the reformist figures. An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people crowded the streets in different locations of the city, and headed toward Tehran University, the site of a student uprising in 1999. Several protesters were hit on the arms and backs by the Basij, pro-government militia members, while elsewhere riot police released tear gas into crowds. Iran's state-funded Press TV described the crowd size near the university in the hundreds. Some of the protesters shouted "Allah u Akbar," or "God is Great" and "Ya Hussein, Mir Hussein" referring to opposition candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi, the witnesses said. Police blocked roads leading to Tehran University, while some protesters set trash cans afire so smoke would counter the effects of the tear gas. When crowds tried to gather between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. in Revolution Square, hundreds of security forces were waiting for them, witnesses told CNN. Watch scenes of protesters and street clashes » . Most of the security forces were uniformed officers wearing helmets and holding batons and shields, though many wore plain clothes. The forces ordered bystanders to move along, the witnesses said. There were at least five reports of clashes during this time. Over the next two hours, the crowds grew to around 3,000, but witnesses said security forces grew too. Many of the protesters left Revolution Square and marched to side streets and neighborhoods a few kilometers away. Many held up victory signs and clapped. The contents of several Dumpsters were set afire. See the protests and violence through Iranians' own photos . Witnesses said they heard several pops that sounded like gunshots and saw security forces fire what appeared to be pepper spray towards the crowds on several occasions. Some of the chants heard Thursday were familiar refrains that have been repeated often in recent days: . "Death to the Dictator!" "Death to Khamenei!" But a new phrase entered the lexicon on Thursday that referred to Mojtaba, the son of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamanei: "Mojtaba bemire, rahbariroh nagiri," they chanted: "Die, Mojtaba, so you don't become the supreme leader!" During the past week, rumors have surfaced that Mojtaba has taken over the pro-government Basij militia and that his father is grooming him to be the next supreme leader. Thursday marked the first time protesters chanted against him. By nightfall, most of the demonstrators headed home. At 10 p.m. Tehran time two sources told CNN the chants of "God is great!" were louder than usual in their neighborhoods. The demonstration took place on the 10th anniversary of a student uprising that posed a major threat to the Islamic regime. On Thursday, the protesters used the anniversary to resume demonstrations against the outcome of the contested June 12 presidential election. Iranian-American journalist Jason Rezaian said Iranians have been scared since last month's bloody crackdown on those who protested the accuracy of election results. Incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner by a landslide over reformist candidate Moussavi, his chief rival, who declared the election rigged. Moussavi's supporters took to the streets by the thousands in the aftermath of the vote until the protests turned bloody as security forces cracked down. Iranian state-run media said 20 people have been killed and more than 1,000 have been detained. On July 9, 1999, known in the Iranian calendar as the 18th of Tir, 200 students protested the closing of a reformist newspaper, Salaam, which supported moderate President Mohammed Khatami. Hard-line activists entered dormitories in Tehran University, broke windows, set fires and attacked students. Six days of protests ensued. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 25,000 people participated, making the demonstrations the biggest threat to the Islamic regime since its inception in 1979. CNN's CNN's Reza Sayah and Moni Basu in Atlanta, Georgia, contributed to this report.

July 9 marks 10th anniversary of turning point in Iranian reformist movement . Massive protests rocked Iran in the days following the June 12 election . Supporters of opposition candidates questioned the legitimacy of the vote . IRNA: Police chief urges citizens of Tehran to consider leaving .

(CNN)Romance. Suspense. Good versus evil. On the surface, Rwandan radio soap opera "Musekeweya," or "New Dawn," feels familiar. Like a Rwandan "Romeo and Juliet," it tells the story of lovers from two different villages at odds with each other. But listen closely. Burrowed in the narrative of "Musekeweya" is a metaphor for the genocide that took place in Rwanda over the course of 100 days in 1994, when Hutu extremists massacred over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. "Musekeweya" conveys a message of healing and reconciliation. Dutch photographer Anoek Steketee and filmmaker Eefje Blankevoort were in Rwanda in 2008 when they first heard "Musekeweya." "We were intrigued by this radio soap, its background and its popularity in Rwanda," Steketee said. "Almost everyone we spoke to on the streets knows the program and can name at least five characters." Launched in 2004 by Radio La Benevolencija, a Dutch nongovernmental organization, "Musekeweya" is broadcast on the same frequency that was used in 1994 to incite murder. When they heard the show, Steketee and Blankevoort were immediately interested in its effect on Rwandan society. "It shows people how to resist manipulation by charismatic leaders, how to prevent outbursts of group violence and how to deal with trauma," Steketee said. The radio drama raised important questions for Steketee and Blankevoort, and they wanted to explore the way this fiction could contribute to real reconciliation. "Is this positive programming simply a veneer in a country still grappling with deep trauma?" Steketee asked. Steketee and Blankevoort began exploring this issue first through photography. The story, however, proved to be more complex. "We came to the conclusion that we needed to provide a context, use the audio of the soap and find a form to tell a layered, nuanced story of the relation between the fictional story of the radio soap and the daily reality of contemporary Rwanda," Steketee said. "A Web documentary was for us the ultimate way to tell this story." Steketee and Blankevoort's documentary, "Love Radio," combines the story from "Musekeweya" with behind-the-scenes insights from everyday Rwandans and people involved in the making of the radio drama. "This is where we ask critical questions about the positive image portrayed and reveal what is not said on air," Steketee said. "Actors and audience have their say, thereby painting a picture of contemporary Rwanda." Just as "Musekeweya" balances between fact and fiction, Steketee's photographs are not pure documentary. They serve, rather, as "a tool for the imagination," Steketee said. They are moody and evocative and reflect the struggle Rwandans face as they come to terms with the horror of two decades past. "I photographed listeners in their homes, on the streets, during the broadcast of "Musekeweya,' " Steketee wrote in an e-mail. "These photographs are combined with poetic, gloomy photographs of (guilty) landscapes and well-paved empty streets. I have tried to capture the veneer that covers the complex and tense social fabric of Rwanda today." The popularity of "Musekeweya" is evident in the amount of fan mail its makers receive each week. Listeners identify with the characters and have opinions about their actions. "Rutaganira and Zaninka, stop spoiling Rwandan society," one listener wrote. "Enough is enough with your divisive thoughts." Social media . Follow @CNNPhotos on Twitter to join the conversation about photography. Steketee says it is difficult to understand what Rwandans really feel because of an authoritarian political system. "There is rather a climate of control than dialogue," she said. "Resentments and distrust persist. Inequality and hardships are still there." Underneath the tension, however, lies the desire to heal. "Rwanda is doing remarkably well," Steketee said. "There is a lot of goodwill from everybody to restore the community. There have been good examples of restoration of trust and reconciliation." Anoek Steketee is a Dutch photographer. She is represented by gallery Gabriel Rolt.

"Musekeweya," or "New Dawn," is a popular soap opera in Rwanda . The radio show conveys a message of reconciliation decades after genocide . Dutch photographer Anoek Steketee explored the show's effect on Rwandan society . View high-resolution photos of Steketee's "Love Radio" project .

(CNN) -- World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka suffered a blow in the preparations to her Australian Open title defense on Friday, pulling out of a much-anticipated rematch with Serena Williams due to a toe problem. The Belorussian was due to play her U.S. Open final conqueror in the semis of the Brisbane International, her first top-level warmup event for the season's opening grand slam -- which starts on January 14. World No. 2 Maria Sharapova is also battling to be fit for Melbourne, having withdrawn before the beginning of the Brisbane tournament due to a collarbone problem. "It's a right toe infection -- it's been there for about 10 days and it's been getting worse," Azarenka told reporters. "I had to take action on it, which I did yesterday -- it was a minor surgery, I had to take something out of my toe. And unfortunately I didn't have enough time to recover to be able to play the semifinals today." The 23-year-old won her first grand slam title in Melbourne last January before going on to top the rankings and become the WTA Tour's leading prize money winner for 2012. "I had to make sure I could be fully recovered and ready for the Australian Open. It's a compromise I kind of had to take," she said. "The doctor had told me I wouldn't be able to play for three, four days, but today I saw him in the morning and he said it was actually much better than he thought -- he expected a much worse outcome. So maybe two days and I can start slowly." Williams, who last month also had toe surgery, will play Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Saturday's final. "I had that toe problem just a couple of weeks ago and it's painful -- God, it's so painful. Doesn't sound painful, but it is. You can't walk with that. I hope she gets better fast," the American said. "I'm definitely doing enough to prepare and be ready. I feel like even though I didn't play a match tonight I played some really good matches here." Pavlyuchenkova ended the dream run of Lesia Tsurenko, a 116th-ranked Ukrainian who only made it into the main draw as a lucky loser from the qualifiers. "What can I say about Serena? There's so much to say -- she's just a great champion," the world No. 36 said of the Olympic and Wimbledon titleholder. Williams is seeking her 47th career title, already holding the record among active players -- her older sister Venus is second with 44. "There's some chance, but with her power and the way she can serve, it will be difficult," Pavlyuchenkova said. Meanwhile, defending champion Andy Murray moved into the semifinals of the Brisbane men's event with a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) win over Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin on Friday. The world No. 3 will next play Japan's Kei Nishikori, who he beat in last year's Australian Open quarterfinals. Fifth seed Nishikori earned a semi spot by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov, the 2012 Brisbane runnerup. The other semifinal will be between 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus and 21-year-old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who upset Austrian seventh seed Jurgen Melzer. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will play in Saturday's final of the Hopman Cup teams event after he and Serbian playing partner Ana Ivanovic whitewashed Germany 3-0 in Perth on Friday. Djokovic thrashed veteran Tommy Haas 6-2 6-0 then former women's No. 1 Ivanovic -- whose injury in 2011 meant the pairing could not play in that year's final -- defeated Tatjana Malek 6-0 6-1 in just over half an hour. They also won the mixed doubles to complete a third successive victory in Group A and set up a clash with Spain's Fernando Verdasco and Anabel Medina Garrigues, who won all three of their Group B matches.

Victoria Azarenka battling to be fit for Australian Open after having minor surgery on toe . World No. 1 pulls out of Friday's semifinal against Serena Williams at Brisbane warmup event . U.S. Open champion Williams will play Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in final . Andy Murary into semis of men's event, while Novak Djokovic will play in final of Hopman Cup .

(CNN) -- Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she flew into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983, but that was far from her only achievement. The 61-year-old astronaut, who died Monday after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer was an inspiration to women around the world and a passionate advocate of female advancement in the fields of science, technology and mathematics. She founded Sally Ride Science in 2001 -- an educational organization which sought to encourage girls and young students to pursue their passion for science -- a predominantly male-dominated field. Ride also wrote a number of children's books, earned several degrees (including a PhD in Physics from Stanford University) and returned to space on her second and final mission in 1984. See also: First American woman in space dies . But while she may be best remembered for smashing the glass ceiling of the U.S. space program, the tributes made since her death have emphasized Ride's status as a pioneer and shining example to ambitious women the world over. "As the first American woman to travel into space, Sally was a national hero and a powerful role model," President Barack Obama said soon after news of her death broke. "She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars and later fought tirelessly to help them get there by advocating for a greater focus on science and math in our schools." Former astronaut and scientist Buzz Aldrin meanwhile tweeted "So sorry to hear of the loss of my friend and fellow astronaut Sally Ride. You will always be an inspiration for women and space." Actor and star of Apollo 13, Tom Hanks, followed up with: "God Speed, Sally Ride. She aimed for the stars. Let's all do the same. Hanx" These emotional sentiments were shared by thousands of others who got in touch with CNN via Facebook and CNN.com to express their condolences. Annabeth66 posted: "Ride, Sally Ride! You were my hero when I was a little girl and was told by my grade school teacher, that girls can not become astronauts. RIP for you are loved by so many." JusticEdge said: "Sally, you were awesome. I hesitate to use the past tense. You made it in the NASA space program that ... regularly reject(s) Navy SEALS. Thank you for breaking the gender barrier and thank you for showing us that in (these) trying times, decent human being can still be everything they hoped for." See also: Photos of Sally Ride's 1983 Challenger launch . Thousands of others took to Twitter to pay their respects, with the tributes coming from every corner of the globe. Ingerlindsay tweeted: "RIP, Sally Ride. You inspired millions of girls to be brave _and_ brilliant. We need more role models like you." DanaGoh chimed in with: "Sally Ride thank you for being a woman of courage, confidence, and character! Thank you for showing girls that they can achieve anything." Hundreds of others who got in touch with CNN were keen to share their own personal stories about how Ride inspired and encouraged them at pivotal stages in their lives and careers, proving that women could make it in science. Marhattan said: "You were a childhood hero and inspiration. I stayed home when I was 9 years old to watch the first woman go to space and it altered the course of my life. I graduated with a degree in astrophysics and have been active in the space community my entire adult life in large part because her actions and courage ... I hope she died having some idea of the extent to which she had a positive impact in the lives of others. Thank you!" KJ posted: "Thank you Dr. Ride; you were my role model. I was given a poster of you on my 6th birthday. You autographed it to me when I was 12. It hung on my wall all through high school, my college sorority house, grad school and I hung my stole next to it after earning a doctorate in physics." "Today when I heard, I brought the poster home from my office and gave it to my 6 year old daughter. You inspired me to fight, to strive and to achieve. Thank you for inspiring my life Dr. Ride." JulieMurphy meanwhile added: "Thank you for being such a positive role model and an inspiration! You were my childhood hero and I was blessed to have the opportunity to meet you a few years ago. That was one of the greatest experiences of my life! May you rest in peace. I think the stars are shining a little brighter tonight in your honor."

Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, died aged 61 . Ride was a passionate advocate for female advancement in the sciences, math and tech . CNN readers have shared their memories and condolences on CNN.com, Facebook and Twitter .

(CNN) -- A state commission issued a finding of probable cause that racism was involved in the decision by a suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, swim club to revoke privileges of a largely minority day care center. Some kids from the Creative Steps Day Care center say club members made racist remarks. The Valley Swim Club canceled a contract for swimming privileges for the approximately 65 children from the Creative Steps day care center after a visit June 29. Some black and Hispanic children said white club members made racist comments to them during that visit, asking why black children were there and raising concerns that "they might steal from us." The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, in its 33-page finding, details the incident. It notes that the swim club maintains that it canceled its relationship with the day care center because members were requesting that their membership fees be refunded and because of safety concerns "attendant with overcrowding of the shallow end of the pool by a large number of non-swimmers." But the commission, in its finding, stated that the club "routinely has members at the facility in numbers that are equal in size or exceed the number of Creative Steps campers." The club has also hosted groups of similar size without raising safety concerns, the commission said. As the group was swimming at the club, one of its members voiced concerns that "all of these black kids" might "do something to my child." When confronted by a Creative Steps official, the woman -- a teacher at a local school -- denied the comment but said she was concerned because one of the children "was a known thief" and had previously stolen a cell phone. The commission found no evidence that the child was ever accused of or disciplined for stealing at the school. Other group members sent negative e-mails to club board members after the incident. One board member said in an e-mail, according to the commission, "I feel we were mislead (sic) with the type of camp this was. This camp is a city camp and it is run with tax payers money. This is not the type of camp that is going to bring any new members into the club." The finding is "an invitation to sit down with our staff and have the parties settle their differences," commission Chairman Stephen Glassman said. "If they don't, it will go on to a public hearing." Depending on the outcome of that process, the club could face damages for humiliation and embarrassment, as well as a civil penalty of up to $50,000, commission spokeswoman Shannon Powers said. The public hearing, she said, is held before a body of commissioners. The commission enforces state human rights law, Powers said. It launched an investigation into the incident after being contacted by a number of advocacy organizations following media coverage of the story. Since then, she said, a number of complaints have been filed with the commission. The commission noted in the finding that none of the club's 155 paid members this year was African-American and that last year there were "179 paid memberships, none of whom were African American." In addition, the commission said that in 2009, the Valley Swim Club "made a concerted effort to expand the geographic range of its membership by engaging in a marketing campaign. ... The respondent efforts were mainly directed at areas with overwhelmingly caucasian populations. ... The respondent made no effort to direct such marketing efforts at areas with significant African-American populations." Glassman said the swim club had 30 days to appeal the finding. Joe Tucker, a lawyer for the club, said his client will do just that. "We believe this is wrong," he said. "I believe the people at the PHRC are very good people, but they were put in a tough position. ... If the PHRC would have decided against the children or in favor of the club, they would have been painted with the same unfair and untrue racist brush that the Valley Swim Club was painted with." The day care center had originally contracted to use the pool during the summer, but the club canceled the agreement and returned the day care center's $1,950 check without explanation. The club canceled contracts with two other day care centers because of safety and crowding, swim club director John Duesler said. Those facilities have not protested the club's actions. The issue was exacerbated when Duesler told two Philadelphia television stations that the children had changed "the complexion" and "atmosphere" of the club. The comment brought protesters outside the facility. Duesler later said that safety and crowding, not racism, prompted the cancellation. As the controversy gained national attention, the swim club asked the day care center to return. Center officials refused and said they would pursue a lawsuit.

State panel finds race was factor in banning minority children from swim club . Valley Swim Club ordered to pay monetary damages, has 30 days to appeal . Kids claim club members made racist comments to them . Club president claims safety and crowding led to cancellation .

(CNN) -- Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) has a dream. It is, he likes to think, an American dream. Seth Rogen goes on patrol as a mall cop in "Observe and Report." Only Ronnie's dream involves looming clouds of cancer, screaming children and loaded shotguns. In his dream he vanquishes evil, disperses the dark clouds and accepts the gratitude that is rightly bestowed on the lawman. He believes his destiny is to be a cop. In reality, he's chief security officer at the mall. I know: You already saw this movie: "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." Kevin James. Box-office smash. No jokes to speak of. You're only half wrong. There are strong similarities between "Blart" and Rogen's film, "Observe and Report." Both movies are portraits of chubby guys who don't fit the profile and can't make the grade. Both men are socially inept, they live with their moms and hold a crush on a sales assistant who should be out of their league (here, the fearlessly nasty Anna Faris). They're also delusional enough to equate a badge and a uniform with their own heroic self-image, though in their heart of hearts they know they won't be real men until they're packing a gun. "Observe and Report" is the R-rated version of this peculiar suburban fantasy, a much edgier movie that dares to keep its mall cop at arm's length. Just because he's sad and pathetic, that doesn't mean Ronnie isn't a potential psychopath. He's closer to Travis Bickle than to cuddly Kevin James. This may be the first time Rogen has stepped out of his comfort zone as an actor. With his hair cropped to a Marine buzz, and cutting out the winks and the wisecracks (Ronnie has no sense of humor), Rogen refuses to soften us up or apologize for the character's low IQ. The movie is funnier for his control, and also more disturbing. More than once, writer-director Jody Hill teases out the slippy, gray area between a subversive gross-out gag and something unsettlingly misogynist. He wants to push buttons, and he's talented enough to get away with it. At one point he sets up a scene in which Ronnie learns he's flunked his psych test for the police force. While he's still processing this latest rejection, a detective emerges from his hiding place in the closet. "I thought this was going to be funny," he explains sheepishly. "But it's just sad." Played that way, the scene is both. Plainly influenced by the observational embarrassments of TV's "The Office," Hill took an equally jaundiced view of the male animal in his first film, "The Foot Fist Way," a low-budget black comedy with Danny McBride as a gung-ho martial arts instructor. (McBride pops up here as a violent crack dealer.) Machismo is about the only source of pride Hill's anti-heroes can afford. The budget for "Observe and Report" is probably 20 times what Hill had to spend on his debut, but his characters have stayed on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder; they may fancy themselves above it all, but they know where the bottom is. So it makes a kind of sense that when a flasher starts terrorizing the mall, Ronnie should seize on this as his opportunity to shine. "That pervert is the best thing that ever happened to me," he says. The flasher's eventual full-frontal appearance supplies the movie with a suitably in-your-face climax, as well as extending contemporary film comedy's undeclared mission to domesticate the male organ. Ever since "Borat" -- in "Knocked Up" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Superbad" -- it seems like there's nothing funnier than a penis on the loose. iReport.com: What do you think of "Observe and Report"? But it's the naked anger Rogen and Hill reveal that makes "Observe and Report" a sticky proposition. It's consistently sharper and wittier than "Mall Cop," but Hill's disconcerting habit of making his biggest laughs stick in your throat could prove a hard sell. It's no "Paul Blart," but is it art? "Observe and Report" is rated R and runs 86 minutes. For Entertainment Weekly's review, click here.

"Observe and Report" is another movie about a mall cop, but oh, does it cut deeply . Seth Rogen stars as a frustrated mall officer wanting bigger things . The movie is funny -- and occasionally disturbing .

(CNN) -- Gail Devers is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field. But when she was in college, a diagnosis of Graves' disease, an immune system disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones, posed one of her biggest hurdles. CNN: You were diagnosed with Graves' disease in 1990. What happened leading up to your diagnosis? Gail Devers: I was in college at UCLA. Things were going very well; I had set an American record. Then, all of sudden, within a month, in my recollection, things started to fall apart. My hair started falling out, and at that time, I had long hair. It was curly and doing its thing, and it started falling out. I had always had long nails unless I cut them; they started breaking. I couldn't figure out what was going on. The weirdest part for me was losing weight. My normal running weight at that time was between 119 and 120 (pounds). ... At my worst -- and I say at my worst because I stopped getting on the scale because I just couldn't stand the way I looked -- at my worst, I was under like 85 pounds. Then it was like, "There is definitely something wrong." I had made the 1988 Olympic team, and then the bottom fell out, is what I say. I couldn't run anywhere close to where I had ran just two months prior to that, so definitely there is a problem. When I got to the race in the 100-meter hurdles, I ran slower than the first time I ever ran when I ever stepped on the track. ... There were no answers for almost 2½ years, and it wasn't until 1990 (that I was diagnosed). I had even stopped going out of the house because I couldn't stand the way I looked. My face was breaking out; it had white or light spots all over. I had little to no hair, and nobody could tell me what was wrong. I love kids and remember being at an event outside a little park, and a little kid walked by with their mom and said, "Mommy, what's wrong with her?" That was the last time. I stopped going outside. I actually had covered up mirrors in my house because I didn't want to see myself. It wasn't a good time. CNN: What inspired you to make it through being sick and return to running? Devers: Although I got sidelined for three years, I figured ... I am going to figure this out go back out there. I still have that love and support from my coach and my family. ... (In) 1992, at the Olympic Games ... back then the heat of the race was lane 4, 5 and 6, so that lets you know what (was) thought about me in lane 2. I tell people, probably three people in the world thought I could do it. It's not what other people believe you can do; it's what you believe you can do. I honestly believe that everything that happened to me happened for a reason. My feet were saved. I was supposed to go out and win. This was my way. I remember getting out. I felt I had a great start. I don't remember the middle. I remember getting to the end. ... In my race, there's 10 hurdles, but in life, there is always a hurdle. There is always something you gotta get over, and it's what you do, you know. Sometimes we fall, sometimes we stumble, but we can't stay down. We can't allow life to beat us down. Everything happens for a reason, and it builds character in us, and it tells us what we are about and how strong we really are when we didn't think we could be that strong. You have to get up. You have to keep going. You have to try harder, and if somebody else falls down, you have to pick them up and carry them with you. ... Life (is about) service and what can I do to help that next person who is struggling? What is it that happened to me in my life that I can share with somebody else, just to help them make it through? I am very thankful that I have lived the life I have lived. I am thankful for my Graves' disease, and I tell people, if I had my whole life to live over, I would have it, because it has really made me into the person that I am. I feel like I am stronger. There is nothing I don't feel like I can do if I try. ... I take medication every day for the rest of my life, and I just feel like it's a small price to pay to have my life.

Gail Devers was diagnosed with Graves' disease in 1990 . She nearly lost her feet but went on to become an Olympic champion . Devers says her disease "made me into the person I am"

(CNN) -- No doubt about it, actor Steven Yeun is in a pretty great place in his career. He's on one of the most popular scripted series on cable, "The Walking Dead," and he's one of the most popular characters on that series. On top of that, he is as close as one can get to being a romantic lead on a show about a zombie apocalypse. His character, Glenn, is involved with farmer's daughter Maggie, and they have the most stable relationship of all of the survivors at this point. Of course, stability -- not to mention life itself -- is a very fragile thing on "The Walking Dead." The third season, which began on Sunday to record ratings, sees the group settling in what at first appeared to be in an abandoned prison. Yeun spoke with CNN about the new season, the fans and what scares him more than zombies. CNN: Where is Glenn's head at this season? Yeun: He sees himself as, if not a leader, at least a provider and protector and someone to look to in times of trouble. You see Glenn in this moment ready to take up the charge. It's not easy, but these are the moments he's been preparing for. We'll see how that plays out. CNN: How devoted is he to Maggie now, as opposed to the rest of the group? Yeun: I think Maggie is his strongest link. She's the sole thing he identifies with. I think she's the only thing that keeps him from going off on his own. I don't think he completely trusts the group. You saw in the last season, he questioned Rick, someone he's always looked up to. Glenn saw that the only thing he can really trust is his own gut, and he needs to do that to protect the people he loves. Maggie is his sole connection to being in this world, even. CNN: What new challenges come with the change of setting? Yeun: It's an adjustment to get used to being on stages, not outside all the time. Luckily, our writers and producers make sure we had plenty of time in the battering heat. It was a challenge at first, but it's fun to play how the situation changes how the character behaves. CNN: Is there anything for Glenn this season that tops that grotesque, harrowing scene in the well? Yeun: This season is literally no holds barred; it's gas pedal down. I'm excited for people to see what's coming. It's just crazy. The well was an amazing thing. It was terrifying and fun. There's definitely stuff this season that tops that by far. CNN: How does it feel to know about the season premiere's record-breaking ratings? Yeun: It's pretty damn amazing. It's nice to know that people are anticipating it and telling their friends. It's all around great. CNN: Are you into horror movies? Yeun: I'm not much of a horror fan. When it comes to ghost stuff and demon stuff, I can't watch that. I've heard too many crazy stories about that stuff, so I don't mess around that. Especially when you're staying in a haunted hotel. CNN: So zombies are no problem, but ghosts on the other hand ... Yeun: Zombies -- you can deal with that. You can punch or shoot them. With ghosts, you're going to be possessed, or something's going to be thrown at you. You can't do anything about that. No, thank you! CNN: Did you run into "Mythbusters' " Grant Imahara when he dressed up as Glenn at Dragon*Con this year? Yeun: That's pretty amazing that he did that. It's amazing to see anyone do anything with that character. I'm just lucky enough to be able to play it in a public forum. CNN: Have you had any unusual "zombie" interactions outside of the show? Yeun: People are strange sometimes, which is completely hilarious to me. A really normal couple in Atlanta were walking down the street, and the girl recognized me and started walking towards me in a "walker" walk. And she was committed, like "Uuuuhh, I love your showwww ..." That was unique. CNN: Finally, I have to ask, do you ever try to get information out of "Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman about what's going to happen on the show? Yeun: They're pretty protective (of that). They hold on to things sometimes. We just don't ask, out of courtesy. And also, if you ask, you may put it on yourself. CNN: Don't mess with the guy who could kill you off, huh? Yeun: Exactly.

Steven Yeun portrays fan favorite Glenn on "The Walking Dead" The hit AMC series just began its third season . Yeun promises even more gruesome scenes this season .

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Two U.S. Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters arrived Saturday to assist with humanitarian and rescue efforts in flood-ravaged Pakistan, which canceled celebrations of its 63rd birthday. A statement from the U.S. State Department says the two aircraft are part of the contingent of 19 helicopters, ordered to Pakistan on Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Seven of the 19 craft are now in the country. One other MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter and four U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E helicopters arrived earlier this week. Twelve Marine CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters will arrive over the next few days. Since August 5, U.S. military helicopters have rescued more than 3,500 people and transported more than 412,000 pounds of emergency relief supplies, according to the State Department. One-fifth of Pakistan -- which is about the size of Florida -- has been flooded in relentless monsoon rains, the United Nations says. Nearly 1,400 people have died and 875,000 homes have either washed away or are damaged, according to Pakistan's Disaster Authority. Millions more are still at peril as the bloated Indus River is cresting this weekend in parts of Sindh province. In some areas, the Indus has expanded from its usual width of one mile to 12 miles. Homes, crops, trees, livestock, entire villages and towns have been transformed into vast lakes. The worst floods since Pakistan's creation have disrupted the lives of about 20 million people, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said Saturday. Surrounded by a tragedy of epic proportions, Pakistanis canceled Saturday's celebrations of independence, hard won from the British in 1947. They might have otherwise attended parades, burst firecrackers and waved the green and white flag proudly. Instead, President Asif Ali Zardari, under fire for a perceived lack of government response, toured flood-ravaged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north, where the crisis began more than two weeks ago. He urged Pakistanis to remember the afflicted. "The best way to celebrate the Independence Day this year is to reach out to the victims and help them to help themselves," he said, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan. "I stand with you and the people of Pakistan stand with you as well, in your hour of trial," he told flood victims in Seraiki. "Do not lose hope as the entire nation stands with you." Gilani said that even some religious events connected to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan were canceled. He said money that might have been spent on Iftar, the feast that breaks the daily fast between sunrise and sundown, should be used to alleviate suffering. Meanwhile, the United Nations said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon intends to visit Pakistan Sunday and see the devastation firsthand. His trip comes as U.N. and other humanitarian agencies are racing against time to prevent more death and suffering. "Relief supplies must reach women, men and children as soon as possible, in order to avoid further death caused by waterborne diseases and food shortages," said Martin Mogwanja, the United Nations' humanitarian coordinator for Pakistan. "The death toll has so far been relatively low compared with other major natural disasters, and we want to keep it that way," he said. Pakistan emergency officials predicted the second wave of floodwaters gushing down the Indus River could reach the southern town of Sukkar by Saturday evening. Hundreds of thousands of people living along the Indus could be stranded, along with the tens of thousands stranded by the first wave, said Lt. Cmdr. Jawad Khawaja of the Pakistani navy. Many residents have ignored government warnings to evacuate the area, causing a big concern, Khawaja said. "The time to act is now -- this is a disaster of unimaginable proportions," said Nilofer Bakhtiar, head of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society. Thousands of flood victims huddled in sludgy camps or in jam-packed public buildings. Others slept under the stars next to the cows, sheep and goats they managed to rescue from rising waters. But when they might be able to return to dry lands at home remained a big question. Pakistan's monsoon season is only half way over and more rain is on the way. CNN's Samson Desta and Reza Sayah contributed to this report.

NEW: Seven of 19 helicopters promised by U.S. have arrived in Pakistan . Independence celebrations called off amid widespread flooding . Prime minister says 20 million people have been affected . Officials fear hundreds of thousands could be stranded .

(CNN) -- The more familiar something looks, the less threatening it seems. This is why images of funny-looking college students marching up Broadway or shirtless boys banging on drums comprise the bulk of the imagery we see of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Stockbrokers look on, police man the barricades and what appears to be a traditional protest movement carries on another day, week or month. But Occupy is anything but a protest movement. That's why it has been so hard for news agencies to express or even discern the "demands" of the growing legions of Occupy participants around the nation, and even the world. Just like pretty much everyone else on the planet, occupiers may want many things to happen and other things to stop, but the occupation is not about making demands. They don't want anything from you, and there is nothing you can do to make them stop. That's what makes Occupy so very scary and so very promising. It is not a protest, but a prototype for a new way of living. Now don't get me wrong. The occupiers are not proposing a world in which we all live outside on pavement and sleep under tarps. Most of us do not have the courage, stamina or fortitude to work as hard as these people are working, anyway. (Yes, they work hard.) The urban survival camps they are setting up around the world are a bit more like showpieces, congresses and "beta" tests of ideas and behaviors the rest of us may soon be implementing in our communities, and in our own ways. The occupiers are actually forging a robust micro-society of working groups, each one developing new approaches -- or reviving old approaches -- to long-running problems. In just one example, Occupy's General Assembly is a new, highly flexible approach to group discussion and consensus building. Unlike parliamentary rules that promote debate, difference and decision, the General Assembly forges consensus by "stacking" ideas and objections much in the fashion that computer programmers "stack" features. The whole thing is orchestrated through simple hand gestures (think commodities exchange). Elements in the stack are prioritized, and everyone gets a chance to speak. Even after votes, exceptions and objections are incorporated as amendments. This is just one reason why occupiers seem incompatible with current ideas about policy demands or right vs. left. They are not interested in debate (or what Enlightenment philosophers called "dialectic") but consensus. They are working to upgrade that binary, winner-takes-all, 13th century political operating system. And like any software developer, they are learning to "release early and release often." Likewise, occupiers have embraced the Internet access solutions of the Free Network Foundation, who have erected "Freedom Towers" at the Occupy sites in New York, Austin and elsewhere through which people can access free, uncensored, authenticated Wi-Fi. As this technology scales to our own communities, what happens to corporate Internet service providers is anyone's guess. The occupiers have formed working groups to take on myriad social and economic issues, and their many occupation sites serve to test the approaches they come up with. One group is developing a complementary currency for use, initially, within the network of Occupy communities. Its efficacy will be tested and strengthened by occupiers providing one another with goods and services before it is rolled out to the world at large. Another working group is pushing to have people withdraw their money from large corporate banks on November 5 and move it instead to local banks or cooperatively owned credit unions. Whether or not we agree that anything at all in modern society needs to be changed, we must at least come to understand that the occupiers are not just another political movement, nor are they simply lazy kids looking for an excuse not to work. Rather, they see the futility of attempting to use the tools of a competitive, winner-takes-all society for purposes that might better be served through the tools of mutual aid. This is not a game that someone wins, but rather a form of play that is successful the more people get to play, and the longer the game is kept going. They will succeed to the extent that the various models they are prototyping out on the pavement trickle up to those of us working on solutions from the comfort of our heated homes and offices. For as we come to embrace or even consider options such as local production and commerce, credit unions, unfettered access to communications technology and consensus-based democracy, we become occupiers ourselves. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Douglas Rushkoff.

Douglas Rushkoff : Occupy Wall Street not protest as much as protoype for new way of living . He says Occupy's camps are hardworking congresses with consensus-building approach . He says they can beta test ideas on issues such as a complementary currency . Rushkoff: When we begin to considers Occupy's ideas, we become "occupiers" ourselves .

Rome (CNN) -- Under furious assault from conservative Catholics, the Vatican backtracked Tuesday on its surprisingly positive assessment of gays and same-sex relationships. In a report Monday, the Vatican had said that gays and lesbians have "gifts to offer" the Christian community and acknowledged that same-sex couples can give "precious support" to one other. The statement, an interim report from a closely watched meeting of Catholic clergy here, was widely praised by liberals. It is believed to be the first time the Vatican has said anything positive about gay relationships. One longtime Vatican journalist called the statement a "pastoral earthquake." But many conservatives complained that the statement watered down church teaching and did not accurately reflect their discussions here, where nearly 200 Catholic leaders are meeting to debate pastoral approaches to modern family life. One South African cardinal called Monday's statement, which also included positive language about unmarried couples who cohabitate, "irredeemable." "The message has gone out that this is what the synod is saying, this is what the Catholic Church is saying," said Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, referring to the special meeting of Catholic clergy gathered here through Saturday. "It's not what we're saying at all." In response to such reactions, the Vatican backtracked a bit Tuesday. In a statement, it said the report on gays and lesbians was a "working document," not the final word from Rome. The Vatican also said that it wanted to welcome gays and lesbians in the church, but not create "the impression of a positive evaluation" of same-sex relationships, or, for that matter, of unmarried couples who live together. But gay rights groups say that's precisely the impression the Vatican gave Monday when it said: . "Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community. Are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities? Often they wish to encounter a church that offers them a welcoming home. Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?" Such statements seem to be in line with the more merciful approach the church has taken toward gays and lesbians under Pope Francis. In 2013, Francis famously said, "Who am I to judge?" gay people. On Monday morning, just before the Vatican released its positive report on gays, Francis preached that laws that do not lead people to Jesus are "dead;" what's more, Christ did "strange things" such as hanging out with sinners and tax collectors, the Pope preached, seemingly tipping his hand about the Vatican's direction. The overarching goal of the meeting here, officially called the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, is to present proposals for a larger gathering to be held in October 2015. Which means there's a long road ahead before any doctrinal or pastoral changes happen in the church. In the meantime, conservative and liberal bishops have been fiercely jousting in the court of public opinion. Monday's report only increased the war of words. Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American and head of the Vatican's supreme court, said the report "lacks a solid foundation in the sacred Scriptures." Other conservatives called it a "betrayal." Opinion: 3 ways the Catholic church should embrace gay rights . Liberal Catholics and gay activists, on the other hand, heralded Monday's statement and said that some conservative pushback was probably inevitable, given how hostile some corners of the church are to change. "I actually don't think this is as much of a backtrack as we usually see!" said Marianne Duddy-Burke, head of the gay rights group Dignity USA. "I think that response to this report was swift and intense, and I'm sure many bishops want to be sure people aren't reading more into it than is there," she continued. "However, it is undeniable that there has never been any Vatican document that made positive, respectful statements about same-sex relationships, so that is an undeniable breakthrough." Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, echoed that sentiment. "Regardless of the fact that this is a working document, it is still significant in that it reveals a strong current of affirmative attitudes at high levels in the church towards lesbians and gay people," he said.

Liberal Catholics and gay activists heralded Vatican's initial statement . Vatican had said that gays and lesbians have "gifts to offer" the Christian community . Vatican retreats a bit Tuesday after pushback from conservative Catholics . Report was a "working document," not the final word from Rome, Vatican says .

(CNN) -- Verified Identity Pass Inc.'s Clear security system -- the program that expedited airport security line waits for paying customers -- ended operation Monday night because the company couldn't reach a consensus with its senior creditors, according to its Web site. Clear promised to help passengers avoid security lines like this one at San Francisco International Airport. The New York-based company founded by entrepreneur Stephen Brill targeted business flyers, promising passengers that they would whisk through tedious airport security lanes more rapidly by being placed in private lines. Verified Identity Pass officials couldn't be reached for comment. Clear's fast-lane program began at Orlando (Florida) International Airport in 2005. By the time the company shut down, it was operating in more than 18 locations, including major airports in Atlanta, Georgia; Denver, Colorado; San Francisco, California; and Washington. USA Today reported that the company had about 250,000 members. With nearly 700 million passengers traveling domestically in 2006, Clear company officials touted their program as a way to help avoid bottlenecks and, in some instances, reduce the wait time in security lines to as little as five minutes. Passengers using the Clear program doled out more than $200 a year. After announcing the shutdown, the company released no information on whether customers would receive refunds. John Harrington, a freelance photographer in Washington, renewed his Clear membership for the next two years about a month ago. He said he was disappointed to receive an e-mail from Clear officials saying the program had been terminated. Harrington relied on the quicker lanes when he traveled for assignments out of Reagan National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. "With Clear, I could get into my gate in less than 15 to 20 minutes," said Harrington, who is flying to San Francisco next week and will now have to arrive at the airport an hour earlier. "Try that with regular airport security. It's going to cost me time." The Clear program required applicants like Harrington to provide information such as a Social Security number and previous address for a background check. The applicant's fingerprints and iris were scanned. The information was placed into a credit-card-size pass and for scanning at an airport Clear booth. After checking in at the Clear booth, customers were shuttled into a separate line overseen by the Transportation Security Administration. In some airports, Clear members were taken to security lanes reserved for them. In other airports, they used employee security lanes. Clear members went through the same security procedures; they had to take off their shoes and take out laptops. Clear arrived at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the busiest airport in the United States, last fall, officials said. At the same time, the airport added 12 security lanes, cutting the average security wait time to 10 minutes, airport spokeswoman Katena Carvajales said. "Clear shutting down is not impacting our passengers at this airport," Carvajales said, adding that customer service officials are stationed near the Clear booths to instruct members on where to go. Some critics argued that the Clear lines were no faster than regular security lines. The Air Transport Association, the industry representing the major U.S. airlines, said the program didn't enhance security. Spokesman David A. Castelveter said airlines already offered frequent travelers and elite members separate lines with no charge. In 2008, the TSA also began expanding its free Black Diamond Self-Select Lanes program to Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, Orlando and Spokane (Washington) International Airport. The program features a series of lanes broken down into categories for expert business travelers who fly frequently, casual travelers who don't fly as often, and skiers or families with strollers who need special assistance. The program has helped decrease wait times at pilot locations in Denver and Salt Lake City, Utah, according to a TSA statement. "Clear was a personal decision by travelers," Castelveter said. "If they could afford it, then they could buy it, but it didn't offer anything that wasn't already there." Seven years ago, Congress approved the creation of a speedier airport clearance system that would make the skies safer after September 11 rattled the travel industry. Government officials wanted to vet passengers and put those with a clean history into a separate, quicker line. But government officials worried that potential terrorists could sneak onto the approved list. The government program was handed off to private companies, like Verified Identity Pass, that saw the convenience factor as something they could sell.

Clear security system allowed passengers to use different security lines . Clear was operating in 18 airports and served 250,000 passengers . Air Transport Association said the program offered few benefits to travelers . "It's going to cost me time," says one traveler who relied on the Clear program .

(CNN) -- It feels as if I've been living a double life all of these years, and I do not want to deceive you, or myself, any longer. The burden has become too heavy, the struggle to deny my true self, too great. In order to be free I have tell you something. I am black. I know; I should have told you sooner. But I was afraid. After all, I've already shared with you that I am gay and well, we all know a person can't be both. At least that's how it feels the conversation is usually framed: There's a black community and a gay community, and the two conflict and do not mix. Since President Obama voiced support for marriage equality and now the board of the NAACP has followed suit, the narrative is that the black community is trying to make room at the table for gay people. Allow me to correct this storyline: No one is making room for gay people, gay people have always been at the table, at the forefront. What Obama, Jay-Z, Julian Bond, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and others have done over the past week is simply acknowledge life is not an "either/or" proposition but rather an emphatic "and." Boxes are for shoes, not people. So while compartmentalizing folks makes it easier to herd people into target groups and voting blocs, it's a gross misrepresentation of the reality of humanity. I am gay. And I am black. And despite the efforts of black religious conservatives to ignore that intersection, the truth is that intersection is a major part of black culture. It's in our literature (James Baldwin), our films (Lee Daniels), in politics, baseball fields (Glenn Burke), the Black Panthers (Angela Davis) and the civil rights movement (Bayard Rustin). That intersection exists in our hair salons, barbershops and, yes, even our churches. Before becoming a journalist, I worked in youth ministry in two churches in my early 20s. I lived with one of my pastors and his family and would study the Bible for hours on end under his tutelage. I fasted and tithed. I poured my heart out to the kids in the congregation. On occasion I even would fall asleep on the steps of the altar worshipping my God. I am black. I am gay. And yes, I am a Christian. I also know I was not the only gay, black man in ministry desperately trying to pray the gay away. In fact, I know one prominent choir director who finally had the courage to come out not too long ago. This is the messy and beautiful reality of humanity. The National Organization for Marriage, a fringe anti-gay think tank, actually had outlined a plan to try to race bait the black community into fighting with... itself. "N.O.M.'s memos detailed its campaign to direct money to a handful of African-American clergy in order to attack gay and lesbian couples that have made a lifelong promise to one another," said Sharon Lettman-Hicks, the executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition. "The organization admitted their key goal is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks." But I am black, and I am gay. A wedge cannot be driven between parts of my being. I was talking with NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin this past weekend, and he told me something that made a lot of sense. He said, in the fight for equality, you must be willing to run a race in which you may not be around to see the finish line. Not necessarily a pick-me-up, but filled with truth nonetheless. We are just beginning to have this conversation about sexual orientation and gender identity within the black community, but it is long overdue. A study conducted by the National Center for Children in Poverty found that African-American and Native American young people "are overrepresented" in the population of runaways. The study also found that between 20% and 40% of all homeless youth identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning. Many say they were kicked out of their homes or ran away because of violence. Even on the streets these children are much more likely than others to be abused. How can the black community heal if it turns a blind eye to its own children? It doesn't make any sense. Blacks trying to separate the gay community from blacks? Well, that makes even less sense. After all, a house divided against itself cannot stand, and gay people are, and always will be, living in this house. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.

LZ Granderson: Black, gay communities treated as if they are totally separate . But LZ says he identifies as black and gay and both aspects are integrated . LZ: Gays and lesbians have always played a prominent role in the black community . He says black community must resist attempts to turn it against its gay members .

(CNN) -- There are plenty of ways to game the upcoming Supreme Court decision on health care reform, and they've all been said: President Obama loses in court, he wins with his base. Or it's a severe blow, potentially fatal. Or Republicans benefit if they win, because they were "right" all along. Or the GOP loses, because it has to figure out what to offer for health care instead. And so it goes. But there's something else going on here, and it's more meaningful than some short-term political skirmishing. This Supreme Court case is the Waterloo for political polarization, because it underscores something we should have known all along: Great changes in national public policy should never be erected on slender partisan majorities. If they are, they will always be suspect. It's a proposition advanced by the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who understood there's little upside to partisan policymaking. After all, he was a member of the 1983 commission that reformed -- and saved -- Social Security for a generation. The program faced collapse; a bipartisan group of heavy-hitters fixed it, together. No one liked all that the rescue plan contained. But the work had to be done and they did it. That kind of work is not something we see a lot of these days: health care reform, arguably the most far-reaching social legislation since Medicare, was passed strictly along party lines. Sure, the White House says -- with some justification -- that Republicans weren't interested in their plan. But would the GOP have bitten on a more scaled-back version? Would some in the GOP have broken ranks over, say, requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions so long as it wouldn't bankrupt them? Sure. But that wasn't to be. The Democrats had a two-house majority, so the stars were aligned. And with recalcitrant Republicans vocal in their opposition, the Democrats, too, became more strident. So reform was an all-Democratic bill, a sure way to be challenged before the high court. And no one looks good: the president, who Monday seemed to be warning the court about "judicial activism" in advance of any decision; the court, which about half of the public now believes is political anyway; and Congress, which has an approval rating so low it's hard to even find. That's what happens when Washington's default setting is always along party lines. And it's not going to get any better. As congressional districts are redrawn to benefit partisans, those elected become -- naturally -- more partisan. So there is no political benefit to compromise, and as conservative southern Democrats virtually disappear, there are no natural allies left in the Democratic party for vote-hunting GOPers. The same goes for Democrats in search of moderate Republicans, most of whom are either quitting Congress out of frustration (see: Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine) or are fighting for their political lives (see: Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana). Imagine today's Congress passing, by bipartisan majorities, legislation on two controversial issues: taxes and immigration reform. Impossible, right? Well, it was done in the mid-1980's. The tax measure lowered rates and eliminated some loopholes (many, alas, have crept back into the code, but that's another story.) And the immigration bill legalized certain illegal immigrants while punishing employers for hiring illegal immigrants. (And of course we are back at that issue again). So while the measures were far from permanent or perfect solutions, they were big fixes. Sure, Democrats controlled the House and Republicans maintained control of the Senate and President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, was in his second term, finding a way to cut deals with members of both parties. Oh, and by the way, the chairmen of the tax-writing committee -- a House Democrat and a Senate Republican -- actually worked together to get something through the Congress. Ditto for those writing the immigration legislation. I know. I watched them in action. Believe me, it was nothing like watching the debt-ceiling debacle of last summer. Even when there was one small glimmer of hope that the White House and GOP House Speaker John Boehner might work something out, it disappeared. And almost one year later, each side is trying to get history to blame the other fellow for the failure to strike a deal. It's too bad, really. Because in the end, history will blame both sides -- for looking small when most of the country thinks our problems deserve solutions that are really big. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gloria Borger.

Gloria Borger says the Supreme Court health care case is a symptom of what ails us . One of the most important laws in decades was passed on purely partisan vote, she says . Now the court may deliver a verdict on the law along partisan lines, Borger says . Borger: America wants Congress to step up and address big problems effectively .

(CNN) -- A U.S. district judge ordered New York City to pay $128 million in to firefighters who allege the city used an entrance exam that deliberately sought to keep African-Americans and Latino Americans off the force. The judge also ordered the FDNY to hire 293 black and Latino applicants. "It has been in the city's power to prevent or remedy the need for damages proceedings for a decade, and it has not done so," U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garufis said in his ruling on the class action lawsuit. He called it the "consequences of the city's decision to ignore clear violations of federal law." The federal government had sued the city (United States of America and Vulcan Society Inc. vs. City of New York) over fire department entrance exams they said discriminated against black and Latino applicants. A group of black firefighters alleged the city had intentionally discriminated against them, violating Title VII, the U.S. Constitution and state law. The lawsuit alleged that the exams had little to do with firefighting and instead focused on cognitive and reading skills. Because of the hereditary nature of the fire department, white candidates were recruited and supported throughout the application process by family or neighborhood contacts and whites consistently passed while minority candidates failed. "There has been one persistent stain on the Fire Department's record," the lawsuit said. "For decades, black and other minority firefighters have been severely underrepresented in the Department's ranks. "According to the most recent census data, black residents make up 25.6% of New York City's population; when this case was filed in 2007, black firefighters accounted for only 3.4% of the Department's force. In other words, in a city of over eight million people, and out of a force with 8,998 firefighters, there were only 303 black firefighters. "This pattern of underrepresentation has remained essentially unchanged since at least the 1960s. While the city's other uniformed services have made rapid progress integrating black members into their ranks, the Fire Department has stagnated and at times retrogressed." Michael A. Cardozo, New York City's corporation counsel, disputed the decision. "We believe the court's latest opinion is erroneous and, in any event, is the first step in a lengthy process. As the court itself noted, any damages the city ultimately must pay will be reduced by the amount each member of the class earned. When all the proceedings have been completed, the damages, if any, that the city will have to pay will be far less than $128 million," he said. In court documents, the city said of the judge's finding of bias: "Under the Court's faulty analysis, any rational jury would necessarily find that the City deliberately used facially neutral exams to suppress black employment even as it conducted a targeted multi-million-dollar minority recruitment campaign, enlisted Columbia University to study methods of maximizing FDNY diversity, increased the minority composition of its other uniformed services, engaged an expert with a mandate to design an improved exam, and devised a panoply of other devices to diversify the FDNY's ranks" The lack of minorities in U.S. fire departments has been the focus of many lawsuits. The last available national figures, from the 2000 census, show 8.4% of the nation's firefighting forces to be black and 8.6% to be Latino. Blacks are 12.2% of the population; Latinos are roughly 16%. However, other big cities have made much faster progress at diversifying their ranks. More than half of the Philadelphia and Los Angeles fire departments members are black or Latino. Lawyers for the firefighters who sued said the decision would mean payments to black and Latino applicants to the New York Fire Department who were never hired or hired late from the 1999 and 2002 eligibility lists that resulted from exams given those years. Paul Washington, past president of the Vulcan Society, said: "The Vulcan Society has been fighting for almost 75 years to open the doors of the Fire Department to black firefighters. This is a great victory for those who have been excluded from serving our city because of their race. We hope the FDNY moves quickly to welcome the 293 Black and Latino applicants who are entitled to be hired, and we look forward to serving with them." CNN's Javier Luque contributed to this report.

Judge ordered New York to pay nearly $128 million to firefighters . Entrance exam designed to keep blacks and Latinos off the force, says lawsuit . "We believe the court's latest opinion is erroneous," says city's counsel .

(CNN) -- "Alien oceans could be detected by telescope," headlines a Web report about an article in The Astrophysical Journal Letters by Tyler Robinson and colleagues at NASA. The report projects that the $6.5 billion James Webb Space Telescope will be capable of such an impressive feat when it is launched some time after 2014 as a more powerful successor to the venerable Hubble Space Telescope. I will be the first to admit that I have been awed by the images of our universe that Hubble has provided over the past two decades, and by the mind-bending scientific discoveries that have ensued. But when it comes to observing our own oceans, we spend only a small fraction of what is allotted to the astronomy community. Why? Our Earth is running a slight fever from inhaling excessive amounts of carbon dioxide for the past few centuries, and the oceans are the largest reservoir for absorbing all this excess CO2. But at present, we have very limited ability to monitor the health of our patient, understand the impacts all this carbon dioxide will have on its chemistry and its inhabitants, and predict the future course of the "infection." The ocean needs a global monitoring network to provide real-time information to climatologists, as well as to oceanographers, who worry about the consequences of all this additional carbon for the health of the ocean's chemistry and biology. The Earth needs a Hubble for its oceans. The National Science Foundation has taken an encouraging step in this direction by funding the new Ocean Observatories Initiative through the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. This initiative will comprise an array of deep-sea moorings outfitted with sensors, along with seafloor cables, gliders and autonomous underwater vehicles. These devices will measure and transmit real-time information not only on basic properties such as temperature, salinity and current flow, but on biological, chemical and geophysical properties as well. The project shares many similarities with Hubble. Both must operate in remote, extreme environments -- vacuum and extremes of temperature and radiation in space, compared with crushing pressures and highly corrosive seawater in the cold, dark depths of the sea. Hubble must be able to point accurately and hold position with gyroscopes for lengthy exposures, while the ocean project's moorings must be capable of positioning a wide range of sensors and samplers at precise depths in a water column that is often miles deep, and in the face of currents and surface waves. Both require complex communications networks and control centers to monitor the instruments and direct operations while collecting and analyzing the torrent of data. Both are long-term observatories expected to operate for decades, and both require servicing missions to replace and upgrade damaged or depleted components. But there is one important difference. While the Hubble and its planned successors like the Webb are endowed with billions of dollars, the Ocean Observatories Initiative began its initial construction in September 2009 with $106 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and has an overall construction budget of only about $387 million. Because of this comparatively low level of funding, the project is limited in initial scope and will be blind to critical features of the ocean environment that will be essential to our ability to track the flow of carbon and its confinement in deep waters. It is essential that we more accurately measure the ocean's primary productivity -- the consumption of CO2 by microscopic phytoplankton that use it to create oxygen and energy. This process drives the ocean food chain upon which billions of us ultimately depend for significant portions of the protein in our diets. We further need to understand the composition and dynamics of this community of phytoplankton and the animal forms of plankton that feed upon them, as well as the complex ocean chemistry surrounding them. Given the current realities of oceanographic budgets for projects of this size, however, one can anticipate squabbling over priorities and scarce dollars. But the community instead should be galvanized to champion the need for a century of ocean observation -- deploying the truly global array of sensors that will be necessary for our comprehensive understanding of carbon flow in the oceans. Our Hubble for the sea needs a budget commensurate with the importance of its mission. And I, for one, would gladly wait a bit longer to learn of oceans on distant planets in return for the ability to see our own precious seas with the clarity and detail that will be required to insure the continued existence of life on this planet. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Kevin Ulmer.

Kevin Ulmer: Billions are being spent for space telescopes that explore the universe . He says a more urgent need is to understand how increasing carbon dioxide affects oceans . Scientists are developing a system to begin monitoring health of the oceans . Ulmer says more funding for the project is vital to understand the changing planet .

(CNN) -- They've served in wars in what is now the U.S. since 1637. When natural disasters strike, they're often among the first to head to the epicenter. And now, National Guard members are trying to keep the peace in Ferguson, Missouri, as the city grapples with the shooting death of an unarmed teenager. Ferguson certainly isn't the first time the troops have been called up to quell civil unrest. According to the U.S. Constitution, the militia can be deployed "to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions." And both the president and governors can call up the troops. Here's a look at other times National Guard members have stepped in during civil turmoil: . WHAT: Hurricane Katrina . WHEN: 2005 . WHY: In addition to assisting with rescues, National Guard members were called in to help support local law enforcement. Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, who led Task Force Katrina, said National Guard troops "were positioned on every block to establish a sense of safety and source of help for the people in need." The storm that led to 1,833 deaths also spawned tumult, particularly in New Orleans. Officers told CNN at the time they lacked manpower and steady communications to properly do their jobs. They said they needed help to prevent the spread of looting and violence that were prevalent in the city. Honoré said about 50,000 National Guard members responded to Katrina. They "did not leave communities till people were safe and sound," he wrote. WHAT: Los Angeles riots . WHEN: 1992 . WHY: When four police officers were acquitted after the beating of Rodney King, a series of riots over five days left more than 50 people dead and a city wracked with racial tensions. Like in Ferguson, the Los Angeles conflict started with the controversial treatment of a black man by white police. After King led officers on a high-speed chase, he was struck more than 50 times with police batons and suffered 11 fractures. More than 9,800 California National Guard troops were dispatched to help restore order. Unlike with Ferguson, where Missouri National Guard troops were summoned by the governor, President George H.W. Bush called the Guard into federal service during the Los Angeles riots. The LA riots marked the most recent time the National Guard was federalized, National Guard spokesman Jeremy Webster said. WHAT: Kent State University rally . WHEN: 1970 . WHY: About 100 Ohio National Guardsmen were called to Kent State in Ohio to disperse an angry crowd of students protesting the Vietnam War. Guard members fired tear gas, and some students said they were surprised the guardsmen followed them as they ran away. After several standoffs, 28 Ohio guardsmen fired into the crowd for 13 seconds, wounding nine students and killing four. The shootings led to a national protest involving more than 4 million students. WHAT: Little Rock high school desegregation . WHEN: 1957 . WHY: In perhaps the most controversial state deployment of National Guard members, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called on troops to block nine black students from attending Little Rock Central High School. "That's when I knew that they were just not going to let me go to school ... that they were not there to protect me, too, like the other students," recalled Elizabeth Eckford, one of the "Little Rock Nine." She was 15 at the time. The nine black students were taunted and spat upon by a white mob when they attended school. President Dwight Eisenhower eventually sent more than 1,010 federal troops to Little Rock to ensure compliance with court-ordered integration. WHAT: Whiskey Rebellion . WHEN: 1794 . WHY: A popular uprising broke out against a federal excise tax on liquor and the stills that produced it. After Pennsylvania's governor said he didn't have enough militia to enforce compliance, Secretary of War Henry Knox called for more than 12,000 troops from Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But it took two months to get the troops to western Pennsylvania. By the time they reached Pittsburgh, the uprising had been pacified. Why bring National Guard to Ferguson? Read more about the flash point in the Heartland at CNN.com/US . CNN's Mary Rose Fox and Jamie Maglietta contributed to this report.

National Guard troops can be activated by governors or the president . Every state and Washington, D.C., have their own National Guard . Guard members have helped quell unrest in Los Angeles and New Orleans . They have also been mired in controversy, such as with the Kent State shootings .

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A former motor-racing engineer has unveiled a prototype of a new hydrogen-powered city car which claims to emit less than one third of the carbon emissions produced by its nearest rival. The Riversimple Urban Car has been nine years in the making and needs further funding for city trials. The creators of the 'Urban Car,' UK-based company Riversimple, say the vehicle emits less than 30 grams per kilometer of carbon dioxide, less than one third of the carbon produced by the Polo Bluemotion. Riversimple founder Hugo Spowers has spent nine years researching and developing the prototype car. "I think that the auto industry is focusing a lot of money on research and development at a basic science level on hydrogen storage and fuel cell technology. We don't think it's necessary to do that," Spowers told CNN. "We can use existing technology and integrate it into a whole system design approach -- that is where the breakthrough has come." Spowers is searching for extra funding to put the 'Urban Car' on the streets, but he says at this stage they won't be for sale. Riversimple plans to lease the car to customers for a monthly fee of £200 ($330). Hydrogen fuel for the cars will cost just 15 pence (25 cents) per mile. It's a long way from the fuel-guzzling world Spowers used to inhabit as a designer and developer of high-powered racing cars. It was the industry's appalling environmental record that encouraged him to leave to try to find a way to make driving greener. "Certainly the first five or six years were hard work because I did have an awful lot of people telling me I was mad," Spowers told CNN, at the launch of the Riversimple Urban Car in London. "Gradually it all sort of gathered steam," he said, adding "I'm absolutely convinced that we're offering a better solution for a segment of the transport problem and we'd be crazy not to pursue it." The Urban Car's power comes from hydrogen fuel cells which are linked to four electric motors situated over each of the car's wheels. Almost all of the braking is done by the electric motors, which then capture the energy of the car in motion and store it in a bank of ultracapacitors. In conventional cars, the energy generated through braking is lost as heat. The energy stored in the Urban Car's electric motors is enough to power 80 percent of the car's acceleration. That reduces the energy demands on the hydrogen fuel cell, meaning it can be one fifth of the size of one used in a normal car. The lighter fuel cell also makes it more energy efficient. A large part of the funding for the car's development came from the family of Ernst Piëch, the eldest grandson of Ferdinand Porsche who founded the motor company of the same name in 1931. Ferdinand Porsche's great-grandson Sebastien Piëch is a partner in Riversimple. He says the company's nimble size has given it an advantage over larger car manufacturers whose future he says concerns him. "It concerns me massively, because I don't see that the model they have now is very relevant to where consumers are going. Consumers are looking for a different solution. I'm not sure if what they're producing is working," he said. Riversimple plans to share the designs for its car through open-source licence agreements, a system more commonly used in the software industry. Designers and manufacturers will be invited to make improvements so the car evolves into the most efficient vehicle it can be. "We don't believe that making money on IP (intellectual property) is really what's actually happening even now. We believe that service and providing the solution for customers will be where we make money," Piëch told CNN. The next step now is to find further financing, another £20 million ($33 million), to build and test ten cars. Fifty prototypes will then be built for a pilot project in a small city. The location is still to be confirmed, but Riversimple has narrowed down its options to small towns in the United Kingdom, perhaps Oxford or Peterborough. "I'm very confident we'll get it to market," Spowers said. "I couldn't say hand on heart that I'm confident that we'll achieve what I think technically can be done. That's a bit in the lap of the gods and it's all to do with people, politics and business -- all a bit more unpredictable."

Riversimple launches car prototype with lowest level of carbon emissions . Car is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and four electric motors over the wheels . Company's looking for $33 million dollars to build ten cars for trials . Designer Spowers used expertise he gained in motor racing to build prototype .

(CNN) -- William Talley sits in front of his computer for hours, clicking on every photo he can find online from the wreckage of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Stuck 8,000 miles away in Tennessee, he has no other way of searching for his wife and 3-year-old daughter. "What keeps running through my mind now is my baby calling my name -- 'papa, papa, papa,'" he says. Talley, his wife Rose, and their child Wilrose live in Guiuan, the tropical paradise where Typhoon Haiyan made its first landfall. The area was devastated. "I built a house there last year on an island outside of the city. I imagine everything is gone," he says. His imagination may be right. "It's total damage -- 100% damage," Guiuan Mayor Christopher Gonzales has said. Almost all of the community's 50,000 people were left homeless. "Everything is gone," said one resident. Talley is trying everything he can think of to make contact with Rose -- dialing all sorts of numbers in Guiuan, calling friends and contacts elsewhere in the Philippines, and using the online tools designed to help people find loved ones. So far, no luck. "It hurts. It hurts badly," he says. "I'm really worried for them. And if something has happened to my wife, the mother of my child, then who's going to be there to look after my child? I'm going to lose contact with my daughter altogether." Talley's anguish is shared by thousands of others across the globe in the wake of Haiyan. With more than 2,000 people declared dead, more than 3,000 injured, and many more struggling without necessities, families around the world are in a state of desperation, praying for the best and fearing the worst. Faces of the storm . But Talley, 40, has another worry that few others can associate with. He was homeless at one point in his life, and "grew up on the streets of Los Angeles." "That's why I'm so concerned for my child," he says. "I don't want my child to have to live like I did." In a CNN iReport, Talley -- a former firefighter -- asked anyone with a relief effort under way to take him along. "I want to be there and aid in the relief efforts. Using the skills I possess to help injured, lost, and homeless; as well as establish communications so that many can be informed of the well-being of their families, who are displaced in outlying areas. I need to be there for my family as well and will do all I can to make sure this happens." But even if that were possible, Talley faces another big obstacle: the reason he's in Tennessee. Talley suffers from ankle and knee injuries, and is awaiting a knee replacement. He's been in Gallatin, just outside Nashville, for four months, working with his doctor and awaiting surgery. The ankle injury stems from 2008, when he was working with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was part of its Division of Forestry and Wildland Fire Management. On one windy day, he was cutting down a tree in Whiteriver, Arizona. It fell onto his foot, shattering his ankle. Talley was unable to continue his job. He has received Supplemental Security Income ever since. He met his wife, now 41, online. He traveled to the Philippines to meet her in person. She grew up poor, on an island where there's a large coconut plantation. Members of her family were fishermen and farmers. When Talley met Rose, she worked as a cashier. They ended up getting married and combining their first names into one for their daughter, Wilrose. Talley built their small home, about 30 feet by 30 feet, out of concrete and hollow block. Two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Last year, he crashed his motorcycle and broke his knee -- on the same leg as the ankle injury, his right. Talley last spoke with Rose 11 days ago. "I told her how much I missed her, and how much I love them and my baby," he says. "It's terrible. I can't focus," Talley adds. "I go to the doctor today and I'm going to tell him to give me a steroid shot and joint fluid because I know what I'm going to have to do. I'm going to have to make my way to the Philippines."

William Talley's wife and child were in Guiuan, where Haiyan made its first landfall . Talley is trying everything he can think of to make contact with Rose, his wife . He is concerned his 3-year-old might end up homeless, as he once was .

Diyarbakir, Turkey (CNN) -- The jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party has called an end to a mass hunger strike in Turkey staged by Kurdish prison inmates and politicians. "End the hunger strikes as soon as possible without any hesitation ... this action has reached its place and fulfilled its goals," Abdullah Ocalan said, the Kurdish Dicle News Agency reported Saturday. Ocalan passed along that message to his brother Mehmet, who had been permitted by Turkish authorities to visit the notorious guerrilla leader on the island in the Marmara Sea where he has been kept in solitary confinement. Mehmet Ocalan then relayed along the comment Saturday to protesters, some of whom have gone without solid food for 66 days: . A leader of the main Kurdish nationalist party, Selahattin Demirtas, appeared to endorse the message. Turkish town on Syrian border deals with fighting, ethnic differences . The Kurdish lawmaker announced on his Twitter feed that "the statement by Mr. Ocalan is a very important development... We support this statement...we hope that the prisoners will reconsider in light of the statement." On Saturday night, after the entire predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir echoed with the clangs of residents banging pots and pans in support of the hunger strikers, two Kurdish lawmakers had been allowed into one of the city's main prisons, presumably to meet with inmates who have been starving themselves, a spokesman for the hunger strikers told CNN . There was a huge police presence in front of a municipal building where at least 22 Kurdish politicians, including several lawmakers from the main Kurdish nationalist party and the elected mayor of Diyarbakir, have been staging the hunger strike. The parliament members had joined a much larger mass hunger strike that started and spread through the Turkish penal system more than a month ago. More than 680 Kurdish inmates have now limited their diets to water, sugar, tea and salt. Those on the hunger strike have issued several demands: Authorize Kurdish language education in schools, allow defendants to speak Kurdish while representing themselves in court and Ocalan's release from prison. The problem is many Turks consider Ocalan the country's No. 1 terrorist. The movement he helped found decades ago has been fighting a guerrilla war against the Turkish state for 30 years, a conflict that has claimed more than 30,000 lives. Turkey, as well as the European Union and the United States, have labeled the Kurdistan Workers Party a terrorist organization. On Saturday, the governor of Diyarbakir blamed the hunger strike and the street protests on the party. Turkey needs to change course over own insurgency . "The legal and civilian extensions of the terrorist organization are increasing the tensions on the streets," Mustafa Toprak, Diyarbakir governor, said in an interview with CNN. He said police reinforcements had been brought into Diyarbakir to deal with what was said to be a two-day strike. He also said more than 100 people had been detained this week, as Kurds have organized nightly protests in Diyarbakir and other cities and towns throughout the largely Kurdish southeast. Demonstrators appear to have adopted an unusual tactic to deal with the security forces. Throughout the Kurdish region of Turkey, the overwhelming majority of demonstrators seen burning tires and overturning garbage bins were children younger than 15. Boys as young as 7 and 8 were seen torching barricades that had been dragged out to block city streets. "Children are not terrorists," said Toprak, the Diyarbakir governor. "But the things they are doing, if they were committed by adults, would be considered terrorist acts." According to a recent report by the nonprofit conflict mediation organization International Crisis Group, Turkish authorities have arrested more than 7,000 Kurdish activists on suspicion of terrorist activities in the past several years. Gulten Kisanak, one of the Kurdish parliament members on hunger strike, said she and her 34 fellow lawmakers from the Kurdish BDP party were battling more than 750 legal cases against them in court, which could lead to more than 3,000 years in prison. As barricades burned in the streets outside, Kisanak and her fellow hunger strikers gathered in a reception room decorated with a giant poster of Ocalan. "We are willing to die," Kisanak vowed. And she repeated her demand for the release of Ocalan, a Kurdish leader she described as "a man of peace." Turkey police crack down on Kurds .

Jailed Kurdish leader calls for end to mass hunger strike . Leading Kurdish lawmaker endorses the message . Nearly every shop in the provincial capital is shuttered .

(CNN)During the 2004 presidential election, I spent time near Canton, Ohio, trying to turn out votes for John Kerry. I visited neighborhoods around the struggling Rust Belt town, knocking on doors and repeating a campaign-prepared script about Senator Kerry's plans to put the middle class back on track. The voters scoffed at me, surveying their decaying porches with the decaying economy all around them. They blamed trade deals, especially the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for the loss of good manufacturing jobs in the area, and laws giving steel and auto plants the chance to move jobs overseas. One after another, each voter reminded me that both parties supported the crappy NAFTA deal that got us into this mess. How could we trust any of them to get us out? A decade later, just after the 20th anniversary of NAFTA, President Obama is marking the disastrous legacy of free trade policies by working with Republicans to push for even more bad trade deals that would benefit big businesses at the expense of America's economy and workers. President Obama has outlined an ambitious agenda to help the middle class. But his eagerness to find some area of compromise with Republicans in the form of trade policy risks undermining all his other plans. "I'm asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren't just free, but fair," President Obama said in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night as Republicans stood and applauded while Democrats rightly stayed in their seats. Trade promotion authority is a new synonym for "fast-track authority" which would give the president authority to negotiate international trade agreements on his own. Congress could veto such deals, but could not amend or filibuster them. Fast-track trade authority removes important checks and balances not only in our legislative process but in our economy as a whole. This is a bad idea for two reasons. In recent history, trade deals enacted by Washington have been bad for American workers and our economy. President Obama and Republicans promote trade deals as good for economic growth and job creation. "Ninety-five percent of the world's customers live outside our borders, and we can't close ourselves off from those opportunities," President Obama said. However, government data analyzed by the nonprofit Public Citizen shows that under two decades of fast-track trade agreements, U.S. trade deficits have gotten worse -- increasing by over 440%. Nearly 5 million U.S. jobs -- 1 in 4 manufacturing jobs in America -- have been lost since fast-track deals like NAFTA and related agreements. While President Obama has emphasized that he wants to reduce income inequality, numerous studies say such trade deals have contributed to the rise in income inequality. In fact, wages in the United States have remained mostly stagnant, adjusted for inflation, since the mid-1970s — when fast-track trade authority was first enacted -- even though worker productivity has doubled in the same period. All of this suggests we need more scrutiny on these trade deals, not less. Given the evidence of the destruction of previous trade deals, we need giant caution signs, speed bumps and roadblocks -- not a fast track. The other problem with fast-track trade authority is that it allows our trade negotiators to unilaterally undermine democratically passed legislation. For instance, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an 11-nation deal championed by both President Obama and top Republicans in Congress, is not really about trade. Of the partnership's 29 chapters, only five address trade issues. The other chapters do things like create new monopoly patent extensions for pharmaceutical companies that would raise medicine prices for average Americans, and create a right for foreign firms to import food to the U.S. exempt from our current food safety standards. The Trans-Pacific Partnership would even restrict certain "buy local" and "buy American" initiatives -- in other words, preventing American consumers from protesting the trade deal with their own votes and wallets. I should add that this is what watchdogs think is in the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal -- because of document leaks. We don't know for sure, because while 600 private corporations have been involved in negotiating the terms of the trade deal behind closed doors, even Congress won't get to see the terms of the deal until after it's signed. That's why many Democrats oppose the deal, and similarly disastrous trade deals like it. If more crummy job-killing trade bills are what comes from bipartisanship, I would rather take more bitter acrimony.

American workers blame trade deals like NAFTA for the loss of good manufacturing jobs . Sally Kohn: Obama wants "fast track" trade authority, which would remove important checks and balances . Fast track would benefit big businesses at the expense of workers and our economy .

Sykesville, Maryland (CNN) -- It's the dirty little secret of the racing industry. Thoroughbreds who don't make the winner's circle, are injured or simply too old to race are discarded by their owners, auctioned off -- sometimes to the slaughterhouse. Now these horses are getting new lives. The twist? Prison inmates looking for their own second chances are helping save them. In the rolling hills of Carroll County, Maryland, is Second Chance Farm. Alonzo Pickett leads a horse to the pasture to graze. "Greek is a beautiful horse. I love him," says Pickett. "I think he's a gentle giant." The 7-year-old gelding came to the farm after a leg injury ended his racing career. Each year thousands of racehorses in the United States like Greek are sent to slaughterhouses and their meat sold overseas, according to the nonprofit Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. That's why the foundation funds programs in eight prisons across the United States to rescue these abandoned horses and train prisoners to "gentle" them so they can be adopted. The inmates also have duties beyond grooming the horses. They maintain the farm buildings and the grounds. Pickett, 44, figures he has spent at least 14 years of his life behind bars. It is his third prison sentence, this time for drug possession. "It could have been a lot worse," he confides. "A lot of guys that I grew up with ... are deceased." But Pickett maintains this will be his last time in prison and he thinks working with Greek as part of this program is what has changed him. "It gave me a chance to really evaluate who I am," he says. "Everybody thinks it's about the horses," says Gary Maynard, Secretary of Public Safety for Maryland prisons. Maynard saw the benefits of the program in other prison systems where he worked and brought it here. "It's really about the men that work with the horses and what changes they go through as they learn to care for an animal, as they learn mutual trust and self-respect." The bond between Pickett and Greek is evident as the inmate gently prods the animal for grooming and softly speaks to him. Pickett calls the bond they share a mutual support system. "I have a chance to face my obstacles head on and to overcome [them]," he says, and "[Greek] knows we are here for him ... [that] we love him." Conni Swenson worked with racehorses many years ago before coming to work for the Maryland Department of Corrections. She is the program coordinator for Second Chance Farm and says she daily observes the unconditional acceptance the horses have for the inmates as each come to trust the other. "They learn compassion. They learn patience," says Swenson. "If you have a 150-pound gentleman and you have a 1,200-pound horse and you need the horse to do something, you're not going to teach that horse to do it through brute force." There is a striking difference between the farm and the prison, where the inmates return each night. There are guards at the farm but no bars, no razor wire. Pickett notes the atmosphere of serenity at the farm, far from what he calls "negative conversations" at the prison. "You look at these grounds, the meadows, the horses grazing in the field," says Felicia Hinton, assistant commissioner, Maryland Department of Corrections. "It can only put gentleness inside of you," she says, smiling. It's her responsibility to make sure each inmate is ready to begin life outside the prison walls. "It gives them a sense of humanity," she says. Hinton calls the program an opportunity to change a life. Pickett agrees. He will be released from prison in just a few months. He plans to move to his grandfather's farm to care for his aging father. "If I could come out here and take care of Greek every day," he says, "then I can go home and take care of my father." Hinton considers that a measure of the success of the program. "Our responsibility is to send a man or woman out of prison a better person." As Pickett cleans and scrapes Greek's hooves, he speaks with pride about his time at Second Chance Farm. "I love the work and I love to know that I have a responsibility and they can depend on me for that responsibility being met." Swenson says she believes in each of the inmates who has gone through the program. She likes to quote visitors her favorite Winston Churchill passage, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." "That is absolutely true here," she says. "I see it every day."

Inmates care for horses as part of a pre-release plan in Maryland . The horses come to the Second Chance Farm after race career ends . Inmate says prisoners and rejected horses share a common bond .

Las Vegas (CNN) -- Las Vegas may never be the same now that Britney Spears has started a residency in Nevada's Sin City. "Britney: Piece of Me" debuted at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino this weekend, almost 10 years to the day that Spears married a high school friend at a wedding chapel just down the Vegas strip. Her marriage to Jason Alexander lasted just 55 hours before it was annulled, but Spears' new relationship with Vegas is planned for at least two years. She is reportedly earning $300,000 per show -- $30 million for the 100 shows through 2015. Spears dances on a 100-foot stage, backed by 14 dancers and one of the world's largest video installations. She enters from a spherical cage that descends from above. Near the end, Spears leaps from a giant tree, flying across the stage on a cable. While her microphone is live and Spears appears to be singing, much of what the audience hears is from pre-recorded tracks of 21 hits from her pop career. A live four-piece band plays behind Spears, visible on scaffolding at the rear of the stage. But evidence that much of it is pre-produced comes when Will.i.am appears on video to perform "Scream & Shout" with Spears. Backing tracks for vocals are not new or unexpected, considering that Spears is running around the stage for most of the 90-minute show. The 4,600 people attending her opening night Friday seemed willing to suspend any disbelief. They also mouthed the familiar lyrics to "Baby One More Time," "Oops I Did It Again," "Toxic," "Circus," "Womanizer" and "Slave 4 U." She includes songs from her just-released album "Britney Jean." Unlike most Vegas shows, the theater seats are almost unnecessary. The crowd stood through most of the show as if they were in a nightclub dancing to a DJ. Planet Hollywood describes the remodeled Axis Theater as "part nightclub and part theater." The VIP section includes bottle service, tables and a dance floor. Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Selena Gomez and Mario Lopez were among Spears' celebrity friends in the VIP section on opening night. Tickets to the VIP area are in big demand, according to Robin Leach, the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" host who now covers Las Vegas nightlife. One Vegas business owner is negotiating to buy the front-center VIP table for every show, he said. Spears takes a break after playing the New Year's Eve show, returning on January 29 to begin three shows a week for the next month. Shows are scheduled in four-week segments in April and May and again in August and September. A younger Las Vegas . Spears' arrival signals another phase in a trend toward a younger Las Vegas that began with nightclubs paying famous DJs big dollars to play electronic dance music. "The demographic of Vegas has been sliding in the last two years, much younger and the emphasis now is not so much on gaming," said Leach. The younger tourists are shopping, eating, drinking and going to nightclubs, he said. A fan who was just 6 when Spear's first single -- "Baby One More Time" -- topped the pop charts 15 years ago is now 21 and old enough to fly to Las Vegas and party. Spears, who turned 32 this month, "is the obvious and natural choice" to take advantage of the younger Vegas because of her fan following," Leach said. "When you look at the landscape of pop stars, pop princesses, pop queens, there's nobody other than Britney who has the depth of a career and the number of albums," he said. "She has a huge repertoire to go to." Others will soon follow Spears, Leach predicted. Celine Dion made Las Vegas hot for older superstars when her Caesar's Palace residency began a decade ago, he said. "Celine brought in Elton (John), Celine brought in Rod Stewart, Celine brought in Shania (Twain)," he said. "Who's Britney going to bring in?" Bruno Mars, whose first song hit the charts just three years ago, began a mini-residency of headlining eight shows at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas Sunday night.

Britney Spears is reportedly earning $30 million for the 100 Vegas shows through 2015 . Spears dances on a 100-foot stage, backed by 14 dancers and large video screens . Fans don't seem to mind that Britney uses pre-recorded vocal tracks . Spears show signals a shift toward younger tourists in Las Vegas, Robin Leach says .

(CNN) -- Fox News' Bob Beckel believes that I, as an American-Muslim, should have fewer constitutional rights simply because of my religious faith. Beckel, the so-called "liberal" on Fox News, made this point on his show this week while discussing the horrific terror attack on the Kenyan shopping mall. Beckel opined that Muslims should not be allowed to build any more houses of worship in America, "until you stand up and denounce what's happened in the name of your prophet." Sorry Bob, you're dead wrong. If you would take a moment to read our amazing U.S. Constitution, you would perhaps understand the rights we are all guaranteed as Americans, such as freedom of religion. But when you hear Beckel speak, you get the sense he isn't a big fan of reading. Let me address this to Beckel: I have never built a mosque, nor do I have plans to. But if I wanted to build one, I could build one right next to your house. In fact, I almost want to start a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com entitled: "Raise money to build a mega-mosque next to Bob Beckel's house." This is not the first time Beckel has spewed this type of hateful garbage. This past July he demanded that Muslim-Americans be prohibited from building houses of worship, "until we find out who's a terrorist" within the U.S. Muslim community. I'm curious: Does Beckel truly believes what he says about Muslims or is he simply giving the Fox News audience what it wants to hear? After all, a 2011 survey concluded, "that Americans who most trust Fox News are more likely to believe that Muslims want to establish Shari'a law, have not done enough to oppose extremism, and believe investigating Muslim extremism is a good idea." Here's a news flash for Beckel: Just because a person claims to be a Muslim, doesn't mean his or her actions are based on the tenets of the faith, nor does it mean this person is an actual Muslim. Just look at the Kenya shopping mall attack. The terrorists there didn't say they carried out their attack for religious reasons. No, they made it clear the attack was revenge for the Kenyan government sending its troops to fight them in Somalia. So let's get to the crux of the issue: Should American-Muslims be required to denounce terrorist attacks perpetrated by so-called Muslims who commit horrible acts on other parts of the planet? Well, let's ask Ronald Reagan: "We must reject the idea that every (time) a law is broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions." Still, American Muslim leaders and organizations have consistently denounced terror attacks committed by Muslims -- including the recent Kenya attack. And not only did American Muslims denounce this recent incident, so did Muslim leaders in Kenya as well as the president of Somalia -- a Muslim. How could Bob Beckel not be aware of these facts? Maybe he hasn't figured out how to use Google yet? Or maybe he simply doesn't care about accuracy -- or both? And why would Beckel and his Fox News show have a discussion about Muslims without inviting at least one on? Do they not know even one American Muslim? Or is the reason more sinister? Does Fox News not want a Muslim-American on air to denounce the terror acts and present an American face of the faith because it undermines the narrative they have crafted about Muslims over the past few years? You will have to answer that. But I can tell you this: I personally wanted to get on Beckel's Fox News show to answer their questions and discuss a recently released comedy documentary I co-directed, "The Muslims Are Coming!" This film addresses the very point they are raising and uses comedy to dispel misconceptions about Muslims. But they said "no." So I will say it here: I absolutely despise the terrorists who kill innocent people -- be they Muslim or any other faith for that matter. They use the name of religion to justify an immoral and inhumane act. And the ones who claim to be Muslim are not--they are simply murderers. I still hold out hope that one day Fox News will invite more American Muslims on its network so that their audience can hear from Muslims first hand. My concern, though, is that day will only come when Fox News has moved on to demonizing another minority group for ratings. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah.

Dean Obeidallah: Fox's Beckel said no new mosques in U.S. till Muslims denounce terrorists . Obeidallah: Does Beckel say these things to be Fox-like? He says news flash: Kenya attacks about revenge against Kenyan government, not religion . Obeidallah: Fox doesn't have Muslim Americans on air to conflict with network's narrative .

Washington (CNN) -- An energized electorate inspired by a groundbreaking election and expectations as high as Mount Everest had grown accustomed to greeting him with spontaneous chants of  "yes we can." He promised to take "bold, swift action" on the ailing economy and break the partisan grip on Washington by ending what he called "petty grievances and false promises." Obama proclaims an end to 'petty grievances' "There are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans," the president told the nation during his inaugural address in 2009.  "Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done." This high bar assured there would be a very long to-do-list, and some Republicans were quick to publicly admit they would not make his job easy. But some political observers make the case that pushing a lot of promises was a necessity for an unproven freshman senator. "He really needed to prove himself to a lot of individual Democratic constituencies," said Bill Adair, the creator and editor of PolitiFact, an online site best known for rating the truth in campaign advertisements.  "He made dozens and dozens of small but very narrow promises." PolitiFact evaluated 508 promises and concluded that the president has kept 37% of them, compromised on 14% of them, has broken 16% of them, has gotten stalled on 10% of them and 22% are still "in the works." It's all detailed in the online site's Obameter scorecard. One big stumble came soon after the president took office.  During an interview on the CBS program "60 Minutes," Obama had said he intended to "close Guantanamo" and vowed to "follow through on that." But legal hurdles and resistance in Congress neutralized his executive order to close the detention facility within a year. Obama signs order to close Guantanamo Bay facility . Another promise that ran into a wall on Capitol Hill was the vow to repeal Bush-era tax cuts for the very rich. And with homeowners trying to recover from a crippling mortgage crisis, especially in states such as Nevada and Florida, a promised $10 billion dollar foreclosure prevention fund never materialized. "He made some really sweeping promises about changing the culture of Washington, about bringing the parties together, about being more transparent in how he runs the White House," Adair said. "He ran into trouble there. There's been a real realization on the part of the White House that some of the things he said during the 2008 campaign were just not realistic given the way Washington really works." Immigration reform advocates urge Obama to take action . The very long list goes on: No comprehensive immigration reform. No cap and trade system that regulates pollution emissions. Some of these broken promises provide critics with plenty of fodder to argue he has been ineffective. But the White House views his bucket of promises as half-full. Health care reform. Check. Auto industry bailout. Check. "Don't ask don't tell," the policy that banned openly gays and lesbians from serving in the military, repealed. Check. Repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' seen as 'tipping point' in gay rights movement . The Obameter Scorecard also gives the president a thumbs up on national security. In 2008 while visiting Jordan, the president vowed to end the war in Iraq. "My goal is to no longer have U.S. troops engaged in combat in Iraq." That promise was fulfilled in December. Added to that is that the conflict in Afghanistan is winding down and the world's most-wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, is dead. "The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda" the president said as he broke the news in a hastily arranged late-night Sunday address to the nation in May 2011. Between now and Election Day, it's possible other promises stuck in the works could go either way, although campaigning has consumed much of the oxygen. Adair said there is plenty of blame to go around. Congress has created some impassable barriers but at the same time, he argues other promises were "low-hanging fruit" that the president could have accomplished through executive action but so far hasn't delivered. Packed arena cheers Bill Clinton's speech . Full coverage of the Democratic National Convention .

Barack Obama promised to end "petty grievances and false promises" in Washington . Republicans were quick to publicly admit they would not make his job easy . PolitiFact evaluated 508 promises and concluded the president has kept 37% of them . For the unfulfilled promises, PolitiFact editor said there is plenty of blame to go around .

Los Angeles (CNN) -- It was a public relations battle featuring two well-known masters of the media, a beauty queen, and a controversial question: Should someone born a man be allowed to compete in the Miss Universe pageant? On the East Coast was Donald Trump, the New York business tycoon whose fortune and brand is boosted by his ability to navigate storms of controversy. On the West Coast was Gloria Allred, a Beverly Hills lawyer legendary for her ability to draw hordes of cameras to her law office to capture her outrage over alleged injustices done to her clients. The client is Jenna Talackova, a 23-year-old, 6-foot-1-inch blond Canadian, who underwent sexual reassignment surgery four years ago. Talackova won a regional beauty crown qualifying her for Canada's national title, but she was then told the Miss Canada Universe pageant in Toronto on May 19 was only open to "naturally born females." "I am a woman," Talackova said in a prepared statement she read to reporters in Allred's conference room Tuesday. "I was devastated and I felt that excluding me for the reason that they gave was unjust." Allred attacked Trump, who owns and controls the Miss Universe franchise, for questioning Talackova's sexuality. "She did not ask Mr. Trump to prove that he is a naturally born man or to see photos of his birth to view his anatomy to prove that he was male," Allred said. How she became a female is not important, she said. "The Miss Universe competition is designed to find the one person in the world whose human qualities make them worthy of the Miss Universe crown and title," Allred said. "Jenna is beautiful in every way. Her life story will undoubtedly inspire people throughout the world." Talackova, in a 2010 interview, said she knew she was a girl at age 4. She said she started hormone therapy at age 14 and underwent sexual reassignment surgery at 19. Trump, warned of Allred's attack when the lawyer alerted reporters Monday afternoon that she would hold the news conference, shifted his pageant's position in an announcement Monday night. Talackova could compete provided "she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions," the Miss Universe Organization said. Trump's maneuver didn't appear to temper Allred's outrage. "The last-minute statement by Mr. Trump's representative put out late yesterday only confuses the issue," she said. "Instead of stating clearly that Jenna will be allowed to compete, Mr. Trump qualifies it by adding conditions that are ambiguous." She asked Trump for "a clear answer -- not a wimpy, wishy-washy type of answer -- but something that we can take to the bank." Allred didn't know it then, but Trump gave a clearer statement to CNN in New York two hours earlier. "We went by the laws of Canada and the laws of the United States, and those laws say that she should be allowed to enter the pageant," Trump said. "So she will be entering the Miss Canada pageant." When read Trump's new statement, Allred paused for several seconds and said "I stand by my statement. We want this rule eliminated." "We want a clearer statement that this rule will be eliminated," Allred said. "Step up, say it loudly, say it clearly, this rule will never be in effect again for anyone." Allred declined to have Talackova react to Trump's decision to let her compete. "Sorry," Talackova whispered to a reporter, apologizing for her silence. Allred would not say if her client still intended to compete in the pageant. Controversy over pageant rules is not new for Trump. The media stir over Miss California Carrie Prejean's same-sex marriage comments at Trump's Miss USA pageant three years ago raised the profile of that competition. Prejean, in response to a question from a judge, declared her opposition to same-sex marriage. Trump initially said Prejean could keep her Miss California title despite a controversy over topless photos, missed appearances and her statements against same-sex marriage. He eventually fired her for "contract violations," including missed public appearances. Allred has affected more than beauty contests. She hosted several news conferences in 2010 to reveal evidence that Meg Whitman, who was then the Republican nominee for governor of California, employed an undocumented worker. The October surprise hampered Whitman's campaign at a crucial time in her race against Jerry Brown, who won the election. CNN's Doug Hyde contributed to this report.

"She should be allowed to enter the pageant," Miss Universe owner Donald Trump says . Contestant's lawyer: "We want this rule eliminated" "I am a woman," contestant Jenna Talackova says . Officials previously disqualifed the transgender woman from Miss Canada Universe .

(CNN) -- Concorde is a thing of the past, but a number of companies are racing to release the first supersonic business jet. Aerion Corporation is working on a jet that would reach Mach 1.6 and would possibly be ready for release by 2020, while Spike Aerospace has announced plans for the S-512, a business jet that could travel at speeds of Mach 1.8 and would be available by 2018. So why has it taken nearly 50 years to revisit the concept? According to Vik Kachoria, president and CEO of Spike Aerospace, one of the main issues that plagued the Concorde was the sonic boom -- the disruptive noise that results from the shockwaves created when an object travels faster than the speed of sound. "At its worst, the sonic boom would sound like a loud thunder clap over your head. It would rattle windows and loosen roof tiles. It was pretty jarring. If you lived under the Concorde's flight path, you might hear it several times a day," he says. The effect was so disturbing that most countries either banned supersonic flights, or restricted them from traveling over land. Understandably, this is an issue that the aerospace industry has needed to address in order to make supersonic flight viable. A plane without windows? Kachoria notes that currently, it makes more sense to develop supersonic business jets than larger commercial aircraft, because the plane's diminutive size results in a smaller boom. While he's remained tight-lipped about many aspects of the design (some are still awaiting patent), he recently announced that the S-512 will be built without windows (except for the one the pilots see out of), a feature that will reduce drag and overall cost of the unit. "Even at subsonic speeds, windows add a tremendous cost to the aircraft because the fuselage has to be designed to support those windows. If you eliminate all that, you create piece with less structural issues, less manufacturing costs, and less parts count," he says. It sounds like a claustrophobe's nightmare, though Kachoria has attempted to compensate for the windowless design by installing flatscreens, which can either display the view outside, or can be used to show a movie or PowerPoint presentation -- should a conference need to take place in the air. "It's not a new concept, but in the past we didn't have the technology -- the flatscreens, or digital cameras to capture the resolution, or the ability to stitch together cameras to create a seamless panoramic view," he says. Overall, the saving in manufacturing means each unit will cost between $60 million to $80 million. It's all in the wing . According to Aerion, the main detriment to producing a supersonic aircraft in the near future isn't the boom (an issue even Kachoria admits is still another 15 years or so from being fully resolved), but the cost. "The reasons speeds haven't changed much since the 1960s has more to do with economics than technology. You just can't have supersonic travel at the rock-bottom fares most passengers prefer" says Jeff Miller, the director of communications for Aerion. "Those constraints don't apply to business jets, so it's most likely supersonic technology will be applied there first. Even so, economy of operation is important, mainly in terms of fuel efficiency. If you can't find a way to reduce fuel consumption, you won't have a supersonic jet that will get you very far," he adds. When the Concorde slowed down to below Mach 1, it burned though more fuel. Aerion has been researching ways to compensate this with the development of the supersonic natural laminar flow (SNLF) wing, which it has been testing in conjunction with NASA. The wing, which is thinner and shorter than typical plane wings, has been proven to reduce friction drag by 80%, and overall airframe drag by 20%. "The more drag, the more power required to push a wing through the air," explains Miller. A resolution? While work is being done on the sonic boom issue, neither Aerion nor Spike expect to release a jet before it's resolved completely. The early models will likely only be able to reach high speeds when traveling over seas. "We don't have the sonic boom issue resolved yet," admits Kachoria, "you wouldn't be able to fly above Mach 1 between New York and Los Angeles, for instance. But between Tokyo and LA? You'd see a big time savings."

A few companies are developing supersonic business jets . Spike Aerospace has a model that will be built without windows, but will instead have flatscreens lining the cabin . The biggest challenges to supersonic flight is cost and mitigating sonic boom .

(CNN) -- Voters in Nashville, Tennessee -- a city that has seen a dramatic increase in its immigrant population -- rejected a measure Thursday that would have made English the only language used for government business in its metropolitan area. Nearly 57 percent of those who cast ballots Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee, voted against the measure. With all 173 precincts reporting, 41,752 voters, or nearly 57 percent, voted against the proposed amendment, with 32,144 voters supporting it, according to unofficial results posted on the Nashville city government Web site. "No person shall have a right to government services in any other language," the proposal read. The measure would have included government meetings. The Metropolitan Council, which submitted the measure, could have mandated exceptions to protect public health and safety. Elise Shore, southeast director of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said her regional office in Atlanta, Georgia, was monitoring the Nashville balloting. "We just elected our first black president. There are the forces of globalization and conducting business around the world ... in the face of this, we see these measures?" Shore asked. The proposal "sends a strong message ... this is a negative message. In fact, it invites discrimination," she said. In a newspaper editorial published Thursday, The Tennessean urged voters to defeat the proposal. "This amendment would exclude and marginalize those residents and visitors to Nashville simply because English is not their native tongue," the editorial said. The polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m. Before the measure was defeated, a spokesman for U.S. English Inc., an action group that supports English-only laws nationwide, said the Nashville proposal was a good one. "Government programs are aimed at helping people reach self-sufficiency and success," Rob Toonkel said. "Allowing use of a second language doesn't encourage them to learn English." "The key word [of the amendment] is 'actions that bind the government,' " Toonkel said, which would cover transactions such as getting a city contract. If a non-English speaker needs help filling out a form, and someone in that agency speaks their language, they should be helped, he said. "But you shouldn't be able to come in, pick up a form [in another language] and leave." According to Toonkel, about 30 states and more than 100 localities have made English their official language, and he said his organization believes such laws are legal. Raul Gonzalez, legislative director for the National Council of La Raza, said the message of the proposal is discriminatory. "What it ... says is, 'If you speak a language other than English, you may not be welcome here,' " Gonzalez said. La Raza is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on reducing poverty and discrimination and improving opportunities for Hispanic Americans. Gonzalez said similar English-only laws across the country "have so many exceptions they are meaningless." In an editorial earlier this month, The Tennessean quoted the referendum's sponsor, Councilman Eric Crafton, who said the bill was needed to save the city $100,000 to $150,000 in annual translation and related costs. However, metro officials told the newspaper such services are provided by employees already on the city's payroll. The council passed a similar bill in 2007, but it was vetoed by then-Mayor Bill Purcell, who called it "unconstitutional, unnecessary and mean-spirited," according to The Tennessean. U.S. Census data from 2000 showed an increase of 210 percent in the immigrant population of the Nashville metro area, including Davidson County, since 1990. During that decade, immigrants accounted for 45 percent of the overall population increase in the city. More than two-thirds, or 67 percent, of the area's foreign-born population had entered since 1990. This was much higher than the rate for the state overall, which was about 58 percent. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey, taken between 2005 and 2007 for the Nashville metro area, shows a population of 613,632. Of that number, 61,843 were foreign-born, with most of the immigrants coming from Latin America. About 73,000 residents speak a language other than English at home and, of those, 35,290 speak English less than "very well," the survey found.

NEW: 57 percent vote against English-only measure in Nashville, Tennessee . Proposal: "No person shall have a right" to government services not in English . Measure would "exclude and marginalize" some residents, newspaper says .

(CNN) -- All three presidential debates are now in the books and the race to the White House is taking its final shape. Looking back, the first debate was undoubtedly the watershed moment of this campaign and the most powerful inflection point in the race to date. President Obama regained some lost ground in the next two debates, including Monday night's event, but the damage had already been done. Mitt Romney now carries the momentum into the home stretch. Like in the second debate, Obama came out Monday night more aggressive and more provocative. He threw more punches and landed more punches, centering his attacks on trying to characterize Romney's foreign policy as amateur and reckless. But there was an air of desperation in his delivery. It was as if he knew he needed to not just defeat Romney, but to destroy him. He fell far short of that bar. Opinion: Obama in command; Romney plays it safe . Obama was helped, however, by Romney's peculiar pass on contesting Libya and the Benghazi catastrophe while also not taking Obama to task for the timetable and withdrawal from Afghanistan. Romney's repeated agreement with Obama on issues like drone strikes and keeping U.S. forces out of Iran and Syria in any way may upset some conservatives. But we are at a different time and place in the foreign policy psyche of most Americans. The country is war-weary, wants the troops to come home and doesn't want any form of intervention in another country. Romney had to reassure voters that he was not interested in nation-building and provoking or initiating foreign conflicts. He accomplished that very well. It was a different test for a different time for a Republican candidate. He distanced himself from President George W. Bush and offered his own vision for the Middle East. Or as he put it, the United States should "help the - the world of Islam and other parts of the world, reject this radical violent extremism." Perhaps foreshadowing the last two weeks of the presidential race, Romney used the debate to move to the center. He emphasized peace and diplomacy and avoided at all costs any hint of sending U.S. forces to future wars. Romney also looked and acted presidential. He had a steady, levelheaded confidence and avoided any snarky, patronizing "horses and bayonets" moments. Obama used the final debate to go to the left and energize his base, attacking Romney at any opportunity while throwing in comments about teachers and classroom size -- a clear signal to his strong base with the teacher's union. Obama offered little on his plans for a second term and spent much of the debate hammering Romney. Opinion: Was Obama too relentless with Romney? That may be why some commentators think Romney acted and appeared more like the president and Obama the challenger. One of the central facets of the Obama campaign was to define Romney as an unacceptable candidate, which they did relentlessly in states like Ohio. Yet, Romney's first debate performance shattered that image. And through the rest of the debates, he proved that he is not the man they said he was; he is not a warmonger or greedy vulture capitalist. Now, Obama is racing to put the genie back in the bottle. The electoral map is shrinking for him while expanding for Romney. Paul Begala recently admitted the Obama campaign has given up on North Carolina. Meanwhile, GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan recently campaigned in Pennsylvania, a state once thought to be totally out of the reach of Romney and Ryan. According to RealClearPolitics.com's electoral map, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania are now toss-up states and North Carolina is leaning Romney. With the wind at this back, Romney can now consolidate his resources in the most crucial states -- Ohio, Virginia, Colorado and perhaps even Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. And with the foreign policy debate in the rear view mirror, he can get back to the economy -- his strongest issue and advantage over the president. Opinion: So, who's going to win? In the latest WSJ/NBC poll Romney has a six point advantage on which candidate is better at dealing with the economy, a seven point lead on jobs and unemployment and a whopping 13 point lead on fixing the deficit. Romney has the momentum. Barring any October surprise, he will likely keep the momentum. With less than two weeks to go, it may matter less what Romney and Obama say but where they say it. That will tell us all we need to know about how the campaigns feel heading into the home stretch. The opinions in this commentary are solely those of William J. Bennett.

William Bennett: President Obama was aggressive in final debate, but it may be too late . Bennett: Some pundits think Mitt Romney acted more presidential than Obama . He says the electoral map is shrinking for Obama while expanding for Romney . Bennett: Barring any surprises, Romney will likely keep the momentum .

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- A man who stayed in a Las Vegas hotel room where ricin was found is in critical condition at a hospital, where he has been since mid-February, said a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department official. A man is in critical condition after exposure to ricin at a Las Vegas, Nevada, hotel. Deputy Chief Kathy Suey said the man called from the hotel asking for medical help on February 14, saying he was suffering from respiratory distress, and was transported to the hospital. Since he was gone from the extended-stay hotel and not paying his rent, managers began eviction procedures, Suey said at a news conference. A friend or relative of his who came to remove his belongings from the room found the ricin Thursday, she said. Watch Suey describe how the ricin was found » . Tests confirm the substance found in the room was ricin, police said, but it remains a mystery how it got there. Suey said the man hospitalized was not a suspect and police don't know whether the ricin was his, or if he even knew it was there. The FBI said it was treating the matter as a criminal investigation and terrorism was not suspected. Pets were found in the room, Suey said. "Two of those pets are fine. One of the pets is deceased or was put down," she said. There was no evidence that the animal died from ricin exposure, Suey said. "The dog that was in there was without food and water for a week." She said the man was unable to speak to police, but a doctor at the briefing said he held out hope the man might recover enough to provide information. "Usually, if [ricin victims] survive the first three to five days, they usually do fine," said Dr. Lawrence Sands of the Southern Nevada Health District, emphasizing that he didn't know specifics of the case. As little as 500 micrograms of the toxin -- an amount the size of the head of a pin -- can kill an adult. Watch how ricin poisoning affects people » . Suey said seven people -- including apartment management and police officers -- had been taken to the hospital to be checked out after the ricin was discovered. None showed signs of poisoning, and all had been released, she said. Symptoms of ricin poisoning can include anything from difficulty breathing, fever, cough, nausea and sweating to severe vomiting and dehydration. "We did have enough ricin to be of concern," said Capt. Joe Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Lombardo said areas of the hotel exposed to the toxin have been decontaminated. The discovery of ricin alarms law-enforcement agencies because authorities in several countries have investigated links between suspect extremists and ricin. Ricin is a poison that can be made from waste left over after processing castor beans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The toxin can come in the form of a mist or pellet and can be dissolved in water or weak acid, according to the CDC. The agency also said the toxin works by getting inside the cells of a person's body and preventing the cells from making the proteins they need. Lombardo said authorities found castor beans in the room and also powder in a small vial. He said ricin is not illegal to own, but it's illegal if processed to be used for poisoning someone. Ricin has limited medical uses -- it can be used to kill cancer cells and bone marrow transplants. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, said that while a small amount can kill somebody if injected, tons of it would be needed to use as a mass terrorism tool. Gupta said there are three ways of exposure to ricin: inhalation, ingestion or injections. If inhaled, people may develop fever, a cough, nausea, fluid in the lungs and organ failure. There is no specific test for exposure and no antidote once exposed, he said. There have been other reported cases involving ricin in the United States. In January 2005, the FBI arrested an Ocala, Florida, man with no known ties to terrorists or extremists after agents found ricin in the home he lives in with his mother. Ricin was found in February 2004 in the mailroom of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. The mailroom handles correspondence addressed to U.S. lawmakers. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.

NEW: Hospitalized man not a suspect, police say; it's unknown if ricin was his . Hotel guest called for medical help, has been hospitalized since February 14 . Police official says "100 percent ricin" found in Las Vegas, Nevada, hotel room . FBI says there's no link to terrorism .

Washington (CNN) -- Senate Democrats proposed a $110 billion measure Thursday to put off mandatory across-the-board spending cuts set to take effect March 1. The package made public by Senate Democratic leaders calls for replacing the so-called sequester cuts with a combination of increased tax revenue from millionaires, ending agriculture subsidies and reducing defense spending after the war in Afghanistan ends. Republican leaders in Congress have demanded that Democrats come up with a plan for avoiding the imminent cuts, technically known as sequestration. However, the GOP opposes any increase in tax rates or other steps to bring in more tax revenue, saying the nation needs to reduce the cost of government. Kerry: Cuts would hit foreign aid, diplomatic security . "I would respectfully disagree that the American people are going to suddenly demand more tax hikes," an aide to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said. A White House statement said that opposing what it called the balanced plan by Senate Democrats would amount to prioritizing "tax loopholes that benefit the very few at the expense of middle- and working-class Americans." The issue extends a long-running political dispute over government spending and federal deficits that dominated President Barack Obama's first term, as well as his successful re-election campaign last year. Republicans were forced to concede on their steadfast opposition to increased taxes by agreeing in January to higher rates on top income earners as part of a deal to avoid some of the harshest impacts of what was known as the fiscal cliff, which included the sequester cuts and automatic tax hikes. Napolitano: Spending cuts will hurt homeland security . That agreement put off action on the sequester cuts, which were mandated by a 2011 agreement to raise the federal debt ceiling. The purpose of the deep cuts to all discretionary programs and the military was to motivate Congress to reach a comprehensive deficit reduction agreement that would replace it. However, such a deal has proved impossible, leading to the imminent application of $85 billion in spending cuts for 2013 and almost $1 trillion over 10 years. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other officials warn that the cuts will have a dire impact on government operations and military readiness. The Pentagon would absorb about half of the reductions. While the White House and congressional leaders from both parties oppose sequestration, the approach for averting it has become the latest congressional showdown involving ideological differences over the size and role of government. House Speaker John Boehner noted on Thursday that the House passed bills last year to prevent the cuts from affecting the military, but Senate Democrats never acted. "Those days are over," Boehner declared, but he also signaled a willingness to negotiate with the Senate over any legislation it sends over. "It's time for the Senate to do their work. We can ... if they're willing to pass a bill, we'll find some way to work with them to address this problem." Panetta: World is watching U.S. on budget . The plan unveiled Thursday by Senate Democrats would just replace the cuts through the end of this year, leaving time for possible negotiations on a broader deficit-reduction package that would eliminate sequestration entirely. The Democrats proposed $54 billion in revenue by implementing the "Buffett rule," a principle by billionaire financier Warren Buffett that he shouldn't pay a lower tax rate than his secretary. Under it, anyone with adjusted income of more than $1 million after charitable deductions would pay a minimum 30% tax rate. Other revenue measures in the package include ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and closing tax loopholes for the oil industry. In addition, the package would cut military funding starting in 2015, following the planned end of U.S. combat operations next year in Afghanistan. It would also end agriculture subsidies for a total saving of $55 billion. "Billions in direct payment subsidies are paid out even in good times and for crops farmers aren't even growing," explained Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Panetta said Wednesday that Congress needs to put aside party and ideological divisions that he called "the greatest concern I have for our national security." He expressed concern over how the world will view the United States if it fails to avert sequestration. "What (other countries) worry about is what I worry about, which is whether or not we can govern and whether or not we can face the tough decisions that have to be made and resolve those," Panetta said. CNN's Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

NEW: The White House urges Republicans to favor the middle class over tax loopholes . The plan raises taxes on millionaires, ends farm subsidies and cuts defense spending . An aide to Sen. Mitch McConnell says Americans oppose higher taxes . Spending cuts to take effect March 1 absent congressional action to avert them .

(CNN) -- Ten years after the end of its civil war, Angola, which is heading to the polls Friday, has been transformed into a regional African power with a strong economy, but poverty is still widespread. Angola experienced double digit growth in GDP annually in the period 2002-2008. In the last five of these years, average annual growth was at 17%, which more than doubled the size of the economy. The country is the second largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, and the third biggest economy, after South Africa and Nigeria. Do these tremendous growth rates mean that Angola has escaped the so-called resource curse, where oil resources are detrimental to growth? Is Angola likely to continue growing at these fast rates, and perhaps catch up to the largest economies in the region in a few years' time? Is Angola a success in terms of development and poverty reduction? It is not uncommon for countries that come out of a civil war to grow at very high rates. The growth seen in the period 2002-2008 may thus reflect the end of the civil war in 2002. Read related: Post-war generation emerges as Angola votes . If there is a tendency to blame all that is wrong in Angola on its war legacy, perhaps the end of the war should be credited for things that have been going well? It is always problematic to speculate about future growth rates. After 2009, growth has dropped to around 3% per year and projections for the coming years are in the range 5-8%. There are many reasons for this significant drop, the financial crisis and oil price development are part of the explanation. But in the longer perspective, there may be more fundamental structural challenges to Angolan growth and development. In particular, research shows that resource-rich countries with little political accountability have trouble converting resources into development. Angola scores still low on governance indicators, and the coming elections seem unlikely to challenge the over 30-year-long reign of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Watch: Angola's economic potential . The fact the Angolan economy is the most concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa also makes growth vulnerable. The profitability of the oil sector renders diversification difficult in any economy. But is the Angolan government really trying to diversify? An important question is how government reliance on oil rents affects political incentives to diversify the economy. Business environment indicators for the country remain poor, while investment is hampered by a lack of education and institutional challenges. Do the poor care about the overall growth rate of the Angolan economy? Experience shows that growth reduces poverty less in countries with high initial inequality. And oil-driven growth in a country with low political accountability is susceptible to wealth concentration rather than redistribution. Employment in the oil sector is typically also too limited to produce widespread economic opportunities. Read also: Ghana's oil discovery: blessing or curse? We really don't know too much about the situation of the poor in Angola today. The last real census in the country was conducted in 1970. The last figures on poverty are from 2000, putting the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day at 54%. Angola ranks as 148 out of 187 countries on the Human Development index. Based on a household sample, INE estimated a poverty rate of 37% in 2008. However, it is difficult to assess how the poverty line was constructed. As data is not directly comparable to previous studies, it is also problematic to analyze development over time. In spite of this, the President claims that the poverty rate has been reduced from 70 to 37% from 2002 to 2008. A census is due to be held next year. Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, it takes place after the coming elections. Some data of a more limited nature do provide a window onto the situation of the poor in Angola. In 2010, the Angolan NGO Development Workshop and the Chr. Michelsen Institute conducted a survey of microcredit clients in Luanda. Results suggest that business profitability among the poor is constrained by a lack of education and health and by corruption. This indicates that the factors that restrain dynamism in non-oil segments of the Angolan economy, also act as constraints on the very survival of the urban poor. Without structural and political reforms of these constraints, it is hard to believe that an election in and of itself will change the lives of the poor. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Arne Wiig and Ivar Kolstad.

Oil-rich Angola is holding its second peacetime elections on Friday . The country has experienced strong growth in the years after the end of its civil war . Resource-rich countries with little political accountability have trouble converting resources into development . Business profitability among the poor is constrained by lack of education and health services .

(CNN) -- When Mitt Romney took the stage at the annual VFW convention Tuesday, he had a chance to finally offer serious ideas for strengthening U.S. foreign policy and how, if elected president, he would keep our nation secure. He didn't take it. Missing yet another opportunity to show meaningful leadership, the former Massachusetts governor instead chose to offer more empty rhetoric cloaked in patriotic bravado. His campaign appears more focused on mocking the successful foreign policy of President Barack Obama, who has undoubtedly made America safer, than on revealing exactly how a Romney administration would engage with the world. Refusing to acknowledge our nation's recent successes in global leadership, Romney again on Tuesday pivoted to the shallow rhetoric at the core of his campaign: boasts of American exceptionalism with no mention of partnership with our allies; promises of radically increased military spending without clarity about its mission; and provocative language toward countries such as China and Russia that even a member of his own party has criticized. Romney camp disavows anonymous quote in British paper . Tuesday's speech served as a clear reminder of why Romney so rarely speaks of national security, which is normally a sacred and central issue for Republican candidates. Perhaps it's because when he does, he says things such as "Russia is our No. 1 geopolitical foe." Romney has done little to show he has the judgment and vision to lead and protect this nation in a dangerous world. He seems to know it, too, and has surrounded himself with an array of Bush administration veterans, most of whom are best known for their roles in sending the United States into a war in Iraq that has cost this nation trillions of dollars and the lives of 4,488 brave members of the U.S. military. Roughly 70% of Romney's foreign policy team comes from the Bush/Cheney neo-con all-star team. His few foreign policy quips on the stump and his unwillingness to stand apart from the Bush administration's high-profile failures raise serious questions about the direction he would lead U.S. foreign policy as president. So far during this campaign, Romney has threatened a trade war with China and has vowed to increase the military's budget by a staggering $2.1 trillion over the next 10 years, although he won't say how he'll pay for it or what he'll do with the additional spending. He has repeatedly criticized Obama's plan to bring U.S. forces home from Afghanistan by 2014, only to eventually endorse that strategy in his speech Tuesday. Is Romney getting Swift-boated? Romney has said he'd simply refuse to negotiate with the Taliban and instead would pursue and target each of its members across the world. That's a strategy that even Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, has said is a bad idea. Romney's record of reckless rhetoric stands in sharp contrast with Obama's successful foreign policy and national security strategy -- one that doesn't rely solely on strong military action but smartly invests in diplomacy and development and focuses on real threats instead of political convenience. Under Obama's leadership, we have destroyed al Qaeda's leadership and ended Osama bin Laden's reign of terror. Obama has fulfilled his promise to get U.S. forces out of Iraq and set a course out of Afghanistan, wisely focusing U.S. resources on more urgent threats to our national security. He has stood firmly by our friend, Israel, deepening our defense and security partnership and taking strong steps to deter Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability. He has repaired our alliances and restored America's standing and credibility in the world -- as a leader not only in force but in values. Romney calls for a change in hearts, not gun laws . Without question, Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have made our country safer. They have led a national security strategy that is wisely cautious and stands in sharp contrast with Romney's wildly dangerous rhetoric. If Romney has any serious ideas about how to make the United States safer, now is the time for him to offer them. If he is to lead our country, or even just his party, Romney must move past applause lines and catch up to a world that has moved on from Cold War-style fear mongering and feckless grandstanding. Voters should demand better from a man who would be president. Romney walks political tightrope on foreign policy . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Chris Coons.

Chris Coons: Romney's speech was empty rhetoric cloaked in patriotic bravado . Coons: He promises radically increased military spending without clarity about mission . Romney's foreign policy team, he writes, are Bush/Cheney neocons who got U.S. into Iraq . Coons: Romney must move past applause lines and stop Cold War-style fear mongering .

(CNN) -- James Bond just turned 50 -- in movie years, anyhow ("Dr No" came out in 1962) -- and in "Skyfall" Her Majesty's sexiest spy seems to be on the verge of a midlife crisis: He's stuck in a rut, feeling redundant and getting self-conscious about his age. He even considers early retirement, plunging to his apparent doom after he's shot in the movie's thunderously exciting pre-credit sequence. Spoiler alert: 007 survives to fight another day, but not until he's treated himself to an unofficial sabbatical, an opportunity for recuperation and introspection. Not that anyone goes to a Bond movie for navel-gazing, but there's definitely a more serious undercurrent this time around, a certain hankering after relevance that must surely be attributed to the presence of Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes. No disrespect to Michael Apted, Lee Tamahori and the rest, but Mendes represents a step up in pedigree for a franchise that's usually been the preserve of action specialists. Photos: Becoming James Bond . Mendes is out to make more than just another Bond film, that much is clear. "Skyfall" features all the usual elements -- the chases, the girls, the arch villain -- but recalibrated with intelligence and a less smug, more searching sensibility. You might even detect a hint of Lester Burnham, the disenchanted, depressed 50-something played by Kevin Spacey in Mendes' "American Beauty," in the disaffected and mildly disabled Bond played by Daniel Craig this time out. Returning to MI6 in its hour of greatest need, 007 can't shoot straight, fails his physical and his psych test, too. But M (Judi Dench) knows he's still the man for the job even if her latest government overseer (Ralph Fiennes) seems to think they're both relics headed for the scrapyard. Scripted by Bond specialists Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, this time with a significant assist from John Logan ("Hugo"; "The Aviator"), "Skyfall" cobbles together bits and pieces from many another thriller, sometimes more loosely than we might like, and draws in particular from "The Dark Knight" -- but for my money Mendes gets the balance between light and dark more nearly right than Christopher Nolan managed in this year's most overbearing blockbuster. This is a movie of gleaming surfaces -- veteran DP Roger Deakins turns a glass skyscraper at night into a funhouse hall of mirrors, and a floating Macau casino is like an oasis in the black sea. After all the globetrotting, "Skyfall" brings the action back home to Britain -- and Deakins finds a different kind of beauty in the crags and lochs of Scotland. Just on a pictorial level, it's enticing in a way few CGI spectaculars can match. (The credit sequence alone is among the most lustrous in the entire 007 canon.) Bond girls through the years . Mendes gambles big on a last act that cuts out all the gadgets and gizmos, brings everything down to bare bones and ties the action to Bond's own history. He pulls it off, in part because this apparently immortal series desperately needed someone to take a risk, and because Mendes' class really comes through in the performances. Judi Dench is probably incapable of being bad, but M is a real character this time, with emotions, as well as convictions, and she hits every note just so. Ben Whishaw is a breath of fresh air as a youthful Q, and Craig himself remains the first 007 who might conceivably take down Sean Connery in hand-to-hand combat. Then there's Javier Bardem, one-upping even his flamboyant psychopath from "No Country for Old Men." The only thing banal about his villain Silva is his name. It would be a sin to say too much about this character -- discover him for yourself -- but Bardem's outré performance is simply delicious. He's a warped mama's boy who fancies himself, whisper it, Bond's mirror image. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a Bond movie so much. By taking a good hard look at itself and going back to first principles, "Skyfall" pulls off something quite special. This is Bond resurrected, redeemed and reinvigorated, ready to face a new half-century.

"Skyfall" marks the 50th year of the Bond franchise . Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes helms the film . Critic says it has been a long time since he has enjoyed a Bond film this much .

(CNN) -- "Two professors, both alike in dignity, in fair Geneva where we lay our scene." When it is finally written, the story of one of the greatest scientific discoveries of our age may begin something like this. Last month, two eminent professors -- Peter Higgs and Francois Englert -- were jointly awarded one of science's greatest honours: the Nobel Prize in Physics. The award came on the back of the dramatic announcement last year that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), based in Geneva, had made an astonishing discovery: a new particle, a Higgs Boson, had been comprehensively proven to exist. Physicists around the world rejoiced -- some wept openly. Years of speculation, theory and research had suddenly been validated. In typical Scandinavian understatement, Staffan Normark, permanent secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said "This year's prize is about something small that makes all the difference." The discovery came as a major puzzle piece in the way physicists understand the universe. The "Standard Model" of physics, which some regard as a "theory of almost everything" suffered from a significant "missing link" before the discovery of the Higgs Boson. Now there seemed to be a reason why particles have mass; now we had a key to understanding our 4% of the universe and perhaps access to understanding the other 96% of the universe as well. But just as one set of answers were being revealed, more questions immediately presented themselves. CNN Labs spoke to some of the world's top physicists about what the discovery of the Higgs Boson means, and what questions now need to be addressed. Joel Butler, a scientist at the prestigious Fermilab laboratory in Illinois said: "The big question is why the Higgs (particle), with a mass more than 100 times that of the proton, is so light. That question is not answered by our picture of the universe" Jon Butterworth, Head of Physics and Astronomy at University College London, says that in his view: "There are issues like what is dark matter? (And) why is the universe mostly matter not antimatter?" Hitoshi Murayama, a professor of physics at UC Berkeley, says: "The main question is this: we have never seen an elementary particle without spin. Electron, quarks, photon, etc all have spins ... The Higgs boson may actually have spin but it is spinning in extra dimensions of space we cannot see. We really need to know the true nature and context of this newly discovered particle." To answer these questions the Large Hadron Collider will soon be joined by another massive experimental facility -- the International Linear Collider (ILC). Like the LHC, the ILC will be a vast machine that stretches for miles beneath the earth. A site for the ILC has yet to be determined. The history of science is replete with machines that have helped scientists make significant breakthroughs, providing the kind of quantifiable, testable, reproducible data science requires to progress. From Marie Curie's ionization chamber used in the discovery of spontaneous radioactivity, to Cathode ray tubes which led to the discovery of the electron, to Geiger counters and more recently the Large Hadron Collider, discoveries have come from equipment both big and small; simple and complex. The ILC sits as the latest in a long line of machines designed to advance physics, but what exactly will it do that the LHC cannot? Tim Meyer, Head of Strategic Planning and Communications at TRIUMF, Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, says that it will be able to produce many more Higgs particles than the vast collider in Geneva, and will offer new levels of accuracy. "The ILC will be able to study the Higgs precisely," he said. "It will be a Higgs factory and will be able to make measurements of the Higgs' properties with 3% relative precision as opposed to the LHC's 25% relative precision, people believe ... The ILC could 'crack open the Higgs' and reveal the mysteries of nature's first spin-zero particle." Brian Foster, the European Regional Director for the International Linear Collider, says that it is not impossible that the vast machine could help us discover an overarching theory of everything. "If we are lucky, the ILC can detect a whole new family of particles that might help us to realize Einstein's dream of uniting all the theories of physics into one overarching and conceptually simple theory," Foster says. A decision to begin construction on the International Linear Collider is currently expected by 2015. Monique Rivalland contributed to this article .

The International Linear Collider aims to "discover an overarching theory of everything" The vast new facility will increase understanding of the Higgs Boson, commonly known as the "God particle" Research into the particle led to the awarding of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics .

(CNN) -- When it comes to social media's heavy hitters, there are no bigger players than Facebook or Twitter, right? Not if you're in South Africa. Mobile network Mxit claims to have nearly 10 million users in the country, making it South Africa's most popular social media platform by far, eclipsing Facebook's six million users and Twitter's 1.1 million subscribers. Founded seven years ago by Namibian-born software developer Herman Heunis, Mxit has grown from an instant messaging application into a global mobile social network. The handset-agnostic network is tapping Africa's booming mobile market to serve a growing community of users and developers. Mxit users can chat with their contacts, exchange photos and use a digital currency to buy virtual goods, while aspiring entrepreneurs can find a large audience for their applications and services. Speaking to CNN before his recent resignation from the business he bought in September 2011, former CEO Alan Knott-Craig said he was still astonished by the power of mobile and how engaged the millions of Mxit users are. "Firstly they're looking to meet people, secondly they're looking for attention, they want to be heard or want to be seen," said Knott-Craig. "And lastly, people are looking to have fun, they're looking for entertainment and there's only one thing in their life: the cell phone -- there's no iPad, PC, XBox or TV, there's just the phone and Mxit is that escape." The company says its users transfer between 500 and 850 million messages every day. That's roughly double the number of tweets sent daily on a global basis. The average user now spends 85 minutes a week using Mxit and logs on up to four times a day. Knott-Craig says the statistics prove that the growing popularity of mobile internet has transformed the way people communicate across Africa. "Before mobile Africa really was a dark continent -- I mean literally people couldn't communicate," Knott-Craig explained. He added: "In South Africa 17 years ago, before mobile phones came along, there were five million phones out of a population of 35 million people. Now there are 60 million phones out of a population of 60 million people. "So literally, with the advent of mobile, it's gone from almost a billion people not being able to talk to anyone except those they see, to being able to talk to anyone regardless of where they are. "So that's the first revolution. We have no legacy. No existing cable operator or TV player or ADSL -- there's nothing, there's just mobile. "The other thing is the fact that credit cards are just non-existent. You'll never build a big business by billing people via credit cards in Africa and probably in all emerging markets, and again that problem is being solved within an African context by trying to build the systems to sell prepaid airtime. "Mobile succeeded in that because it unlocks the communications grid of the continent. The next step is to unlock the economic grid via mobile payments." So how does Mxit make money? Its primary revenue isn't generated through advertising, which is unusual compared to other social networks. Instead it makes most of its money by selling content to its users. The site acts as a marketplace for hundreds of millions of micro-payments using its digital currency, Moola. Around 13% of active users are spenders and use Moola to buy skinz, wallpapers, games and music. Read also: Web savvy Africans fuel growth in online shopping . "We make money in the same way that Facebook makes money, which is basically advertising and content, except we do it in an inverse ratio," said Knott-Craig. "I think they make 90% of their money from advertising and 10% from content -- we make 70% of our money from selling third-party developer content, and 30% from advertising." Knott-Craig stepped down as CEO in October 2012, citing a difference of opinion with shareholders. "While the shareholders and I share the same vision, we differ on how to get there," he said in a statement. But although he's left the company, Knott-Craig has described Mxit as Africa's biggest tech success story -- and one he believes will continue to grow. "You can build a big global tech company out of Africa. It doesn't have to come out of San Francisco and I didn't know that before because I hadn't seen that before," he said. Claire Brennan contributed to this report.

Mxit is South Africa's most popular social media platform . Alan Knott-Craig recently stepped down as CEO . He describes mobile as a "revolution" in Africa . "You can build a big global tech company out of Africa," he says .

(CNN) -- It takes a real man to make the moves on the wife of the most powerful man in the biggest country in the world. Especially when the wife is a civilian major general, her husband is sitting next to her, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing, hobnobbing with the President of the United States and the entire event is being televised. But if 2014 has taught us anything it is that Vladimir Putin is a real man. From grabbing Crimea to finagling a featured role in the Olympic opening ceremonies for his gymnast girlfriend, he has flexed his political muscles as often as his pecs, and according to The Guardian newspaper has become "a heart-throb among many Chinese women for his macho, man-of-action image." And the social media-obsessed hordes on the Internet loved it. They loved him draping a shawl over the chilly shoulders of Peng Liyuan on Monday. They loved her taking it. They loved that China's censors later concluded it didn't show their leader, President Xi Jinping, in a good light as a husband (too inattentive) and decided to block the footage within China. Never mind Ebola, ISIS, a historic greenhouse gas deal reached between China and the United States, or anything else about the actual meeting of world leaders that Putin, Xi and President Barack Obama were attending. This small act of courtesy by the scourge of Crimea showed him as adept at grabbing headlines as he is neighboring territories. What does Putin know that others, like Obama, for whom the China meeting is more of a respite from the news than a high-profile visit, do not? Perhaps it is that the viewing public is essentially an adolescent boy. Or more properly, the audiences of the world are -- despite cultural and demographic differences -- pretty much just like the idiots that sat in the back of your eighth-grade history class snoozing through the substance but tittering through anything off-color and titillated by explosion, fights and mayhem. It used to be said that your better newspapers were written to be readable at an eighth-grade reading level. Nowadays in the world of immersive social media, 140-character tweets and never-ending video from smartphones and live feeds worldwide, what does reading have to do with it. The audience giggles and laughs for the same reason they did in Miss Groenwald's class. Because everyone else was doing it. How else do you explain that television producers and Web pundits thought that one subject worthy of debate was a video showing Obama chewing gum at the same APEC meeting in Beijing. Trade talks? Please. The President appeared undignified to some Chinese observers with a taste for the trivial. Said one Chinese social media commentator, "We made this meeting so luxurious, with singing and dancing, but see Obama, stepping out of his car chewing gum like an idler." Needless to say, some of America's more right-wing news organizations picked up on the story because it showed Obama in a bad light -- as if plunging popularity ratings and a drubbing in the polls were not enough. Ha. The teacher's socks don't match, Mindy has last year's backpack. That's way more important than, like, geopolitics. This is not entirely new. When George H.W. Bush threw up on the Prime Minister of Japan on a trip awhile back or when Gerald Ford stumbled down a flight of stairs even longer ago, the gaffes became memes, defining these two notable public servants more so than many of their biggest accomplishments. But in recent years, the frequency and ridiculousness of the incidents seem to have accelerated. Whether it is George W. Bush massaging German Chancellor Angela Merkel's shoulders at a summit, or Obama grabbing a selfie with Denmark's attractive Prime Minister at a memorial service for Nelson Mandela, to the apparent displeasure of Michelle Obama, world leader outtakes have become pure click bait. Which is why tonight when you turn on the news, some of it is likely to look a lot like "The Global Elite's Funniest Home Videos." But as you gawk and click and click again, remember it's not the media that are at fault. It's you. You're the one who chose to sit in the back of the class with the other nitwits.

David Rothkopf: It takes a real man, Putin, to "make moves" on China leader's wife at APEC . Putin put shawl on her, and media went nuts because public is an adolescent boy, he says . Forget climate deal, ISIS, Ebola, he says, when focus is on Obama chewing gum . Rothkopf: These nonevents have increased in recent years, and we're to blame .

Madrid (CNN) -- Swooping in at 4 o'clock in the morning, Spanish police arrested six Spanish men on suspicion of recruiting and sending 26 radical Islamic fighters for terrorist groups in Syria, Mali and Libya, the Interior Ministry said Friday. The arrests came in the Spanish enclave of Melilla, on Morocco's north coast, where a Spaniard and two Frenchmen were arrested just last March on similar charges. The suspected leader in the cell disrupted on Friday had returned to Spain after fighting in Syria and training in a terrorist camp in northern Mali, the Interior Ministry said. The movement of Islamic militants from Europe and North Africa to conflict zones such as Syria, Mali or Libya -- and their eventual return to Spain to potentially carry out terrorist attacks -- has been a prime concern for authorities battling terrorism. The cell disrupted on Friday had recruited and sent at least 24 Moroccans and two Spaniards to conflict zones, according to authorities. But it was planning to expand its activities, to acquire weapons and manuals for preparing explosives, the Interior Ministry said, "which would have increased their level of danger, turning them into a serious threat to national security." The latest arrests coincide with the final day of an Interpol conference, held in Granada, Spain, this week, on the problem of terrorist fighters who cross international borders. More than 130 security experts from 33 nations are attending, a separate Interior Ministry statement said. The suspected leader of the cell disrupted on Friday is Benaissa Laghmouchi Baghdadi, 42, who spent about eight months in Syria and recently returned to Spain, via Mali, said an Interior Ministry spokesman, who by custom is not identified. He was among the first Spaniards to be detected as working with terrorist groups in the broad Sahel region in northern Africa. The other five suspects arrested were identified as Mustafa Al Lal Mohamed, 42; Kamal Mohamed Dris, 32; Rachid Abdel Nahet Hamed, 37; Mohamed Mohamed Benali, 26; and Mustafa Zizaoui Mohand, 26. All of the suspects were being flown to Madrid, to be taken to National Police headquarters. Arraignments are expected on Monday. Last January, a suspected Islamist militant returning to Europe from the war in Syria was arrested at the Malaga airport in southern Spain as a potential "threat to national security," the Interior Ministry said in a statement at the time. March 11 marked the 10th anniversary of the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800. The Spanish courts convicted 14 Islamic militants for their roles in the bombings on morning commuter trains, along with four Spaniards who trafficked in explosives used in the attacks. A further seven key Islamist suspects blew themselves up three weeks after the train attacks as police closed in on their hideout in a Madrid suburb. Spain has arrested more than 472 suspected Islamic militants since the train bombings. There are now more than 1,800 police and security officials dedicated to fighting terrorism, far more than at the time of the attacks, Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said last March. On Thursday, Spain's National Court sentenced Mudhar Hussein Almalki, 53, a Saudi national, to eight years in prison for of membership in a terrorist organization, according to a copy of the sentence viewed by CNN. He was convicted of using the Internet, from his home in Valencia, Spain, to spread terrorist ideology with the aim of training militants, for at least six years until his arrest in 2012, the sentence said. He was legally residing in Spain at the time and had no prior criminal record, the sentence said. Spain is on a Level 2 anti-terrorist alert, unchanged since 2009, on a scale of four terrorist prevention levels. Level 2 signifies a "probable risk" of another attack, the Interior Ministry said. Melilla is a Spanish city with about 85,000 residents. It was in the news earlier this week when about 1,000 sub-Saharan migrants rushed the fence from the Moroccan side, and some 500 made it over and into Spain, with the aim of finding work in Spain or in the European Union, authorities said. As police escorted the suspects from the homes where they were detained, crowds formed and some people heckled the police for making the arrests, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

Arrests came in Spanish enclave of Melilla, on Morocco's north coast . Police: Cell recruited, sent at least 24 Moroccans, 2 Spaniards to conflict zones . March 11 marked 10th anniversary of Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people .

(CNN) -- Every debate seems destined to have a break-out meme. In the first round, it was Big Bird. This time it was Mitt Romney's binder full of women, which instantly became a trending hashtag, Twitter handle, a Facebook group and a Tumblr. (Talking about his effort to hire women for his cabinet, Romney said "And I brought us whole binders full of, of women.") Other popular, bipartisan bits of mockery covered the far livelier and sometimes cringe-inducing tone of the debate, shout outs to Mr. Gas, Mr. Coal and Mr. Oil, the candidates difficulty saying the name Lorraine and the audience members themselves. Twitter says there were 7.2 million tweets during the 90-minute debate. The most popular moments were an immigration question, Obama's comment to Romney on China and Romney's response to a question about raising taxes. Here are some of our favorite tweets of the night. Share yours in the comments. Elon James White -- I feel like Obama's staff stabbed him in the chest w/ the adrenaline needle from Pulp Fiction. THAT DUDE IS AWAKE! #twib2012 #debates . adamsorensen -- Is there anything more awkward than putting two guys on stools 10 feet apart on a huge stage and asking them to look natural for 90 minutes? Andy Borowitz -- Romney: "Jeremy, if you are illegal, you can get a job working at my house." #debate . Brian Braiker -- i hope the guy with a mustache has a spot in line. and i hope he stands up to say "Mr President, I mustache you a question." Dane Cook -- Dear everyone in the town hall #debate. Stop reading your questions off your cards like its a hostage note. Chase Mitchell ‏-- We're about three seconds away from the knife fight from "Beat It."#debates . dansinker -- I FEEL REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE RIGHT NOW. Samantha Bee -- When Obama is talking, Romney makes the same face my Catholic grandmother would make at a Wiccan wedding. #debate . Matt Roller -- Before you accuse Romney of not caring about the unemployed, keep in mind he's been trying to get a new job for a YEAR. #debate . ditzkoff -- Mitt Romney read very different Mr. Men books than I did. #mrcoal #mrgas #mroil . pourmecoffee ‏-- Romney: I am pro-choice, but only for deporting yourself. Jordan Zakarin -- I agree with Romney that we really don't need another 'Fast and the Furious' sequel. Enough, Vin Diesel. Bipartisan consensus! Patton Oswalt -- "Binders Full of Women" is my favorite Motley Crue album. #debate . Adam Sternbergh -- "Binders full of women" is what they find in a serial killer's apartment. Steve Agee -- Fonzie had binders full of women too. #debate #littleblackbook . Elise Foley -- Oh god, I just realized that now people will dress as binders for Halloween. Bilge Ebiri -- Obama: "I passed a law allowing women to get equal pay." Romney: "I hired women once." #debate . Josh Tyrangiel -- Romney just locked up the Welsh illegal vote. ThePresObama [Not the real Obama] -- Romney is very tough on China. He will only eat off of the most rare and expensive sets available. #debate2012 . Clay Johnson -- Watching the debates to figure out who to vote for is like watching the World Series to figure out which team to root for. Dave Weigel -- This panel of undecided voters from Daily Kos threads is asking some good questions. Pat Healy ‏-- Fred Armisen was great tonight as every audience member.#Debate . David Weinberger -- Well, there goes the gangbanger vote! Nice job, Mr. President! #debate . Feministing -- Guns don't kill people. Single mothers kill people. Andy Borowitz -- It's as if the Romney from the first debate is tied up in a Scooby-Doo warehouse somewhere. #debate . Team Coco -- You know who won this #debate? The shadowy townhall industry. Jesse Tyler Ferguson -- That debate was better than a real housewives reunion. CNN's Brandon Griggs contributed to this story.

The second presidential debate was spirited, providing plenty of fodder for Twitter . The town hall format gave Twitter new characters to make fun of . The second of three presidential debates was held at Hofstra University in New York .

(CNN) -- On October 29, Ed Shevlin looked out toward the Atlantic Ocean from his third-story apartment in New York's Rockaway Park. Sand-filled rain began pelting his windows in what sounded to him like a hundred pans of frying bacon. Then, the lights went out -- and stayed out -- for three weeks. The next morning, he awoke to a scene of utter destruction. Superstorm Sandy tore the sea town's boardwalk to pieces, and filled the community pool with saltwater. It forced 27 of his New York City Department of Sanitation co-workers out of their homes. Yet they were still first on the scene, -- clearing the roads so firemen and ambulances could enter -- reporting seven days a week for 14 hours a day. They worked around the clock to clear more than 500,000 tons of debris and rid neighbors of the unsettling reminder that their entire lives were now piles of garbage in the front yard. Little more than a month later, Ed stood on the ground floor of Madison Square Garden in quite a different setting. He and seven fellow sanitation workers were given tickets to attend the 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief, the most successful fund-raising concert in history. They were heroes for their community. And now they needed help. Through stories such as Ed's, viewers around the world recognized the immediate and unprecedented need across the Northeast. Generous concert donors -- hailing from all 50 states and more than 90 countries -- gave $51 million to help organizations working on the front lines of the disaster. Robin Hood was honored to be entrusted with these funds, and we have since distributed the entire proceeds from the concert to almost 400 organizations across the tri-state area. When the storm hit, and the true depth and breadth of the devastation began to emerge, we knew that the organizations we'd traditionally funded for poverty-fighting work would already be on the ground helping victims of the storm. Rather than wait for them to come to us requesting emergency food, blankets, generators, and other time-critical supplies, we made sure they had the money right away -- providing $3 million to more than 75 organizations in just a few days. Valuable time wasn't lost, and communities such as Ed's in the Rockaways could start rebuilding. As we saw in the wake of 9/11, the need slowly transitioned from emergency assistance to longer-term rebuilding and restorative services, including counseling, benefits/legal aid (such as helping people apply for FEMA funds) and physical and mental health care. But the majority of Robin Hood funds have been devoted to housing, one of the largest and most critical areas of need across the tri-state area. In New Jersey alone, more than 72,000 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. And without shelter, storm victims have an even harder time getting back on their feet. Because of this, we made a $1 million grant to the Affordable Housing Alliance in Monmouth County, New Jersey, to help purchase, transport, and install 17 newly manufactured homes for low-income residents displaced by the storm. A mother of two lived in the flood evacuation zone of Sea Bright and packed up before Sandy hit. When she returned, 5 feet of water and sand filled her home. An elderly couple forced to evacuate their house had been living in a motel for months. Both families now have brand new homes and can start the process of rebuilding their lives. Once the scope of the devastation caused by Sandy became apparent, we reactivated the Robin Hood Relief Fund -- originally created to support victims of 9/11 -- to help effectively steward funds and resources. Because of the emergency nature of the situation, the Relief Fund Committee met almost every week -- 17 times in five months -- to provide guidance and review grant applications. Our goal was to allocate all of the funds from the fund, $70.5 million, as quickly and effectively as possible. In fact, we completed the process in April with a total of 494 grants to 391 different organizations. But even though our Sandy-specific resources have been spent, the need continues. Ed Shevlin's community in Rockaway Park is still not back to normal. Neighbors await much-needed federal funding. And while the state declared that storm debris collection has officially ended, Ed and his co-workers still find remnants of Sandy destruction in their daily pickups. We continue to accept donations at the Robin Hood Fund and are encouraged by the fact that dozens of other relief organizations are still on the front lines helping. Because, as Ed will tell you, the job is nowhere close to being finished.

Need for help continues seven months after Sandy . Fund says it has distributed $70.5 million to groups helping Sandy victims . You can still donate to Robin Hood Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund .

(CNN) -- It's hard to believe, but there was a time when Apple's computers were accused of being strictly last generation. Their computers were made with clunky Power PC processors, and Windows PC owners smirked at the wheezing Mac platform. Michael Dell even famously said the whole company was so behind the times that if it were up to him, he'd euthanize it. How things change. While the rest of the industry was counting Apple out, a Steve Jobs newly returned to Apple spent the early part of the last decade quietly assembling a time machine. Following the iPad, iPhone and MacBook Air before it, the retina-display MacBook Pro announced Monday at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco is just the latest time traveler Apple has sent back to us from the future. It's a machine so shiny, so shimmering, so futuristic, so unlike anything else out there that it will take the PC-making competition at least a year to release a truly competing product. How did this even happen? How did Apple assemble its time machine, and why can't the likes of Sony, HP, Dell, Acer and Lenovo seem to catch up? Apple announces high-res laptops . There's no flux capacitor involved, and although Apple's design team, led by Jony Ive, is truly visionary, there are lots of companies with revolutionary visions of the future of computing. The difference between Apple and other computer makers is that Apple can actually build the revolutionary, magical machines it dreams up. That's Apple's real mojo. They can actualize. Apple can say to themselves that they are going to revolutionize the professional laptop, or the smartphone, or the tablet, and then not only follow through with an enviable purity of design, source all of the parts and manufacture their product in utter secrecy, then ship the resulting en masse and sell them at unheard of profit margins. No one else can. It's all in Apple's mastery of the supply chain, which is Tim Cook's particular genius. His strategy is simple: When Apple decides to go ahead and make a revolutionary new product, it buys up literally almost all of the world's stock of the components that define the gadget. This not only gives Apple massive discounts in component prices, because they are buying in extreme bulk, but it also prevents the competition from quickly releasing clones of Apple's iconic machines, or matching Apple in price without cutting corners. It happens time and time again. When Apple first released the iPhone, it took the smartphone industry a year to release a phone that was even competitive, spec-for-spec, by which time Apple had already unveiled the iPhone 3GS. Hardware manufacturers trying to compete with Apple constantly discover that they can only build competing devices off of Apple's rejected parts, or else build new factories from the ground up to manufacture the parts they need. Look at the iPad. It has no competition, 2½ years in. Last quarter, Apple sold almost 12 million iPads. Comparatively, Apple's biggest competitor -- Samsung -- sold 1.1 million tablets. Why? Companies simply can't build products as good, or Apple's stranglehold on the manufacturing supply chain prevents them from doing so. Then there's a MacBook Air. We're starting to see competitive ultrabooks a year and a half after Apple unveiled the second-gen Air, but that's only after Intel reportedly set up a massive $500 million subsidy fund to help PC makers build a MacBook Air clone. The new retina-display MacBook Pro is another such product. It's a beast of a machine all around, but its defining feature is a high-resolution display with 220 pixels per inch, each smaller than the acuity of the human eye. It's far and away the best display of any notebook or even desktop on the market, and you can bet that Apple is in control of most of the world's supply of the panels necessary to make a machine that even comes close to competing. There's a famous Ray Bradbury story called "A Sound of Thunder" in which a man travels into the prehistoric past, accidentally squashes an insect underfoot and thus indelibly changes the future forever. Apple is that time traveler. The prehistoric insect is the competition. Apple crushes it underfoot with calculated purpose, and that is how the future of computing is once again forever changed. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John Brownlee.

John Brownlee: Unveiling of a new MacBook is another sign of Apple's competitive advantage . He says Apple does more than innovate; it controls supply chain and freezes out competitors . Apple's products can then be sold at extraordinarily high profit margins, he says . Brownlee: Apple has a virtual "time machine" with which it's able to stay years ahead .

INDIO, California (CNN) -- For some concertgoers, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival really kicked into action on Day Two. Festival attendees enjoy the music Saturday, Day Two of the Coachella music festival in Indio, California. Day One was leisurely and pleasant -- the weather was mild, the acts were fairly mellow and the big headliner was Paul McCartney. On Day Two, someone took the dial and turned it up a notch, as the desert sun beat down a little harder, the music pumped a little louder and the crowds who packed the VIP tent threw a little more attitude. There were the usual celebrity sightings. Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon snuck in the back just as rapper M.I.A. hit the stage, Paris Hilton took in Travis Barker and DJ AM's set in the Sahara tent and David Hasselhoff was spotted making out with a mystery lady near the restrooms. Forty-six acts performed on five stages scattered about the grassy field of the Empire Polo Club near Palm Springs, California. Massive eco-friendly art installations fashioned from scrap metal and reclaimed wood doubled as shelter from the heat, as well as mini-stages for dancers and performance artists. There was good buzz for thenewno2, an indie-pop band fronted by Oli Hecks and Dhani Harrison, whose vocals are reminiscent of his late father, George, but warmer, and less haunting. "It's the first festival we've ever played, and our 12th gig overall," said Harrison. "Normally with festivals, people come to check you out, stand in the back, and then move on pretty quickly, even if they like you -- but people stayed! It's the best performance we've ever had." Unfortunately Fleet Foxes was not so lucky. The Seattle,Washington, group's delicate baroque harmonies were drowned out by the world music beats of Thievery Corporation's percussion section bleeding over from the neighboring main stage, as one of their female vocalists crowd-surfed. As usual, the day's line-up was a mix of up-and-coming indie artists sprinkled with tried-and-true veteran acts. The Killers have played Coachella in both capacities. The Las Vegas, Nevada, quartet received their first invitation from festival organizers in 2004, the same year their debut album, "Hot Fuss," was released. "We played at 11:30 a.m. in a tent. It was 150 degrees out, and backstage, it smelled like horse droppings," said drummer Ronnie Vannucci, referencing the fact that there are certain consequences to holding an event on a polo field in the desert. This time, as the marquee act, The Killers enjoyed their own backstage compound decked out with a white picket fence, tablecloths and festive party lights in the shape of daisies. Palm trees gently swayed in the distance, silhouetted against the desert backdrop. You could hear the crowd going crazy for a feisty M.I.A. slotted on the main stage before The Killers. Vannucci and his three bandmates had just rolled in on their tour bus from Vegas. He spoke with CNN while warming up his hands and wrists with drumming exercises. "With festivals, you have to realize the audience is not necessarily there to see YOU. So we'll play some stuff off our new album, 'Day and Age,' and work in some songs that everybody knows, like 'Mr. Brightside' from our first album." Half an hour later, The Killers took the stage, opening their set with their latest hit, "Human." Frontman Brandon Flowers soon had the crowd singing the along to the perplexing lyrics, "Are we human, or are we dancer?" At Coachella, it doesn't matter if you're human or if you're dancer. But if you're dancer, you'll probably be relegated to one of the mini-stages inside an art installation. "The first time I heard about Coachella 10 years ago, I thought, 'That could be the cool festival here in America," said Vannucci. "It's since become a successful festival with good bands, swarms of people coming in from all over the world -- even art elements. It's strange to think we're headlining one night."

46 acts perform on 5 stages at Empire Polo Club near Palm Springs, California . Massive art installations of scrap metal and wood shelter people from heat . The Killers enjoy backstage compound with picket fence, tablecloths, festive lights . Killers frontman Brandon Flowers has crowd singing the along to new hit, "Human"

(CNN) -- I still remember the chill that came over me the day my middle school history teacher showed the class a documentary about the Holocaust. Millions of Jews were systematically isolated, corralled and eventually murdered by the Nazi regime. It's a horrible blemish on the history of mankind, one that is rarely brought up lightly. It's one that is recognized in museums, dramatized in film and taught in middle schools like the one I went to nearly 30 years ago. And yet, despite my continuous exposure to the retelling of the Holocaust, it wasn't until I was in my mid-20s that I learned Hitler had also isolated, corralled and murdered gay men and lesbians during this time as well. Right now I can hear the voices ask: What does it matter? I had graduated from high school before I learned some of the greatest voices during the Harlem Renaissance and civil rights movement -- Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin -- were members of the LGBT community. It was in graduate school when I first heard the name Harvey Milk. I was a working journalist before I was told about Dave Kopay, the former NFL running back who came out in his 1977 autobiography, "The Dave Kopay Story." And now the chorus of voices ask: So what? Over the years, I am proud to say I have amassed a decent personal library. Most of the books are about history: presidential biographies, wars, social justice movements. And yet, it was only this week -- thanks to longtime civil rights activist David Mixner -- that I learned Congress once debated passing a law forcing gay men to wear tattoos and corralling those who were HIV positive into internment camps. Yes, just like the Jews. Just like the gay men who were next to those Jews in Nazi Germany but have since disappeared from our history books. It is here where the cynic wonders: Who needs to know? With the overturning of "don't ask, don't tell," the sweeping changes in marriage equality, the presence of open LGBT people working in the White House, on TV, even in professional sports, there may be some who believe the heart of homophobia no longer beats. Much in the same way others believed the burning of bras slayed sexism and the election of President Barack Obama was racism's death knell. One of the most powerful CEOs on the planet has announced he is a proud gay man, and while I may be hesitant to characterized Apple's Tim Cook proclamation "brave," it is nonetheless important. He is here. Just as Hansberry and Rustin and Milk were there -- working for the greater good, changing the course of global history, woven into the fabric of humanity. The voices may ask: What difference does it make? Let the absence of LGBT people in our retelling of our history be the reply. For if being gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender truly did not matter, why then must we fight to have our contributions recognized? Why then, when California became the first state to require our stories be included in the history books, was it met with resistance in 2011? That conservative state Assemblyman Tim Donnelly described the day the bill was signed into law "sad" as if simply learning that a group of people existed infringed upon his Constitutional rights. To be honest, Cook's announcement is no great shock to anyone who has been paying attention to the rumor mill. But by owning his truth in such a public fashion, Cook is not only rebuking the tendency many LGBT baby boomers still have to hide, but he is also refusing to allow his silence to render him hidden. When the middle school history teachers speak of him, they will have his full story to share. Going forward, chants of "who cares?" will accompany nearly every person of note who chooses to come out publicly. Even among LGBT people, shoulder shrugs will not be that uncommon, as if debates about internment camps happened in the 1880s and not the 1980s. Yes, the country is different, and being gay is no longer shocking. But it is a mistake to confuse that progress with Cook's announcement having no importance. For far too long, the story of the LGBT community has been scrubbed from our education, contributions erased and existence relegated to the poorly lit corner of bookstores under the banner "Alternative Lifestyle." We are not a "lifestyle." We are a people, and we were there. And we are here.

LZ Granderson was an adult when he learned gay people were also Nazi victims . He also learned key members of the Harlem Renaissance, civil rights movement were LGBT . Why does it matter? Granderson says it's crucial gay people not be scrubbed from history . It's important to know the full story of people such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, he says .

(CNN)Quick: Guess how old Jon Stewart is? I'll give you two hints: . Forty-ish, you say? Forty-five, maybe? Nope, 52. And isn't it incredible that someone that age -- or, anyone of any age, really -- could become the countercultural voice of multiple generations, from the millennials to the boomers. Stewart announced on Tuesday his departure as host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show." Incredibly, he'd recently started his 17th year on the show. In his signature Gen X-adjacent style, he joked that that was the longest he'd held any single job -- "by 16 years and five months." It's not like Stewart's dead. Or even gone from the show yet. That may not happen until later much later this year, he said. I feel no need to eulogize him. But the thought of nightly cable TV without him is a bit stunning -- for me, age 32, and for people of all ages, really, who get frustrated with the stilted earnestness of old-timey news programs, and who, likewise, are turned off by televised shouting matches and hype. He's a transcendent figure, in that sense. Someone who makes sense to the Snapchat set. And someone my dad might talk about over a round of golf. He'll be missed by everyone but the 2016 Republican candidates. On Wednesday morning, I asked my Facebook friends and followers what he meant to them. Several, including a former classmate, said he helped them process the 9/11 terrorist attack. "(W)hen I was a terrified college freshman on 9/11, Jon Stewart's was the voice that made sense," wrote Chelsea Samuel. A Facebook user identified as Daniel Thomas Bailey posted a photo of Stewart visiting his base in Afghanistan a decade later, in 2011. "His news is honest. He's honest," wrote a woman identified as Samina Hope. "Which is so incredibly rare in this world now. He has a genuine heart for humanity. His broadcast of a little girl with autism who he afforded the opportunity to sing with Katy Perry, will forever bring tears to my eyes." The satirical form Stewart pioneered will, of course, live on. It may well survive in Stewart's own work. In his farewell, Stewart said he was going to spend time eating meals with his family -- "who," he said, "I have heard from multiple sources, are lovely people." He also left open the idea that he could work again. "I don't have any specific plans," he said. "I've got a lot of ideas." But the form surely lives on in his impressive cast of alums. John Oliver's HBO show "Last Week Tonight" is among the finest, smartest (and awesomely angriest) pieces of social criticism that exists today. Just watch him skewer the Miss America pageant. This is sharp investigative journalism, made funny and relevant. Stephen Colbert, meanwhile, is about to get a higher profile on the "Late Show," and we can only hope that he makes that program a little edgier and more interesting than it was under the sleepy-eyed watch of David Letterman. Plus, there's always an upside to change. I hope that Stewart's departure from "The Daily Show" may usher in a new era -- in which the viewpoints of a younger generation are represented not just by old-ish white men but by actual younger people. Hopefully, too, the post-Stewart era will include more women, more racial minorities and more LGBT people. This country laughs with Stewart, Oliver and Colbert. We love them. But they don't really represent all of us. Those critiques will have their day, surely. Today, however, I think it's important to celebrate the political satire that Stewart ushered in. We've all gotten a good laugh out of it. And, importantly, our democracy is better for it. Stewart, after all, wasn't just in it for the jokes. He asked tough questions of politicians. Found ways to make uninterested people care about politics. And he did it with a zany, effortless wit. Instead of a "moment of zen," the odd-ball segment that usually concludes "The Daily Show," I'll leave you instead with this clip of Stewart's farewell to his live audience. When you hear the crowd moan, that's because they realize, too, that he was the voice of so many generations. And, thankfully, his was a voice that didn't take itself too seriously.

John Sutter: Jon Stewart is the voice of millennials as well as baby boomers . He will be missed as he departs from his post at "The Daily Show" But hopefully this will usher in a more-diverse era of American satire, Sutter says .

Yangon, Myanmar (CNN) -- Buddhist monks and others armed with swords and machetes Friday stalked the streets of a city in central Myanmar, where sectarian violence that has left about 20 people dead has begun to spread to other areas, according to local officials. Members of the Buddhist and Muslim communities in Meiktila township have clashed this week after a dispute between a Muslim gold shop owner and two Buddhist sellers Wednesday ignited simmering communal tensions. Rioters have set fire to houses, schools and mosques, prompting thousands of residents to flee their homes amid unrest that had echoes of sectarian troubles that killed scores of people in western Myanmar last year. Late Friday night, President Thein Sein announced on state television that four townships in the affected region are under a state of emergency. The United Nations and the United States have expressed concern about the violence in the lakeside city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Mandalay. Win Htein, an opposition member of parliament for Meiktila, said the number of dead in the city has risen to about 20 by his estimate -- most of them Muslims -- after charred bodies were found in the streets. "I have not seen this scale of violence before in my life," he said. "I am very sad. The community used to live in peace." Myanmar is emerging from decades of military repression and has taken a number of significant steps toward democracy in recent years under President Thein Sein. But it has been plagued by bouts of ethnic violence that some analysts say are a byproduct of the changing political climate. Burning mosques . A group of about 100 Buddhists, including some monks, went around Meiktila on Thursday night torching mosques, said Police Lt. Col. Aung Min, and while most of them have returned home, some are still wandering the streets, carrying weapons. Although Aung Min declined to provide an official death toll, he said the violence had spread to a nearby town, Win Twin, where a mosque was burned down overnight. He said about 1,000 Muslims had taken temporary shelter in a soccer stadium in Meiktila, where about 30% of the 100,000 residents are estimated to be Muslims. Win Htein said he believed that more than 5,000 Buddhists had fled to monasteries around the city to escape the violence. Many members of both communities had lost their homes, he said. Journalists in the city who tried to take photos of the clashes said they were threatened by Buddhists, some of them monks, who were holding sticks and knives. Violence in Rakhine . In the western state of Rakhine, tensions between the majority Buddhist community and the Rohingya, a stateless ethnic Muslim group, boiled over into clashes that killed scores of people and left tens of thousands of others living in makeshift camps last year. Most of the victims were Rohingya. "The ongoing intercommunal strife in Rakhine State is of grave concern," the International Crisis Group said in a November report. "And there is the potential for similar violence elsewhere, as nationalism and ethno-nationalism rise and old prejudices resurface." A failure by authorities to address deepening divisions between the communities could result in a resumption of violence in the future, the report said, "which would be to the detriment of both communities, and of the country as a whole." Vijay Nambiar, special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general on Myanmar, on Thursday expressed "deep sorrow at the tragic loss of lives and destruction" in Meiktila this week. He called for "firm action" from Myanmar authorities, combined with "the continued fostering of communal harmony and preservation of peace and tranquility among the people." Win Htein, the local lawmaker, said that he believed there were now about 1,000 police officers in the area. He said he had spoken to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate and leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, who had said local authorities should use police to control the situation according to the law. The U.S. ambassador to Myanmar, Derek Mitchell, said Thursday that he was "deeply concerned" about the reports of violence. Journalist Phyo Wai Lin reported from Yangon, CNN's Kocha Olarn reported from Bangkok, Thailand, and CNN's Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong.

Four townships in central Myanmar under a state of emergency, the president says . The rioting has driven thousands of people from their homes, officials say . Clashes started with a dispute between a Muslim shop owner and Buddhist sellers . Last year, ethnic violence in western Myanmar left scores of people dead .

(CNN) -- Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was nearing the tomb of Pakistan's founding father when blasts struck near her convoy in Karachi, Pakistan, killing at least 124 people. Fire erupts from a car in front of the vehicle carrying former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who led Pakistan to independence and championed equal rights, stood for democracy and human rights. That Bhutto chose to visit his grave was an important symbolic move, said Akbar Ahmed, former Pakistani ambassador to the United Kingdom. "The fact that she went to to Mr. Jinnah's mausoleum would send a message to Pakistanis ... that Jinnah remains the symbol of all Pakistan," he said. "The fact that she selects Jinnah reemphasizes that she is taking a mainstream position in Pakistan politics." She had planned to stop and pray at the tomb, then deliver a speech to her supporters. The streets were packed with people watching her motorcade pass. Bhutto and those with her were not injured in the attacks, and her companions said she reached her family home safely. The windshield of the vehicle she was riding in was smashed by the blasts, CNN's Dan Rivers said, and a vehicle that was following hers was totally burned out. The scene, he said, was "absolutely horrendous," with blood literally running in streams down the street. Watch how Bhutto escaped uninjured » . The blasts confirmed fears of instability linked to her return, which came after she reached a controversial agreement with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf that will allow her to seek re-election as prime minister. Many were bitterly opposed to that deal. "This is what everyone feared," Rivers said. Ahmed said Musharraf, who is waiting to see if the Supreme Court confirm his eligibility as president, will most likely take this opportunity to strengthen his position. "He will say, 'I told you so, He will tell Washington I told you so. He will tell Benazir Bhutto I told you so. This is not the time for you to come back, stay out let me handle the administration, let me be the strong man,' " Ahmed said. Bhutto, 54, returned to the country Thursday after eight years of self-imposed exile. Earlier this month, Musharraf's office announced he had signed a "reconciliation ordinance" that dropped outstanding corruption charges against Bhutto and a number of other politicians. See a timeline of Bhutto's life in politics » . Officials had warned Bhutto to delay her return because there were reports that some "extremist elements were bent on hurting her, because she was seen as coming with an American agenda," said Tariq Azim Khan, Pakistan's information minister. It's unclear who was behind the blasts. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party considers the incident an assassination attempt against her, officials said. "The primary suspects, of course, are the al Qaeda-Taliban alliances because they have named her as a primary target. She stands for democracy, she stands for a pro-Western position in Pakistan politics and, of course, her gender," Ahmed said. "At the same time, don't forget there's a history of bad blood between her party and the intelligence services." Bhutto told CNN just before returning to her homeland that she was aware of the risks and knew some people wished her harm, but "I'm prepared to take them." She did, however, tell CNN on Wednesday that she wrote Musharraf a letter naming those she feared would make an attempt on her life. Threats against her, she said, were made by "certain people who have gained a lot through dictatorship. They have presided over the rise of extremism, they have created safe havens in the tribal areas of Pakistan for the Taliban and other militants and they fear my return." Bhutto, daughter of deposed Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto -- served as prime minister from 1988 until 1990, when her government was dismissed amid corruption allegations that she denied. Her father, who founded the PPP, was executed in 1979. Bhutto returned to power in 1993, but again her government was dismissed amid corruption allegations in 1996. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report.

At least 124 dead following blasts in Karachi, Pakistan . Benazir Bhutto returned to country earlier in the day after eight years of exile . Bhutto was going to tomb of Jinnah, who led Pakistan to independence . Bhutto may have been targeted for being female and being pro-democracy .

(CNN) -- While most parts of the country grapple with massive job loss and a deficit in new jobs, the South is faring a bit better. Hundreds stand in line at the Miami Dade College Mega Job Fair 2009 in Florida. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in December the South recorded one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country at 7 percent. According to Careerbuilder.com, the nation's largest online job site, the South continues to see growth in the oil and gas industries which means more job opportunities in related fields like engineering. As an attractive destination for senior citizens, the South is also a hot spot for those seeking employment in the health care field or industries that cater to older populations. Education also continues to be an area that many consider "recession-proof." CNN affiliates in the South report there is hope for those seeking jobs at job fairs which are drawing big crowds. Charlotte, North Carolina In a competitive market, job seekers have to be creative and some are turning to Twitter to give them an edge. The Web site TweetMyJobs.com is an online service that couples the social networking capacity of Twitter with more traditional online job-search services. "Pick a location and job type you are interested in -- you subscribe to that. Any time a new job comes out on TweetMyJobs.com, it will automatically be sent to your cell phone," Web site developer Gary Zukowski told News 14 Carolina. Read what developer told News 14 Carolina about the site . Antwon Keith, Mecklenburg County employment security commission manager, said that such an instantaneous job alert may be just what job seekers need to stay ahead of other applicants. His concern, he told the station, was that older applicants, who are currently flooding his office, may have a difficult time utilizing the online site. Hope for those in the financial sector There is an expectation that some financial services companies in Charlotte will be hiring soon, a possible bright spot for those laid off from companies like Bank of America and Wachovia. Robert Half International conducts a hiring survey every three months and told WCNC that while some companies are planning reductions due to the economy, others will add staff. "As companies have contracted and realized that their staff may be smaller than they like, they've been looking at the idea of possibly bringing in more talent," Michael Steinitz of Robert Half International said. "And it's actually a really good time to improve your talent pool and make sure you have the best people on your staff." Read about the hopeful survey . Winston-Salem, North Carolina Many area residents aren't just looking forward to the summer for the warm weather. They are also looking forward to the baseball season which is slated to bring new jobs. The Winston-Salem Dash baseball team has openings for batboys, ushers, attendants and other hourly positions. Read about resident's excitement over the ballpark jobs . Competition for the 150 positions has been fierce, especially since seasonal workers from last year have also been applying to regain their former jobs. Job seeker Akila Covington told the news channel that she has not worked in a long time and she hoped to land one of the positions to help provide for her family. "I need this job badly," she said. "I was working at US Airways last year and lost my job, so I've been out almost a year and most definitely, yeah, need the job." Even those lucky enough to score a position won't begin immediately. Workers won't start until the new ballpark is completed and that date is still tentative, officials told WXII 12 News. Miami, Florida More than 1,000 Floridians stood in line to meet recruiters for the second day of a job fair held at Miami-Dade College's North Campus. Held March 3-4, the number of recruiters present was fewer than years past, but those on hand told local station WPLG there were jobs for qualified applicants. Many of the job-far companies were members of "recession-proof fields" like nursing, education and public safety. Read about the employers that attended the job fair . Even Walt Disney World, which shed 5 percent of its workforce and offered buyouts to hundreds of its employees, was represented. "There are still jobs there and it's a very fun program," Dayo Graham, a Disney recruiter, told WPLG. The thought of available jobs was very comforting to attendees like applicant Alex Barrino who told the WPLG it's been difficult being unemployed. "It's been six-and-a-half months," Barrio said. "I've been looking for a job and it's getting ridiculous."

The South is not as hard hit with unemployment . Careerbuilder.com: Oil, gas and health care industries continue to grow . CNN affiliates report jobs are available and seekers are flocking .

(CNN) -- Another round of nuclear talks ended late Thursday in Vienna. Nothing good, bad or even surprising has publicly emerged from the two-day talks between Iran and the P5+1 countries. Given the overall trajectory of the nuclear talks in recent months -- to external viewers a dreary process of back and forth, bluster and stalling despite a shared desire to continue talking -- two outcomes appear more or less certain. First, the much-anticipated November 24 deadline for a permanent deal will not be met. Second, the talks will continue and the negotiating teams need to decide whether they need three months, six months -- or any other length of time -- to try to reach a final deal. Given the high stakes, and the reality that there are no alternative means of moving forward other than continuing talks, all sides are apparently buckling down. The head of the Iranian negotiating team called the Vienna talks "serious" and "helpful." That was a more uplifting assessment than those that followed the October 15 Vienna meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. Earlier in the week, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said that while "90%" of the work toward a permanent deal had been completed, "important, sensitive and hard" steps still needed to be tackled. In other words, there is still no agreement on two key issues: The scope of Iran's enrichment program and how and when to end sanctions on Iran as part of a deal. On these two key issues, each side has been trying to outmaneuver the other as part of an increasingly public war of words. The Iranians have been particularly quick to react to some reports in the West that Tehran can compromise on the scale and timing of the removal of the sanctions. Earlier, Reuters news agency claimed that Iranian officials had informed them that the leadership in Tehran "would be satisfied with removing crippling U.S. and European Union energy and banking sanctions imposed in 2012," which have been the most damaging . Tehran has dismissed that claim, insisting it wants a compromise that would see all sanctions imposed on it lifted -- not just a suspension or partial removal. To Western negotiators, this Iranian stance is a non-starter unless Tehran is willing to make more compromises on the scale of its enrichment program. Iran presently has about 19,000 centrifuges, of which 10,000 are estimated to be in operation. The West would like to see the number of operating centrifuges substantially reduced although there is uncertainty about its specific bottom-line on this question. By all accounts, the P5+1 states themselves do not appear to have agreed on a target for Iran to meet, which means Tehran has been able to continue maneuvering around the issue. The Russians and the Chinese -- the two non-Western states in the P5+1 grouping -- are presumably more flexible on that front. Tehran's counter-offer has been to suggest swapping Iran's older-generation centrifuges for more advanced ones that produce more enriched uranium at a faster rate. However, this is not considered by the West to amount to a concession by Iran, as it ultimately does not reduce the amount of enriched uranium Tehran will continue to have at its disposal. Iran's access to enriched uranium has always been at the heart of concerns about its nuclear program. In other words, seeking to navigate around these two key stumbling blocks -- the question about the size of Iran's enrichment program and a timetable for removal of sanctions -- continues to keep the negotiating parties apart. What is also very evident is that neither side wants to walk away from the talks. There is no good alternative and not extending the talks beyond November 24 would essentially mean the collapse of a diplomatic formula. It is a formula in which both the Obama administration in the United States and the government of President Hassan Rouhani in Iran have invested massively, hoping for a major groundbreaking return. As U.S. Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman put it this week, the ongoing negotiation "is a puzzle with many interlocking pieces." But after a year of negotiations and eight rounds of meetings, it has become very clear that there are two critical pieces to this puzzle. Perhaps with more focus and determination, a solution can be reached. That is why an extension of the talks beyond November 24 seems to make sense to all parties involved.

The latest nuclear talks between Iran and the 5+1 countries failed to reach a deal . Alex Vatanka says the November 24 deadline for an agreement is unlikely to be met . Issues are the size of Iran's nuclear program, timetable for sanctions removals, he says . Neither side wants to walk away, so the deadline must be extended, Vatanka says .

(CNN) -- Three brutal executions. Three horrifyingly similar scripts. The video fades in. A Western captive dressed in an orange prison-style jumpsuit is seen kneeling in the desert, juxtaposed against a bright blue sky. A masked "executioner" lords over him, wielding a large knife. The victim's last words are seemingly scripted by his captors. The masked man speaks. He lifts the blade. The video fades to black. ISIS has released video in which it executes David Haines, the third Western captive beheaded by the militant Sunni group. It's titled a "message to the allies of America," similar to what ISIS called the first two videos. The semantics of all three videos have slight differences, but the choreography is strikingly alike. British hostage of ISIS was helping displaced Syrians, aid group says . The executioner . The executioner in the video posted Saturday appears to be the same person, speaking in what sounds like the same British accent as the man who purportedly killed American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. "It sounds, and he looks very much, like the same executioner that we've seen in the two previous killings," CNN's Nic Robertson said. "That accent there is unmistakably British." The executioner is dressed identically in all three videos; black garb covering everything almost but his eyes, a leather strap with a pistol. In the first two videos, you could see his combat boots, but not in the most recent tape. He appears to be of similar build and height. He waves a knife in his left hand, as did the militant in the previous two videos. The first portion of the video starts off as the other ones did -- with a clip of a Western leader stating his support in the fight against ISIS. This time, it is British Prime Minister David Cameron explaining his backing of the coalition supporting the Peshmerga in northern Iraq. Before the masked killer takes the life of his captive, he addresses the leader of his victim's country, referring to recent airstrikes conducted by the United States in Iraq. Prior to Foley's killing, the executioner refers to U.S. strikes that helped break the siege of the Sinjar Mountains in an attempt to rescue the Yazidis trapped there. Prior to Sotloff's killing, the executioner refers to the strikes that helped break the siege of Amerli, home to many of Iraq's Shiite Turkmen. This time? "Your evil alliance with America which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha dam, will only accelerate your destruction and claim the role of the obedient lap dog," he said, directing his remarks at Britain. "Cameron will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinnable war." At the end, the executioner threatens the life of another captive -- this time, ISIS claims it has Alan Henning, another abducted British aid worker. "This is stereotypical for what we've seen," Robertson said. "Unfortunately, this has to be said, that the outlook at the moment for Mr. Henning is not a strong one." Following Foley's death, the British ambassador to the United States said that experts in his country were close to identifying his killer. He has not yet been named. ISIS executes David Haines, Cameron vows justice . Questions . "The murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to his family who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude," Cameron said late Saturday. "We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes." In the case of the first two videos, the U.S. intelligence community has been analyzing them to try to answer some key questions: When were they shot? Where were they shot? Is the killer the same person? One forensics expert has raised the issue that there appear to be two militants in the Foley video. The second militant appears on the video after an obvious edit. "There's definitely a change of actor," said Ross Patel, the forensics expert. "There are noticeable -- there are subtle -- but there are also noticeable changes in their build, their physical appearance." In the Sotloff and Haines video, the picture fades to black immediately before and after the start of the beheading so, again, it's not immediately clear whether the man speaking is the same man who then killed the journalist. Who is ISIS? Statement from family of David Haines . CNN's Tom Foreman, Jim Acosta, Steve Almasy, Deborah Bloom and Nick Paton Walsh contributed to this report.

ISIS videos have similar visual and language details . The same executioner appears to be in all three videos . The videos fade to black at certain points in production .

(CNN) -- Can the media get over their collective obsession with weight? Fat chance. For some strange reason, here we are again, talking about Michelle Obama's derriere. And, for good measure, Chris Christie's girth. Watch: Why is Washington Post highlighting Michelle Obama's rear? It's easy, it's fun, it's good for clicks and ratings. It's also kinda cheap. The Washington Post used a pretty flimsy peg -- Alabama high school football coach Bob Grisham caught on tape -- to run a Style section piece on the weighty issue. "Fat butt Michelle Obama," the coach is heard saying, declaring her overweight. Grisham was suspended by the school (he says he misspoke). But this is national news? Really? Talk Back: Should Christie be shamed into losing weight? Of course, the paper dressed it up with highfalutin' sociology. "The focus on this first lady's posterior has historical antecedents," the article says, launching into questions about how black women have long faced scrutiny about their bodies. Well, maybe. And yes, Rush Limbaugh and Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner have sounded off about Obama's bottom. And yes, the fact that she has mounted an anti-obesity campaign does sort of put her in the crossfire. Watch: Chris Christie's doughnut diplomacy with Letterman . But as the Post acknowledges, Michelle Obama is a 5-foot-11-inch woman with toned arms who is widely viewed as being in good shape. She's not a triathlete; she's a working mother of two. So when the story asks, "What is it with Michelle Obama's critics and the fixation with her derriere?" I would turn that question around. What is the media fixation with publicizing it every time some bozo sounds off about her backside? This is an uncomfortable reminder that the media business celebrates models bordering on anorexic, making perfectly proportioned young girls and women feel heavy because they don't have superthin (and often airbrushed) celebrity bodies. This may help promote the fashion industry, which considers normal women plus-size, but it bears little relation to real life. Christie is a different case. Having endured endless jokes about his oversized frame, the New Jersey governor shrewdly decided the best path was to poke fun at himself. Watch: Is Facebook over? More friends taking 'vacations' from site . So he appeared on David Letterman's couch this week, one of his chief tormenters, and promptly shoved a doughnut into his mouth. He allowed that he didn't mind fat jokes if they're funny. It was self-deprecating humor that showed Christie to be a real human being. But the truth is that the teasing does bother Christie. And there is a serious question here beneath the laughter. Christie is grossly overweight, and his health would be a legitimate issue if he runs for president in 2016. Which, as you may have noticed, is four years from now. Doughnuts aside, Christie treated the matter more seriously at a news conference, saying that he's "remarkably healthy" but that "my doctor continues to warn me that my luck is going to run out relatively soon." The governor showed he had lost none of his feistiness after Connie Mariano, a former White House physician, said on CNN: "I worry that he may have a heart attack, he may have a stroke. ... I worry about this man dying in office." Christie upbraided her Wednesday for diagnosing him without an examination: "She must be a genius. She should probably be the surgeon general of the United States." He said she was just another hack seeking "her five minutes on TV." Well, you started it with your doughnut diplomacy, Governor. Watch: Doonesbury's plea to save newspapers (and his strip) If Christie becomes a White House contender, everything is fair game. He can hardly complain about other folks after his "Late Show" shtick. But I can't help but think it is easier for pundits to pontificate about Christie's weight than to examine his record in Trenton. Everyone who has worried about those extra pounds can relate to the story, but the coverage is out of hand. If I never read another word about Michelle Obama's behind, I may go celebrate with a Krispy Kreme. The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Howard Kurtz.

Howard Kurtz: Media obsessed with Chris Christie and Michelle Obama's weight . Kurtz: Michelle Obama is 5' 11" and in good shape despite comments about her rear . Chris Christie's girth is serious, he says. If he runs for president his weight is fair game . Kurtz: Media obsessed with weight, stick-thin models who border on anorexia .